Page 6 of That One Heartbreak

He ran past the fire house. It was quiet, empty, which was always a good sign. He’d been part of the twenty-person strong volunteer force since he’d come back to his home town after college, at the age of twenty-two. Before that, he’d volunteered as a firefighter in his college town, and as a teenager he’d been a junior firefighter here in Hartson’s Creek.

That’s when he’d met Paul Connelly. His best friend.

The man he’d seen collapse in front of him and die within minutes.

There were no cars on the road as he made his way to the town square. All the shops were empty with the lights turned off save for the Moonlight Bar. He could smell the sour notes of beer as he ran past it, heading to the road out of town.

As he reached the edge of town the houses thinned out, until there were only a few here and there. The fields that surrounded the town stretched out toward the burning orange horizon.

He planned to run to the house then back again. Just check that all was well and then he’d be able to sleep.

Kate and her children had moved there a year ago, out of the house that was near the station where her husband had died. It had been easier when she’d lived there. To keep an eye on her. To check on her.

It was harder here, because he knew he stuck out like a sore thumb when he ran past. Maybe that’s why he waited until night had fallen every evening before he ventured out.

There was a light shining in her upstairs window. One of the kids, probably. And on the porch there was a light, illuminating the plant pots full of dead flowers that had turned a brilliant shade of brown due to lack of watering.

He would have watered them but he knew Kate wouldn’t accept help. She’d turned down everything that the fire department had tried to offer her.

He was about to turn back again when he saw it. At first he thought it was a crack in the pathway leading from the driveway to the house. But then it moved and he almost jumped.

A damn copperhead. It was early in the year for them. The thing must’ve just woken up from hibernation, but it had been a warm day and it must’ve enjoyed bathing in the brightness of the sun, but now it was trying to find somewhere warm to sleep overnight.

Marley sighed as he watched it begin to slither toward the house. Because now he was going to have to do something about it. It wouldn’t be his first encounter with a snake. They had plenty of calls from frightened tourists and locals alike over the summer months, especially out in the fields where the snakes preferred to make their homes.

Hell, he’d been called out a few times for ones that had found their way through the holes in brick walls and into houses. And he wasn’t certain that this snake wouldn’t do the same thing.

The house was warm. The outside air was not.

Looking around on the ground, he found a stick. The copperhead wasn’t too big – only ten inches long. He could easily lift it and move it far away from Kate’s house. Holding the stick out, he walked carefully toward the snake, sliding the end of the stick beneath its body and lifting.

Thankfully, the snake lifted up with it.

There was a field about ten yards away, so Marley carried it carefully over, letting the snake down and watching as it slithered away. Sure, there was a possibility it could be back, but most snakes he’d encountered were more than happy to be left alone and far away from human scrutiny.

“What’s going on?” Kate called out from her front door. He hadn’t even heard her open it.

“I was running past. Saw something on your driveway.” It wasn’t a lie. And he knew she’d hate it if she knew he was keeping an eye on them all.

He turned around to look at her. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, her dark hair swept up to reveal her slender neck. There was some dirt on her cheek, like she’d been cleaning. But it couldn’t disguise the attractiveness of this woman.

It hit him like a Mack truck. He felt his pulse – already fast – starting to throb in his neck.

Fuck, no. She was Paul’s wife. He wasn’t going to be attracted to her. He pushed the thought away, hoping it would never come back.

“What did you see on my driveway?” she asked. Her voice was low, like she didn’t want to wake up her kids.

Marley hesitated, because he knew that some people freaked out over snakes. Imagined that one little visit meant an infestation. “It’s dealt with.”

She put her hands on her hips, her head tipping to the side. “What’s dealt with?” she asked him. “I saw you pick something up.”

Of course she wouldn’t let it go. He let out a sigh.

“A snake,” he said, his voice low.

She blinked, her lips pressing together. “What kind of snake?” She sounded less certain now. Less in control.

“Just a rat snake,” he lied. “I took it over to the field.”