Light My Fire

I hear footsteps on the stairs, but can tell by how light they are that it’s Brooke coming down.

My heart starts pounding.

I feel like I’m thirteen and have a crush on a girl for the first time. What is this? The woman was just upstairs for the past several hours, having sex with my best friend. For the first time for her ever.

Yet I’m lying here on the couch, my stomach twisting, anticipating the chance to talk to her alone in the dark in the middle of the night.

It’s four a.m. I know why she’s down here. There’s a bathroom attached to Wyatt’s room, so unless she’s hungry after the rigorous activities, she’s down here to check on the dogs.

And I already know her.

This is completely about the dogs.

I hear her start across the kitchen toward the laundry room where the dogs were last she knew.

“Brooke,” I whisper into the dark, not wanting to startle her.

“Jackson?”

I sit up slowly. This cabin has crazy ass windows. They cover the entire one side of the house and the moonlight, and lights strung across the deck, along with the soft glow of the light over the stove in the kitchen, give us enough light to easily see one another.

“Hey,” I say. “They’re in here. Closer to the fire.”

She starts toward me and I pray to God that she’s wearing more than just one of Wyatt’s shirts and panties or something.

As she steps into the living area, I sigh with relief, realizing she pulled on her leggings and sweatshirt from earlier.

“You’re sleeping down here with them?” she asks, noticing the pillow and blanket on the couch.

“I didn’t want them to be alone tonight. Just in case any of them needed anything.”

I didn’t want to be too close to Wyatt’s bedroom, either. I didn’t want to hear the two of them through the wall, but it’s the truth about the dogs, so I don’t feel bad leaving the rest of that out.

“That’s sweet,” she says softly. She looks at the dogs, sleeping peacefully in the box we made for them. Henley is curled around the puppies and they’re all snuggled against one another for heat and comfort.

“How are they doing?” she asks.

I get off the couch and kneel by the box. Brooke joins me on the carpet. “Good. Henley ate a little bit, and I took her out again. The pups have all nursed and have moved around a bit, but mostly everybody has been sleeping.”

Henley has awakened with our voices and the movement around her box. Brooke reaches out to the dog, who sniffs her, then gives her hand a lick.

“You’re such a sweet girl,” Brooke tells her. She smooths her hand over the top of the dog’s head. “I wish we didn’t have to leave them so soon.”

“We’re not going to,” I tell her. I haven’t worked out the details, but I’ve decided I’m going to offer the neighbors a crazy amount of money for Henley and the pups. I’ll figure out some way to get them back to Chicago, even if I need to hang back for an extra couple of days to get it arranged.

Brooke lifts her eyes to mine. “What do you mean?”

“I’m adopting them.”

“All of them?” Her voice is a little louder with her surprise.

I reach out and stroke Nugget’s back with one finger. I am especially attached to him, but I can’t imagine leaving him here for six weeks and I really don’t think I can trust him, his siblings, and his mother to the neighbors.

“Yeah. I don’t want to split them up.”

Brooke is quiet for a moment, watching me pet Nugget. She scoots a little closer.

“Wow. I love that you’re doing that.”

“I have the resources. It’s something I want to do.” I shrug. “It feels good.”

“Going from zero to six is a lot.”

I nod. It is. And I really do have to think about buying a house and stuff. Soon. I’ve been scrolling the internet for listings, actually, already tonight. But if I take them back to Chicago in just a few days, I’ll need to be creative. “Yeah, but…”

I’m looking at the dogs and am surprised when Brooke reaches out and puts a hand on my leg. “What?”

Looking into her eyes, I say, “I think it’s time I do something serious.”

I don’t know if it’s the dark, the late hour, the puppies, or just her—or maybe a combination—but that came out very easily. And I realize it’s true.

She leaves her hand on my leg. “Serious? What does that mean to you?”

“I’ve been kind of just goofing around for the last few years. But I think it’s time I… change some things.”

She moves closer. “Like what?”

I cover her hand with mine and love that she turns her hand so we’re palm to palm and she slides her fingers between mine.

“Well, like maybe becoming responsible for six dogs.” I grin. Okay, six labs are a lot once they grow and I’m going to either need acreage or I’ll need to find them homes, but I definitely want to keep Henley and Nugget long term.

Brooke smiles back. “That is a lot of responsibility. But tell me about these last few years of goofing around. You’ve been having fun?”

I laugh. “Well, sure. I was twenty-four when I happened to invent something that took off and made me a bunch of money. Then twenty-six when I sold it for quite a few million. That was definitely fun.”

She actually looks interested. “But not serious? I mean, being an inventor and making millions seems very serious.”

I love the feel of her hand in mine. I stroke my thumb over the back of her knuckles. “Nah. It wasn’t. The app wasn’t serious—still isn’t.”

“What does it do?”

I smile. “It’s a game app. You’ve heard of Candy Crush and Angry Birds and Monopoly Go?”

“Sure.”

“It’s like those. It’s a package of word games. Anyway—” I shake my head. “It’s just fun, and I had no idea I was going to make huge money at it. It’s not like I’m solving world hunger, you know?”

“Making people happy, giving people things to enjoy and help them relax, isn’t nothing, Jackson.”

God, I really like this sweetheart of a woman.

“Thanks. And you’re right. But I know I can do more. I’m smart. I know I can do something important. I just need to find…” I sigh.

“Your passion,” she fills in softly.

“Yeah.” That’s exactly it. I feel warm sitting here with her and her understanding me. “So, in the meantime, I’ve just been goofing around. Like, who am I to take life seriously?” I smile, but I do feel a little niggle of annoyance, at myself, in my chest. “My parents are just normal middle class people. My friends, my extended family… everyone I know and hang out with are just normal people. So, they don’t take me as a millionaire too seriously, either. Which is good. They keep me grounded. They remind me that most of the world is like them, not me. Yes, I’ve taken some amazing trips, my apartment is stupidly expensive, and I really like nice things. But I also paid off their debt, bought my parents a new house—but they didn’t want to move too far or get anything too big—and I’ve invested well.”

“Your family sounds great,” Brooke says.

I nod. “They’re the best.” I take a breath. “I’ve enjoyed the money but I don’t feel like I’ve really done anything consequential.” I look down at the dogs. “And I’d like to. So yeah, I think it’s time for me to get serious. About something.”

“Like a new job?”

“Yeah. Or maybe more than that.” I meet her eyes. “Maybe a lot of things.”

She gives me a soft smile. “You don’t have to adopt the dogs to impress me.”

I stroke my thumb over her knuckles again. “Is that what you think this is?”

She shrugs. “I’ve noticed the way you and Wyatt tend to try to one-up each other. Maybe that’s how you always are. I guess I thought maybe it was about me.” She shakes her head. “God, that sounds ridiculous.”

I reach out and tip her chin up with my finger. “It’s not ridiculous. It’s true. We do tend to compete. We can turn anything into a contest. But you have definitely brought that out in us.”

She blinks those big blue eyes at me.

God, she’s so gorgeous. Wyatt is such a lucky guy. If it was anyone else, I would feel intense jealousy. As it is, I am envious, but I’m so glad he’s the guy who’s going to be romancing and taking care of this girl.

Brooke has marriage material written all over her, and my best friend is ready to settle down. They are a match made in heaven.

“Well, you don’t have to become a dog dad times six to make me like you.” She bites her bottom lip. “I definitely like you. Even before the dogs.”

I feel a hot twist in my gut that tells me to be very careful here.

“I’m glad. And yes, the dogs kind of started off as one of our contests. But I’m crazy about them. So even though you’re with Wyatt, I’m still going to adopt the dogs.”

She frowns slightly. “I’m with Wyatt?”

“Well, you sure were for the last few hours,” I tell her with a little grin.

Even in the shadows, I can see the slight blush on her cheeks. “Yes. But that was… a favor from a friend.”

I chuckle. “If you think Wyatt Doherty thinks of you as a friend, you haven’t had very many friends.”

She smiles. “I do like him.”

“You should. He’s a great guy. And he really likes you.”

“That’s really nice.” But she seems puzzled. “I didn’t realize that… upstairs… meant we were together together. We didn’t talk about that.”

“Is that okay?” I ask.

She studies my face. “Um, I guess. I can’t say I was thinking about beyond this weekend. And…”

“And what, Brooke?” I realize I’m leaning in.

“I just—” She wets her lips. “I like you, too. So I’m just kind of confused about what to do with that.”

Well, hell. I’m not sure what to do with that either.

I nod. “You should probably go back up to bed. With Wyatt.” I pause. “At least for now.”

She doesn’t answer immediately. But she nods.

Still, she doesn’t move. For several long seconds.

Then she leans in and kisses me.

It’s a sweet press of her lips to mine. It’s not particularly hot or lusty, but the desire hits me hard and low.

She pulls back after just a few seconds, looks into my eyes, and says, “Goodnight, Jackson.”

“‘Night, sweetheart.”

I don’t think I take a deep breath until I hear the door to Wyatt’s bedroom shut.

And I don’t fall back to sleep the rest of the night.