Playing With Fire: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 2) by Susan May Warren Page A

to him, took the box out of his hands, set it on the table.
    Then, without a pause, as if she always belonged there, she stepped up and slid her hands around his waist.
    And held him. Just pressing her head against his chest. Sweetly. Like a friend might.
    Despite the fact that he might have appreciated a different kind of comfort, he needed this. The sweet surrender into her arms. The smell of her hair, something floral, and the feel of her body tight against his, holding him together.
    He closed his eyes.
    “Conner,” she said softly. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
    And for the first time in years—maybe since he’d sat on the side of a highway watching his life in flames, he believed her words.
     

     
     

 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter 4

 
     
    “Aunt Liza, you got a letter. It’s from that art colony in Arizona.”
    Liza didn’t need her niece, Raina, to add the sing-song tone for Liza’s pulse to jerk, for her to grab a towel, wipe her hands, and leave her lunch dishes in the sink.
    Raina came in, dressed in her workout clothes, and dropped the letter onto the antique rolltop desk, along with Liza’s other letters and bills. A younger version of Liza with her long dark hair and brown eyes, Raina had come into her life just a couple of months ago, drifting, grieving the loss of her father, alone.
    Empty.
    And Liza took it as a God-opportunity to fill the girl up with as much love as she could. “I made lunch—egg salad sandwiches and chips.”
    “Thanks. I woke up feeling a little sick, didn’t want to eat breakfast. I should have eaten more last night. And then I had dragon boat practice.”
    “Are you ready for the festival?”
    “Casper has us all practiced up. He thinks the Evergreen boat will take the win this year.”
    “They’ve won almost every year with Darek as their coach. Casper has a lot riding on his shoulders.” Liza had to admit that, despite her concerns about Raina making friends with Casper—the middle brother in the Christiansen clan—he’d ended up being good for Raina. Maybe he’d stopped being the town Casanova, although he always possessed, from Liza’s view, a love-’em-and-leave-’em personality, off to his next great adventure.
    She dearly hoped he didn’t break Raina’s heart as she was already fragile enough.
    Liza knew from experience that one broken heart could derail your entire life.
    “Apparently they didn’t race last year because of the forest fire,” Raina said.
    The forest fire. Which only whisked up the memory of meeting Conner.
    “A lot of things changed after the fire last year,” Liza said. “How is the resort rebuild going?”
    “The cabins are nearly finished, but they still have a lot of work to do.” Raina went into the kitchen, and Liza picked up the thick envelope from Vitae, the artist commune located in Sedona.
    Please.
    She slid her thumb under the lip as Raina came out holding a plate, eating her sandwich. “Is that the teaching job?”
    “I hope so.” Liza took out the folded letter, set the envelope down, and began to read.
    We’d be pleased to offer you—
    “Yes.” She glanced at Raina. “They want me to teach the winter semester. Apparently their only pottery instructor is having a baby. So, if she doesn’t come back, I have an option to continue if I want.”
    “That’s great, Auntie. You should totally do it.” Raina finished off her sandwich, set down the plate, started crunching on the chips.
    Liza read the letter over, the terms, the housing package.
    And between the lines, the fact that she would be leaving Deep Haven.
    Not forever, of course, but...
    She folded the letter back up, put it in the envelope. Tucked it into a chamber inside the desk. Went to retrieve her coffee in the kitchen.
    “You don’t look as excited as I thought you’d be,” Raina said, following her. “Isn’t that what you always wanted? To teach, like your mom did?”
    Maybe once upon a time. Liza picked up her coffee.