flared as his chest heaved and lips thinned.
She was in so much trouble.
Silently begging her racing heart to settle down, Sarah cleared her throat. “May I help you?” One shaky hand on the doorknob, she rested the other against the frame, shielding the opening with her body.
“Do you always answer the door without checking to see who it is?”
“No. Not usually. I just...well, it’s been kind of a crazy night. I wasn’t thinking—”
He cut her off by stepping forward and trying to shoulder past her into the apartment.
“Excuse me. What are you doing? You can’t come in here.” With her heartbeat pounding in her ears, she closed the door partially to block his entrance.
As if she could even take him if he tried to push his way in.
“Where’s the fire?” As if realizing what he was doing, the man stepped back, but he reached for her wrist. “The fire department’s already on its way. You need to get out where it’s safe.”
She pulled her hand out of his grasp. Heat crawled up her neck.
Could this night get any worse?
Sirens screamed down the street, becoming louder as they stopped in front of the house. Lights flashed in the darkness at the bottom of her steps.
“There’s no fire. I overcooked my popcorn.” Sarah jerked a thumb over her shoulder and nodded toward the kitchen.
“Popcorn?” He rubbed a hand over his face, then shook head. “My alarm went off for popcorn? You can’t be serious.”
His alarm?
Wait a minute. Didn’t Mary Seaver, who showed her the place in her grandson’s absence, mention interconnecting smoke alarms between the downstairs and upstairs apartments? So that would make this man her downstairs neighbor...and landlord.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
* * *
After dealing with flight delays, crossing a couple of time zones and spending a week away from work at a real-estate conference, all Alec wanted was a decent night’s sleep. But, apparently, that wasn’t going to happen tonight.
With hands jammed in his front pockets and bare feet, Alec stood on the sidewalk next to his new neighbor as the fire crew double-checked the upstairs apartment. He tried to tell them it was nothing more than burned popcorn, but since the security company had notified them, they needed to do their own investigation.
And he knew that.
But that did little to settle the memories the alarm had awakened in his mind. He forced even breaths into his lungs and exhaled slowly to calm his hammering heart. He could attribute his sweat-slicked skin to the thick-as-fog humidity.
A sweeping glance down the street showed nosy neighbors standing in their yards, gawking at the activity going on in front of his house.
Exactly what he hated—people in his business.
His bones sagged as his eyes burned with fatigue. The pounding in his skull didn’t help, either.
Why had Gran rented the upstairs apartment to a scatterbrain?
She’d called him to say a sweet, responsible girl from her church was looking for an apartment for the summer. Despite his hesitation at renting to someone without meeting her first and for only a short time, he’d given in, trusting Gran’s judgment. Look where that’d gotten him. With a signed lease and three months’ rent paid in advance, he was stuck with the popcorn burner.
His new neighbor—what was her name again?—glanced at him and stuck out her hand. “I’m really sorry for causing so much trouble. I’m Sarah, by the way. Sarah Sullivan. I promise not to be a problem in the future.”
Her smile revealed even, white teeth and emphasized her high cheekbones. The streetlights haloed her short dark hair that stood out at all angles. The top of her head didn’t even come to his shoulder. She didn’t look old enough to be out of high school, let alone living on her own. Something about her seemed familiar, but in his brain-fogged state, he couldn’t place where he’d seen her.
He shook her hand quickly, then released it. “Alec. And that’s good to know. I like sleeping at night. You related to Caleb Sullivan?”
“Yes, he’s my brother.”
That was how he knew her. “He’s a good man.”
“The best.” She looked at him and cocked her head. “Didn’t you play at his wedding a couple of weeks ago?”
“I did.”
The image of her walking down the aisle in the pale blue halter dress clicked into place.
Billy Lynn, Shelby Lake’s battalion chief on duty and Alec’s brother-in-law, strode over to them and clapped Alec on the shoulder. “All’s clear. I’ll phone it in to the security company. You’re both free to go back inside.”
“Thanks, man.” The tinge of smoke that lingered in the material of Billy’s turnout gear snaked through Alec, unearthing memories best left buried.
Sarah shot them a quick, apologetic smile. “Again, so sorry. Have a good night.” She jogged barefoot across the grass and disappeared into the house.
Billy chuckled and shook his head. “You’re going to have your hands full with that one.”
“I don’t have the time, or the inclination, to deal with anyone.”
Billy’s lips thinned as he scrubbed a hand over his buzzed head. “You know, Alec, Christy’s been gone four years today.”
Alec held up a hand. “Stop, okay? I know exactly how long she’s been gone.”
He didn’t need a calendar to know what day it was.
“My sister wouldn’t want to see you like this.” Billy crossed his arms over his chest, emphasizing his wrestler’s build.
“Yeah, well, she’s not here anymore.” And he had no one to blame but himself.
“No. No, she isn’t.” Billy heaved a sigh and moved his helmet to his other arm. “Listen, since I’m already poking the bear...we have an opening in the department, if you’d like to come back.”
Alec shook his head and scoffed. “You’re in rare form tonight, aren’t you?”
Billy shrugged. “What can I say? Haven’t seen you in a while, so I figured why not get it all in while I can?”
Alec waved a hand over the yard. “Dude, you know where I live.”
“Yeah, I know, buddy.”
“I appreciate the offer, but that part of my life is in the past, where it needs to stay.” The fire department didn’t need a crew member who still battled nightmares or freaked out over smoke alarms.
“Don’t even go there, man.” Billy’s voice snapped like a whip. “You threw away your career because of one house.”
Alec’s heart smashed against his ribs. “Go there? Dude, I never left. And it wasn’t just any house, Billy. You know that. It was my house. The one I shared with my wife. The one where we were going to raise our family.” His chest tightened as he chugged in ragged breaths. He jammed his fingers through his hair, then locked his hands behind his head.
Billy’s shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to get you riled up. I just hate seeing you merely existing.”
“I don’t think I’ve had a decent night’s sleep in four years.” He mumbled the words mostly to himself. He didn’t need to close his eyes to feel flames from the past searing his skin or smell the choking grasp of the thick smoke. Or hear his wife’s frantic screams, begging him to save her... He ground the heels