BURNT (The Wild Flames #1) Read online

  After a moment of contemplating, she smiled. “Agreed.”

  He walked over to the front desk, and she followed him. They each took an application and found a place to sit down. They read over the forms and tediously filled them out. Although it didn’t matter to him, a part of him did hope they would both get a job. He was sure Tara felt the same way.

  ***

  The interview process was painless compared to some of the student ranger jobs they had both worked up in Anchorage. Tara figured it had to be kept short. There were still five people who arrived after them, also waiting for a shot. When she left the interviewer’s office, she saw Kevin seated waiting for her beside the main entrance.

  “How did it go?” He looked up and stood to greet her.

  “I think overall it was fine. They said if I make the cut, then I’ll hear something by tomorrow. At least we don’t have to wait too long to get an answer.” They walked out of the building and headed to his car.

  “They also said there are only three positions available. And it looked like there were at least twenty-five applicants,” Kevin said, hoping it wouldn’t worry her after he said it.

  She stopped as he held the door open for her.

  “Our chances aren’t great.”

  “It might seem like a long shot, but I have reason to believe we both would make a great addition to this team.” Kevin winked at her and she rolled her eyes. “What? You don’t believe it?”

  “What we believe and what will actually happen are two completely different things,” Tara answered.

  “You know what? I know just what you need,” he offered.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?” she was not sure she wanted another surprise, although this one was pretty thoughtful.

  “A nice hot meal from Marmalade’s,” he announced. “It’s been a long time.”

  She didn’t know if food would do the trick, but she was willing to give it a try. It had been a long time since she had tasted one of their chocolate cheesecake desserts. “You talked me into it. It won’t get rid of this doubt, but it couldn’t hurt,” Tara conceded.

  Kevin laughed, and as they headed toward Marmalade’s, she looked like she had already begun to relax. If the petting zoo jobs weren’t meant to be, then so be it. It was the motto they needed to adopt when it came to finding summer jobs this late in the game.

  They pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and Kevin parked close to the front entrance. As they got out of the car and headed up to the door, he wished they were on a real date.

  “After you,” Kevin said as he held the door open for her.

  “Thank you,” she replied.

  They headed up to the hostess podium and as it was before dinner hour, they were seated almost immediately. Neither of them bothered to look at the menu. The waitress arrived quickly and they each ordered the lasagna. When the waitress left, their conversation flowed easily.

  “You know,” Kevin started, “I have been thinking a lot lately about how our friendship started.”

  Tara frowned. “You have? I don’t even think I remember.” It wasn’t the truth. She could picture it to a tee, but she wasn’t about to confess at all. She found herself thinking about it regularly as well, because the way they ended up becoming friends was a shocker to most.

  He cocked his head. “You have to be kidding me. Don’t you remember how you socked a snowball at me for no reason?”

  She put her hands on her hips.

  “Kevin Crawford, you know very well I had plenty of reason. We were in kindergarten and you said my snowsuit was weird.”

  He raised an eyebrow and took a drink of his water.

  “I thought you said you didn’t remember?”

  Kevin laughed. He was trying to get a rise out of her and it was working. She playfully threw a napkin at him for teasing her.

  “Fine...maybe I remember it a little bit,” she replied with a laugh. “The bottom line is, I must have been caught by your charm, because we have been friends ever since.”

  He smiled warmly. “It does make me wonder what made our friendship so strong.”

  She thought about it. It didn’t seem too surprising to her.

  “We’re so much alike,” she replied nonchalantly. “We both had families who were distant and we needed someone who could understand us. I feel we were that person for each other. I don’t know anyone who gets me more than you do.”

  “Or vice versa,” he agreed. He looked down at his water glass. “There is something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

  Tara could tell whatever he wanted to talk about, it would be deep. Looking over at him, he seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. She felt a pang of urgency to change the subject. His sudden seriousness could only mean he was thinking about their kiss. It was another thing that bonded their friendship. They had been together for so long, they could sometimes read each another’s mind.

  “Kevin, don’t...” she began, but her words broke off when she saw their food was heading their way.

  “Thank you,” Tara mumbled as the waitress put their food down.

  “Need anything else?” she asked them.

  Tara glanced at Kevin and he stared back her. “No, but thank you,” she answered.

  The waitress walked away and he resumed the conversation.

  “Tara, we need to discuss it.”

  “We already did,” she begged. She really hoped he would drop it. “It just happened and that’s all there is to it. I don’t want this to make things awkward between us.”

  “I...” he started. “I’m relieved to hear you say that.”

  “You are?” she asked, surprised.

  “I am,” he confirmed. “I don’t want anything to get in the way of our friendship and I just wanted to make sure you felt the same way.”

  She looked down at her food. It was what she wanted, but there was something nagging at her mind and telling her something was missing. She looked up and put a smile on.

  “Great!” She took a bite of her food, and he did the same.

  Their meal was interrupted when Kevin’s phone rang. Tara looked at him as he glanced down at the caller ID. He shrugged.

  “I better answer it. Hello?” he paused and his eyes went to hers.

  “Yes, this is Kevin Crawford.” His eyes widened.

  “Thanks so much for the great news!” He hesitated for a moment.

  “What about Tara Matthews?” His smile evaporated.

  “Oh...I understand. Thank you.”

  When he disconnected the call, Tara knew what it was about.

  “You got the job?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I asked about you and...”

  “I didn’t get it,” Tara replied, feeling jealousy welling up inside of her. “It’s alright. I told you I wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t get it. I’m happy for you.”

  “Well, I don’t know if you got it or not. They wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Oh...” She felt a sudden breath of air escape her. The unknown was better than a no. She took a drink, clearing the lump in her throat. Tara tried to go back to eating her meal, but her thoughts kept roaming back to her phone. No one had called yet.

  When they were finished with their main course and ordered desserts, she was still distracted. Her chances of being called were grim. She expected she’d get a call if she didn’t get a job, but rejection calls would probably come later. They had been told they could be called back as late as the next day, so she didn’t want to lose all hope. Not yet anyway.

  Their desserts came and she let it whisk her away. She ate slowly, moaning between bites and relishing the taste. She sighed as the last piece was gone.

  “That does take away a lot of problems.”

  He laughed. “Yes, it does. You know, I don’t have to take the job,” he said suddenly.

  Surprised, she looked up from her cheesecake.

  “Yes...you do. I’ll be fine no matter what happens. I...” Her words were cut off when
her phone started ringing. She grabbed it out of her purse and found a number she didn’t recognize. She looked around the restaurant. They were the only ones there, so she answered the call using speakerphone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, is this Tara Matthews?” came the muffled voice on the other end.

  “Yes this is...” she answered quietly, silently crossing her fingers.

  “Hello, Ms. Matthews. This is Zoe from Baker Street Petting Zoo. We were very impressed by your interview and we would like to offer you a job.”

  She met Kevin’s waiting stare and just nodded. He smiled at her.

  “Thank you so much!” Tara answered. “Yes, I accept and I appreciate you calling me.”

  “Come by this Friday after 1:00p.m. and we’ll get you set up on payroll,” Zoe informed her.

  “Will do thanks!” she answered ecstatically.

  “Goodbye.”

  Tara disconnected the call and sighed with relief. Another plan was working out. A summer job for both of them it could only bring good things.

  ***

  From out at the side of the restaurant, he watched them. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he felt he could read their body language. She kept smiling at him and he looked lovingly at her. They were playing with his mind. Through the main course and into dessert, they were acting like they were a couple. They weren’t supposed to be a couple.

  He saw the waitress approach them to pick up their finished plates. For a moment, his attention shifted to the waitress as she left the table. When he looked back at Kevin and Tara, they were leaving the restaurant, laughing and enjoying themselves. He moved back to hide, sick to his stomach that Tara could betray him so blatantly. They couldn’t get away with this for much longer. For the moment, he decided to keep following them, knowing one day soon, they would both realize what a huge mistake they were making.

  Chapter 4

  Tara walked out of the main building and saw Kevin feeding the goats. They had been working at the petting zoo for two weeks and she was enjoying the job. She could tell Kevin liked it too. Their friendship seemed to be growing even stronger. She had not thought it was possible. They were already so close. She approached him, just watching. He must have sensed her, because he looked up and smiled.

  “Hey!”

  She nodded to greet him and glanced around the yard. There were horses, pigs, goats, and even a dog and cat graced the fenced backyard. The smaller animals, like chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs, were inside. She looked back at him. He was feeding the baby goat with a small bottle. “Now I know how you’ll look when you become a dad,” she teased.

  He laughed. “It might be a little bit different.”

  She snickered. “Maybe a little.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “I came out here for a reason. Mr. Harrison is ready to do your two week evaluation.”

  “Oh great,” he laughed. “It was nice working with you.”

  She shook her head. “I already had mine. It wasn’t bad. It’s more along the lines of, is the job working out for you...do you like the hours...things like that. As long as you don’t have any issues, then you should be in there about five minutes.” She looked at the goat. It was only half finished drinking the bottle of milk.

  “I can take over here,” she offered, reaching for the bottle.

  “Are you sure?” he teased. “It’s a pretty tough job.”

  “I think I can handle it, Kevin, but thanks for asking.”

  He smiled, winking at her and handing over the bottle. She took over the rest of the feeding and looked at him as he headed up to the building, then disappeared through the door. She chuckled, turning back to the goat.

  “It’s just you and me kid,” she joked.

  Tara had not realized she wasn’t alone until she heard someone talking behind her a few minutes later.

  “You two make a cute couple.” It was Amy Watters, the person who had won out the other applicants for the third summer job.

  Tara laughed. “Oh...we’re not a couple.” She looked down at the goat, ignoring Amy still standing there.

  “Huh...” she heard her say. “I have to admit, that does surprise me. Are you being serious right now?”

  Tara looked up and nodded. “Yeah, Kevin and I go way back. We’re just good friends.” As she said the words, even she noticed how different they sounded to her. She had been denying accusations that something was going on between them for years. Normally she would laugh it off. This time, she felt a pang of regret for saying it.

  “Wow,” Amy remarked. “So you won’t mind if I go out with him?”

  Tara had turned and was about to leave the animal enclosure. As she heard the question she flipped her head back to stare at Amy. She fumbled for words and they weren’t there. It was too late to retract her earlier statement. She could only shrug. “Of course not. If Kevin and you want to go out, you don’t need my permission.”

  Amy was visibly excited. “Great. Thank you, Tara.”

  Tara left the goat’s enclosure in a daze. She had just given Amy permission to take away her closest friend.

  ***

  Kevin’s evaluation went just as Tara said it would. There was nothing to worry about. He headed out of the manager’s office and saw Tara had moved on from the goat pen. She was sweeping out a horse’s stall. He headed toward her, but Amy cut across the hallway and stopped him.

  “So, did you have your evaluation?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Just coming from having mine. You?”

  “Yep,” she replied casually. She then looked around, fidgeting nervously. “Got a minute? I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Okay...” He crossed his arms in front of him. “I’m listening.”

  She got straight to the point. “I was wondering if you’d like to go out some time.”

  Kevin hadn’t expected to be propositioned. She seemed nice and all, but had never approached him much to get to know him before. She also did not appear to be someone who would ask a guy out.

  “You mean like a date?” he asked, glancing over at where Tara was still working, and shifting his attention back to the woman standing in front of him.

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes,” she replied, again looking nervous. “Unless you have some reason why you can’t go out. Like...you are dating someone else.”

  She hesitated and turned toward Tara, then looked back at him.

  “Are you?”

  He quickly shook his head. “No...I’m not.”

  “Okay.” She let out a breath. “That’s what Tara said, but I thought maybe she was kidding.”

  He nodded. “You talked to Tara about this?”

  She nodded. “I honestly thought you were both dating each other, but she set me straight.”

  The words took a while to settle in. If Tara didn’t want to date him, at some point he was going to have to move on. Now was as good a time as any.

  “We’re just friends. How about after work today? Tara drove me, but if you wouldn’t mind taking me home afterward...” His words dropped off.

  She smiled, shaking her head. “Not at all. After work sounds great.”

  “Great,” he replied. “Speaking of work, we better get back to it,” he replied. “See you later.”

  He winked at her, knowing he was flirting, but he was also hurt by Tara’s eagerness to pass him off to someone else. He tried to forget about it as he stepped into the stable beside the one Tara was working in. He didn’t greet her or make eye contact as he raked the hay.

  Tara noticed him and cleared her throat to get his attention.

  “Yes?” he asked, sounding annoyed.

  She tilted her head, frowning, but didn’t say anything.

  “What, Tara?” he said impatiently.

  “How did your evaluation go?” she asked.

  “Fine...just like you said it would,” he replied, turning back to his work. “Oh...by the way, I just wanted to let you know I
won’t need a ride home.”

  “You won’t?” She sounded confused.

  He looked up again and shook his head, “I have a date and she’s going to take me home.”

  The color left Tara’s face. There was no denying it now.

  “Oh. I hope you have a great time.” She looked over to him.

  “With Amy, right?” she asked.

  He nodded. “She said you two had a nice chat.”

  She shrugged. “She thought we were dating. I let her know we were just great friends. Apparently, it’s a good thing I did. You two have a date, and I’m sure you’ll both be extremely happy with each other.”

  Tara turned on her heels and headed back to the corner of her stall.

  Kevin couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked, looking at him with a mixture of sarcasm and anger.

  “You seem jealous.” He raised an eyebrow.

  She glared at him. “I’m not jealous. I’m simply wishing you well.”

  She stared at him, waiting for him to say something else about it. It would not be wise to provoke her more, so he went back to working. He held on to the hope she wasn’t being honest with him and she really was jealous. It held a certain appeal about it.

  ***

  Kevin and Tara finished work a few hours later. As Kevin stood outside waiting to leave for his date with Amy, he caught sight of Tara leaving the building.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” she replied. They hadn’t talked much after their conversation in the horses’ stalls. He wanted to make sure they were still on good terms.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?” he asked.

  She paused. “Tomorrow night?”

  He nodded. “Our movie night. It’s Saturday,” he said.

  They had a ritual they had started in college. Every first Saturday of the month they would go to the movies, alternating on who got to pick the show that month. “It’s your pick, remember?”

  “Oh. Well let’s play it by ear,” she said, moving past him.

  He stopped her before she could reach her car.

  “Play it by ear?” he asked. “Come on, Tara. You don’t want to break tradition, do you?”

  She turned and looked at him. Her eyes looked past his shoulder.