On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

brothers or my dad can repair it or put up some plywood for you. It will be fine for now. It's still a safe neighborhood.
    "Okay. I'll deal with it later."
    As they left the house, a cool breeze made Sara shiver, but she appreciated the crisp November air. It felt refreshing compared to the smoky heat of the house.
    They walked across the grass and down the driveway. No one ever used the front entrance of the Callaway house. The side door was closest to the kitchen and when they were growing up, getting food was usually the only reason they went inside.
    The delicious smell of garlic greeted her as she entered the kitchen, but the peace and quiet Emma had promised was lost in an angry argument between Aiden, his father, Jack, and his older brother, Burke. The three were standing in the middle of the kitchen, and they all appeared to be talking at once, raising their voices louder and louder as they fought to be heard. Lynda hovered off to one side, offering peacemaking entreaties, but no one was paying her any attention.
    "You need to take responsibility for your actions, Aiden," Burke said heatedly.
    The two oldest Callaway brothers had gone head-to-head for as long as Sara could remember. Their extremely competitive instincts had made it impossible for either one to accept that the other might be better or stronger.
    Burke was the older by two years and taller than Aiden, broader, too. His hair was a dark, dark brown, almost black, and his eyes were a deeper blue than his brother's. Burke had the look of a winner. He was clean-shaven, his hair short and styled, his clothes neat and unwrinkled. Aiden had a leaner build, a more rugged, sexy look, his hair a little too long, his jaw unshaven, his clothes showing every minute of his day. And some of those minutes had been spent carrying her father out of the basement, so she'd forgive the worn jeans and the dusty t-shirt.
    "I have taken responsibility," Aiden said shortly.
    "No, you've done nothing but stay silent, the way you always do after you screw up," Burke replied.
    Aiden's face paled under the attack, and Sara felt compassion for him. Burke had been a tough act for Aiden to follow. Burke had been the star quarterback in high school as well as the senior class president and had done all that while getting straight A's and winning national scholarships.
    Aiden had been a good athlete, too, excelling at baseball, but he'd never participated in school government or gotten good grades. He'd been much more interested in having a good time. And while Burke was impressing people right and left, Aiden was usually getting into trouble.
    "Burke is right," Jack interjected, his eyes on his younger son.
    "That I'm a screw up?" Aiden asked, sarcasm in his voice. "Tell me something I don't know, Dad."
    Jack's jaw tightened. He wasn't as tall as either of his sons, but he still had a big presence and a huge personality. His hair had gone white since Sara had last seen him, and his normally ruddy complexion was very red now, anger burning in his eyes.
    "You need to tell us what happened on that mountain," Jack continued. "You owe Kyle that much."
    Aiden's jaw tightened. "Don't talk to me about what I owe Kyle. Neither one of you knew him the way I did."
    "If you don't clear your name, no one will ever trust you again," Burke said harshly. "If you want to keep working as a firefighter, you sure as hell better come up with a good reason for losing one of your men."
    "Go to hell," Aiden said, turning away from his brother. His gaze collided with Sara's.
    She swallowed hard, not just seeing anger in his eyes, but also the pain. She had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that he was hurting.
    Aiden brushed past her and Emma without a word, the side door slamming behind him.
    "You both pushed too hard," Lynda scolded her husband and son. "You need to give Aiden a chance to defend himself. He's only been back a few hours."
    "It doesn't sound like he has anything to defend," Burke said.
    "You didn’t give him a chance. You're always so impatient, Burke."
    "He's had three weeks," Jack said, cutting off his wife. "Three weeks to come up with the plain, simple truth. That's all we're asking. You've always been too easy on Aiden."
    "And you've always been too hard," she retorted. "The truth is never plain and rarely simple, and you, of all people, should know that, Jack."
    Jack frowned at her pointed look. "I'm just trying to help my son."
    "I didn't hear either of you offering