On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

heart turned over at his sexy grin, reminding her that being caught up in an emotional whirlwind had not dampened her attraction to Aiden one bit. She was probably the crazy one, agreeing to take off with him, knowing that spending more time in his company was only going to make it more difficult to say goodbye. But it was too late for regrets.
    "If you all lived in the same apartment building," she said, "I'm surprised that Vicky would turn on you the way she has. How could she believe that you'd do anything to jeopardize your best friend's life?"
    "She thinks I let Kyle down. By the time Vicky came along, I'd been promoted a few times, and she saw me as the leader, someone who'd watch out for Kyle. She used to take me aside every now and then and tell me that she felt better knowing I had Kyle's back. She'd make me promise to bring him back safely. I didn't keep my promise."
    She heard the pain in his voice and didn't like that Aiden was taking the blame for what was most likely a tragic accident. "How much farther do we have to go?" she asked, changing the subject.
    "About twenty minutes. Around that bend up there you're going to start to see some real nature. Tomorrow, I'll show you some of my favorite spots."
    The word tomorrow reminded her that they were going to be spending the night together, and she couldn't help thinking about where she was going to sleep, and whether or not they'd finish the kiss they'd started the night before. Her body tingled at the thought at the same time her mind screamed caution .
    Aiden suddenly put a hand on her thigh, and she jumped.
    "It's going to be okay, Sara," he said, meeting her gaze.
    She didn't know exactly what he meant, but looking into his beautiful blue eyes she knew there was no place else she'd rather be right now than with him.

    * * *
    Fifteen minutes later, Aiden pointed to an airfield in the distance. She could see several small planes on the tarmac. "That's the base," he told her. "Not many people around this time of year. It gets busy again in the early spring when we start selecting rookies and preparing for the next season."
    "So, you'd normally be working now at what?" she asked.
    "I do different things during the off season, forestry work, teaching fire safety classes, working on equipment. When I'm not doing that, I do some carpentry. A former smokejumper named Bo makes cabinets, and whenever he needs extra hands, he knows who to call. Bo is a real character. He's in his fifties now. He had twenty-two seasons under his belt when he wrecked his knee and had to quit. He has more stories than anyone I've ever met."
    "Did you talk to Bo after the accident?"
    "Yeah, he was in the hospital when I woke up."
    "Had he had a similar experience to yours?"
    "He told me a few stories, but I wasn't really in the mood to listen."
    "How long were you in the hospital?" she asked, unable to picture Aiden in that setting. He was such an active man.
    "Just overnight. I checked myself out."
    "Of course you did," she said dryly.
    "I was fine, Sara, and I couldn't stay there. I couldn't lie in a bed with nothing to do but think about Kyle."
    "What about all your other friends? You said you had some supporters on your crew? Did you spend time with them?"
    "Everyone was leaving. Fire season was over. Their plans were made, plane tickets had been booked."
    "I just don't understand why you're so alone, Aiden. I thought firefighters were like brothers."
    "We are like brothers," he said tersely. "But when you let one of those brothers die, no one in the family is too happy to see you."
    "You and Kyle were separated from the group, so how does anyone besides the two of you know what happened?" she challenged. "It sounds to me like you're starting to believe their stories instead of what your gut tells you."
    "If I believed their stories, I wouldn't have hired an investigator."
    "Okay," she said, relieved that he wasn't giving up. "Good."
    "And I wasn't completely abandoned. Some of the guys made an effort to talk to me. I just wasn't in the mood to see anyone. I needed to deal with Kyle's death on my own."
    She was relieved to hear that not everyone blamed Aiden. But she knew Aiden would not feel better until he knew the truth for himself, whatever it was.
    A few minutes later, Aiden pulled into a parking spot in front of a modest four-story apartment building. The building was at the end of a street and on the opposite corner was a beautiful park with lots of trees, a garden, and a