“Who’s we?” Brody asked. “Who’d you bring?”

  “Draco drove me,” I replied, knowing that every man on that stupid back patio was now far more interested in the conversation.

  “That’s good,” Brody said seriously. “There’s a bunch of dumbasses on the road today.”

  “Brody Jacob,” I scolded.

  “That’s what Dad said,” he replied in exasperation. He deepened his voice. “Bunch of dumbasses on the road today. Fuckin’ idiots.”

  “Don’t say dumbass,” I said, pinching him in the side. “And don’t say fuck, either, you little monster.”

  “I’m not little anymore.”

  “You’re little enough to still be sitting on your sister’s lap,” I countered, digging the knuckle of my pointer finger into his ribs. “Like a wittle baybay.”

  “You suck!” he said, hopping off my lap.

  “Don’t say suck either, dirtbag,” I called as he ran back toward the house.

  I couldn’t help the laugh that fell out of my mouth when he flipped me off as he threw open the sliding glass door.

  “Your kid is feral,” I told my dad as I turned back toward the group.

  “Which one?” my dad replied, deadpan.

  “So, my grandson drove you over here?” Dragon asked nonchalantly.

  I glared. He might be the president of the Aces and Eights Motorcycle Club, but he was also family and annoying as hell. Did I think I could rat on the club and get away with it? No. Did I think I could call him a dick and storm off? Also, probably no. But could I send lasers from my eyes and make sure he knew exactly how much I thought he was a nosy, gossiping pain in the ass? Yes.

  “Yeah, Draco drove me over here,” I said shortly. “He and Curtis were at the apartments getting some stuff since we’re in the red zone now.”

  They all watched me.

  “Any other questions?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  “When you gonna give that boy a chance?” Casper said with a laugh, lifting a joint to his mouth. “Poor kid.”

  “When are you gonna stop smoking?” I shot back.

  “Never,” he replied with a grin.

  I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head.

  Casper laughed and then choked and then laughed again. “Bullshit,” he said, pointing the joint in my direction. “I give it less than a year.”

  “Shit,” Dragon added, drawing the word out. “Less than six months, if that.”

  The slider opened up again and my stepmom came outside, her hair in a high ponytail and wearing a pair of shorts that didn’t belong on someone’s mother. “What’s happening in six months?” she asked as she strode toward us. She reached out and smoothed my hair before dropping down in the seat beside me. “Ugh. It’s terrible out here.”

  “Nothing’s happening in six months,” I replied in exasperation. “And it is. It’s like when you’re sitting by a campfire and the wind is blowing the smoke straight at you.”

  “But you can’t move away from this shit,” Rose said with a scowl. “I hope they get these fires under control soon. The boys are going crazy cooped up inside.”

  “You should send them to Uncle Tommy’s house,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “The boys would keep them busy and they probably wouldn’t even notice a couple more kids.”

  “That’s actually a good idea,” Rose said, nodding. “Maybe I’ll just have a couple of Tommy and Heather’s kids over to our house. Give poor Heather a break.”

  “You call her, you tell her we’re makin’ a big spread for dinner,” Grandpa Grease said. “They can bring the kids over to eat and play with their cousins.”

  “I’ll let her know, Pop,” Rose replied. She leaned back toward me. “She’ll probably come over and then sneak away and leave all the kids here,” she said with a laugh. “That’s what I’d do.”

  “You should,” I replied with a grin. “Then we’d have the house all to ourselves.”

  “Oh,” Rose murmured, her face falling dramatically. “I forgot you were home. Might as well bring the boys home, too, if me and Dad won’t have the house to ourselves.”

  “I can stay with Charlie—”

  “I’m teasing you,” Rose said, swatting me with the back of her hand.

  “You’re staying with us,” my dad said gruffly at the same time. “And so are the boys. We’re all stayin’ in one place until this shit is over.”

  “We’re fine in town,” Rose said to him quietly.

  “Yeah, we’ll see,” my dad replied with a huff.

  “Are Molly and Will coming over?” I asked Rose.

  “No, I think they’re sticking close to home,” Rose replied. “Reb’s pretty freaked out by the fires.”

  “I bet,” I said with a grimace. Rebel still lived with her parents, but she usually came and hung out with us at least once a week. I hadn’t seen or heard from her in a few days, which was out of the ordinary.

  The men continued with a conversation about all the things the fire departments and county officials were doing wrong and all the things they were doing right, while me and Rose leaned toward each other to talk.

  “You look so funny in that mask,” Rose said, pulling a bandana out of her shirt pocket. She unfolded it with a flourish and tied it around her face. “But I understand the need for it.” She rolled her eyes above the bandana.

  “Charlie gave it to me,” I said, adjusting the mask. “It’s actually not that bad. Once I’ve had it on for a while, I kind of get used to it.”

  “Can you imagine if you had nasty breath, though?” Rose said jokingly. “Just huffing that shit back in.”

  “Ew!”

  “No kidding,” she said, nodding. “Good thing you have superior personal hygiene.”

  “I am remarkably clean,” I laughed.

  “I wish I could take credit for that,” Rose said, reaching over to squeeze my knee. “But you already had most of your good habits before I started bossing you around.” She looked over at my dad, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

  “I got the good habits from my nana,” I joked.

  “I’m glad they’re not here right now,” Rose said with a sigh. “It’s a relief to know that your other grandparents are in Montana not dealing with these fires and smoke and evacuations.”

  “Yeah, I was surprised that Nana hadn’t called me yet—or started driving in our direction.”

  “Your dad talked her out of coming here,” Rose said with a small chuckle. “But I’m sure she’ll call you tonight. She’s worried.”

  “I am, too,” I confessed. “This feels like apocalypse shit.”

  “Right?” Rose said, nodding as she opened her eyes wide. “That’s what I said to your dad earlier!”

  “And I’m sure he gave some perfectly logical rebuttal,” I grumbled.

  “Of course he did. He said all we’d have to do is drive a hundred miles away and we’d barely even be able to see the smoke. It’s just our little patch of ground that’s burning—everyone else is fine.”

  I scoffed. “That we know of.”

  Rose barked out a laugh, throwing her fists into the air. “You’re so my kid. I said the same goddamn thing!”

  “The world ain’t ending and it ain’t on fire,” my dad said dryly, barely even glancing in our direction.

  “How do you know?” Rose asked stubbornly.

  “Not gettin’ into this again,” my dad replied.

  “That’s because you know I’m right,” Rose shot back.

  “It’s because we’re havin’ a conversation, sweetheart,” Grandpa Grease said, pointing his cigarette at Rose. “And you’re interruptin’ with your end of the world shit.”

  “You, my friend,” Rose said, pointing back at her dad, “are butting in to a conversation that you were not invited to.”

  “You’re invited,” my dad said to Grandpa Grease. “Welcome to the shitshow.”

  “You’re both the worst and I have no clue why I put up with either of you,” Rose said, getting to her feet.

  “Because you’re stuck with us,” Grandpa Grease said, grinning. “And you know it.”

  “Come on, Kara,” Rose said, reaching out to grab my hand. “Let’s leave these old men to scratch their balls and tell each other how—with no experience whatsoever—they’d be fighting and winning against the forest fires.”

  “Hey,” Casper called out. “I didn’t scratch my balls once since you came out here. I’m a fuckin’ gentleman.”

  “Oh, my God,” I said to her, gagging as we walked toward the house. “Please do not ever refer to any of their balls again.”

  “I won’t,” she said, squeezing my hand and shuddering. “I even grossed myself out with that one.”

  As we stepped inside the house, I pulled off my mask and took a deep breath of semi-fresh air. It sucked—there was really no way to get away from the smoke. Even inside the house, you could still smell and taste it, it just wasn’t quite as thick.

  “I wish they’d come inside,” Rose’s mom, Callie, said, wrinkling her nose at us. “The news said people should try and stay inside.” She pulled me into a hug.

  “Hey, Gram,” I said, giving her a squeeze back.

  “Your apartment’s in the red zone?” she asked, pulling away. “Did you get everything you needed out of there?”

  “Yeah,” I replied, nodding. “Draco and Curt showed up and helped me get it all to my car.”

  “Those boys,” Gram Callie said with a smile, wrapping her arm around my waist so she could tow me toward the kitchen. “They always go the extra mile to make sure everyone is taken care of.”

  “Especially Kara,” Rose said insinuatingly from behind us.

  “Shut it,” I shot over my shoulder.

  “You better be careful,” Rose warned. “My mama doesn’t put up with any back talk.”

  “Pfft,” Gram said, tightening her arm around my waist. “You deserved that one.”

  “Yeah, you deserved it,” I called happily, flipping Rose off behind Gram’s back.

  “Hey,” Rose complained, laughing. “A little respect here.”

  “Be careful now,” Amy warned as we came into the kitchen. “Those biscuits are hot!”

  “That’s how I like them,” Draco countered, grinning as he tossed a biscuit from one hand to the other.

  “So hot that they adhere to the roof of your mouth and burn off your tastebuds?” Rose asked with a laugh. She reached for a biscuit on the baking sheet. “Me, too.”

  “Suit yourselves,” Amy said, throwing up her hands. “But don’t come complaining to me.”

  “We won’t,” Rose said cheekily. “Ma, where’s the butter?”

  “I swear I taught you manners,” Gram complained as she let go of me and moved toward the counter. “But you never seem to use them.”

  “Biscuits supersede manners,” Rose replied. “Hot, hot, hot,” she whispered as she pulled the biscuit apart with her fingers.

  “You want one?” Draco asked me, smiling over his shoulder at me.

  “I’ll wait until they aren’t as hot as the gates of hell,” I replied. “But thanks.”

  “You’re missin’ out,” he said with a shrug. “They’re the best straight out of the oven.”

  “I think I’ll wait a minute,” I replied dryly.

  “I can’t believe that your apartments are in the red zone,” Gram said, handing Rose a vintage butter dish. “How in the world did the fire get that close to town?”

  “News is sayin’ it came straight down the valley,” Farrah replied. “Just bad fuckin’ luck.”

  “Seriously,” I mumbled.

  “What are you complainin’ about?” Draco teased. “You brought the entire damn apartment with you.”

  “That’s my girl,” Farrah said with a smile. “You know what to do.”

  “I didn’t bring that much stuff,” I said, glaring at Draco. “But I was at home for a while and I just kept noticing things that I wouldn’t want to lose!”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to us, honey,” Amy said. “We’ve got twice the amount of junk that we wouldn’t be able to live without.”

  “That’s because we’re three times her age,” Callie joked.

  Amy made a scoffing noise. “Three times? Sure, I’ll go along with that.”

  Everyone in the kitchen laughed.

  We were still laughing when the familiar sound of multiple sets of motorcycle boots thumping down the hallway caught my attention. Before I turned to see who was coming, I glanced up and caught the expression on Farrah’s face as she looked over my shoulder.

  “Who?” she said, hoarsely.

  “Not a who, Ladybug,” Casper replied as I spun to look at him. “A what.”

  “The house,” she replied on a sigh.

  “Fire’s gettin’ close,” he told her, his eyes never leaving her face. “Hasn’t taken it yet, but it’s lookin’ likely.”

  “Fuck,” Farrah muttered.

  “We were checkin’ out the cameras on the house and garage,” my dad said. “And there’s definitely no one out there fightin’ it.”

  “The fire departments are stretched so thin,” Rose said with a grimace, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “They can’t be everywhere at once.”

  Dad nodded.

  “But we can,” Draco said, setting down the half eaten biscuit in his hand. “We can go out there, create a fire break.”

  “The hell do you know about creating a fuckin’ fire break?” Farrah asked with a snort.

  “Less than a firefighter, more than you,” Draco said easily, making her laugh. “At the very least, we can water everything down.”

  “Not a bad idea,” Grandpa Grease said.

  “Or they could just let the place fuckin’ burn,” Rose said so quietly that I knew I was the only one who’d heard her. I laid my head on her shoulder.

  Farrah and Casper’s house had been the place where my stepmom’s older brother Michael, her great grandmother and a couple others had died. Grandma Callie had almost died. Needless to say, Rose didn’t have any fond feelings toward the house, even though she’d spent half of her life there with her best friend—Charlie’s older sister Lily.

  “We’ll head over and get things in order,” Casper told Farrah. “Alright, Ladybug?”

  “You know you’re goin’ no matter what I say,” she said in exasperation. “I’m just hoping your ass gets stopped on the road and they don’t let you through.”

  “Chances of that happenin’ are slim,” he replied, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at her.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Farrah said, throwing a biscuit at him. “You’re not going to charm me into agreeing with this bullshit.”

  Casper caught the biscuit. “Can I get another for the road?” he asked innocently.

  Farrah’s expression darkened and she reached for the pan in front of her.

  “Ah,” Amy said sharply, smacking at Farrah’s hands. “I’ve got arthritis and I cut each of those by hand. Do not throw them.”

  The kitchen was quiet for a moment.

  “That was a spectacular guilt trip,” Farrah said to Amy, looking at her in admiration.

  “I’ve had a lot of years to practice,” Amy replied. “Now go kiss your man goodbye and bring him another biscuit for the road.”

  Draco stood from his seat and stretched his arms above his head.

  “This is a stupid idea,” I told him, my stomach beginning to twist with anxiety. “Let the professionals handle it.”

  “They aren’t handling it,” Draco said as Rose slipped away and moved toward my dad. “They’ve got their hands full.”

  “So let the place burn,” I hissed quietly.

  “I’m not gonna sit back if there’s somethin’ I can do, Kara,” Draco said, reaching up to smooth my hair away from my face. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t even startle at the touch. I was too focused on the fact that his stupid ass was planning on driving toward a wildfire.

  “There isn’t anything you can do,” I argued.

  “I can help wet down the house and the area around it,” he said, leaning down so our faces were close together. “Maybe stop by Cecilia and Mark’s and grab his tractor.”

  “This is fucking ridiculous,” I ground out through my teeth.

  “Like I said,” Draco replied, dropping his hands away from my hair, “I’m not gonna sit back if there’s somethin’ I can do.”

  “Yeah,” I snapped. “I’m aware.”

  “What’s that mean?” he asked, his head jerking back at the venom in my words.

  “Go,” I said, ignoring his question. I made a shooing motion with my hands. “Go save the day.”

  “Kara,” he said, his voice dropping as I stepped away from him.

  I shook my head and walked away.

  I was halfway up the stairs, heading toward the sound of my brothers’ voices, when Charlie came bounding down them.

  “Where are the guys going?” she asked. “I saw them out the window.”

  “They’re going to wet down your parents’ house to protect it from the fire,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Like that’s going to help.”

  Charlie looked stricken and I immediately felt like a piece of complete garbage.

  “Jesus, Charles,” I said, reaching out to hug her. “I’m sorry. That was an asshole thing to say.”

  “It’s okay,” she replied, hugging me before pulling away. “You’re probably right.” She smiled and squeezed my shoulders with both hands before moving around me and jogging down the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” I asked suspiciously as she turned at the bottom of the stairs.

  “To help,” she said with a shit-eating grin. “I’m not letting the dudes have all the fun.”

  “Oh, Christ,” I spat, following her down the stairs. “That’s so stupid.”

  “Probably.” She paused. “But, you’re coming with me, right?”

  I stared at her as different terrible scenarios ran through my mind.

  “Of course I’m going with you,” I said begrudgingly. “It’s not like I’d let you go by yourself.”

  We didn’t say a word to anyone as we snuck out the front door and jogged to my car.

  “You have the keys?” Charlie asked, coming to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk.