Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Is it bad for me to be happy about that?” Pippa asked.
“No. You didn’t make any of their decisions for them. Whatever they’ve earned is on them.”
Zale turned onto his street. “Hey, the team is here. That’s a lot of smoke coming from the backyard. Koa’s specialty might be something blackened. Let’s make sure he’s not burning down the house.”
“Is that a fire truck I hear?”
Max ran into the front yard. Spotting Zale, he pointed several yards away. Without hesitation, Zale parked his vehicle there. Jumping out, he told Pippa to stay by the Jeep as he ran to the backyard. After a few moments, she remembered all the precious items inside the house. She worried especially about her daddy’s stallion picture now hanging on the fridge. He’d done a great job at almost staying inside the lines. She needed to save that.
Seconds later, a firetruck roared down the street. Several fire personnel ran to the backyard to assess what was happening. When they returned, shaking their heads, Pippa dared sneak through the backyard to see what was happening. It appeared the firemen had missed all the excitement.
Judging by the fire extinguishers in their hands, the team had handled the fire like they approached any threat. They must have extinguished the flames in the grill and secured the surrounding area to make sure it didn’t spread. Koa stood talking to the fire captain, and it was clear she was not happy with him.
Pippa crept closer, sensing that everything was safe now. “Isn’t someone going to back up Koa with the fire lady?”
“I think I told you to stay by the Jeep,” Zale told her.
His steely expression made her rush to explain. “I thought the coast was clear. The firemen didn’t even pull out the hoses. Is Koa in trouble?”
“He definitely is not on the fire captain’s favorite person list,” Zale said. “Koa can take care of himself. He’ll turn on the charm. That always works for him.”
“It’s not helping this time,” Jerico said, nodding to the duo. “He’s definitely interested, but she’s not having any of that. I’ve never seen his charm not work on someone.”
They turned to look at Koa, who had a very intrigued expression on his face as he focused on the woman standing a foot away from him. When she finished speaking and turned away, the woman’s expression was stone cold. She was not falling for his ability to sway others.
“How’d that go for you?” Zale asked as Koa walked up to join the group.
“Not well. I’m definitely not on her good list.” Koa stared after her until she turned the corner around the side of the house.
“I think you owe me a grill,” Zale told him.
“I do.” Koa didn’t even try to deny that the charred remains weren’t salvageable. “I’d guess you all are going to make me order pizza now.”
“Double pepperoni for me,” Caden called.
“What were you making?” Jerico asked.
“A new kind of hot wings,” Koa answered, pulling out his phone to pull up the pizza shop’s app. “It promised to be really hot.”
The group studied the soaked remains of the blackened grill.
“They were really hot,” Pippa couldn’t resist saying.
Koa rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing I like you, Pippa.”
“I like you, too, Koa. What was her name?”
“Captain Giana Mancini,” Koa told them with a smile. “I’ll go apologize again tomorrow.”
“Do you think she wants to see you?” Max asked.
“Oh, she wants to see me. She just doesn’t know it yet,” Koa assured them. “That was my little girl.”
“I don’t think she’s little, Koa,” Aspen told him.
“She is. Some Littles are experts at hiding their real selves,” Koa observed.
One glance at Aspen and Pippa knew her friend was thinking the same thing she was. Many Littles hid who they were until someone special saw through that. Koa could be right, even though they hadn’t seen anything to give them a hint.
“Koa, if you’re next to find your Little, we’re happy for you,” Zale told him. “Just don’t offer to start a fire for her. That didn’t work too well here.”
The laughter that filled the backyard almost dispersed the lingering smoke. Almost.
The End