Phoenix Feather (10 page)

Aidan navigated her way through the crowds of people. She had put in some extra hours at the museum that morning so she could take the afternoon off. The smell from the grills made her mouth water, and the sound of children laughing rang like delighted chimes in her ears. Some of the kids ran around like frenzied Germanic warriors, but if their antics got too dangerous, a fireman seemed to appear out of nowhere and put them back in their place. Aidan smiled at the inherent awe kids seemed to possess for society’s “everyday heroes.” She was glad she had come.

She spotted Trent at the grill and made her way toward him. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey!” He beamed at the sight of her and came around to give her a hug. It caught her off guard, but she decided she liked it.

“Frank, you remember Aidan,” he said to the other fireman at the grill. “Aidan, I know you remember Frank.”

She chuckled, able to look back on that first introduction with amusement now. “Nice to see you again.”

He nodded at her in greeting. “Can I take an order?”

Aidan looked at the burgers sizzling on the grill. “Um, later?” She looked around at the orange and black streamers running from the station’s roof to nearby trees, the various jack-o-lanterns set up around the lot and yard, and the aluminum cut-outs stapled to tables and trees. “This looks amazing, and like it took a lot of work.”

Trent grinned. “This is the best part of the job.”

“Show her which pumpkin is yours,” Frank said.

Trent laughed.

Aidan nudged him. “I want to see.”

He led her over to the bay doors and pointed to a pumpkin against the wall. Instead of a jack-o-lantern face, he had carved flames into his pumpkin, which now glowed with the tiny tea light candle inside.

“I love it,” she said.

One of the firemen watching the kids play on the trucks waved at her. He had a mischievous grin on his face.

“Uy,” Trent groaned. “I apologize now for anything that will be said the rest of the day.”

“They’ll tease you?” she asked.

He looked at her with a hint of shyness. “Well, you are the first serious date I’ve brought to one of these things in a while, and they all know it.”

Aidan considered his statement a moment before grinning and linking her arm in his. “I’m honored.” She flashed a daring smile back at the other fireman, and turned Trent around to head back to the grill.

“Are you a glutton for punishment?” he asked.

“They can bring it on.”

He laughed, and they returned to help Frank at the barbecue.

Aidan stood next to the grill and handed out plates and buns. Trent tried to tell her she could go enjoy the activities, but she responded that she was enjoying things quite well where she was. When there was a lull in the feast preparation, Trent got the three of them cold sodas. Even though she had bundled up in a sweatshirt and scarf, working next to the barbecue provided plenty of warmth.

“Oh great,” Trent said, and jumped up. “My brother’s here.”

Aidan followed his gaze to the street where Detective McCain stood, surveying the crowd with an out-of-place intensity.
Oh no.

“I’ll be right back,” Trent said, and went to get Bryan.

Aidan wanted to slap herself.

“You okay?” Frank asked.

“I forgot to do something very important.” She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Trent and Bryan made their way back through the crowd. Aidan saw the frown on Bryan’s face deepen as they got closer. He must have recognized her as well.

“Aidan,” Trent said. “This is my brother, Bryan. Bryan, I’d like you to meet Aidan.”

She reached out her hand to shake his.

“Miss Quinn,” he said gruffly. “We’ve met.”

It was amazing how much awkwardness one person could project. Trent looked confused.

“I meant to tell you,” Aidan said. Best to get it out in the open as quickly as possible. She should never have let this situation happen in the first place. “That night, dinner at your place, and the family photographs, I made the connection. I just didn’t want to ruin the mood for the evening. And then the thing with Chris happened and I forgot. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to keep it hidden from you, and I certainly did not want formal introductions to go this way.” She searched Trent’s eyes for what he might be thinking.

“Okay... How was telling me you knew my brother going to ruin the mood? Did you guys date or something?” He tried to pass it off as a joke, but he looked nettled by the thought.

“I interviewed her in relation to a case I’m working on,” Bryan said, and looked at Aidan to explain the rest. Whether he was testing her or giving her the benefit of the doubt, she couldn’t tell.

Aidan shifted in discomfort. “A friend of mine was killed. Murdered, actually. That was after we first met, but before you asked me out. It just wasn’t a topic I thought good for the nice dinner you had planned.” Now she wished she had risked it that night rather than be in this situation. It wasn’t deceit, but she felt guilty all the same.

“Oh,” Trent said quietly. “Um, I’m sorry about that.” He laughed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I could see how that wouldn’t be good dinner conversation.” He exchanged a private look with his brother, and Aidan had no idea what passed between them.

“So, you’re not mad?” she asked.

“No. Yeah, this wasn’t how I pictured introductions either, but I understand.” He reached out and brushed her arm. “We can talk about it later if you want. For now, either of you hungry?”

“Sure,” Bryan said, adjusting the cuff of his jacket in discomfiture.

Trent went behind the grill and retrieved the tongs. “Okay, I know my brother here favors well-done; what about you, Aidan?” The smile had returned to his eyes and threatened to be contagious. He knew how to disarm a potentially mood shattering situation, and he did it naturally, as though there was nothing wrong with what had just happened. Bit by bit, Aidan found her heart betraying her and turning to him.

“I think I’ll defer to your expertise on this one,” she said.

“Hmm, you’re very trusting.”

“I have it on good faith that you can cook.”

Frank laughed. “Dinner went well?”

Trent slapped a piece of meat onto the grill. “Hey, she’s pretty good with dessert.”

“Ah, but today you said the city was providing the sweets, and my skills are no longer challenged.” She grinned, and watched him flip the hamburger patty.

Trent inclined his head in mock assent. “You’re right. And it’s cookies.” The way he grinned made her suspicious. He finished her burger and flipped it onto her plate. “I’ll get some if you want to find a picnic table.”

Aidan hit the condiments table first, and then found an open table. Bryan sat down across from her.

“Small world,” he said.

She nodded. “I’ve been following the papers, so I know Jenny’s death hasn’t been solved.” She paused and studied him. Aidan remembered Trent saying his brother was buried in his work, and she also remembered how old he looked when she had first met him, which was nothing compared to how tired and worn he looked now. “I know that must be hard. I’ve been able to move on and you haven’t.”

He stared at his food but didn’t say anything, and she wondered if she should have kept her mouth shut. Trent joined them with his own burger and a plate of cookies. Aidan remembered the way he looked at her when he mentioned them, so she grabbed one and took a bite. She gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.

“These are Nestle!”

He shrugged. “Don’t tell Chris.”

She moaned and put the cookie down. “He would have loved to be here and watch me wiggle out of that mess back there.” She glanced at Bryan. “I forgot to tell him and Phoebe too.”

Trent gave her a sympathetic smile. “Guess that memory of yours is not infallible. Bryan, she can listen to ten different orders and report them to the kitchen accurately without using a notepad.”

A hint of a smile showed at the corner of Bryan’s mouth. “You were avoiding KP duty again?”

“Wouldn’t you if you had to cook for your entire squad?”

Bryan shrugged. “I don’t have to.”

“Who judges the costume contest?” Aidan asked. She had been noticing all the different characters running around. Some of them were quite elaborate.

“Someone will call the kids up by grade, and then whoever gets the loudest cheers from the crowd will win,” Trent said.

“Win what?” Bryan asked.

“Stickers and candy, I think.”

Aidan gave him a mock scowl. “All this work and you’re cheap on the prizes?”

“What would you give them?” he asked.

She looked around. “A ride on the fire engine.”

Trent leaned his head slightly into her personal space and lowered his voice. “Is that what you want?”

“I didn’t dress up.” She pressed a finger into his chest and playfully pushed him away.

“Then what has been your best Halloween costume?”

Aidan thought about it. She didn’t have any stories to share from a young childhood, as she only dressed up for two years before she gave up on the candied version of the holiday. She could delve deeper into her past, maybe something from a royal masque…

“Um, sophomore year, our dorm hosted a Trick-or-Treating event for the neighborhood, and my floor was themed after the game Candyland. I was Princess Lolly.” She even had the purple wig and crown of edible lollipops.

Trent grinned. “Do you have pictures?”

“Oh, goodness, yes,” she groaned. “Thankfully not with me. Your turn.”

“It’s kind of hard to choose. Zorro, Robin Hood…”

“I’m sensing a theme.”

“Your Indiana Jones was pretty good,” Bryan spoke up. “If I remember correctly, you borrowed an actual whip from our uncle’s ranch.”

“Oh yeah. Should never have tried to use it though.”

“What happened?” Aidan asked.

“He lashed it around a pole that was holding up the canopy at the dance,” Bryan said.

Aidan envisioned a white canvas caving in on itself and burying a bunch of people underneath. “Very smooth.”

Trent laughed. “Oh, the best though, was Bryan as MacGyver. He had all kinds of weird contraptions he carried with him.”

Bryan sniggered. “Yeah, that was pretty good.”

Aidan arched an eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling that you both went around trying to do good deeds that actually ended up getting you into trouble?”

“Because it’s true,” Trent replied. “Remember the dog washing business?”

Bryan nearly choked on his soda. He rolled his eyes and groaned. “Yes.”

Trent turned back to Aidan. “We didn’t want to be like the other kids who had lemonade stands. In an effort to be efficient, we thought we could do a mass dog wash in one sitting.”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah,” Bryan put in. “Half a dozen dogs escaped, covered in suds, and went running down the street.”

“That I would have liked to see a picture of.”

Trent tried to get control of his laughing. “You have to give us credit for getting our acts together eventually.”

“Yes, this is much more productive,” she agreed.

Someone jumped onto a table with a megaphone and called for everyone’s attention: it was time for the costume contest. He called the Kindergarteners up first, and people helped lift them onto the tables so everyone could see.

“Oh, I’m betting on the little fire truck,” Trent said.

Aidan shook her head. “Nah, the Strawberry Shortcake is so cute!”

The crowd cheered for everyone, and because they were so young, they all were considered winners and got pieces of candy. They went through the next twelve grades, lining them up and measuring how loud the crowd cheered to determine the winners. Aidan and Trent debated on who would win, and a third of the way through, Bryan eventually joined them. For that one afternoon, he could forget about the murders he was investigating, and Aidan could forget about the cancer eating away at her friend’s life. For that afternoon, in all its aspects, it was a beautiful day.

Chapter Nine

“I’m glad you came to the barbecue.” Trent balanced the phone against his shoulder as he pulled his jacket on.

“Yeah,” Bryan said on the other end. “I didn’t realize I missed it.”

“What?”

“Hanging out with my kid brother.”

Trent smiled. Maybe there was hope. “Then we’ll do it again.”

He heard Bryan sigh. “I don’t know, Trent. My work…it just takes so much out of me, what I see on this job.”

Trent closed his eyes, wanting to be supportive but persistent. “I see stuff too.”

Bryan paused. “Yeah, I know.”

“We used to help each other deal.” Trent didn’t want to let the statement go, but he didn’t want to push Bryan away so soon either. He hoped he could balance what he wanted to say with the right time to say it.