Kylie chuckled. “Relax, Sparky,” she teased.
She leaned to the first piece of trash within reach and lit it on fire. Evan started walking back toward her and opened his hand to the fire. Without a pause, it leaped into his scarred palm.
“I knew it!” Kylie exclaimed.
“Knew what?” Evan asked. His fatigue was getting to him now.
“That you are a fire extinguisher as much as you are a starter.” She tossed him the lighter playfully.
“Kylie, you seem fixated on my ability to absorb fire and forgetting all the issues with—oh I don’t know, being able to catch light and create fire.”
“You are just focusing on the creation of fire, Evan. You can be a protector with your gift. It depends how you think about it—how you use it.”
Evan stared at Kylie’s resolved expression in the moonlight.
“I—I hadn’t thought about it like that at all, Kylie. See, I have these nightmares when I sleep and I’ve been known to—” he coughed nervously. “I’ve lit things on fire in my sleep.”
“Ohhh,” Kylie nodded, finally understanding the dark circles under his hazel eyes.
“That’s why you wouldn’t crash at my house. You were afraid you would start a fire.”
“Yes,” he nodded, looking at his left hand with disgust.
“This is why you feel forced to find an abandoned cement building in which to sleep.”
“I can’t think of another way to sleep safely.”
“I can.”
“What?”
“Well, it’s pretty obvious to me, Evan.”
“What is?” He was rubbing his tired eyes, feeling spent after telling nearly all his story to the girl with the wide, accepting green eyes.
“You’ve been thinking of your scarred hand as a curse. Now that you’ve realized it truly is a gift—a blessing—to take fire away, preventing injury or destruction, I think you’re going to sleep much more soundly. That, and just talking about everything like you have tonight, has to have helped your state of mind.”
“Do you really think it’s just a matter of how I think of my scars?”
“I really do, Evan.”
“How do I test it safely?”
“Come home with me. I’ll get you set up on an inflatable mattress and you can sleep on the floor of my room. I’ll have a fire extinguisher, just in case, but at least you won’t be alone. I’ll be right there to remind you that you’re not a destroyer—you’re a defender.”
Evan was shaking his head the entire time Kylie spoke.
“That’s a bad idea. I should just stay here tonight. I can pull some of those pieces of cardboard to cover the glass, then just crash. If nothing’s burned in the morning, I’ll know your idea worked, but first I have to get you home.”
“Evan, it took a lot of courage to trust me with your story. You and your family—you’re all truly extraordinary people. I’m honored to know you and want very much to be there for you. You haven’t trusted anyone in a long time.”
Evan flinched at her words. “What makes you say that?”
“I’m not a fool, Evan. I know you didn’t tell me the whole story. Maybe someday you will,” she shrugged and offered an encouraging nod. “But for now, you’ve told me more about you and your family than you’ve ever told anyone.”
Evan thought of his conversation with the Feds earlier and knew Kylie was right. The version he shared with them was so much less authentic in detail and intensity than he just said to this girl who was a complete stranger just a few days ago.
“Please don’t shut me out now,” she whispered across the blanket of darkness to the shadowed face of the most fascinating person she’d ever met.
Evan licked his lips and thought. “You’re sure you have a fire extinguisher?”
Kylie cocked her head and smiled.
“I mean other than me?”
“Yes,” she giggled. “My dad is hyper-vigilant about safety. There are at least three extinguishers in the house.”
Evan smirked despite himself. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
“Okay, I’ll go home with you and sleep on the floor of your room. That is, if your dad would really be all right with that.”
“I told you, he trusts me completely.”
“Yeah, but you’re still his little girl.” Evan raised his brow mischievously.
“And you’re a gentleman.” Kylie grinned as she stood stiffly and dusted off the back of her jeans.
“I’m still a guy,” he teased.
“An exhausted guy. C’mon. Let’s get going.” She moved to shrug out of his leather jacket when he stopped her. “You wear it. The night is cool and I have an internal furnace I can tap into.”
“Are you sure?”
“Should I prove it to you?” He smiled lazily.
“You should do that more often.” She stepped toward the casually handsome boy and felt her heart flutter inside her chest at the look in his eyes. She really wished she didn’t feel anything for him. It complicated things.
“Do what?”
“Smile.”