Ink and Ashes

If you play with fire, you're bound to get burned.

Holland
Investigative journalism is a cutthroat industry. It’s all about fighting for the best story and exposing the biggest secrets. People are bound to get hurt, but I never realized how hurt until the person the stories are about became me.
Everyone thinks I’m running from my past. But I didn’t come to Ember Grove to hide—I came searching for my next story. Wildfires have been tearing through this town, and something about them doesn’t add up. With my career in ruins, this feels like my last shot at redemption.
Or it could be a fast track to even more disaster.
Except this disaster has a name: Colson Caldwell. The fire lieutenant battling the wildfires is as guarded as he is compelling. He doesn’t trust me or my investigation, and I can’t decide if he’s my greatest obstacle…or the key to uncovering the truths hidden within the flames.

Colson
I’ve spent years fighting wildfires, but none have burned like Holland Rhodes. She’s a force of nature—tenacious, reckless, and far too curious for her own good. She claims she’s here to investigate the wildfires, but all I see is a woman trying to outrun her own demons. She doesn’t understand this town, its people, or the risks she’s taking by digging where she doesn’t belong.
I’ve worked hard to build walls around the life I have left, but Holland has a way of breaking them all down. And the closer she gets to the flames, the harder it is for me to decide what’s more important: protecting my heart or protecting her.
Because the flames she’s chasing aren’t just out in the wild—they’re closing in on us too.
And as much as I wish I could, I refuse to let her walk into that fire alone.