Gregg leaned back in his chair. “It looks intentional and like they weren’t trying to leave anything to chance. Police do have questions for her.”
“Yeah, before we left the scene last night, one of them told us someone would be stopping by today.” Bryan looked up. “I’m hoping they wait until I’m home so she feels like at least one person is on her side.”
“I think everyone’s on her side. She’s the victim here.”
That was true, but even if it was a small town, it wasn’t like they were all best friends, hanging out nonstop. “You know how it is, though. I haven’t been here long, but you must’ve seen for yourself in the past what happens in a situation like this. She had insurance on the place, and she just happened to be out on a job with her most important equipment packed in her car. Convenient, no?”
Gregg seemed to consider it, rubbing his knuckles along his jaw. “Yeah. When you put it that way, I can kinda see it.”
“I’m sure the guys over at the department will be kind.” Bryan had become acquainted with Kyle Newland and his squad early on and liked them well enough. “But it’s their job to ask questions. She might not like hearing them.” He set the folder on the desk and stood.
“True. I sure wouldn’t.” Gregg took the folder and tapped the edge on the desk. “Offer her our best wishes, okay? And if she’s ever in need of company, she’s welcome to hang out here.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Bryan laughed. “We showed her our good side yesterday, our polite side that we save for company. Once we relax…”
Gregg laughed. “Yeah. Good thinking. Maybe don’t extend the invitation. She’d run screaming.”
Chapter 8
“Is he serious? Or am I being punked?” Elise looked from the box-filled cabinet over the kitchen counter down to the dog next to her legs. Smokey had barely left her side since her arrival, even sleeping on the bed with her.
She’d woken up about an hour ago after sleeping for most of the day. A few times she’d stirred just long enough to use the restroom and then crawl back into bed. Not until the afternoon had she noticed that Bryan left her a small note saying he’d see her when he was done running errands.
After checking email on her phone, she’d finally made her way downstairs. Reaching the first-floor landing, she’d paused to take in the place. When she first arrived, she wasn’t in any shape to appreciate how light and breezy his home felt. The perfect beach house.
After making her way to the kitchen to hunt down something to eat, she’d found cabinet after cabinet filled with boxes of just about every type of cereal she’d ever seen. The part that got her was that every single one of them was empty. Well, a couple of boxes held bags with crumbs in them.
As someone who was single, she understood it was hard to cook for one, and she often relied on dinners for one or packets of oatmeal for breakfast. But empty cereal boxes? Did he just have an aversion to throwing them away?
“Who keeps a kitchen full of empty boxes?”
Smokey looked at her as if he’d maybe wondered that himself a time or two.
She crossed her arms and leaned back on the counter. Just as she opened her mouth, the sound of Bryan’s truck rumbled to a stop outside, and then the engine died.
Instead of hiding the fact that she’d hunted for something to eat, she left out several of the boxes on the counter before turning to face the door. The same one leading to the back deck that they’d used to enter the house the night before.
A moment later, he walked in, holding two grocery bags. It was almost comical, the way his eyes darted from the boxes on the counter to Elise before crinkling at the corners as he winced. “Yeah. I meant to warn you about that. I tend to forget to throw things away.”
She blinked. “You forget? About cabinets stuffed with empty boxes?”
He nodded as he approached the counter and set the bags on it. “Yeah. I do. It’s a bad habit.”
“Is there actual food in those?” she asked, nodding at the bags he was holding. “Or are they empty too?” She made sure it came out as teasing.
“Ha, ha.” He dug in one and pulled out a jug of orange juice. “I thought I’d fix something for you if you haven’t eaten yet.”
“Really?” She took a step closer and pulled one of the bags toward her. “You went to the grocery store for me?” she asked, looking up at him.
Shrugging, he said, “I knew you’d probably be hungry when you woke up, and knowing I didn’t have any food in the house, I thought it was a good time to do a little grub hunting.”
They shared a smile while unloading the bags. He’d bought eggs, bread, coffee, fruit, and other staples. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of it as the butterflies returned. It was a sweet gesture. One that really touched her heart.
“I don’t know if you’re vegetarian or anything like that. It occurred to me in the store that I should’ve called and asked, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake or not.”
She stood back in wonder while he moved around the kitchen preparing to cook what looked like a small feast. “You know, I had no idea people like you still existed.”
“What do you mean?” He set the eggs he’d taken out of the bag on the counter and faced her.
Shrugging, she looked at the floor. “Kind, generous, genuinely good people. You remind me that they do exist.”
His eyes widened for just a split second before he shook his head and chuckled. “No, not really. Offering you a place to stay seemed like the decent thing to do. You volunteered your time to help us yesterday, and I appreciate it.”
“I thought dinner was your way of thanking me.” She smiled.
“It was, and this is too.” He turned back to the counter and yawned, bracing his hand on it and shaking his head like he was trying to wake himself up.
The man was exhausted, and he’d been kind and thoughtful enough to do grocery shopping after working a full shift the day before.
She sidled up next to him and leaned her hip against the counter. “You don’t have to cook. Go to bed. I’ll scratch up something for myself.”
He turned to her and tired eyes met hers. “I’m hungry.” His stomach growled like it was punctuating the statement.
“I guess you are.” She chuckled. “For the record, I’m not a vegetarian, and no allergies that I know of either.”
Glancing at her, a smile played on his lips. “Just empty boxes, right?”
“Right.” He sure was easy to like. Not only was he gorgeous, but he could laugh at himself. It was enough to make her wonder what other things she’d like if she stayed long enough.
The fact that she was thinking along these lines at all came as a surprise once the more rational part of her brain spoke up. She was in the middle of the biggest crisis of her adult life, and all she could focus on at that particular moment was how good Bryan looked in front of a stove. Or anywhere, for that matter.
Then again, maybe this was exactly the time when things like that should be noticed. When everything else was dark and grim, wondering what it would be like to have someone like Bryan to lean on.
“I guess I should shower and get dressed so I can start trying to get my life back together.” She looked down at herself with a sinking heart. “Uh…maybe not.”
“There’s no hurry. At least, not on my part.” Bryan stopped what he was doing and closed the distance between them. “Anyone who’s been through this sort of thing takes things at the speed they need to.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I do.” He pulled her into a hug. “The most important things survived that fire.” Leaning back, he smiled. “You and your most important possessions.”
Elise could barely breathe. The way he held her gaze made her feel like he was speaking about himself more than her. “I guess that’s true.”
That couldn’t be right, though. She’d been through a life-altering event. With her emotions running high, could she really trust herself to be reading a situation accuratel
y? Especially after he’d pulled away after dinner the night before?
Taking a step back, she pulled free from him. “Thank you. For…everything. I’m going to go take that shower now. I won’t take long.”
Without waiting for a reply, she dashed back up the stairs into the safety of Bryan’s guest bedroom where she leaned her back against the door. Her heart hammered in her chest like nothing she’d ever experienced before. If there was ever an appropriate time to douse her body in cold water, it was right this very minute. What on earth was wrong with her? He was a nice man doing a nice thing. He’d said as much himself.
Plus, she had a life to get back on track. A business, a career she couldn’t allow to falter if she planned on rebuilding. This wasn’t the time to get attached to someone she saw as a hero, which was exactly why Bryan appealed to her so much. He’d basically done the slow walk out of a fiery building like something from a movie.
It would be inviting heartbreak to think of him as anything more than a nice guy who’d stepped up when she needed a friend. That sort of thinking led to bigger things. Bigger disappointments. And more commitment than she was ready for right now.
When she stepped into the shower, she made sure the water was as cold as it would get. All the better to wash away the memory of how Bryan’s smile lit her up inside.
Chapter 9
Later that afternoon, Elise’s stomach churned as a pair of officers sat across from her. With barely any notice, they’d called to let her know they were stopping by. She recognized both of them, one of whom she’d known since she was a little girl.
Kyle Newland had been friends with her older brother, Patrick. She hadn’t really hung out with them. Mostly because her brother wouldn’t let her. She’d more put Kyle firmly in the acquaintance zone. They’d run into each other here and there and use a few minutes to catch up before going their separate ways.
The other guy with him seemed to be about Elise’s age, with a baby-faced charm that probably earned him a lot of teasing from the other cops. She’d seen him with lots of different girls at local restaurants and bars, so those dimples of his clearly didn’t do any harm in that department.
“Jake Cutter,” he said as he shook her hand. “I feel like I’ve seen you around before.”
“She’s lived here all her life, except when she went to college.” Kyle looked at her. “Right?” A grin stretched on his lips and made her feel a tiny bit better. She was in the presence of an old family friend. There was nothing to be worried about.
Why was she even thinking that? There wouldn’t be anything to worry over even if he wasn’t there. She had nothing to be nervous about. The fire started when she wasn’t anywhere near her house.
“Can I get you guys something?” Bryan asked.
“No, thanks, we just came from the diner.” Kyle removed his hat, revealing dark red hair. “And really, this shouldn’t take long at all. I understand, Elise, that you were at the station when the fire started?”
Nodding, she hugged herself. “Yeah, I was.”
Kyle held a hand up. “These are just standard questions we have to ask when a fire looks suspicious. We’re not accusing you of anything. I promise.”
Elise relaxed a little more. He was right. They were just questions, and she just needed to answer them. “Okay.”
“How long had you been at the station?” Jake asked.
She blinked, trying to recall when she’d arrived and how long the whole shoot took. “I arrived at around eleven o’clock. We were shooting until at least four. I left for dinner and arrived back at the station to get my car at the time of the explosion.”
“Shooting?” Kyle asked.
Bryan cleared his throat. He’d been hovering near the front door but now moved across the living room. “Yeah, um, we’re working on a fundraising project for the fire department. It’s sort of a quiet thing right now. We’re not trying to publicize it yet.”
“What is it?” Jake asked, a grin starting to form.
“I just said it’s quiet.” Bryan looked to Elise. “Anyway, I can vouch for her being there. It was closer to four thirty when we were leaving.”
“Together?” Kyle looked at Elise, his brows lifting.
She and Bryan blurted their response at the same time. “No! No, no, no.” Apparently, neither of them wanted to mention they’d had dinner together.
“We were leaving at the same time,” she said.
“But we weren’t leaving together.” Bryan’s voice rose on the last word. “Not at first, at least. I offered to buy her dinner to thank her for volunteering to help the station with the project we’re working on. We went to Lou’s Seafood and Brew. We were there a few hours? Maybe a little longer.”
Kyle made a note. “Neighbors have reported an explosion around seven.”
“We heard it when Bryan was dropping me off at my car,” Elise nodded. “It was so loud.”
“It must’ve been, to carry that far—though the wind’s direction favored it.” Kyle scratched his chin with the end of his pen, remembering the weather details from the day before. “Where were you before you went to the station for this secret project?”
“I went to the beach yesterday morning before sunrise. I like taking pictures down there, for obvious reasons. I was around the dog beach area. That’s my favorite spot.” She paused, remembering she’d looked at her phone as she returned to her car. “I left around eight, went home, and cleaned up. Ran some errands around town, packed my gear into the car, and drove to the station.”
Kyle sat back in his chair, crossing one ankle over the other knee. “Does anyone else have a key to your house?”
“My parents do, but they’re all the way down in Florida.”
“No friends with a spare? A neighbor?”
“No.” She shrugged. “I guess that would be a good idea. In case I ever needed them to go in. You know, like if I thought I might’ve left the stove on.”
It was supposed to be a joke—one of her quirks, making jokes in situations when joking was most definitely uncalled for. Clearly, something she needed to work on because it looked like Kyle didn’t appreciate the joke at all.
Jake coughed to cover up a strangled laugh. Kyle’s brows lifted again. Bryan, standing behind them, scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes.
“Sorry.” A tiny laugh escaped her. “Bad joke.”
Kyle tried to be sympathetic, nodding with a soft smile that reminded her of how nice he’d been when she tried tagging along with the boys on their bike rides and adventures by the bay. He hadn’t shoved her away or called her names. He’d always been kind, even when Patrick hadn’t.
“Back to the question. Boyfriends?” he asked.
She shook her head. “None.”
“No one?” Jake asked, his eyebrows lifting.
“No,” she said with a little more force in the word this time.
“It’s just that I can’t imagine…” Jake glanced at Kyle, who glared at him. “Right. Sorry.” He tucked his chin to his chest and rolled his lips in.
Kyle brought his attention back to Elise. “So no ex-boyfriends who might have a key?”
“No, really. I don’t date a lot.” Why couldn’t she look at Bryan when she said it? He wasn’t interested in her any more than she was interested in him. They were silly feelings most likely brought about by the interrogation she was in the middle of. “I’m usually working. Always, actually. My schedule is insane.”
Kyle sighed heavily. “You know I don’t want to ask this—in fact, I can’t imagine you giving me any names. But I have to anyway. Do you have any enemies? Business gone awry? Rivals?”
“None that I know of. I mean, I don’t go around making enemies. As for business rivals…I don’t know.” She shrugged, feeling helpless as she looked back and forth between the two cops. “I keep my head down and my eyes on my work. I get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. I’ve never worried much about rivals.”
For some reason, she had
the feeling they didn’t quite believe her, but again, with as much as had happened, her ability to really feel a situation out wasn’t at peak performance.
Kyle might not know her, but surely he knew she wouldn’t burn her own home down. She had no reason to and no reason to worry about all his questions. One look at her finances, and they’d see she was telling the truth. She wasn’t rolling in cash, but she was making enough to live comfortably.
All she had to do was keep it together long enough for the investigation to be over, and then life would go back to normal.
Chapter 10
Standing on the back deck with Kyle after Officer Cutter left, Bryan shot him a glance. “What do you think?” Bryan knew Kyle had a history with Elise and wondered if maybe he’d had any ideas for who might have started the fire.
“I think she’s been through a lot.” He sighed. “I’ve known her most of my life, and I’ve only ever seen her shaken this badly one other time.”
Bryan wished he didn’t feel that slight twinge of jealousy when Kyle spoke of knowing Elise. “You two are friends? I guess I didn’t realize that.”
Earlier, Bryan had taken her in his arms in an attempt to comfort her, but it had backfired. He liked how she felt against him. When he leaned back, it was hard to keep his focus off her lips…and his mind off kissing her.
A lame, idiotic thing to even think at a time like this. She needed a friend and nothing more. Although, when she’d pulled free, it stung a little. A good reminder that she wasn’t looking for a relationship. Something he didn’t need either.
“Not really. I was friends with her brother, Patrick. It was a real shame, what happened to him.”
Bryan frowned. “What do you mean?” She’d failed to mention anything traumatic happening, but with the way Kyle said it, it most definitely fell in that category.
Kyle winced, glancing into the house through the sliding glass door. He waved for Bryan to follow him then led the way to the car he’d parked alongside the house.
Firefighter's Rescue (Bakers Beach: First Responders Book 1) Page 4
