“Why don’t you let me unwrap the blanket a little? That might help.”
“Okay.” He let his arms drop, and she opened the blanket, pushing it to one side so it wasn’t covering her either. After stroking the damp curls off his face she leaned her cheek against the top of his head.
“We’re going to be all right. We’ll be out soon. I’m sure your daddy’s here by now, and he’ll give you a big hug.”
“Maybe I should use the flashlight app, Aunt Becca. It might make us feel better.”
She laughed just a little. She was surprised she still could. “I knew there was a reason I hired you, Jared, besides the fact you’re a budding bakery genius.”
The phone cast a rather eerie glow around the freezer’s interior, but at this point, any light was welcome. Bash giggled, and she glanced down at him.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your face is all black.”
“I hate to tell you, squirt,” Jared said, “but yours is too.”
“I wanna see!”
Before Becca could say that wasn’t possible, Jared snapped a picture with his phone and handed it over for them to look at. Becca shook her head. That Jared and Bash could both still be calm enough to laugh nearly made her cry.
“Aunt Becca,” Jared spoke in a more serious tone. “You’ve got blood on your shirt.”
He only confirmed what she’d suspected all along, and now the adrenalin was wearing off, pain and fatigue were setting in. She smiled at him. “It’s nothing. Probably just a few cuts from some glass. It was starting to pop as I went up to get Bash.”
They fell silent for a minute until all three of them heard noise from outside. “I hope that’s someone coming to get us.”
Becca did too, because if it wasn’t, she was sorely afraid the building was about to come down on them. Jared shifted closer to her again, and Bash’s arms crept back around her neck. Good lord, it sounded like a war zone outside the door. Even without looking at the two boys, she knew their eyes were as glued to that door as hers were. With a metallic wrench, the door opened, smoke rushed in, but in the instant before it did, Becca saw the distinctive shape of more than one fire helmet, and she sobbed with relief. They would be okay.
* * * *
Eli’s gaze was glued to the damaged front entrance to The Secret Ingredient. It took him a moment to realize Caleb had a hand on his shoulder, restraining him, and that Luke was on his other side, jaw tense and hands jammed in his pockets just like Eli. Jake stood just a half-step to the side, his cap snapping against his thigh. How many times had he seen Caleb’s older brother do that and laughed at the gesture. It usually came out when Jake was nervous about something. Now that rhythmic snap was more like the valve on a pressure cooker.
As more lights flashed behind them, Eli glanced over his shoulder to see a marked state car pull up at the courthouse. He watched, eyes narrowed as the trooper got out of the vehicle and opened a rear door. When Heather emerged, firmly in the cop’s hold, Eli must have made some sound. Caleb, Luke and Jake all turned. Jake slapped a hand on Eli’s shoulder.
“Leave it, Eli. They’ve got her. Not only is there plenty of evidence on this fire, there’s also the one at your place at the beach, plus the incident here with the pictures. She’s not going anywhere. And I can guarantee you, if Evan handles the case, she won’t for quite a while.”
A crackle of a radio had them turning once again to Becca’s building.
“They’ve got ‘em!” The fire chief shouted. “They’ll be out in a minute.”
Eli couldn’t help the sob that shook him. The surge of relief was beyond anything he’d ever experienced, nearly driving him to his knees, but until he saw them, touched them, it wouldn’t be complete.
“Hey, Chief!” Jake called. “You taking them straight to the ambulances?”
“Yeah.”
“Can we cross your line to go with them?”
“You’re family...of course you can.”
Eli tugged at his ear, the sounds of the diesel engines, the dripping water and the chatter of voices fading into the background as he saw the first firefighter emerge. This time it was Luke and Rachel who cried out in relief as they saw Jared lowered to his feet, his face and clothing soot-stained, but appearing otherwise unharmed. As they rushed toward the teenager, Eli’s heart pounded until he thought he would choke on the beat of it. Where were they?
The smoke cleared and the next two firefighters came out one right after the other. Bash was wrapped up in a blanket, just his slightly soot-dulled curls peeking out the top.
“Bash!” He scrambled forward, holding his arms out to take his son. “Are you okay?”
“Daddy! Becca Mama saved me!” When his son wrapped his chubby arms around Eli’s neck, he couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears of relief poured down his cheeks.
“Becca.” Her name was just a whisper as he watched her emerge. As if they’d already been signaled to do so, two paramedics surged forward with a gurney.
“I’m okay,” Becca protested, but he could see she wasn’t. There was blood on her clothing and her right arm. Eli moved that way.
“Let’s get you back to the ambulance,” the older paramedic told her. “We’ll take a look at those cuts and that burn.”
“I don’t want to. Can’t I just go see Doc Jenny later? I need to...”
“Do exactly what they say,” Eli told her, his voice gruff. When her gaze turned toward him, her green eyes glowed amidst the dirt. “God, Becky. I thought I’d lost you, lost you both.”
Her chin quivered and tears welled then spilled, leaving rivulets through the soot on her face. “Eli...Eli...”
She couldn’t seem to say anything else, but she let the EMTs put her on the gurney, lying gingerly on her left side.
“We’re here, Becky. We’re right with you.”
His throat ached when he saw the blood and soot on her back, the scorching to the bandana that had covered her hair. Thank God, she’d had it covered because it was obvious she’d walked through fire...no doubt to save his son.
When they reached the back of the ambulance, he looked at the two medics. “Can we go with you?”
“Climb in. We were going to suggest you have your son looked at too, even though he appears to be in great shape. I’d like to get them both on some oxygen while we ride.”
Eli’s gratitude to Becca grew exponentially when he saw just how calm Bash was about everything. However she’d managed it, his son didn’t seem at all the worse for wear for having been trapped in a burning building. His eyes met hers as the paramedic put the oxygen in place.
“I’m s-sorry,” she choked out in a voice hoarsened by the smoke.
“Oh baby,” he soothed as he leaned closer to her. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You saved Jared, Bash, and yourself.”
Her eyes darted to Bash then back. “It was Heather,” she whispered. “I saw her outside.”
Eli picked up her hand, cradling it in his. “They’ve arrested her—for this fire, the one at Windswept and a few other charges as well, including violating the restraining order against her.”
Her glance flickered to their joined hands. “I’ve lost my engagement ring, Eli.” She swallowed and raised her eyes to meet his. “I’ve lost almost everything I own, my business is ruined, but it’s all right. Bash is okay. So’s Jared.”
He pressed his lips tightly together and raised her hand to his lips. “Jesus, Becky. What did I ever do to deserve you? I love you so damn much. I’ll buy you a hundred rings, if that’s what you want. And we’ll rebuild your business, even if you have to share my kitchen for a while to get it going.”
A shudder shook her. “I was so scared, Eli.” Her voice was just a whisper. “So scared I wouldn’t get Bash in time.”
She closed her eyes, and her chin trembled.
“But you did, Baby. And you protected him and Jared. You’re a hero.”
She shook her head. “Stoner...Stoner’s the hero.”
>
“Stoner?”
“When I was buying equipment, he made me pick the best. Said if I wanted to build a catering business, then I would need the walk-in freezer in addition to all the bakery equipment.”
“I could kiss him.”
Becca smiled, her teeth white against her dirty skin. “Why don’t you leave that to me?”
“All right. Do you want to rebuild?”
“Yes. I do. Do you mind?”
“Not a bit.”
Epilogue
“Becca Mama! Look what I found!”
They were combing through the damaged building. With so much of it made from brick, it looked like they’d be able to save the outer structure. It was just the guts that would have to be redone.
Becca and Eli both looked over to where Bash was picking his way to them.
“What is it?”
Bash waved his fist. “I thought it might be one of my cars...you know...the ones I left upstairs, but it’s way better than that.”
Eli laughed. “All right. So show us.”
Bash stopped, tilted his head with its golden curls, and watched them with angelic blue eyes as he opened his palm. Becca’s diamond ring, in need of a cleaning, rested there.
“Oh, Bash!” She squatted in front of him, her voice choked with tears. “You are the most wonderful little boy in the whole wide world. Thank you!”
He grinned, his dimples now lending an air of mischief. “Does this mean you’re gonna marry me too?”
Becca glanced over her shoulder to Eli and winked. “I’m marrying both of you!”
Coming in May 2018 – Last Call – A Place to Call Home #3
Chapter 1
Leah wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead and into her eyes. Early October and the heat was still unbearable. As she returned to repotting the shrubs her boss, Mack Landrum, wanted to put on sale at the weekend, she wondered just when fall might actually put in an appearance this year. As soon as she finished with this, she was supposed to go help with the flowers for the Allred-Mercer wedding Saturday.
“Hey, Leah!” Mack called. “I need you in here like yesterday.”
“On my way.” She blew out a puff of air and stood. For just a moment, the world spun around her. Leah caught hold of the pole next to her. She needed something to eat. She’d rushed out of the house with Jonah this morning desperately trying to get away from her father’s anger. Jonah’s pre-school would feed him breakfast, but payday was still two days away, and she had no money to get anything for herself. Every dollar that didn’t work toward her goal was a step backwards.
“Leahhhh!!!”
She dropped the potting tools she’d been using and hurried into the relative dark and coolness of the florist’s side of Mountain Plants. Leah paused to take a deep breath and allow her eyes to adjust then walked into the room where Mack was attempting to create arrangements.
It wasn’t his strong suit. He actually did much better with the nursery portion of the business, but he was taking some funky antibiotic and wasn’t supposed to be in the sun.
“I’m here,” she said.
Mack tossed down the floral tape he’d been using. “You are so much better at this. Someone’s coming to pick up the arrangements in two hours. I need you to take over, or it will never get done on time.”
Leah bit her bottom lip as she regarded the carnage in front of her. “Where’s the list of what they’ve ordered?”
“On the wall next to the cooler. All the flowers are here. If you’ll handle this, I’ll put on a hat and a long sleeve shirt and take care of loading the plants in the truck. Deal?”
Mack’s expression begged.
“No problem.”
He looked so relieved, Leah very nearly forgave him. But not quite. She stared around the shop with a grimace. If she could only find some way of coming up with the money to buy this place, she knew she could do so much better with it. The flowers were her first love, but she could handle the nursery too. If there was one thing she knew, it was plants.
The coolness and humidity of the shop was a relief after being outside. With the deftness of familiarity, Leah began sorting her tools, arranging everything she would need so she could concentrate on getting the arrangements just right.
Over the past four years, she had assisted with several high profile weddings in Mountain Meadow, and this one was bound to be just as fancy. Rebecca Allred was marrying Eli Mercer. It was another Allred wedding that had landed her in her current situation, but Leah wasn’t going to dwell on that now. Thinking about it either made her angry or worried, depending on her mood.
She had to focus.
In just a few minutes, the stillness and the fragrances of the flowers, seeped into her bones, unleashing her creativity so she could bend and coax blooms and accents into the same shapes as the samples she’d created for Becca a couple months ago. As she worked on the arrangements for Becca’s wedding, Leah tried very hard not to think of Becca’s older brother, Caleb.
He was back in town. The last person she really wanted to see. She’d glimpsed him a now and then as she hurried past Mercer’s where he often stopped in for lunch. The one time he’d glanced her way, Leah had been both relieved and disappointed that he seemed to have no idea who she was. Of course, she was doing her very best to stay out of his way. Any conversation between the two of them was sure to end badly, and she had Jonah to consider.
In fact, Jonah was her only consideration. Her son had problems with asthma, and living with her parents wasn’t helping. Her father smoked like a chimney and had no regard for the problems it might cause for others in the house. But Leah was hoping to change that soon. She’d been saving her money, squirreling away every spare cent that she could so she and Jonah could find somewhere else to live.
With the first arrangement complete, Leah set it to the side and began the second. These were the flowers that would grace the altar, a mixture of late summer blooms native to the area. They were also doing the flowers for the reception, but most of those were already complete. The small table-top arrangements had taken almost no time for her to finish, although to have the peace and quiet to do them, she had brought Jonah in with her after hours, so she could work without interruption. In other words, without Mack under her feet asking her questions that, as the owner of the business, he should already have known.
Leah glanced at the clock as she put the finishing touches on the final arrangement. The bell that hung from the front door tinkled. Just in time. She hoped she would have just a few minutes to talk to Becca. Now that the other woman was moving into the house she and Eli had purchased, Leah was hoping she might be able to lease the apartment over Becca’s newly rebuilt bakery. If the rent wasn’t too steep.
The concrete floor out front did nothing to muffle the sound of the steps headed her way. Leah look up with a smile, a greeting for Becca on the tip of her tongue that died. Instead of Becca, she found herself looking into the moss green stare of Caleb Allred.
“You...” Leah caught herself and tacked on, “must be here to pick up Becca’s flowers.”
Caleb stepped forward with an open smile and stretched out his hand. “I’m Caleb Allred. Have we met before?”
He had his head tilted quizzically as if he were truly trying to figure out where he might have met her. She wanted to slap him. Instead, Leah took his hand and shook it as briefly as possible.
“I’m Leah Scott. I grew up here.” She shrugged. “You and Noah were ahead of me in school, so you probably don’t remember me.”
Obviously, he didn’t. He apparently didn’t remember the night they’d spent together four years ago, or he didn’t want to.
“Noah and I did some work for your dad one summer. Roofing, I think.”
She nodded. Whatever her feelings about Caleb, she needed to be pleasant. He was a customer. “Yes. I’m sorry to hear about Noah. Is—is he doing all right?”
It was Caleb’s turn to shrug, and his gaze shifted as he replied.
“He’s making progress.”
Leah bit her lower lip. He wasn’t telling the whole truth, but then his silence four years ago had made it more than plain he didn’t want to talk to her. As the silence lengthened, Leah stepped around the table. The best thing for both of them would be to get him out of the shop as fast as possible.
“I have the table-top arrangements in boxes. Becca said Richardson Homestead had a refrigerator large enough to store everything until the day of?”
“That’s right. And the big arrangements will go in the walk-in cooler at the church.”
As Leah lifted the first box from the cooler, Caleb reached around her, his muscular arm brushing hers. The heady scent of his cologne tickled her nostrils. For just an instant, she closed her eyes and savored the smell. That was before she forced herself to recall all the vital reasons why Caleb Allred was bad news for her.
“Let me get that.”
“It’s all right,” she said, hating the breathless sound in her voice. “It’s not that heavy, but take this first box. I’ll follow you with another one. It will go faster that way.”
Caleb arched a brow. “Where’s Mack? Can’t he tote a few boxes?”
Leah shrugged again. She wasn’t about to say anything negative about her boss. “He’s repotting some shrubs out back. I like doing the floral work, and he lets me handle it, so I do.” In fact, Mack let her handle almost everything that required work.
She was relieved when Caleb accepted her explanation. The truth was that Mack never really thought about whether anything she had to move or carry was too heavy for her. Leah was tall, so people often just assumed it was no problem. It was strangely flattering that Caleb had stopped to consider whether it was too much for her. How screwed up was that? Plenty of women would probably be insulted, but Leah had grown up in a household where special treatment was nonexistent, so being the object of it for a change was gratifying. Still he was the last person she wanted to make her feel warm and fuzzy.
The Secret Ingredient Page 24
