“What about you, Emma Jean? Anything happening at work these days?” Dad asked.
“Yeah, I'm working on a story about an Army vet who came home with one leg. Instead of being destroyed by such a horrible injury at such a young age, he's spending lots of time with his sons. Through that, he's started a local Paralympics chapter and is teaching other amputees how to be more active. I hope to make it very inspirational. He deserves some great press.”
Over dessert of ice cream and chocolate syrup, Emma brought up the subject that had been weighing on her all night. “So Dad, how's it going with your drinking and your job hunt?”
He gave her a surprised look. “Get right to it, huh? Okay. I have reduced my drinking to two a day.”
“He's been doing really well, Emma,” her mom said.
“Two a day?”
“Yep. When I'm done with two, usually in the afternoon, I get up and find something else to do. I find that if I just sit and watch TV, I crave beer. It's become a habit. So I get up and do something else, get my mind off it.”
“He's already done some home improvement jobs. Painted the laundry room, working on scraping the exterior so he can repaint the house.”
Oh, how Emma hoped that this newfound good behavior was a permanent change. For her mother's sake, who was so, so hopeful. And for her father's sake. He needed to turn his life around.
“That's great, Dad. I'm proud of you.” She smiled at him. “Keep it up.”
He nodded. After dessert, they took cups of hot tea to the living room.
“How's Jeremy doing?” her mom asked.
She gazed over at her. The subject of Jeremy hadn't come up all evening. She wondered if it would. “He's doing great. But he had a little bit of a setback. Two of his furniture pieces that were stored in his backyard were vandalized.”
“Oh no!” her mother said. Her father looked into his tea cup. “What happened?”
“Evidently while he was home one night, someone came into his backyard where he keeps his work in progress and gouged trenches into the surface of two tables. Completely irreparable. Such a shame. He has no insurance so it's a complete loss.”
Dad looked up. “Why doesn't he have insurance?”
Emma shrugged. “He hasn't been at the business that long. He's trying to stay within his means without going into debt. If the money doesn't come in, he doesn't send it out.”
He scoffed. “Learned his lesson, I guess.” His resentment was obvious in his tone. And so was his criticism.
“Yes, Dad. He's learned his lessons and he's doing things differently this time around. He's starting small and growing. But the problem is, he doesn't really have a workplace other than his yard, and obviously his yard isn't secure, so we're going to look for a place he can afford on his earnings.”
Her dad put his cup on the table with a thump. “You really are in deep with him, aren’t you? You refuse to see it, but you’re much better off forgetting about him, and finding someone else.”
“Dad, you’re not going to like this, but I really like Jeremy and I don’t want to find someone else.”
He sat motionless, without a word for a moment, then got up and stomped back to his bedroom.
Chapter Twelve
“I’ve got several properties to show you today. Hopefully one of them will meet your needs.”
Jeremy looked at Emma as they followed his realtor friend, Cam, and climbed into the back seat of her swanky sedan. He squeezed Emma’s hand, holding on tight even after helping her in. She gave him an excited grin.
“The budget’s low, Cam,” he warned again. He’d already told her twice.
The realtor waved her hand from the front seat. “I know, I know. But it’s an investment, remember. You get more space, you’ll build more inventory to fill it.”
His heart brimmed with mixed emotions. Nervous about the limb he was crawling out on. Fear that he’d go into debt again by committing beyond his means. A trickle of déjà vu tickled his spine.
But it was different this time. He had Emma by his side and that was a little miracle all its own. He had no idea how he’d ever deserve her admiration, but he’d spend the rest of his days trying to earn it, if that was God’s will. When she looked at him, he caught a glimpse of the man she evidently thought he was. And although he wasn’t worthy, she made him determined to live up to her vision.
“You’ll do fine,” she said softly. “This is the right time, the right thing to do for you and your future.”
He took a deep breath and it caught in his chest. Maybe he should’ve asked his dad to join them. His dad had run a successful business for years before Jeremy had …
No. He was an adult, a professional. As much as he respected Hank, he needed to prove to his dad that he could do it on his own. That he was on the right path this time, the straight and narrow. He had a need, deep in his soul, to redeem himself to his father.
“Okay Cam, show us whatcha got.”
Two hours later, they had toured three locations. One, Jeremy ruled out entirely. His hope was to use this rental space as a multi-purpose location: workshop, showroom and retail storefront, and the first place didn’t meet that need. But the other two did. And although the sticker price on both of them made his head spin, he’d just have to get over that, he guessed. One was a better location with other businesses nearby, but smaller floor space. The larger one had more room than he could ever imagine needing, but he’d have to ask his customers to drive off the beaten path to come find him. There were pro’s and con’s to each. He needed to think on it a while.
“Cam, you’re pretty sure there’s nothing else out there to look at?” He squinted at her in the afternoon sun when she returned them to her realtor office.
“Not if you want to stay on Pawleys. There are additional locales in Myrtle.”
He immediately shook his head. Pawleys was home. Pawleys was where he needed to make up for past mistakes. Pawleys is where he would stay. “We’ll stay on the island. So, can I take a few days to think about it?”
“Sure thing. I’ll let the owners know you’re considering and ask them if they have any other bites on the line.”
He thanked her for her help. He and Emma got in his truck and drove toward Marianne’s inn. On the way, they discussed options.
“I like the smaller place,” Emma said.
“I do too. But it’ll end up costing me more than the bigger place. That seems kind of crazy.”
“The basis of real estate: location, location, location.”
“Yeah.”
“The neighboring businesses will help draw customers in. And that place has a big display window. Put your most enticing pieces there to help draw interest. Change them frequently so it brings people back.”
He looked over at her while he was driving. She was full of good ideas.
“Offer an internship to a college student to be the window dresser,” she went on. “You’d get someone to do the work for free, while offering them something unique for their resume.”
He checked his rearview mirror, then pulled the truck to a stop on the side of the road. Emma, startled, stopped talking, looked around. He reached for her, pulled her into his arms and landed his lips on hers. She made a sound in the back of her throat, sort of an “mmmmm” like she was settling into a comfortable bed. He didn’t have the words to tell her how much she meant to him, so he hoped he could somehow convey it with his kiss. He focused on telling her, with his lips, with his embrace, with his fingers in her hair, and his tongue circling her mouth what he failed to say verbally.
He pulled back, his breath coming faster, his hands still buried in that gorgeous mountain of hair, and gazed at her. He was tempted to try to explain, but he knew he’d screw it up. He was never good at that stuff. He was his father’s son, after all.
So he settled for, “It means a lot to me that you’re here helping me, supporting me, getting excited about my business. Thank you.”
He rested his eyes o
n her for another few seconds and chuckled at her reaction. He’d caught her by surprise. She was speechless, and that hardly ever happened. He rested back in his seat, put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the road again.
Beside him, he heard a breathless word escape her lips, “Wow.”
Jeremy pulled onto the road leading to the Inn, dead-on to a most fearful sight. “Oh no,” Emma murmured beside him. He parked on the road and ran. A fire engine, lights flashing, sat in front of the Inn, taking up the entire yard. Sea oat grasses crushed underneath its tires and Jeremy’s heart pounded. A firefighter in full gear came his way, hoisting a hose behind him toward the truck. Jeremy raced up to him.
“What’s going on, man? Is the Inn on fire?”
The man raised a hand. “Done. The fire’s out. Go talk to the captain if you want more.”
Jeremy didn’t see anyone meeting the description of a fire captain, so he raced around to the back of the Inn, where there was more commotion. Marianne, Tom and Stella huddled together, Stella bawling, Marianne with tears settling in her eyes. Several snowbird guests stood on the sand, looking up at the inn.
“Sis, what’s going on?” He ran a hand behind her back, pulling her and Stella in close to him. He nodded at his brother-in-law. “Hey Tom, is everyone okay?”
Marianne shuddered, gripping her crying daughter tighter. “Oh Jeremy, it was just awful. Although could’ve been worse. Thank God it’s out.”
“What happened?” he asked, rubbing a hand across his mouth. The remaining firefighters were emerging from the sandy storage shed underneath the Inn. The same location where he stored his … “Is that where my inventory is?”
Of course it was. He took off at a dash, ignoring Marianne’s shout. A firefighter holding a clipboard grabbed his arm just as he ducked his head into the storage shed. “You can’t come here. Need to ask you to step back.”
His voice was no-nonsense. Jeremy looked over the man’s shoulder at his inventory of finished pieces. One completely charred chest, multiple surrounding wooden pieces dripping with water. His heart jumped as the scenario became clear. “This is where the fire started? With that chest right there?”
The captain eyed him curiously. “Are you associated with the Seaside Inn?”
“The owner is my sister and those are my wooden pieces there. I built them, and she let me store them here.”
He released Jeremy’s arm and looked back at the damage behind him. “Yeah, that oak chest was the originator. We’re not sure why yet, but it started the burn and was starting to spread when fortunately we got the 9-1-1 call and came out immediately. We got it before it spread.”
Jeremy swung his head. “Is anyone in danger? Did anyone get hurt?”
The captain shook his head. “We were lucky. Could’ve been a disaster. This whole Inn is wood, not to mention the decks surrounding it. Could’ve gone up like a pile of matchsticks.” He looked around at the scene of the fire. “You really shouldn’t do finishing here. Most finishes are combustible. Need a lot of ventilation till they’re dry.”
“No, sir. I apply the finishes somewhere else – usually in my backyard at home. I only bring them here when they’re fully dry.”
“Well, we’re going to investigate this fire, see if we can figure out what started it. We’ll keep the Innkeepers and the insurance company informed.”
Jeremy nodded his thanks, and after the captain moved on, he eased into his impromptu furniture storage area, compiling a mental list of the damages. The chest, obviously. Charred to a crisp. The water from the powerful hoses, soaking everything around the chest, removing any possibility of a fire surviving. Five, six, seven. By the time Marianne, Tom and Emma came looking for him, he’d counted close to a dozen water logged pieces.
He turned away from the detritus and faced them. Marianne reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He put his hand on top of hers and squeezed. “I’m so sorry, Marianne.” He looked to his brother-in-law. “Tom. I can’t believe it was my furniture that put you guys in danger. It’s out of here tonight.”
His throat choked, overwhelming him and he stopped short. Marianne protested. “Jeremy, you didn’t do anything. It wasn’t your …”
He gave his head a brisk shake. “Marianne, my furniture caught fire. It could’ve spread. It could’ve damaged your inn, heck, it could’ve brought the whole thing down in flames. Thank God someone called 9-1-1. Who was it? Who discovered the fire?”
Marianne looked away. He darted a look at Tom. “Who, Tom?”
“It was Stella. She was on the beach, digging as usual. She said she smelled something weird and looked up and saw smoke billowing out of the Inn. She was scared to death. She started screaming and crying and ran in to find one of us. Once we figured out what she was going on about, we called 9-1-1. Thank God they came fast.”
“Where is she now?”
“Up in her room.” Tom pointed.
“I’ll be right back.” Jeremy took off for the back door of the Inn. He climbed the stairs to Stella’s room. The little girl laid in her bed, sobbing quietly into her pillow.
“Stella,” he said, settling himself gently beside her on the bed, rubbing her little back. “Shhhh, sweetheart, shhh. It’s okay.”
“Uncle Jeremy?” The scared little voice about ripped his heart out of his chest.
“Yes, darlin’, it’s me.”
She maneuvered in her bed, flipped to her back. “Your furniture burned.”
“I know, sweet pea. I’m so sorry about that.”
She frowned at him. “Why are you sorry?”
He heaved out a breath. “Because the fire is all my fault. If I weren’t storing my furniture here, it wouldn’t’ve caught on fire, and you wouldn’t be crying right now.”
She sniffed. “You didn’t do it. It was an accident.”
“But you’re crying because of the fire. Are you scared, baby?”
She nodded, her lower lip starting to wobble again. “I smelled the smoke and it made me cough. I was coughing and I looked up and saw it pouring out from under the Inn. I didn’t know what it was but I knew it was dangerous.”
“You were the hero of the whole day, you know. It’s because of you that no one got hurt. You’re brave and fast and smart. You know that?”
A little glimmer of a smile lit her lips. “Really?”
“Yes, really. Your mom and dad are so proud of you, and so am I.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “I don’t want to sleep here tonight. I don’t want to fall asleep.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. “Because you’re afraid of a fire starting again, and you won’t be awake to find it?”
She nodded a little tiny nod. “And I’m afraid I’ll have nightmares.”
“I won’t let any of that happen, sweet pea. I’m moving all that furniture out. It’ll all be gone by tonight. Nothing for you to worry about. No danger at all. Okay?”
She took in a deep breath and let it out. “Do you think Mommy and Daddy will let me sleep with them tonight?”
He had to laugh. His Stella, working an angle. “To make sure you don’t have nightmares about the fire?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll help you ask them.” He got to his feet and pulled her up, flipping her leg around his neck so she sat on his shoulders. Emma stood in the doorway, listening to their exchange. He winked at her. “Emma will ask them too.”
Stella waved a few fingers at Emma as they passed.
Later, when they had done a good job of convincing Stella’s parents to let her sleep with them tonight, and Stella acted like she’d had a load removed from her shoulders, she went back to the beach to dig. Jeremy turned to his sister and her husband. “I’m loading all this stuff up and getting it out of here.”
Marianne started to protest, but Tom said, “That’s the right thing to do.”
Marianne turned to her husband. “He doesn’t have anywhere to put it yet, Tom.”
Tom shru
gged. “He’ll have to figure it out, won’t he? Marianne, we had a fire at our inn. Do you understand how serious this could’ve been? With fire damage comes renovations and loss of business. And injury! With all these guests here? They could’ve been injured, or worse yet, killed.” He gave a firm shake of his head. “No. It just makes sense to remove the items that were the originator of the fire. It’s too dangerous.”
Jeremy said, “He’s 100% right, sis. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if there’d been damage because of me. I’m taking it out, right now. Tom, can you help me load it?”
They worked together, pulling out the damaged furniture first. At least half of them were unsalvageable. Jeremy calculated in his head the dollar loss, then told himself it wasn’t important. The fact that the Inn was unharmed, other than a little smoke in the rooms, which the ocean breezes were working to clear out through open windows. They’d dodged a bullet and he was thankful.
The other half of the damaged pieces, he may be able to restore. Water marks could be removed, the wood could dry out, and he could re-apply the finish. He was hopeful that he could salvage them and sell them at a reduced price.
A firefighter approached and tapped on the charred chest. “We’re taking this one to study for arson.”
Jeremy and Tom eyed each other. Jeremy knew exactly what he was thinking. First, vandalism and now, arson. Bad news was following Jeremy, and Tom couldn’t wait to get him as far away from his business and his family as possible. And he didn’t blame him in the least.
“Do you use lacquer-based wood finishes like shellac?”
“Yes.”
The firefighter nodded. “Sometimes they spontaneously combust when they’re applied, not fully dried and not enough ventilation.”
Jeremy ran his hand along the surface of the chest. “But this one didn’t have shellac. It was for a baby’s nursery. I used a glossy paint on this one, non-flammable.”
“Non-flammable?”
“Yes. I’d never use anything remotely flammable on a nursery set.”
Pawleys Island Paradise boxset, Books 1 - 3 Page 42
