Lost Innocence

by Jannine Gallant

  Keely let out a deep sigh. “I don’t see why—”

  “Go.”

  Nina couldn’t help grinning as the girl disappeared down the hall. “Sorry about your floor. My suggestion, designed solely to keep her busy, wasn’t the best choice.”

  “You lack experience with six-and-a-half-year-olds.” He laid a warm hand on her arm. “Let’s go measure that window.”

  He detoured to the shed beside the house and came out with a silver tape measure, then crossed the yard beside her.

  “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. That’s what neighbors are for.”

  “True, which is why you don’t have to pay me back for the meal I brought over.”

  He stopped for a moment before continuing up the driveway. “I didn’t mean my invitation that way. If you have other plans . . .”

  “I don’t, and I’d be happy to have dinner with you and Keely. Right after I cover that broken window with some cardboard to keep out the cold.” She opened the front door and gestured him inside. “This way. The laundry room is through the kitchen. Oh, I have fresh peas to contribute to the barbecue.”

  “Huh?”

  She pointed to the pail on the counter. “Straight from my friend’s garden. I’ll bring them over for dinner.”

  “Sounds great.” He stepped into the laundry room and frowned. “Wow, it definitely looks like whoever broke the window did it near the latch so he could unlock it.”

  “That’s what I thought. The screen is lying on the ground outside.”

  “But nothing was taken?”

  “Not that I could find. Pretty strange.”

  He pulled out a length of tape to measure the opening. “How’d they get back out again?”

  She frowned. “I’m not sure. The front door was still locked when I got home.” Leaving him, she hurried back through the kitchen, then tried the sliding door onto the deck. It opened effortlessly.

  A shiver slid through her as she shut it.

  Teague walked up behind her and handed over a sheet of notepaper. He’d written numbers across it in bold lettering. “Give the guy at the glass company this information. They should be able to get a replacement window fairly quickly.”

  “That’s good news. Thank you.” She stepped back. “Apparently the culprit left through the slider into my backyard. At least he didn’t break that door.”

  Teague nodded. “A slider would have cost a heck of a lot more.”

  “When are you planning to have dinner?”

  “Six thirty, if that works for you.”

  “Great. That will give me plenty of time to report this to the police and to my insurance company, clean up the mess, and shell those peas. Thanks again for your help.”

  “You’re welcome.” He gave her an indecipherable look. “Definitely call the police to report this. Right now, I’d better get back to Keely and Coco. God knows what they’re doing, left to their own devices.”

  “With your daughter’s imagination and initiative, it could be almost anything.”

  “True. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

  After the front door closed behind Teague, Nina forced herself into action and checked the rest of the house for anything out of place, including the contents of her medicine cabinet. The prescription pain meds left over from a sprained ankle three months before were still on the shelf, so the thief hadn’t been after drugs. Standing in the bathroom doorway with fists clenched on her hips, she surveyed her bedroom. The dresser drawer where she kept her running clothes was slightly ajar. Had she left it that way?

  Frowning, she slid it open. Clothes that had been neatly stacked were askew. Pulling open each drawer, she found nightgowns and underwear disturbed from their orderly piles.

  “Eww!” Some freak touched my bras and panties. “Sick pervert!”

  She practically ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs. As she paused in the main room to pull herself together, the desk in the corner caught her eye. The file folder of invoices she’d left on its teak surface was horizontal instead of vertical. Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled open the drawers to discover all her paperwork in disarray.

  “Oh, my freaking God!” Had the creep been after financial data in addition to a cheap thrill? She did all her banking online, so that information was safe, but her last credit card statement was in a folder that looked like it had been searched. She’d have to cancel the card and get a new one. One more thing to do . . . right after she called the police.

  This day just kept getting better and better.

  Chapter Five

  Teague sat across the dining room table from Nina, drinking pinot noir over the remains of their barbecue dinner and discussing the state of the local economy. From the living room, Keely’s laughter accompanied the high-pitched voices of the Muppets on the TV. He’d done his very best to keep the conversation on neutral topics, but the whole evening had been a little too . . . comfortable, considering the woman smiling at what he hoped was a witty remark was soon to be married. He couldn’t help wondering where her fiancé was and why he hadn’t been on hand to measure her broken window.

  “Earth to Teague.” She swirled her wine in the bowl of the glass. “Did I bore you into a stupor?”

  “Huh?” He blinked twice and realized he’d lost the thread of the conversation. “No, of course not. Actually, I was wondering why I hadn’t seen your fiancé around. Is he out of town?”

  Something resembling pain flashed in the depths of her green eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong? The first day we met, you mentioned trying on a dress for your wedding.”

  The emotion in her eyes cleared. “Not my wedding. My friend Leah’s wedding. I’m co-maid of honor along with my other best friend, Paige.”

  A burst of satisfaction filled his chest with warmth. “You aren’t getting married?”

  “That would be a good trick since I’m not even dating anyone.”

  He couldn’t seem to stop staring at the perfection of her face. “You’re kidding, right? Are the men around here blind or just stupid?”

  That earned him a broad grin.

  “Thanks. I appreciate the vote of confidence. I guess I’m having a hard time getting back into single life after . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lip.

  Reaching across the table, he laid a hand on her arm. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

  Her gaze rose to meet his. “You’d probably understand how I feel better than most since you’ve lost someone.” She drained the wine remaining in her glass. “I was engaged, but Keith died in Afghanistan a little over five years ago. People say I need to move on, that I’ve mourned long enough. Easier said than done.”

  His heart ached for her. “We all recover from tragedy in our own way, in our own time frame.” He tightened his grip. “There’s no right or wrong way to go about it. That’s the best piece of advice I took from my grief counseling group after Jayne died.”

  “I know, and I actually believe I’m finally ready to start feeling again. Maybe I just haven’t met anyone to suit me lately . . . or I’m too picky for my own good.”

  “The way you look, you can afford to be as choosy as you like. I’m pretty sure guys would line up to date you.”

  She smiled. “The same is true for you. Once the single women of Siren Cove realize there’s an unattached firefighter in town who’s possibly a thirteen on a scale of one to ten, you’ll be inundated with help getting settled in.”

  He laughed out loud. “Beautiful with a dry humor guaranteed to entertain. Definitely a winning combo.”

  “Daddy. Hello! I asked if I can have ice cream.”

  “What?” He tore his attention away from Nina to focus on his daughter, who stood in the doorway wearing an impatient expression.

  “We bought rocky road. Remember?”

  “Sure.” He pushed back his chair. “I’ll get it for you.”
When his phone rang, he glanced at the display and recognized his new boss’s extension at the fire station. “Just as soon as I take this call. It’s work.”

  “I’ll get the ice cream for her.” Nina stood and herded Keely toward the kitchen.

  “Thanks.” He shot her a grateful glance before raising his cell to his ear. “O’Dell here. What can I do for you, Captain Barker?”

  “We have a fully engaged house fire near the east end of Pine Avenue. It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation to keep it from spreading. I’ll throw your bag of gear in my truck if you can meet us at the scene.”

  A siren blared in the background, and Teague raised his voice to be heard. “Of course. That’s close to my home, so I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Great.” The connection went dead.

  He tightened his grip on the phone. Keely. Shit.

  “Is there a problem?” Nina stood in the doorway with his daughter at her side, holding a bowl of ice cream.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I don’t officially start work until tomorrow, but there’s a house fire. They need me now. Is there any way you could watch Keely for me?”

  “Of course. Go. We’ll be fine here.”

  “Thank you.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and hurried toward the entrance. “I really appreciate this.”

  “That’s what neighbors are for, remember?”

  “I remember.” He dropped a kiss on the top of Keely’s head in passing. “Be good for Nina. Bed at eight-thirty, okay?”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Teague?”

  He glanced back at Nina and met her wide-eyed gaze as he opened the front door. “Yes?”

  “Stay safe.”

  “You bet.”

  He hurried down the steps and ran to his truck, thankful he’d taken the time to study a map of Siren Cove the previous evening. He knew exactly where he was going since his destination was only three blocks away. A siren wailed in the evening dusk as he approached the turn onto Pine Avenue. He stopped to let the ladder truck roar past with a blare of its horn, then turned in behind the fire captain’s vehicle. Parking out of the way of the blazing structure, he approached Barker as the man stepped out of his truck dressed in full gear.

  “Quite an initiation to the team, O’Dell.” He tossed him a large duffel bag. “I’m glad you stopped by the station yesterday to get outfitted. Suit up then find me.” He took off at a run, shouting orders to his men as they unrolled hoses.

  Teague scrambled into his gear before joining the captain, who was speaking to an older man with gaunt cheeks and watering eyes.

  “My dog is in there, probably hiding in the bedroom closet.” He coughed and drew in a ragged breath. “You have to get her out.”

  The captain glanced toward the two-story home as a downstairs window exploded, showering glass onto the ground. “Mr. Murphy, I can’t risk lives for a dog, but we’ll do our best.”

  “Then let me go back in, damn it! My room is in the upper right corner. It’s not burning yet since the fire started in the kitchen on the other side of the house, but the smoke—” He broke off in another coughing fit.

  Teague nudged the captain’s arm. “If we put a ladder up to the side egress window, I can go in. That section of the structure still looks stable.”

  He nodded. “Only take a quick look then get back out. I’d say we have about ten minutes before that corner goes.” Raising his voice, he shouted, “Rod, I want a ladder at the northeast second-story window.”

  Teague lowered his helmet and adjusted the ventilator as two men moved the ladder into position. When the captain gave him the go-ahead, he ran up with each rung vibrating beneath his boots, broke out the screen, then slid open the window. A gray haze filled the room as he crawled over the sash and dropped to the carpet. Rounding the bed, he hurried toward the open door in the corner and felt his way to the back of the closet. At floor level, eyes gleamed in the dark, and a low growl greeted him.

  “Easy, girl. Don’t make this hard for me.”

  The air down low wasn’t too thick with smoke yet. Grabbing a flannel shirt off a hanger, he scooped the dog up in it and held the quivering bundle against his jacket, thankful the animal wasn’t any larger than a sack of potatoes. Timbers creaked and groaned as he headed back toward the window. Below him, more glass blew out in a piercing blast, and the smoke creeping in around the door grew heavier.

  Reaching his goal, Teague thrust his burden through the opening to one of the crew who had scrambled up the rungs behind him. He stepped out onto the ladder as flames licked in under the bedroom door. Hurrying down, his booted feet hit the ground with a thud.

  “Good work getting out of there fast.” The captain thumped him on the shoulder. “Move that ladder out of the way, then go string some caution tape out on the street. We’ve got downed power lines across the driveway. Keep the looky-loos back out of harm’s way. I think half the neighborhood is out there now.”

  “You got it.”

  An hour later, they were mopping up the smoldering ruins when one of his new coworkers approached. “O’Dell, isn’t it?”

  He nodded and held out his gloved hand. “Teague O’Dell.”

  The other man shook it. “Mateo Torres. Hey, can you go door to door and spread the word to the neighbors the power company will be back out in the morning to restore service once the scene has cooled down.” He nodded toward the truck with the electric company logo on its side as the vehicle turned around in the street. “Their technician told me the box on the pole is a main breaker, and they can’t turn it back on safely until they get those downed wires off the driveway. There should only be a handful of houses affected by the outage.”

  “I’ll take care of it and deliver a safety speech while I’m at it.”

  “Thanks, and welcome to the team.”

  Teague left the charred wreckage that had once been a kitchen and flipped up his visor to take a deep breath of air not saturated with smoke once he reached the end of the driveway. The fog from earlier in the afternoon had receded, and stars shone in the night sky. Turning on his flashlight, he approached the nearest house affected by the outage.

  The residents of the first four homes he visited answered their doors before he could even knock, obviously keeping a close eye on the proceedings. After explaining the power situation and cautioning each family to stay clear of the burned-out home, he moved on. Pine Avenue, like all the streets in the area including his own, ended in a cul-de-sac that backed onto forest land. His boots thumped against the asphalt as the shouts from the fire crew faded. Rounding a slight curve, he stopped in front of the final two homes on the street.

  A Honda motorcycle he recognized stood in the driveway of a ranch-style house. The beam of his flashlight reflected off the shiny chrome. Smiling, he knocked on the door then stepped back. When it opened moments later, Stella Lange faced him holding a fat orange candle clutched in her fist.

  He lowered his flashlight. “Hi, Stella. I didn’t realize you lived so close to me.”

  “And I didn’t realize my newest employer would be working for our fire department. How is Hank Murphy doing?”

  “Just a little smoke inhalation. His house is a total loss, I’m afraid.”

  “Who’s at the door?” A young girl’s voice echoed, high and tinged with a hint of fear, from somewhere inside.

  Stella turned. “One of the firemen. Go back to bed, hon. Everything’s fine.”

  “I can’t sleep.”

  A hint of frustration flashed in her eyes. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “I won’t keep you.” Teague gave the woman a sympathetic smile. “Hearing all those sirens can be frightening for a child.”

  “Especially since she’s timid to begin with. Her parents are going through a rough patch, which doesn’t help, but my plan is to buck up her courage while I’m watching her.”

  “I hope you succeed.” He backed up a step. “Anyway, I came
to tell you your power won’t be restored until morning. Make sure you and your guest stay well clear of the wreckage when you leave the house tomorrow.”

  “We certainly will. Thanks, Teague.”

  He pointed toward the residence opposite hers with the beam of his flashlight. The house was similar in style to his Victorian and possibly in worse shape, if the sagging shutters were any indication. “Do you know if anyone is home next door?”

  “Probably. The woman who lives there with her daughter doesn’t socialize with any of the neighbors, but she’s usually around.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I plan to drop off my charge and be there bright and early. Good night, Teague.”

  After Stella shut the door, he crossed the street to approach the front porch of the neighboring house. He knocked on the door and waited. When no one answered, he knocked again with the same results. Shrugging, he headed back down the walkway. It was nearly ten, so maybe the residents had gone to bed, despite the commotion on their street.

  When he glanced over his shoulder, a flicker of movement and light upstairs drew his attention. Curtains parted, and he caught a quick glimpse of a face framed by pale hair before the material twitched shut. Apparently, the homeowner didn’t care to hear an update on the power situation. Or maybe she didn’t trust strangers knocking on her door this late in the evening.

  He didn’t blame her.

  Returning to the scene of the fire, Teague went back to work on the cleanup, and it wasn’t until well after midnight when he finally pulled into his own driveway. Exhaustion weighed his steps as he shut the car door with a click, then trod up the path to the front porch. Using his key, he unlocked the door and entered the dimly lit house. The glow of a single lamp illuminated his way to the living room where he stopped just inside the doorway.

  Nina was stretched out fast asleep on the couch, covered with the dark blue afghan his grandma had crocheted when he moved away to college. At her feet, Coco raised her head and gave a low woof, then jumped to the floor and trotted over to his side. After he reached down to scratch her ears, she scampered up the stairs, her tags jingling with each step.