Page 29 of Rescuing Carolyn

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CAROLYN

“Oh, God,” I whimpered when Zach turned the last corner. The second Alex was in my driveway we’d bolted from the house and made the short trip to All That Sparkles. Emergency vehicles blocked the street, their lights flashing in the smoky air. Ahead, I could see flames pouring from the front of the store and reaching upward.

As soon as Zach pulled to the curb, I grabbed for the door handle, but Zach gripped my arm. “Wait for me,” he said. How could he be so calm when my world was on fire? “Rushing now could just get you into trouble.”

I hated that he was right. It was an active fire scene, with all the hazards that entailed. I wondered, though, if he ever lost his cool. The night of the robbery, when he’d confronted me about Austin, his mask of control had slipped—but that was a rarity. Even when I broke our engagement, he’d said nearly nothing, expressed nothing.

I would bet his heart rate wasn’t even accelerated. Mine was racing, but I waited until he was beside me before moving forward. Together we negotiated the maze of hoses, trucks, and firefighters doing their job. Despite the emergency service’s response, what I saw was devastating. The front windows and door were blown out, with flames licking up their frames. The recently refurbished interior was ablaze, fire streaking up the walls and across the carpet.

Firefighters kept a steady arc of water flowing in, but the flames seemed resistant to it. Black smoke rolled from the brick building. At least there was no wind to fan the flames and blow the smoke at us.

Zach’s hand never loosened on my arm as we made our way to my mother and Charlotte standing across the street from the store. I drew strength from his touch—which I badly needed, because I had to be the strong one here. I saw that immediately. Grimy tears streaked my sister’s and mother’s faces. Zach let go of me when I put my arms around them, but I could feel him close behind me.

“What happened?” I asked Charlotte.

“We’d just closed for the evening. Everyone was gone but me.” My sister’s words sent a chill down my spine. “I wanted to finish some paperwork. I was in the office when I heard a crash and explosion and then everything was on fire.”

“Are you hurt?” I grabbed my sister’s trembling hands.

“No. I made it to the back door. I almost forgot the new code for the mantrap, but I remembered and got out.”

“Were you here, too?” I asked my mother.

“I was parked in the alley waiting for Charlotte,” Mom explained. “We were going to have dinner together.”

“All the merchandise is safe in the vault, but the store…” Charlotte trailed off. The store was a barely controlled inferno.

The upsides were that our inventory was safe in the fireproof vault and no one had been hurt. I needed to cling to those two positive facts, because it would be so easy to succumb to despair. Instinctively, I looked around for Zach, wondering when he’d left my side. I spotted him talking to a man wearing a white fire helmet with Chief written across the back. When he caught my gaze, he returned to me.

“The chief says the fire’s almost contained,” he said.

“It is?” I asked. It didn’t look it to me.

“From what he says, they were able to hit the fire from the back and drive it out the front, so the damage, he thinks, is all in the display area.”

“I pulled the doors closed on the office and repair room as I exited,” Charlotte said, impressing me with her ability to think things through even while under pressure. “Hopefully, that minimized the destruction there.”

“The brick of the building also slowed the fire,” Zach said, putting his arm around my waist as we stood watching. I resisted the urge to rest my head on his shoulder.

Within minutes, the flames lessened, and the charred interior became visible under the powerful floodlights from the fire trucks. I felt a wave of sickness at the sight, but I forced myself to stand taller. My family and employees would be looking to me. I needed to put up a good front.

As I stepped closer, I could see that the interior was gutted, but the building still seemed structurally sound. It wasn’t a total loss, as I’d feared, and it hadn’t spread to the businesses on either side of us.

“We can rebuild,” I said to Charlotte and Mom. “This is why we have insurance.” Would my insurance pay if this was arson? Charlotte’s description of a crash and explosion made me question how the fire started. I didn’t want to bring up the possibility, but it was on my mind.

An hour later, I convinced Charlotte and Mom to go home. The flames were out, and firefighters picked through the debris looking for little flare-ups. The danger was past.

“We’ll leave two men on duty during the night,” the chief said when he came to speak to me. “They’ll make sure it doesn’t reignite—and stand guard.”

“Guard?” I questioned.

“To make sure nothing gets moved before the fire inspector arrives in the morning.”

“Can I go in?” I wanted to see how bad the damage was for myself.

“Not tonight, miss. We have to make sure the building is safe to enter. You can go closer, though, and look in.”

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