Page 10 of Hot Zone

“Fine, I’ll just get a hotel until I find a new place to rent. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

“You should stay at my dad’s house. He doesn’t have any dogs, and he has plenty of room. Right, Dad?” Steven asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t impose. Seriously, I’ll get a hotel room.” Or at least I would let them think I was getting a hotel. No one had to know if I did or not, and no matter what the rules said, I would be perfectly comfortable staying at the shop.

“It wouldn’t be in imposition at all, Mars,” Samuel said.

“Honestly, I’m rarely home, and Steven’s old room is empty. There’s no reason for you to pay for a hotel room.”

“You’re sure you wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.” He turned to Steven. “Do you have your house key with you?”

“I do.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and removed the key from the key ring. He held it out to me. “Here you go. Now, let’s get you back to your car, and I should probably get back to work.”

Chapter 4

Mars

Steven pulled up in front of the shop. “I’ll come by my dad’s house tomorrow, but if you need anything tonight, just call me.”

“I will.”

I got out of his car and went to walk to the door. A customer I didn’t recognize was coming out as I was walking in, and honestly, I was glad I didn’t know them because I wasn’t in themood for small talk. Ziva was still standing at the register, but when she saw me, she rushed around the counter and threw her arms around me. “I’m so sorry. I saw it on the news. I was hoping they’d be able to save it.”

“They tried, but it was too far gone. Is everything okay here?”

“Everything here is just fine. What are you going to do?”

I sighed and shrugged. “Right now, I’m going to have a cup of tea.”

I went into the tea room and selected one of my mother’s blends. The one she called Serenity seemed to make the most sense. I took my favorite cup down off the baker’s rack we used to hold all the supplies. I scooped some of the tea leaves into the top of my tea infuser and then filled it with hot water from our electric tea kettle.

Waiting while it steeped was the hard part, but my mother always said that making tea was a meditation all its own and that we should honor the process. Most days, I did, but today, I just wanted a cup of tea.

I sat down at the table to wait, and Ziva joined me. “So the whole house is a loss, huh?”

“Yeah, and all my things, most likely. They said once they’re sure it’s safe, I can go in and see what I can salvage.”

“That seriously sucks. Where are you going to stay?”

I rolled my eyes. “I wanted to stay up here, but Steven and his dad ganged up on me. They said because it was a business, it wasn’t zoned for me to live here, so it looks like I’ll be staying at Samuel’s house.”

“Not with Steven?”

“No, they have a big dog that’s sweet as can be, but you know Kismet doesn’t do well with dogs. I don’t see why I can’t just stay here. After all, this was a house, and it has everything I’d need.”

“Whose idea was it for you to stay at Steven’s dad’s house?”

“Steven’s, but Samuel didn’t seem to mind, but that isn’t the point.”

“Is there a reason why you don’t want to stay over there? I always got the impression you liked Steven’s family.”

“I do. Steven’s dad is great. That isn’t it at all. It’s just that I didn’t need their help. I had a place to stay.” I motioned around the room to make the point that the shop was a perfectly fine place to stay.

“Mars, how many times have I heard you sitting right here around this tea table talking with customers and telling them to accept help when offered?”

I let out a huff and rolled my eyes again.

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