Page 48 of Be My Baby

In the husk that was left, greedy tongues of flame consumed it from the inside, the windows a parody of sightless eyes glaring out into the depth of the night.

The firies stood their ground, silhouetted by the dazzling, greedy flames in front of them, their hoses gushing water into the raging blaze, but even without looking at the stony expression on Harry’s face he could tell it was hopeless.

No words could convey the depths of the utter agony twisting his insides, the loss of his entire life over the last ten years. Everything he’d ever held dear had been in there. Everything he’d worked for, was gone.

Everything, barring the person kneeling beside him on the rough, hard road.

Chapter Sixteen

Max sat athis parents’ dining table, staring at his coffee while rain pounded the old corrugated-iron roof, drowning him in sound. Tendrils of steam wafted up into the cool autumn morning air.

Steam.

Embers and flames flashed into Max’s mind. He gasped and sat straighter as chills flooded his body.

He jumped at the light touch on his shoulder and looked up to see his mother stop in front of the freshly made plunger of coffee. She poured herself an espresso-sized cup and sipped at the hot, pungent liquid while staring out the wide kitchen window above the sink.

“You’re up early,” she said quietly.

“Didn’t sleep. Didn’t see any point lying in there for nothing.”

She nodded and sipped again. She waved at the window. “Rather ironic, isn’t it?”

Max stared at the sheeting rain. A curious numbness had settled over him after he’d arrived at his parents’ home just before dawn. “Yeah.”

Ironic wouldn’t be his word of choice. Mind you, he’d probably get cuffed around the ears by his mother if he elaborated. It wouldn’t have mattered if the rain had started last night. The bar had gone up like a firecracker, on theinside.

Had it started in the kitchen?

He scraped his face. He’d installed all the safety measures he’d been able to at the time when he’d bought it. He’d had everything checked, ensuring it was all up to code—exceeded it. Itshouldhave been safe.

This shouldn’t have happened.

“Max?”

His mother was sitting across from him, her face furrowed with worry. His gut twisted that he’d put that expression here, that he’d upset her.

“Sorry, I was a million miles away.”

Sorrow filled her eyes. “That’s to be expected, honey. I assume you’ll have to call the insurance company today?”

He breathed deeply and nodded. “I don’t know how long Harry’s report will take or any of that stuff yet, but I’ll get the ball rolling and I expect they’ll send me documents to sign and all that. At least I know it’s covered. I made sure of that.”

His mother nodded.

It didn’t stop the soul-deep ache that wanted to swallow him whole each time he closed his eyes for even a moment and saw the flames devouring what he’d taken so long to build.

It wasn’t only him and his livelihood. His staff were now without jobs. Hopefully the insurance would kick in fairly fast and their income wouldn’t be interrupted too badly until they could rebuild.

Rebuild.

He poked at the handle of his mug and spun it around on the coaster.

That could take forever. What in hell was he supposed to do in the meantime? The Cow was a historic pub, an icon in the town, one of the very first buildings erected there.

Now it was nothing but a pile of ash.

He reached for his coffee, not really wanting it, but something in his gut was better than nothing and his gaze caught on his ring finger.

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