Page 3 of Up In Smoke

On her left Ronan Kelly still examined her, probably checking for burns and scrapes. She looked first to Luke, but his mouth was pressed into a thin line. Whatever this was, he didn't like it.

Ivy turned to Ronan, her eyes asking the same question.

He shook his head at her. “It wasn't your fault. This was arson.”

Chapter Three

“Oh, I couldn't,” Ivy protested. The words automatically came out of her mouth, though Jo was offering her exactly what she needed.

“Yes, you can.” Jo didn’t push so far as to say, “And youwill,” but it seemed implied.

Ivy's automatic protests continued even if she knew it wasn’t what she wanted. The refusal was ingrained. “I can't afford half your rent. Certainly not after my house—”

“Your house burned down,” Jo interrupted smoothly. “Which is exactly why you need to be my guest.”

Ivy was still shaking her head. There was something about the offer that put her father’s voice right back into her head.We don't owe anyone.

Always refuse offers. Never be indebted.

But her old life didn’t work. And her old life wasn't here in Redemption, the place where she’d landed after she’d worked so hard to shed her past. It was impressive how often the old ways still reared their head. So many times she realized she was wearing the old mantel and she had to once again take it off, though she had no idea when it had been put back on. It was simply always appearing.

“There's no rent included,” Jo told her as her friend moved her head back and forth, trying to catch Ivy's gaze. “I've been paying the rent on this place by myself for some time, so I don’t need the help. I do have a trust fund.”

Jo grinned at the last one, though Ivy had no idea what that kind of safety net would feel like. Still, she opened her mouth one more time, the protests trying to come through.

Ivy was up to her neck in trouble. Her homeowners insurance would take her deductible, and that would chunk part of her savings. And the insurance wouldn't cover everything. Though it should cover a place for her to stay in the meantime, there were still so many other expenses—food, clothes, and transportation sprang to mind. And she was confident that others would continue to surprise her randomly.

Her brain faltered.Her car! How was her car?It had been in the garage and she hadn't even thought to ask about it. Latching onto one idea, she told herself that if her car was okay, she could survive this hit.

So her brain churned and her mouth opened to ask, to cling to one hope. She wasn’t crying yet, but she would be. She was just still in shock right now.

Jo waved a hand in front of her face, palm open, as if to say,just stop.What Jo actually said was, “If this were me and my home had burned down, you would have offered me a place to stay. Wouldn't you?”

Ivy nodded. She knew where this was going, and she was already caught in the trap.

“And you wouldn't have charged me rent, would you?” Jo pointed out.

Ivy shook her head. She wouldn't have. Trying to think rationally, she walked through the reverse option. Had she given Jo a place to stay rent free, she never would have considered that Jo would owe her in return. So this time, when she opened her mouth. She forced herself to say the words. “Thank you. It means everything.”

The relief on her friend’s face at having won the argument was clear. But Jo was always about moving forward. “Can you get one of your neighbors to bring you to the station?”

Now that the decision was made, Ivy’s best friend was all tactical logistics. Ivy looked around and found herself nodding. She could make that happen. She had trained herself to accept small favors, like a ride here or there, a paid-for lunch, a present. Birthday presents had been the hardest to accept, but she’d done it.

In the early days, she wouldn’t have been able to take the offer. Staying at Jo’s apartment just seemed like such a big ask. But she hadn't asked, Jo had simply volunteered, and Ivy needed to learn to accept help.

The firefighters would be leaving on their trucks once all the cleanup was done. Jo was still on shift until eight in the morning. Maybe they'd let Ivy sleep at the station for a while. Maybe she could get into the library and stay there. Did she even have her keys?

With a massive sigh, she realized she didn’t. They were all on a hook hanging just inside the kitchen. So neat, so organized … so inaccessible.

Also, she smelled awful and desperately needed a shower. Her head almost fell back as she realized she didn't have any clean clothes. Everything was inside the house, since that was a normal place to store clothing, and everything in the house was possibly damaged beyond repair. At best, it was going to take several days to get in and anything salvageable would need serious cleaning.

A hand fell on her shoulder, heavily padded by thick gloves. Jo grabbed on and rattled her a little bit. “I got you covered for everything. You can borrow anything in my closet, too. Please, don't worry about this.”

The last line indicated that Jo knew there was no way Ivy wouldn’t worry. So she was only telling her not to worry about a place to stay and clothing to wear. For a moment Ivy imagined herself heading into the library the next morning in Jo’s clothing—as if she could show up in leggings and a sports bra, probably in a bright pink or orange. Would Jo's running shoes fit her? She almost laughed hysterically.

But Jo’s voice was calm and reassuring. “Come to the station. We'll get you set.”

Ivy nodded, looking around. “My car?”

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