Page 6 of Fire and Icing

“Sorry, Grey. The town’s grateful for your sacrifices.”

The two of them walk toward the rescue unit. I hear him ask her, “Do you feel lightheaded?” and that’s the last thing I can make out. She’s calm until he asks her something that has her waving her hands and talking in an animated manner. Then she bends down and pantomimes throwing something over her shoulder. The two of them look back at me. I wave and smile.

Great. First call and I already annoyed a local.

Chapter 2

Emberleigh

You can take the Californian out of California?—

but if they bring good tacos, we’ll let them stay.

~ Unknown

The lightover Carli’s stove sheds a yellow glow around the kitchen. It’s still dark out. Carli pours herself a cup of coffee and joins me, setting her mug on the small table off to the side of the room. I wake before most people. That’s the life of a baker. Carli grew up on a ranch, so she’s up before dawn most mornings too. I doubt she usually rises this early. Today, I’m grateful for her company.

Carli’s one of my oldest friends in Waterford. Her home is surrounded by open land. The only neighbors Carli has live an acre or so toward the east of her two-bedroom cabin in her family’s main house and a few bunkhouses outside the hog barn. It’s at least a mile from there to the next property.

“I went by my house last night after work,” I tell Carli.

“And?”

“It still smells like smoke—not the campfire kind. It’s a burning smell—the one that stayed with me the first twenty-four hours after the fire. They’ve got dehumidifiers and fans set up to dry everything out. It’s noisy and messy …” My voice trails off.

“I’m so sorry.”

“No. I know. It’s bad. But I’ll get through this. It could have been so much worse. As it is, I’m only looking at a remediation and renovation of the kitchen. The backsplash, walls, cabinets, stove—all scorched. Doors hanging loose. The insurance guy came out yesterday while I was at work. He’s filing my claim.”

I take a sip of coffee and stare out the large windows into the dusky gray-blue of pre-dawn. I can barely make out the rolling hills surrounding Carli’s cabin.

“Your life has been completely upended,” she says.

Her brows lift toward the center of her forehead and her eyes soften.

“I never thought such a small fire could leave me so unsettled. My home doesn’t even feel like my home now.”

“Well, this can be your home for as long as you need it. No one ever stays in my spare bedroom unless McKenna’s back in town. And she only crashes here when she’s avoiding life at her family’s ranch. But she’s in Hollywood for at least another month, so you’re good.”

“Thanks.”

I’m so grateful for old friends like Carli. Still, as much as I love the peace and quiet of the ranch, I don’t know if I can keep up the commute to and from the bakery from this far out of town on a daily basis. And there’s always something to be done around the ranch. Carli lives a good distance from the main house, but she still spends part of her day feeding and caring for the hogs or helping her mom with the finances or talking to suppliers. I’d feel like a freeloader staying here and not pitching in.

I need to figure out a place to stay that feels more like home while my kitchen is being rebuilt.

“I’ll keep you posted,” I say, standing to wash my mug in the sink.

“Whatever helps you through this transition period while you're an involuntary nomad, that’s what I want for you. If you want to go stay with Sydney in town, I won’t be hurt.”

“Sydney’s loft only has one bedroom and a fold-out couch. And she fosters strays. I don’t need to be the next stray on her list. Though, it would put me closer to the bakery.”

Carli laughs. “You can’t get much closer than right over the shop. And I hope you know I’m not kicking you out. Just putting options out there.” She stands and walks toward the sink. “Hey. What about your grandma?”

“Yeah. She offered. I don’t know.”

“It might be sweet to have this special time with Betty Faye. She’d spoil the dickens out of you. There’s no doubt about that.”

“I know. But she’d also make use of the opportunity to try to match me up with one of her friends’ grandsons, or the guy she met at the grocery store, or heaven forbid, Walter at the library. I’m not in the headspace to start dating right now—at all.”

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