“Oh God, they can’t do this. We signed a contract. I put down a substantial deposit.”
“If Ray backs out, you’ll get every dime returned to you.” Not that that was any consolation. “I could look for something else.”
“Tell me the truth: is there anything out there that good?”
Dana was quiet for a long time. Too long. “No. But there are less expensive properties that you could make wonderful.”
“I want that one. Dana, this is going to sound ridiculous because it’s just a house and a big piece of land, but that ranch has been my salvation. It’s been my beacon in the storm. I can’t tell you how bad it’s been here. Losing my job was one thing; I’d seen that coming. But Evan’s victims are sending me death threats. I can’t leave the house for fear that someone will recognize me and I’ll be lynched in Central Park.”
Dana didn’t know what to say. She felt horrible for Gia . . . and now Del’s news. “There’s a chance Ray won’t be able to come up with the money. His biggest asset is his ranch, and unless he has stocks to liquidate or a benefactor, I don’t know how he’ll do it. But in the meantime, Gia, let me look around to see if I can find something else that will make you happy.”
“I’m booking a flight tomorrow and will stay at that little inn again. I can’t take it here anymore. At least there I can stay under the radar.”
“Are you sure?” Dana worried that people here would recognize her and that it could further sour the deal.
“Yes. If nothing else, I need the peace and quiet.”
“All right. Do you need a ride from the airport?”
“I’ll rent a car. I’ll need my own wheels. I’ll call you when I get into town.”
Dana hung up and immediately searched the multiple listings. If she could find something almost as nice as the Rosser Ranch, Gia might settle for that instead. She scrutinized every new listing she found, trying to ignore the roofers, who were making a racket with their nail guns. At least they’d found someone available to do the job. Everyone in these parts got their roofs done in summer, before the rain and snow hit.
Carol wandered in a few minutes later, loaded down with supplies. “There’s more in the car. How you liking the new computers?”
“They’re great.” Dana got up and went out to the parking lot to help bring in the rest of Carol’s purchases. There were bottles of water, soda, paper for the copy machine, and, thank God, a coffeemaker.
Together, they had the car emptied in ten minutes. The fire-damaged section of the building was mostly boarded up, so Carol had brought a minifridge from home, and she and Dana loaded it with the waters and soft drinks.
“I think the Rosser deal is about to fall through.”
“No.” Carol held her hands to her cheeks, and Dana explained the situation.
“Gia is coming anyway. I don’t think it’s the most prudent idea, but it’s not like I can stop her. At least it’ll give me a chance to show her a few more places. Any ideas?”
Carol thought about it. “Nothing I can think of that we don’t already know about it. There are a few people who in recent years have discussed the possibility of selling; maybe if the price was right they’d be interested. Let me look through the list.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to run out and get something to eat. You want me to bring you back anything?”
“I grabbed something in Reno. You go. By the time you get back I’ll have that list.”
Dana could’ve walked to the square but it was too hot, so she drove. Fearing that she’d run into Aidan, she nixed the idea of having lunch at home. Although he worked today, the firehouse and their home were too close for comfort. She’d had enough bad news for one day. If he was planning to dump her, let him do it tomorrow. It was like déjà vu with Tim and Griffin, except Dana was in love with Aidan and hadn’t been with the others. Sure, at the time she’d thought she’d been. It had taken Aidan to make her realize that none of those relationships had come close to the way she felt about him.
You make me feel like I light you up from the inside out, he’d told her. And he did. Around Aidan she never felt awkward, or shy or like she didn’t belong. With him she was number one—the sole focus of his attention. With him, she was the best she could be. She’d been delusional enough to think she made him feel the same way.
She zipped into the Bun Boy parking lot. It wasn’t as crowded as yesterday, the novelty of being back in business after its short hiatus apparently having worn off. Instead of the drive-through, she decided to eat at one of the picnic tables and get some fresh air. She joined the small line and noted that Clay McCreedy and his two sons were ahead of her.
He turned and tipped his cowboy hat. “How you doing, Dana? This fire business is out of control. I saw Carol at the Gas and Go; she told me you had a fair amount of damage. Thank God no one was hurt.”
“I think Aidan may have some good clues.” She shouldn’t have said that, especially because she didn’t know anything of the sort. Perchance she was being sensitive that Clay didn’t think Aidan was doing his job right.
To her surprise, he nodded. “Rhys says he’s good. Real methodical. We’re lucky to have him. The boys were at the station helping out with washing the fire engines when the unit got called out on an out-of-control wildfire in Sierra County. I suspect he’ll be away for a while. But Rhys is well versed in the arson investigation.”
No wonder she hadn’t heard from him all morning. And here she’d been psyching herself up that he wanted to dump her in person. She supposed there would be time for that after the fire. Still, she silently prayed for his safety.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Yep,” he said as they inched up in line. “Has the Rosser property closed yet? I’m anxious to meet my new neighbor.”