Page 15 of Taming His Honeydoll
“Oliver!”
Both men laughed and he could hear Oliver stride away.
Emma had always hated that her older brother had threatened to spank her several times and even landed a few swats when she was growing up. It was evident to him that this was a family who believed in familial discipline. Well, so did he—he couldn’t fault them for that.
He badly wanted to go to Emma with everything in him at that moment, but something was holding him back. It just wasn’t the right time and it looked like she’d had enough shocks for one day. She didn’t need to feel threatened by him coming into her hospital room and accusing her of not telling him about their son. He was the one who’d left her behind, so why would she trust him if he showed up out of nowhere? Of course, she wouldn’t—especially if she didn’t love him.
Sawyer sighed and dropped his phone into his pocket. He didn’t want to add to the stress his girl was already under. Losing her home like that was a huge blow and her life had been turned upside down. He could wait, although the waiting was eating him up inside. And what if it had been arson? Was someone trying to hurt her? Or was it planned for when she wasn’t home. If so, for what purpose?
He glanced quickly around. Ty and Marsha had moved to a couple of chairs and Marsha was rubbing the mound of her tummy. A beautiful girl with strawberry blond coloring and bright green eyes came into the room and dropped down by Ty. “Oliver’s with her now,” she announced. Ty slipped his arm around her.
“How is she holding up, Chessy?” Marsha asked, leaning forward to look around Ty. “What happened?”
“You know as much as we do,” Ty replied firmly, casting a brief look at Chessy with a small shake of his head.
Sawyer took that to mean they did know something they hadn’t told Oliver.
“She just came back from X-ray, so we should know more in a little while,” Chessy added. They lapsed into silence as Marsha sighed heavily and leaned back.
Sawyer was interested to note that no other male had shown up asking about Emma. He could take that to mean she didn’t have a man in her life. If she had, he should have been here by now—especially a new husband. Cautious relief washed over him.
***
EMMA HAD JUST RETURNEDfrom X-rays when Oliver marched into the room, his hair askew and his brown eyes worried. “How are you, honey?” He asked, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. “Looks like you’re going to have a shiner,” he teased, his finger gently tracing over her eyebrow. “Apparently, you lost to the table.”
Emma nodded, her throat feeling tight. There were times when she really missed Oliver. All it took was one comment to tell her she needed a spanking and she got over it pretty quickly, though. Still, she knew he’d do anything in the world for her.
“Yeah, you could say that. Any news about my house?”
Oliver shook his head. “Not yet. I called Nat to see if we could get the fire inspector’s report as soon as he makes a decision.”
“Oh good. They will be able to tell him how bad it is even if it’s not his jurisdiction, right? I hope it’s not too bad,” she replied with a yawn and tried to relax.
Nat Murphy was a police detective who’d been Oliver’s lifelong buddy and friend of the family. They’d been on the football team together at Revere High during their high school years. He was as big a pain in the butt as Oliver, so she could see why they got on so well together. She just felt sorry for April, his wife.
“Don’t worry about that right now, just concentrate on feeling better. I’m assuming Levi is at a sitter? What time does he need to be picked up? Marsha and I can do that for you if you’ll give me the address.”
“Yeah, sure.” She reached for her purse and her cell phone. “I’ll just call Delilah and let her know you’ll be getting him. I usually pick him up around four thirty.” She made the call and gave Oliver the address. “Thanks, Oliver,” she said gratefully.
“No problem, favorite little sister.” He grinned at her.
She rolled her eyes since she was his only sister and then winced. “Ouch, that hurts.”
Oliver chuckled and then his phone rang. He checked the dial to see it was Nat. “Hello, old buddy. Did you find out anything?”
“Yeah. Are you with Emma right now?”
“Yep, I’m sitting right beside her.”
“Can you keep a calm face? Or do you need to step out of the room because I have some bad news. Not sure you want her to know yet.”
Nat spoke gruffly and Oliver stiffened. He knew that tone—something was up.
He glanced over at Emma and noted the tenseness in her body and her fingers grasping the edges of the sheet in a nervous gesture. “It’s Nat,” he mouthed to her and she nodded. “Go ahead, Nat.”
“The house is a total loss, Oliver. The fire started in the basement and the fire inspector says it was a faulty wire in the middle of old papers and boxes of clothes. He says he can’t prove it, but he suspects the wires had some help. The police are looking for accelerants to explain the way the whole thing just went up so fast, but haven’t found anything yet. The entire inside of the house is gutted completely up the stairway to the second floor. Even the contents of the attic fell through. What didn’t burn is heavily damaged with smoke. They have blocked off the house from entry until they have it secure enough for a crew to get in there and salvage what they can.”
Oliver was stunned, but he kept his face passive. “So, it will be a few days before we can get some clothes and stuff for Emma and Levi?”
