Afraid he’d upset Hank even more if he didn’t get where he was supposed to be, Jeremy took over for Reva, who stood at the grill. “Sorry I’m late,” he said.
She gave him a kind smile. She could get ornery with Millie. He got the impression she didn’t really like Millie. But she never snapped at him. “That’s okay, Jeremy. We were afraid you’d heard about the fire and were too upset to come in, that’s all. You had us worried.”
He blinked at her. “Fire? What fire?”
“Two fat boys, one skinny mama and a bucket of fries,” Hank called back.
Reva reclaimed the spatula she’d handed over and turned the burgers on the grill. She had ten half-pounders, or “fat boys,” already coming and three “skinny mamas.” “You haven’t heard?” she said. “Isaac Morgan’s house burned to the ground last night. It’s the saddest thing. The fire destroyed several acres of forest, too. The fire crews are still up there, trying to put it out.”
He’d been about to toast some buns but couldn’t even do that. “Fire? But…how’d it get started?”
She lowered her voice so he could hardly hear her above the sizzle of meat. “It was arson, honey. In the middle of the night someone hammered two-by-fours across both doors so no one could get out, poured gasoline around the foundation and tossed a match.”
But…Isaac could’ve died in there. “How do you know?”
Taking the buns from him, she dropped them face-down on one corner of the grill. “Isaac told the sheriff. But I bumped into Deputy Clegg at the coffee shop this morning. With all the activity in town, I could tell there was a ruckus going on, and he explained it.”
“So…was Isaac in the cabin?”
“He was. And Claire, too. But don’t worry, they both got out.” She winked at him. “I know you’re kind of sweet on her.” She motioned to the deep fryer. “Can you put down a fresh batch of fries? We’re getting low.”
He didn’t react to the request, couldn’t process so many things at once. “Wait—” he grabbed her arm “—did you say Claire’s okay?”
With a tolerant smile, she slid out of his grasp and put the fries down herself. “Yes, she had to go to the hospital to get checked out, but word has it they’re both fine.”
That meant his father hadn’t killed her as Jeremy had feared. So why was Don so upset when Jeremy asked about her yesterday? Was he afraid Claire knew something that would bring out the truth, after all this time? Was that why he shot himself?
That sounded right. But then…who set the fire? If it happened in the middle of the night, his father couldn’t have done it.
“Give me a mozzarella melt, another fat boy and some chicken fingers.” Apparently, Millie was back at the register. She called in the order, and Reva acted on it because Jeremy couldn’t.
“So where was she yesterday?” he asked.
“I hear she was with Joe Kenyon.”
“But…they don’t even like each other.”
She handed him the spatula. “I guess they’ve worked out their differences. Are you okay here? Because you’re not acting like yourself.”
“I’m okay,” he said. “I got it.”
“You’re sure.”
“Yeah.”
“Great, because I’m going to turn it over to you now.”
He stared after her as she went into the small back room she used as an office. Claire wasn’t missing. She’d almost died in a fire, but she’d gotten out. That made him feel better. Last night had been terrible. Today wasn’t much of an improvement. But Claire was okay…?.
“Who set the fire?” he called after Reva.
“No one knows yet,” she called back.
But once Jeremy had a chance to think about it, he was pretty sure he could guess.
25
“At least they took out our stitches while we were at the hospital,” Isaac said.
Claire slid her hand up his naked torso and pressed her lips to the steady beat at his throat. They were in bed at a motel in Kalispell, where they’d been for more than twenty-four hours. Isaac had insisted they not return to Pineview, said he wanted to get some sleep where he knew they’d be safe. He’d even parked his truck in the back, so it couldn’t be seen from the street.
“That’s not much consolation,” she said. “Your house is destroyed. All your furniture, all your clothes. We don’t even know how much of the forest went up.”
“Last I heard they were getting it under control.” He concealed a yawn, but it didn’t come off as indifferent or uncaring. They were both groggy after a week of such intense emotion and so much loss. If Isaac was like her, he was just glad to feel safe for the moment. “It didn’t reach your mother’s studio,” he added, “so it could’ve been worse.”
“It took your house. That’s bad enough.”
“I’m not thrilled about losing everything. I’m even less thrilled about being displaced.” He adjusted the bedding so he could pull her against him. “But we’re alive, right?”
She laughed as he rubbed his cheek with its new beard growth against her neck. “Right.”
He raised his head. “And everything was insured. My camera, my lenses…”
“What about the things money can’t buy?” she asked, threading her fingers through his hair. “All your footage, the DVDs and negatives, your notes—”
“The really important stuff’s in a safe. Provided that safe is as fireproof as I was told when I bought it, I’ll be fine. And I managed to save my computer, which has my latest projects on the hard drive—”
“You saved it at the risk of your life.” She scowled to show her disapproval. “And it still makes me mad. You have no idea how long those few seconds were when you didn’t come out.”
He grinned as he tweaked her chin. “I still don’t know what you thought you were doing trying to get back inside.”
“I wasn’t trying to get inside. It just looked that way.”
One palm cupped her breast as he leaned up on his elbow. “Tell the truth. You were coming back for me.”
She gave him a saucy look. “No, I wanted to save that hippo print you said I could have.”
He pecked her lips. “We’ll get a new one printed.”