Hannah looked at him like he was her knight in shining armor. Maybe he was, although the curse of the McBride women suggested we stay cautious. He was better than Randy, that was for damned sure—and Hannah made a great damsel in distress.
As for me, at least I wasn’t in jail again.
Funny, the last time my life had fallen apart, I’d gone down as an accessory for a crime I hadn’t committed. Now I was guilty as hell and a cop was covering my ass.
This kind of bullshit from the justice system is why superheroes go outside the law, Wonder Woman said, her voice accusing. You took care of your family and that was the right thing to do. Fuck everything else.
“Let’s go,” Heath said. “I just got a message from my brother. I’m very sorry, but it’s definitely your place that’s on fire.” He looked at Hannah. “We can call my mom on the way and ask her to watch the girls for a few hours, if you like.”
“No!” Callie shrieked, and heads turned toward us. “I don’t know her. I want to stay with Mommy.”
“It’s okay,” Hannah reassured her quickly. “You can stay with me. It might be scary, though.”
“Nothing’s scarier than you disappearing,” she said. “I’m a big girl.”
The drive home was tense. We kept getting more phone calls, including the hardest one—Randy’s parents. Hannah handled it well, telling them only the truth.
Yes, Randy had come over that day. No, she didn’t know where he was now or whether he’d been there when the fire started. Yes, the girls were fine. Yes, we’d be there soon.
By the time we pulled up, the fire was mostly out, although there was still a lot of noise and fuss. The firefighters were milling around, doing cleanup, and the neighbors were all outside watching. Mrs. Collins rushed over to us carrying a blanket, wrapping it around Callie.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, leaning in to me. “It all happened so fast. The flames just exploded out of the place.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “That no good man of your sister’s had just left, too—I saw him come out and get into his car, then drive away. Nearly ran over my cat. He must’ve done something to start it. I already told the police all about it.”
“That’s horrible,” I managed to say.
“Mandy, are you okay?” someone shouted. I spun around to find Sara running toward me.
“I thought you were working tonight?” I asked her, feeling confused and overwhelmed.
“Bone sent me,” she said. “Once we started hearing things, he wanted to make sure you were okay. How are you?”
“I’m fine,” I told her. “We’re all fine. We were in Cranston having dinner with Heath Andrews.”“It was Randy earlier today, wasn’t it?” she asked, pitching her voice low. “That’s why you wanted to drop off the girls?”
“He wanted to get some stuff at the house,” I said, following the script. “Hannah and I didn’t want the girls seeing him because he’s gotten more erratic lately. Heath saw the car outside and stopped to check on us. By then we just wanted to get away from Randy, so we left. I still can’t believe this happened.”
“Oh, Mandy. I’m so sorry.” Sara’s pretty eyes blinked at me, and I realized she was on the verge of crying. I gave her a hug, feeling horrible for lying to her. “You can stay with me if you want. Your sister, too. I know it’s small, but…”
“Heath already offered his place to Hannah,” I said. “But I’d feel much better staying with you, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s fine,” Sara assured me. “I’ve been considering getting a roommate anyway. You can borrow some clothes and stuff, too. We’ll help you get back on your feet, don’t worry.”
I nodded, wishing my reality was even half that simple. Over the next hour, my respect for Heath grew as I watched him talking to his fellow deputies. At some point he introduced his brother and then he sat next to me while they asked questions about what’d happened. Apparently Mrs. Collins wasn’t the only one who saw Randy leaving the trailer in a hurry right before it went up. They were looking for him now, but hadn’t had any luck.
Finally, it was time for us to go. I bundled Hannah and the girls into Heath’s car before catching a ride with Sara back to her place. She loaned me some yoga pants and a shirt, and then I was asleep on her couch.
The next day things went from chaotic to surreal. Representatives of the local Bible church—women I’d only ever met casually—got in touch to ask what sizes we wore. Later that day they brought two big boxes of clothing and toys to Heath’s house, and not just castoffs. This was nice stuff—clothing that’d been taken directly out of people’s closets.
Not only that, they set out change jars at both registers in the town’s only grocery store. Hannah had worked there for nearly six years, and apparently she was well liked. By five o’clock, they’d already collected nearly three hundred bucks, including an anonymous Benjamin someone had slipped in without comment.
As for me, Bone messaged and said I didn’t need to work that night. I went in anyway. The thought of sitting alone at Sara’s house was too weird and I hadn’t heard anything from Shade. I didn’t feel comfortable messaging him, under the circumstances. Hanging with Heath and Sara sounded even weirder. All I wanted was to feel normal and in control. Waiting tables sounded like heaven.
Normal, boring heaven.
I could use a little normal and boring in my life.
Suz tackle-hugged me when I walked into the Pit, then started babbling about the clothing drive and donating tips. I thanked her, steadying myself as I came face to face with Bone.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I told him. “I mean, it sucks, but it is what it is. It’s Hannah and the girls who will have a hard time—I didn’t have much in the way of stuff, anyway.”
Bone nodded, stoic. “I can give you some extra shifts. We’ll do a fundraiser, too. This weekend.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I told him, overwhelmed.
“This is Violetta,” he said, his mouth cocking in a rare smile. “I’d do a fundraiser for anyone who lost their place, so don’t take it personally.”