“I don’t care. Reuben’s family.” She jerked her arm free and continued toward the blasted shell of what used to be a house.
Emergency medical technicians wheeled a stretcher across the ground with a man draped in thick blankets.
“Reuben!” Mary caught up with them when they stopped at the rear of the ambulance.
“Ma’am.” A young technician blocked her from coming closer. “You’ll have to stay back. He’s pretty badly burned.”
A soot-covered hand rose from the blankets, reaching out for her.
Mary pushed past the technician and grasped the hand, staring down into the man’s battered face.
Nick stepped up beside her and circled her waist with one arm.
“What happened, Reuben?” Mary asked. “Who did this?”
The injured man shook his head, his lips remaining closed.
“Does this have anything to do with my father?” she implored.
He nodded.
“Oh, Reuben. I know you can’t talk.” She lifted his bunched fist to her cheek. “But do you know where he is? Do you know where my father is?”
The man never uttered a word, his glassy gaze fixed on Mary, his mouth pressed into a thin, pain-filled line.
“We need to get him to the hospital.” The EMT at the end of the stretcher moved it closer to the ambulance. “I’m sorry, but he needs immediate attention for the burns and other injuries.”
When Mary stepped away, the old man on the stretcher pressed his hand into hers, then let it fall, his eyes closing.
Mary gasped, her eyes widening. “Is he?—”
The other EMT touched a stethoscope to Reuben’s chest. “He passed out. Let’s load him up. Fairbanks has been alerted and they’re waiting.”
The fire chief stopped to speak with the ambulance driver. “Looks like a busted gas line. Is Reuben gonna be okay?”
The driver shrugged. “We’ll keep ya posted.” Then he climbed into the front seat and closed the door.
A busted gas line. Nick wanted to know if someone had busted it or if it had been an accident. He was about to ask when Mary backed into his arms. He couldn’t move with her tucked against him, watching the doors close behind Reuben and the technicians. Then she buried her face in Nick’s winter jacket, silent sobs shaking her body.
Nick stood transfixed for several long moments. Every cell in his body warred between SOS training and his own body’s reaction to Mary leaning against him. Finally, his physical instincts won out, and he pulled her to him, cradling her head against his chest. The urge to carry her away from this town and all its madness almost overwhelmed him. As he touched his lips to the top of her head, he realized he was getting in too deep.
While the firemen worked to extinguish the blaze, the ambulance pulled away, the siren blaring to life, filling the quiet street with its urgent wail.
After a moment, Mary’s sobs subsided and she grew still. “I’m sorry.” She looked up into his eyes, her own red rimmed, her skin blotchy, but no less beautiful. “You don’t even know me and here I am...”
His arms tightened around her. “It’s okay,” he told her, though he was feeling anything but okay. Holding her in his arms had only stirred the feelings he’d had earlier when he’d kissed her to make her shut up. He wanted to keep on holding her and kissing her until the world stopped spinning.
That wasn’t the way an SOS agent worked. Ever since Elaina, he’d sworn off getting involved with anyone on a case. He’d learned his lesson. You love. You lose.
Deep down, he knew Mary wasn’t like her. Elaina had been trained to deceive. Mary was innocent, naïve to the tricks people played on each other. Still, Nick knew better than to get involved while working a case. Involvement made you lose focus.
Snow drifted from the sky in heavy, fat flakes as Nick set Mary away from him. “We should check in with your father’s other friends.”
Mary’s face blanched, her hand rising to her mouth, her fingers curled into a bulky fist. “Do you think...”
“We should check,” he repeated. Nick turned toward the rental car, but when he looked back over his shoulder, Mary hadn’t moved. He grabbed her hand and tugged her behind him, but her fingers wouldn’t unbend. “What have you got?”
She stared down at her hand, her fingers opening to display a soot-covered figure of a moose. “Reuben must have given this to me. I was so upset, I didn’t even realize.” A sad smile played around her lips. “He’s our master toy maker at the store. He makes the most amazing toys and carves animals out of wood.”
