Halfway through, a familiar but strange smell hit my nose.
Smoke?I thought with a frown, glancing around the room. I didn’t have any candles lit, and I was sure there weren’t any in the rest of the house.
But where was that smell coming from, then?
I hoped that someone was just barbecuing and had burnt some food, but most of the windows in my house were closed, and the smell was fairly clear. I had to make sure that it wasn’t coming from somewhere inside.
Please don’t be bad,I thought as I put the half-done sheets down and left the guest room. I quickly realized that the source wasn’t upstairs, and I went down into the hallway leading fromthe foyer toward the living room and kitchen. Here, the smell was stronger, and I followed it through the living room to the kitchen. For a moment, I worried that I’d left the stove on or something, but I couldn’t find the source there, either.
By now, there was only one place left to check; the basement. I wondered whether I should call the guys instead of checking it out myself. But they were under a lot of pressure and I had already been enough of a distraction. If it wasn’t anything serious, then I’d only be wasting their time. I needed to make sure first.
I grabbed a kitchen towel and tested the door handle to the basement tentatively with one finger. It was warm, but not hot. As far as I knew, that was a good sign. It meant that if there was a fire, it hadn’t reached the basement stairs and it wasn’t that hot yet. It was possible that it was still small enough that I could deal with it on my own.
I grabbed the fire extinguisher that the guys had insisted I keep in the kitchen and returned to the basement door before opening it. I switched on the light and noticed the faint trails of smoke climbing up the stairs.
I descended them carefully, testing each one to make sure they wouldn’t break. I wasn’t about to injure myself and make the whole situation worse.
Oh, the boiler,I thought when I was about halfway down. I saw the flames coming from it, as well as a thickening plume of smoke. It wasn’t that big yet, but I didn’t exactly want to mess with a burning boiler. This was definitely a job for the guys, and I had to get them here before something exploded.
I hurried back up to grab my phone before going out onto the porch and dialing Calder’s number, hoping neither Ash nor Beck would take offense that I chose to reach out to him first.
“Hey,” Calder’s voice was happy when he answered. “What’s up?”
“Actually, I have a minor emergency —” I started, but he cut me off before I could explain the rest.
“We’ll be there in two minutes,” he said, and the call ended right there and then. I shook my head at the phone screen with some amusement before I headed onto the lawn to wait for them.
Exactly two minutes later, just like Calder had said, the three of them were running across the lawn toward me. They were half-dressed and almost frantic.
“What’s going on?” Ash yelled before they reached me, and Calder immediately started checking me over.
“Are you okay?” he asked, as Beck glanced over my shoulder toward the house. “Are you injured?”
“I’m fine,” I insisted, though Calder didn’t entirely seem like he believed me. “Seriously, I’m alright. It’s the boiler. It’s on fire.”
“What?” Calder snapped, already heading for the door with his box of equipment. “Beck, stay with her, do an assessment. Ash, let’s get this sorted out.”
Ash ran after him, and they moved with the same intensity that they did when that house was on fire. I thought it was a bit of an overreaction, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t really know how serious a boiler fire was, or if it had gotten worse since I’d stepped outside.
“Look at the light,” Beck instructed, flashlight in hand, and I laughed.
“Seriously, I’m not hurt,” I insisted, shaking my head. “I just saw the smoke, came out, and called you guys. It’s not that bad.”
Beck nodded, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced. “Guess we’re feeling a little protective over you under recent circumstances. Calder grabbed us and dragged us out, didn’t really explain anything aside from saying that you were in trouble.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I said awkwardly. “He didn’t really give me a chance to say what was wrong. Just said you were coming.”
“At least now you know that we’ll be there no matter what,” Beck winked at me, and put an arm around my shoulder. “But I’m glad you’re alright. Ash would destroy anyone who dares to harm a hair on your head. So would I, and so would Calder, to be fair.”
I smiled and leaned into his chest. “I know. I appreciate that.”
“Still, you really should let us get this place up to code before it falls down right on top of you,” Beck said, ruffling my hair.
It was pretty good to know that I had three incredibly capable men to lean on in any emergency; but I also hoped they’d dial it down when things really weren’t that serious.
About fifteen minutes later, Calder and Ash came back outside, both wearing deep frowns. Immediately, I was more concerned than I had been before, hoping that the fire hadn’t done too much damage. I’d already spent a lot of money on the house, and I didn’t have any savings left for this kind of thing. There was insurance, but I didn’t want to make a claim this fast; otherwise, premiums would likely skyrocket.
“Listen, it might be better for you to stay with one of us for a while, Rhea,” Calder said when they reached Beck and I, and I raised an eyebrow.
