What now?
He didn't have an easy answer.He wasn't sure one existed.He had only the certainty that whatever came next—the insurance battles, the investigation, the long road back to something like normal—she would not be standing at the edge of the wreckage by herself.
He intended to make sure of that.
ChapterFive
Sabrina stared at the tablet in Kara Donnelly's hands and tried to make the numbers mean something other than what they meant.
"This is the current valuation," Kara said, her stylus moving as she scrolled through screens."Rough estimate, given the damage.The structure itself is a total loss, obviously, but the land..."She looked up, eyes sharp but kind behind wire-rimmed glasses."The land is worth a great deal."
They stood off to the side of what used to be the front lawn, where the grass had somehow escaped the worst of the destruction.The ruins of Norman House filled Sabrina's peripheral vision, a constant presence she refused to look at directly.Not yet.Kara had claimed a patch of relatively untouched ground and turned it into an impromptu office, tablet balanced on one arm, neat navy blazer buttoned over a cream blouse that had probably never seen ash or smoke or anything more distressing than a spilled latte.
Colby stood a few feet away, arms folded across his chest, boots planted in the grass like he'd grown there.He didn't say much.He just watched, steady and quiet, like always.A solid presence at the edge of her awareness.
"How much is 'a great deal'?"Sabrina asked.
Kara tapped the screen, then angled it so Sabrina could see the figures displayed there."Based on recent comparable sales in Copper Moon and the surrounding area, and adjusting for your location near the lake, you're looking at high six figures for the parcel alone.Potentially more if there's competitive interest."
The number sat there on the screen, dark and precise against the white background.It didn't look real.It looked like something that happened to other people, in other lives.
Sabrina swallowed."For dirt."
"For land," Kara corrected gently."This size parcel, this close to town and the water, with existing utilities and road access?It's prime real estate.There aren't many pieces like it left in the area."
Sabrina's gaze flicked, involuntarily, toward the ruined house.Charred beams reaching toward the sky.Twisted metal that caught the afternoon light.The skeleton of the place her grandparents had poured their lives into, reduced to geometry and ash.
"Prime," she repeated.The word tasted bitter.
Kara shifted her grip on the tablet."I know this is a lot to take in.But I wanted you to have clear information before anyone else tries to give you their version.You're going to have decisions to make, and I don't want you blindsided by numbers or offers or pressure."
"Decisions like what?"Sabrina asked, even though she already knew.Even though the answers were already forming in her chest like stones.
"Whether to rebuild.Whether to sell."Kara hesitated, something flickering across her professional composure."Whether to consider offers that may come your way."
A chill threaded through Sabrina's chest, settling somewhere near her heart."Offers."
Kara gave a small nod."I've already had a call this morning.A development group that's been watching Copper Moon for a while now—they've made inquiries on other properties in the past.They saw the news about the fire online.They asked if the Norman property might be available."
Sabrina's fingers curled at her sides, nails pressing into her palms."They didn't waste time."
"No," Kara said."They didn't."
"What did you tell them?"
"That it's far too early to discuss anything," Kara answered, her voice carrying a firmness that Sabrina found unexpectedly comforting."That you're still processing what happened, and that if you decide to consider selling at some point, you'll do it on your terms and your timeline.Not theirs."
Some of the tightness eased from Sabrina's lungs."Thank you."
"Of course."Kara's expression softened, the real estate professional giving way to something more human."I'm on your side, Sabrina.I've known your family since I was a kid eating pie at your grandmother's table.My job right now is to make sure you know what your options are.Not to push you into any of them."
Sabrina nodded, but her heart had begun to pound, hard and fast, like it was trying to beat its way out of her chest and escape this conversation entirely.
"Tell me about the land," she said, because talking about dirt and acreage felt safer than letting her mind linger on a nameless development group circling like vultures over carrion.
Kara turned the tablet back to herself and flicked through another screen, pulling up what looked like a property survey."You've got just under twenty acres total.The inn and the cabin took up roughly two of those.The rest is a mix of open fields and light woods—mature trees, and good drainage.Zoning is already in place for lodging and hospitality use, which is a significant advantage.Utilities run out to the old cabin site.Both septic and well tested fine last year.Access road is solid, recently resurfaced, and you're within easy driving distance of the town and the marina."
Sabrina listened, the words stacking up in her head like details from someone else's life.Facts about a property she'd never thought of as facts before.It had always just been home.
