“Pretty sure we could arrange that if you wanted. I enjoy spending time with you, even if we have weirdos hitting on you and picking fights with me or fires while we’re walking on the beach. Definitely nothing I can’t handle.”
She had a smile across her face that just about made him go through himself. She looked good happy.
“My firefighter to the rescue huh?”
“I’m all yours baby.” Cole reached for her hand as they rounded the corner on Main Street, the home stretch to The Sand Bucket where they could see Mr. Howard waiting ever-so-impatiently outside. Maeve’s hand tightened, unconsciously he was sure, but he gave her hand a squeeze to reassure her he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Relax, I’m right here.” He placed a soft peck on her cheek.
As they came close, Cole released her hand to shake with Mr. Howard.
“Hello sir. I’m Cole and this is Maeve,” gesturing beside him.
“Tom said good things about you Cole, nice to put a name with a face. Maeve.” He only nodded in her direction.
“Let’s get started. If you could just stay behind me and don’t touch anything, you’ll make my life a lot easier.” He could tell the man was uncomfortable around women and it made him that much happier he’d accompanied Maeve.
Three and a half hours and a very boring synopsis of the entire fire later, they were finally done and said goodbye to the inspector.
“Wow was that really all necessary? I lost interest more than once; his monotone voice was about to kill me. I don’t think I could ever be a fire inspector. I’m real glad Chloe couldn’t meet us today; she would have hated it.”
“Yeah, I was right there with ya…his sense of humor is nil. If I hadn’t already known what all his jargon meant, I might have bailed.”
“So can I ask you a question Cole?” He noticed that she had seemed a little more uneasy as the inspection came to a close.
“Sure, shoot.”
“Do you really think somebody did this to me out of spite?”
He’d expected that question from her. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what he’d been thinking since last night. Things just didn’t add up and it all looked too easy. He might have to do some inspecting on his own later. He didn’t really want her to know that though.
“Well…” he hesitated a few seconds too long.
“Please be honest with me, this really has me freaked out.”
“I know it does and I’m sorry about that. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you Maeve. The truth sucks but yes, I dothink this fire was done on purpose, I just haven’t figured out what that purpose is yet.”
“Sounds like a ‘but’ there?”
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re too observant?”
“Yep, many times, now spill. What are you up to?”
Cole could only laugh. Looks like anything that he did from here on out, he’d have a partner in crime. Apparently, she had no intention of letting him go off on his own to figure anything out.
“No sense in hiding anything from you huh? Okay, I thought maybe I’d just do a little investigating on my own. Now before you even ask, I’d rather you not come with me when I do but I’m afraid you aren’t going to give me that option, are you?”
“Nope. So, since this is your day off and I obviously don’t have to work, do you want to splash around on the beach awhile, maybe make our way down to the Driftwood Inn? We can talk more about how we’re going to look for more clues or whatever you had in mind and get some dinner?”
“Partner, I like the way you think.”
Chapter9
They waited for the traffic to clear and the light to change for pedestrians and made their way past the fire station out onto the beach.
The Driftwood Inn was a couple miles down the beach so in the midst of splashing each other with water a couple times, walking slow with a whole lot of talking, it took them over two hours to reach the popular out door restaurant attached to the Inn. It was late afternoon but not quite time for the evening crowd so they had their pick of the patio.
“I’ve always wanted to come here.”
