“Looks as if there’s been a small fire in the kitchen; the men have it contained now but there’s definitely some smoke and water damage. I can’t let you in just yet, safety reasons. We’ll need to do an investigation, find out how it started.”
“Is that all really necessary?” The chief spoke up before Cole could get a chance.
“Absolutely necessary; I can’t go into much detail but unless you spread cooking oil or gas all over the kitchen floor, then we need to find out more details.”
“Are you kidding?” Maeve couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Who would do that to her sandwich shop?
“I wish I were kidding. The odd thing is we didn’t see any signs of a forced entry. Are you sure you locked up before you left today?”
“Positive. I took the trash out the back door, came back in and locked the screen door then the solid door. Then I went out the front.”
“I was behind her on the sidewalk, so I know she locked the front door chief.”
“Well, the inspector is going to want to talk to you tomorrow I’m sure and Cole, you should probably be with herwhen he does. He’s really had a grudge against women since his wife left him last year.”
“Will do chief, thanks for calling us.” Cole shook the man’s hand and he disappeared into the chaos of directing the firefighters and their clean-up.
“Cole, tell me this isn’t happening. Who would want to burn my shop?”
She buried her face into his chest fighting off tears.
“I need to call Chloe.”
“Okay, one thing at a time. How close is your place from here?”
“Umm, three blocks, why?”
“I’m only right around the corner. You need to sit down and I’m hungry. We’ll go to my place where you can call Chloe and I’ll make us some dinner.”
“Okay.” Maeve didn’t think she could take any more crisis and she had no strength left to argue.
Cole held her hand once more and started them down the sidewalk away from The Sand Bucket, but Maeve didn’t move. He turned to question her.
“Thank you. I don’t think I could process any of this without you.”
He would never know how much comfort she felt whenever a smile lit his face.
***
This beautiful woman continued to surprise Cole every time he turned around. His heart swelled at the genuine sincerity in her voice. So much so that he immediately wrapped her in his arms. Could have been a mistake but he felt her relax into him right away, telling him he’d done the right thing.
“Come on sunshine, let’s go get some food. Everything’s going to be okay. I’ll be with you through it all.”
Not ten minutes later, they’d arrived at Cole’s apartment. He rented the top floor in a three-story Victorian home less than a block away from the shop and the firehouse.
“Cole this is so beautiful, you live here?”
“Thanks, I do but I can’t take all the credit. Mine is only the third floor, there’s a staircase around the side. An older couple owns the home and I’m positive they’re both deaf, so I feel like I pretty much have free reign.”
She giggled at his deduction as Cole led the way up the steps and unlocked the door, stepping aside to let her go in first.
“How did you get so lucky to find this place?”
“Friends of my grandparents actually; I think they know everyone in town. I got hooked up with them a few years ago doing some odd maintenance and when they decided to convert the top floor and rent it out, I offered to do the work if they would let me rent it from them.”
“Oh my gosh Cole, you did all of this? It’s amazing.”
“Thanks, it was a labor of love for sure, but it’s what I like to do in my spare time. Make yourself at home; I’m going to find some food for us. Then we need to talk about the fire. That inspector is a real hard ass and doesn’t miss a beat, I’m sure he’ll probably call you first thing in the morning.”
