Page 4 of The Haunting Plot

Chief Sawyer clears his throat, getting my attention. “If you need any help⁠—”

“I don’t need your help.”

He hands me a card. “If you change your mind, that’s how you can reach me.”

Once the crew loads back onto the truck, I let out a deep sigh and turn back to my house. I need to get back to writing, but the flow is gone, so I sit on the porch next to my charred swing. There’s nothing in my head except that stupidly handsome fire chief and his slutty little mustache. I don’t even like mustaches. They remind me of seventies porn stars. I only give them to my heroes because readers like them so much.

I need help. Clearly, I can’t keep up with all of Jonah’s needs if he’s setting fires to get my attention. But he demands so much of my time that it’s hard to balance both kids, my books, the newspaper, friendships, and time for myself.

“MOOOOOM!” McKenna shouts, running around the side of the house. The instant I see her face, I know something’s wrong. “Mom. Fire. Back of the house,” she pants.

“Where’s your brother?”

She shakes her head, holding up her hands in a silent effort to let me know he’s fine. “He’s fine. Out back.”

I race around the house and see Jonah on the swing, blissfully unaware of the massive flames licking up the side of the house as a plume of dark smoke rises from the roof.

“Shit!”

“Shit,” Jonah parrots.

I don’t even have time to correct him. I dig the card out of my pocket and frantically dial the number.

“This is Chief Sawyer.”

“It’s Raven. I need your help.”

“I knew you’d c⁠—”

“My house is on fire.”

CHAPTER 2

SAWYER

“It’s not a total loss.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the entire truth either. They definitely can’t stay here tonight, but it’ll be up to her insurance as to whether she’ll need to rebuild or tear it down.

Raven crosses her arms as she stares over my shoulder at the smoldering house behind me. “You don’t have to lie to me. I have eyes.”

“Do you guys have a place to stay tonight?”

Her eyes flick to mine, and I’m struck by how blue they are. Intense. Piercing. When this woman looks at me, it’s like I’m truly being seen for the first time.

“Are you hitting on me? Let me guess, this is the part where you tell me you have room, and we can stay with you.”

Fuck, she’s prickly and I like it. It’s not a bad line. “The thought honestly hadn’t crossed my mind. But we do have resources if you need to secure lodging for the night.”

She frowns. “There’s another property we can stay in, but it’s not exactly in the best shape.”

“As long as it has four walls and a roof, you’ll be in better shape than this place.” I point behind me with my thumb.

She narrows her eyes at me as though she’s about to give me a piece of her mind. “We’re fine. I don’t need your help.”

“You keep saying that, but you changed your mind pretty quickly.” No clue why I’m poking this woman, but there’s something about the way I’m getting under her skin that makes me feel alive for the first time in years. Maybe because I know she’d never go for a guy like me, so I might as well run my mouth. What do I have to lose?

“I called you because my house was on fire and you put out fires, you moron.”

“See, was it so hard to admit you need me?”