Page 68 of Suddenly Yours

I climbed the front steps and rang the doorbell.

Crystal Holley answered the door barefoot, as she usually was, wearing a flowing linen dress in soft shades of teal and cream. Her long blonde hair hung loose down her back, catching the light like spun silk. She smiled the moment she saw me, warm and knowing, like she always did.

“Missy,” she said gently. “Come on in.”

“No, thanks, I just came by to drop off the keys,” I told her, holding them up. “I wanted to say thank you for giving me a place to stay until I got settled. Not to mention selling my building to me.” I chuckled. “Thank you for, well, everything.”

Her smile softened further. “You lived here with such good energy,” she said, taking the keys but not looking at them. “This place will miss you.”

Rory’s voice drifted in from somewhere deeper in the house, asking if that was me. Crystal tilted her head toward the dining room. “Yes.”

“We’re just about to eat. Stay. Please,” she offered.

The invitation was sincere, the kind that wrapped around you like a warm shawl, but I shook my head.

“Another time,” I said. “I promised Cade that I’d pick us up some dinner.”

Crystal stepped closer and kissed my cheek, her voice lower. “You’re exactly where you’re meant to be, you know. Your aura is pulsing.”

My throat tightened. “Thank you, again.” I turned and headed back down the steps.

By the time I reached my car in the bakery parking lot, the sun was setting. Sweet Expectations stood there, quiet and dark.

Except...

My steps slowed as I reached for the door handle of my car.

The back door was ajar.

That wasn’t right. I had locked it myself less than a half hour ago when I’d left for the night.

A prickle of unease crawled up my spine as I crossed the parking lot. I told myself it was nothing. That I must’ve forgotten to latch the door completely. That I was being paranoid.

The moment I pushed the door open and turned on the light inside, my world shattered.

The smell hit first. Instantly, I could tell something was burning, and I could see smoke slowly filling the room.

I rushed in, looking everywhere for the fire, but I couldn’t help but notice the mess.

Cakes. Cupcakes. Pies.

Everywhere.

They had been pulled from the refrigerators and were smashed against the walls. Some were ground into the floor. Frosting was smeared like graffiti, colors bleeding together in sickening swirls. Trays were overturned. Bakery boxes were ripped open. The beautiful wedding cake that I’d finished earlier that evening was ruined, completely destroyed.

Even my big mixer lay on its side, cracked, metal bent like it had been kicked over and over again.

“Oh my God…” I whispered as I continued to look for the cause of the smoke.

Then I turned toward the oven. I must not have been thinking straight. It should have been the first place I looked.

The light was on and the door was slightly open. There was a towel shoved inside that was on fire. Bright orange flames shot almost five feet out of the door as more smoke billowed out toward the ceiling.

Suddenly, the fire alarm started blaring.

Without thinking, I rushed over and grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the counter, yanked the pin, and sprayed until my arms shook and the fire hissed into nothing but smoke and ash. My lungs burned and I coughed while tears streaked down my face.

The silence after the fire was out was deafening.