Fighting Fate (32 page)

Sarah glanced up from her sandwich when she heard commotion coming from the building. The woman who had taken their ortak

“Looks like we made it just in time,” Cole said.

“Thank goodness,” Sarah muttered before taking a bite. She closed her eyes as she savored the flavor of the smoky, slightly sweet meat. The place might look like a dive but the food was incredible.

“Did Mom talk your ear off?” Cole asked.

Sarah laughed as she reached for her lemonade. As much as she loved going for rides with Cole, she missed the opportunity to talk without having to yell in his ear. “It was nice to catch up with her,” she said.

As soon as Cole had returned from his errand, they had taken off. This was the only place that they’d stopped so they hadn’t had an opportunity to talk yet.

“I think she was really happy to see you.”

Sarah smirked at him. “Oh, I gathered that much. She subtly hinted that she’s getting older and that her health isn’t the best.”

“No shit,” Cole said sarcastically.

Sarah laughed. “Oh, I’m not done. She made the offhanded comment that she’d like some grandkids sooner rather than later.”

Cole burst into laughter until he realized Sarah had a serious look on her face. “You’re not kidding?”

She shook her head. “Not even a little.”

“Guess she’s getting a little ahead of herself,” Cole said. “She does that sometimes.”

Sarah smiled at him again. “It’s okay.” She hesitated before saying, “She’s really proud of you. You know that right?”

“Yeah,” Cole said. “She’s mentioned it.”

As they finished their meal, the other customers trickled out to the gravel parking lot and then took off.

“It’s getting late,” Cole noted when they were the only ones left.

“I suppose we should get going,” she said as she wiped her fingers on her napkin.

He piled their garbage onto the tray while she finished her drink.

“Is there any chance I could talk you into staying at my place tonight?” he asked. “I mean, we could stay at yours. But I’d have to go back to my place first anyway because I’ll need my truck in the morning.”

“Cole, I’ll be fine home alone,” she carefully said. I’m not going to let whoever did this scare me out of living my life. I’m grateful that you’ve stayed the last few nights. But I can’t ask you to keep doing that.” Their evening had been so perfect, she wondered if maybe this was the wrong time to bring it up. As much as she liked havishe nights. ng him stay, she just wasn’t sure it was the best idea. She loved having him there and she knew he wanted to be there. The problem was the
reason
he was there.

It felt like things were happening too quickly instead of naturally. They’d been thrown into the situation because she’d been afraid to be home alone the first night. Cole had been too protective to leave her alone. The same was true for each night following.

Now they were heading into the fifth night after the robbery. She knew that if she didn’t put an end to his staying over now, she’d be in danger of not putting an end to it at all. While that was tempting, she just wasn’t sure it was right for them. They’d come a long way over the last several weeks. But they were still getting to know each other all over again.

Besides, if the day ever did come when Cole moved in—she mentally cringed, realizing she was getting ahead of herself—she wanted it to be for the right reasons. Not because she was scared into it.

“Sarah,” he said, his voice low, “I don’t mind staying. In fact, I prefer it. Hell, if you want me to sleep on the couch, I’ll sleep on the couch. But I don’t feel right leaving you out there alone until this guy is caught.”

She had been expecting him to give her a similar argument.

“You said yourself, you’re not sure that they’re really even looking for this person,” she pointed out. “What if they never find out who did it?”

The look he gave her was grim. She noted the way his jaw was set and she was sure that thought had crossed his mind.

“Look,” she said, “the security system is in place. And whoever did this isn’t going to be able to break through the steel door.”

“No,” he agreed, “but they could come through a window. As far as the security system, yeah, it’s better than nothing. But the truth is, if someone sets it off, it’s because they’re already there. You do realize how far out in the country you are, right? Maybe the extra patrol Duncan sent out will be going by, but probably not. It could take up to ten minutes for someone to get out there. Ten minutes, in that kind of situation, is a very long time.”

If he meant to scare her, he succeeded. The memory of the shattered window pane, the trashed house, the feeling of being so violated, it was still so fresh in her head.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.”

“Do you really think this person would come back?” she asked. “They already stole the only things worth taking. It wouldn’t even make sense for them to waste their time.” She wanted him to agree with her. If he told her she was right, it would go a long way toward making her feel safe in her home again.

He was quiet for a few moments too long.

“You think they’ll come back?” she asked.< />He was>

“I honestly don’t know. Neither do you. And that’s the problem. But if they did? And something happened to you? If I hadn’t done everything in my power to stop it, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” His tone was as pained as his expression.

Sarah dropped her gaze from him. She knew that feeling of guilt all too well. She knew what it felt like to be partially responsible for someone’s death. Even if that death was an accident.

“Ah, dammit. I’m sorry,” he said as he got up from his side of the table. He quickly rounded to her side and pulled her out of her seat, into his arms. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories for you.”

They had hardly spoken of Aaron since the night she had told Cole everything. He’d seemed hesitant to ask. She had done what she’d always done. Not wanting to bring her past baggage into her current relationship, she’d metaphorically packed it up. She’d stuffed it in a big old steamer trunk and not taken it out again.

“No, it’s fine,” she said with a little shrug. And it was. She didn’t want him to censor what he said around her. Besides, it wasn’t that he’d made her feel guilty. She was past that. It was simply that she would never want to cause him the kind of guilt she had struggled with in the past.

“I’ll stay tonight,” she said. “But at some point, I’m going to have to go back to living my life.”

He pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to her forehead. “Thank you.”

*
*
*
*
*

The grating ring of a cell phone awoke them from a deep sleep.

Cole squinted groggily into the darkness, as it rang again. For just a moment, he thought he was dreaming. He could feel Sarah’s body draped over his, her head was resting on his shoulder. She had jerked awake at the sound too.

“I think that’s mine,” she said. She hesitated for only a moment before tossing the blankets off.

Cole reached for his bedside lamp as Sarah clumsily climbed over the top of him. She was only wearing an old t-shirt of his. Her hair was a wild mess as she fumbled through the pocket of her jeans.

He glanced at the clock. It was a little after two in the morning.

She frowned at the display. “It’s the security company.”

He sat up, instantly alert as she came back to the bed. She dropped down on the edge as she answered. “Hello…Yes, this is Sarah…No, I’m not at home. I’m—….Wait,
what
?”

nt>0">H

Her body went rigid and she turned to him with huge, frightened eyes. “Okay,” she said as she jumped up, reaching for her jeans. “Thanks for calling.”

Cole had launched himself out of bed a moment after Sarah had.

“What’s going on?” he demanded as she dropped her phone onto the bed and began to wiggle into her jeans.

She looked at him, both dazed and upset. “There’s a fire. My house is on fire! The alarm went off and the fire department has been called. They’re on their way. They were calling to make sure I wasn’t in the house.” She froze, putting her hands over her face and tears filled her eyes.

Cole yanked on his jeans and pulled her in close. “It’s okay, you’re safe. They’ll get the fire put out.”

“What about Penelope?” she asked in a choked tone.

Dammit. He’d forgotten about the damn cat.

“You said they’ve already sent the fire truck out. Maybe they’ll get the fire under control quickly. Maybe it’s not even a big fire,” he said, trying to sound reassuring.

“Will you drive me out there?” she asked. She’d already peeled off his t-shirt and had slipped into her bra and the shirt she’d been wearing the night before.

“Of course,” he said as he slid his own shirt on. He grabbed his keys as they hurried out of the apartment. For just a moment, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. It might be best to keep Sarah away. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen.

She sat forward, her elbows on her knees, her face in her hands. He sped through the dark streets as quickly as he dared. By the time they hit the country road that lead to Sarah’s house, he could see a soft glow and thick smoke billowing into the air.

“Shit,” he muttered. If he could see the fire from their location, it had to be raging.

Her head snapped up and she let out an agonized gasp as she realized what Cole had cursed about.

“No, no,
noooo
,” she moaned as she swiped at her face. “This can’t be happening.” She put her hands up to her face but he could still hear her muffled, quiet sobs.

He felt useless, unable to think of anything comforting to say. Instead, he reached over and took one of her hands. He held it the last few miles to her house. As they approached, the flashing lights from sirens bled into the glaring illumination of the flames.

A uniformed figure approached them, holding his hand up in a halting motion. Cole parked and before he’d shut the engine off, Sarah had pulled her hand from his. She flew out of the passenger door.

“Sarah!” he called after her.

Instead of running toward the house, she stagnt !” hegered a few steps and then swayed. Cole quickly leapt from the truck, racing to her side. He looped an arm around her waist as she stumbled.

“She lives here,” he told the officer. He had no idea who the man was.

He tried pulling Sarah backward. He could feel the heat of the flames from where they stood. Firemen were already working to put out the conflagration but he could tell the house was a complete loss.

“I’m sorry, what?” he heard Sarah mutter. He’d been unaware that she’d been asked a question.

“I asked if there’s anyone inside?”

She shook her head, visibly fighting back tears. “No, just…”

“Her cat is inside,” he quietly finished for her.

The officer tossed a glance over his shoulder and then looked at Sarah apologetically.

“If you could just come over here with me, out of the way,” he said. He nodded to an area at the other end of the driveway.

“How did the fire start?” Cole asked.

The officer shrugged as he looked back at the blaze. “It’s too soon to tell.”

“Can you tell if it was started by someone?”

This caught the officer’s attention and Sarah’s as well.

“Why would you ask that?”

Cole explained to him about the break-in. “It just seems a little too coincidental.”

The officer nodded grimly. “It’s too soon to be certain, but judging by how thick and black the smoke was and how the fire responded when they initially began to hose it down, I’d say there is a good chance it wasn’t an accident.”

Sarah was staring at him with wide eyes.

“Now if you’ll just follow me, back this way a bit?”

“Sure,” Cole said. Sarah didn’t say anything. She felt limp in his arms. Shock was setting in, he was sure. That didn’t stop those damn, silent tears from streaming down her face.  “Come on,” he said quietly as he guided her away. She moved with him but as he pulled her in the opposite direction, her head snapped back around, toward the flames.

“That’s my grandma’s house,” she said around a choked sob. “That’s all I have left of her.”

“I know, baby,” he said. He felt like an ass because he wanted to come up with something more comforting than that. But what the hell could he possibly say? Her home, her legacy from her grandmother, all of her hard work over the last month, it was all going up in flames.

“My sweet little kitten is in there,” she whispered.

“Sarah,” Cole said, as he tried to pull her attention away from the nightmare, “look at me.”

She slowly pulled her eyes away. In the light of the raging fire, he could see her eyes were red and her face was puffy with tears. She wore a look of pure misery on her face. “You’re safe and that’s the only thing that really matters.”

“He’s right.” Cole glanced at the officer’s nametag. It read ‘Jones’. Officer Jones continued. “It’s a good thing you weren’t home. You were damn lucky, actually.”

Cole agreed. However, what he hadn’t told Sarah was that while they’d been debating the issue at the end of dinner, he’d already made up his mind. If she’d told him he couldn’t spend the night at her house, he would’ve stayed anyway. Not inside, but his mind had been spinning because there was no way he’d been about to leave her alone. He’d decided he’d come back with his truck, turn the headlights off before turning into her drive. He knew if he parked back far enough on the trail that led to the pond, he would’ve remained unseen by anyone turning into the driveway. But he would’ve been able to hear a car approaching.

Then again, he decided it was for the best he hadn’t had to do that. If the culprit had managed to creep past him, or go in on foot, the house could’ve gone up in flames with Sarah inside. A cold, hard, gut-twisting dread snaked through him at the thought.

He might’ve been able to catch the person in the act. Or he might not have. He was glad that Sarah was safe and they hadn’t taken that gamble.

She burrowed a little deeper into his side. Officer Jones had asked her a question. Cole was only half-listening to her answer. What bothered him the most was that her car was in the yard. It was the first night that his truck hadn’t been. By all appearances, she was home alone. Was that just a coincidence?