Hard Hat Man (14 page)

He nodded. “Not right here, but in the metro area. I grew up about an hour west of here, and got started working in construction during summer breaks. I did mostly grunt jobs, at first.”

Jan raised an eyebrow. “What’s a grunt job?”

“You know, hauling things around, picking up stuff the other guys throw off a roof and putting it in the dumpster, fetch and carry jobs.”

“Ah. We call them gofe
r jobs.”

Kyle made a face. “Well, in construction, they usually involve a lot of muscle power. Everything in construction seems to be heavy or messy.”

“Yes, I noticed them taking down the old barn today.
Looked like a lot of work. Are they trying to save some of the lumber?”

He nodded. “Yes. The guys taking it down sell old barn lumber for people who use it to make picture frames and other crafty projects. Apparently it’s in high demand in some circles.”

Jan made a face and shrugged. “That doesn’t appeal to me.”

“Me either, but it’s a good thing everyone has different tastes, or it would be a pretty boring world.”

The waitress appeared to take their empty plates. “Would you like dessert tonight?”

“No, thanks, I’m stuffed,” Jan said.

“Me too.” Kyle handed her his credit card
and told Jan,
“I’ll see you home.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary
,
”
she said. “You’ve had a long day already.”

“Humor me. I want to make sure everything is working okay for you to stay at the house.”

Jan shrugged. “Okay.
Thanks.
”

The waitress returned his card.

As they walked outside, Kyle’s
cell phone rang.
He talked a minute then pocketed it, his face grim. “Let’s go. There’s a fire at the farm.”

“Oh, my God. What’s burning?”

“The barn. Or what was left of it, anyway. The fire trucks
we
re already there, fighting it, before someone found my cell number to call me.”

They drove to the farm in record time and parked off to one side of the farmyard. Fire trucks were spraying water on the charred remains of the barn.

The fire chief and county sheriff came over to consult with Kyle. After talking a bit, the fire chief went back to talk to his men.

“What’s happening?” Jan asked when Kyle came back to her.

“It’s too far gone to save, so I’ve given them permission to let it burn down,” Kyle said. “They were worried I’d not be able to claim insurance on it if they did that, but I told them I won’t be filing a claim on it anyway, since we were in the process of tearing it down.”

“Do they know what started it?”

“Not yet, but the chief said he smelled gasoline when he first came, so arson’s a pretty good bet.”

“Oh, no. More sabotage then?”

Kyle nodded, his face grim. “Come on, let’s get you settled at the house.”

They drove on to the house and parked, then went inside, Kyle helping her with the baskets of clean linens.

Kyle walked through, making sure there were no more water leaks or other problems. Smoke from the fire on the other side of the farmyard hung in the air, making them cough.

“I’ll open a couple windows on the south side of the house. The wind is from that direction, so it should bring in fresh air and blow the smoke away from the house,” he said.

Jan carried the linens to the bedroom and began making up the bed.
“
I don’t get the arsonist’s reasoning,” she said over her shoulder as she spread out the bottom sheet.

Kyle grabbed the opposite corner and tucked it in on his side of the bed. “What do you mean?”

“What does he gain by burning the barn? You were tearing it down anyway.”

“True. But now he’s got the state fire marshall and the county sheriff involved in my business. I think he’s hoping all their investigations and red tape will slow down my project enough to stop me from succeeding. I have a time limit on my contract.”

“Oh. That’s why you are in a hurry about getting the house cleaned out.”
She tossed him a pillowcase.

He stuffed the pillow inside it. “Yes. And somebody probably knows I’m hocked to the gills and will go under if I can’t pull this project off.”

Jan paused, a worried frown creasing her brow. “Oh, dear! I’m sorry to hear that. If…if you don’t make it, what happens to the sale of the farm?”

Kyle’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “Don’t worry. The bank already paid your mom. I’m just in hock to the bank for it.”

She blushed, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound unsympathetic.”

“That’s okay,” Kyle said. “I’ll survive. Even if I have to start over from scratch.”

She nodded and finished tucking in the blanket.

He hesitated, then said, “Jan, I don’t think you should stay here tonight. Why don’t you go back to the motel
?
If money’s a problem, I’ll pay for the room.” He swallowed, reminding himself that money was a problem for him as well.

“No,” Jan said. “I’m not going to be intimidated by that guy. He’s not going to drive me out of Aunt Esther’s house.”

“But…what if he comes back? Starts a fire here at the house?”

“
I’m not leaving
,” Jan said, her
back straight and a stubborn frown on her face.

“Then will you let me sleep on the couch? If there’s two of us, we’ll have a better chance of hearing an intruder or of fighting off any trouble.”

“Well…” Jan thought a moment.
She mentally weighed the problem of a man staying under the same roof with her fear of an intruder. The smell of smoke from the torched barn still burned in her nostrils. Through the kitchen window she could see the flashing lights of the firemen still on duty dousing the flames. Between the two, her stomach churned with worry. Common sense won.
“I guess that would be okay.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.”

And makes me wonder if I’ve lost my mind. I want to invite him to join me in my bed instead of letting him sleep on the couch.
She swallowed hard. Before she could change her mind, she said, “I’ll
get you a blanket and pillow.”

Chapter 5

Jan
disappear
ed
down the hall
, h
er face
wreathed in a smile and her eyes glittering.
Kyle grinned.
Good to know that h
is
attraction for her was returned.

But the way she’d fled and their opposite lifestyles spoke volumes against that attraction. He gave a heavy sigh and moved to the window
. Enough flames remained
to light up the scene and cast
the
firemen moving about
in silhouette. As instructed, they were merely keeping the fire from spreading
.
A
light
breeze still picked up embers and carried them like fireflies into the night. Any one of them could easily s
pread the fire to
another building or the dry grass or trees in the farmyard
.

His
temporary o
ffice
and several new houses
were already under construction at the other end of the complex. Thankfully, the arsonist hadn’t chosen that area.
W
hat was the point of the arson
?
What message
did
the person intend to send
me
by burning the barn that
I
was already having dismantled?
Was it only to warn me of the possibility of other fires to come?

Jan spoke behind him. “Here’s a sheet, blanket and pillow.”

Kyle turned and took the items from her. Her face was still flushed, her
brown
hair reflected
the red
of
the fire
truck
’s flashing lights and the light freckles standing out across her nose.
God, she’s cute. Dare I kiss her?
“Thanks.”

“Shall I make up the sofa for you?”

“No, thanks, I can do it.”

She turned away before he could decide whether he
dared try
for the kiss
.
He sighed and called after her, “
Goodnight.”

“Sleep tight,” she replied, a smile in her voice.

***

Jan lay in her bed for a long time, unable to fall asleep. Occasionally, she heard voices out by the barn. Peeking out the window, she saw firemen still at work, making sure the fire remained contained to the remains of the barn.

Once, she was sure she heard Aunt Esther weeping, but when she turned on the light, nothing was there.
I’m sure not going back upstairs to see if she’s in the rocking chair in Nancy’s room.
Pulling her pillow over her head, she lay still and at last fell asleep.

When she awoke the next morning,
Kyl
e was already gone, his bedding neatly folded on the end of the sofa.
Darn, I planned to at least send him off with coffee and some of the sweet rolls I bought for breakfast.

S
he s
tepp
ed
into the kitchen
. H
e’d found the rolls she’d put on the counter the night before. The delicious scent of coffee floated on the air. Kyle had evidently made it for her instead
.
How sweet of him.

She grinned
,
poured a cup
and
sipp
ed
the hot
, fragrant
brew.
She g
az
ed
out the kitchen window as she ate one of the rolls
. T
he fire trucks had all left. Kyle
stood
talking to another man near the black piles of ash where the barn had been.