“Is that what you want?” Ridge asked, leaning against the countertop.
“It is.”
“Then you should do it.”
Savannah turned to him with a question. “You don’t think it’s strange for a twenty-eight-year-old to be going back to school?”
Ridge kept his eyes locked with hers so she knew he meant what he said. “No. I think it’s brave to go after what you want.”
Savannah’s lips tilted up into a slow smile as she handed him the basket of brownies. “Well, right now I want to take you to dinner. I bought you for a date, and it’s about time I lived up to it.”
Savannah thanked Ridge as he opened the passenger door of his truck for her. He backed out of her driveway and headed the short drive to the Pink Pig BBQ. The gigantic rotating pig was lit up with a spotlight as they pulled into the parking lot.
When they went inside, a girl of about sixteen smiled past Savannah at Ridge. “Evenin’, Ridge. Two?” Her dark brown eyes landed curiously on Savannah.
“Yes, please. Tamika, this is Savannah Ambrose. She’s new here. Savannah, this is Tamika Foster. Her grandfather, Darius, owns the Pink Pig.”
“Nice to meet you,” Savannah told the girl who grabbed two menus and led them to a table.
“You too.”
Tamika set the menus down, took their drink orders, and strode off to the kitchen. The menu was small but full of delicious dishes. And Tamika was quick with their food and drinks.
“You know all about my life now. What about yours?” Savannah asked after taking a bite of her BBQ sandwich.
“Grew up in Shadows Landing. My parents, aunts, and uncles all left for Florida after we graduated from high school. They bought a small resort and run it now. I have a sister, Tinsley, who’s an artist. She has a gallery right up the street. I’m also very close to my cousins who are more like siblings to me. Recently we’ve become close with our extended family in Keeneston, Kentucky,” Ridge explained as they ate. She remembered some of the other Faulkners—such as Wade—who was now on his honeymoon with Darcy Delmar-Faulkner. Savannah hoped to get a job at Darcy’s museum in Shadows Landing.
“I think I saw some of them at the auction and the museum opening.”
Ridge nodded. “We do travel in packs,” he said, laughing. And their pack had gotten much larger with the Davies family from Keeneston coming down for all weddings and sometimes to just hang out.
“I read that you were an architect in Charleston before starting your own company,” Savannah said.
“I was. I love designing. It’s actually my favorite thing to do. I just got tired of builders messing up my projects. I also got tired of sitting in an office. So, I went old-school. Back to when architects were on site and knew every inch of a building because they were there, helping build it. I’m much happier now.” Ridge looked at her and held her stare. “You should take risks to find your happiness. It might be scary, but if you never take risks, how do you know what you can accomplish?”
It was rhetorical, but Savannah felt as if Ridge was speaking to her heart. It was time for her to take a risk to find happiness. The first risk was to enroll in college. She was done hiding. Done playing it safe. She was ready to go after what she wanted.
Ridge insisted on paying for dinner and stood up from the booth when they were done. He reached down and held out his hand to help her from the booth. Savannah placed her hand in his, and just like every time they touched, she felt excitement from the tips of her fingers into the deepest part of her heart. She was expecting him to let go of her hand, but he didn’t. Instead, Ridge held her hand as they left the Pink Pig. While she didn’t know most of the people there, she knew they were all going to be talking about her. Judging from the whispers and stares, Ridge didn’t take many women out on dates. The idea of that made her smile and her heart soar as they left the restaurant.
Ridge was enjoying himself more than he’d ever dreamed. He had fun talking with Savannah. She was kind, funny, witty, and completely down to earth. She wasn’t anything like he’d originally thought, and he chided himself for prejudging her. He also noticed she hadn’t pulled her hand away from his as they drove down Main Street. It excited him to hold her hand. Something he hadn’t felt before. When he turned left onto Palmetto Drive, though, Ridge suddenly went rigid.
“Is that smoke?” Savannah asked.
“Call 911,” Ridge told her in answer. There was smoke filling the night air as he sped toward her home.
“My house is on fire!” Savannah gasped, panicking as she gave the address to dispatch.
Ridge parked a house down from hers on the grass and together they ran toward the flames and smoke now visible above her azalea bushes.
Savannah gasped when they rounded the hedge and saw that the kitchen was in flames. “Move your car so the fire truck can get in here,” Ridge ordered as he ran straight for the fire.
By the time he heard the first siren in the distance, Ridge had the hose hooked up and was spraying down the house around the kitchen to try to contain the fire. Flames licked the porch door. The screen door he was so fond of eavesdropping from had melted.
Ridge was able to get inside a ways after spraying down the door and battled the flames back, but only a foot or so. The smoke was thick and choked him as he made his way farther inside. He wasn’t going to last long. He wanted to spray the walls leading to the dining room and the living room to make it harder for the fire to spread.
“We got it, Ridge!”
Ridge felt Granger, the sheriff of Shadows Landing and one of his family’s closest friends, tap him on the shoulder. Ridge backed out, letting Granger pull him from the smoke as the volunteer firefighters set up lines and began to douse the fire with water, way more water than the puny garden hose had been capable of producing.
Ridge was coughing, his lungs were burning, and his eyes watered as Granger and the fire department attacked the fire. “Ridge!” Savannah called out as she ran toward him. Tears were rolling down her pale face as she looked between the fire and his face. “Are you okay?”
“It’s only in your kitchen. Your house should be able to be saved,” Ridge told her between coughing fits.
“I’m not worried about the house. I have insurance. I was worried about you. What were you thinking running into the house? You could have died!”
Ridge blinked as Savannah pulled off her sweater and poured a bottle of water over it. She pressed it to his eyes and Ridge felt relief. The cool water felt so good after the stinging smoke.
“I’m fine, although a garden hose isn’t much of a weapon. I wanted to save the house for you,” Ridge admitted.
Savannah’s worried frown softened, and she reached for his hand. Suddenly she tensed and looked behind him. “Ridge. Something isn’t right here.”
4
Savannah shivered as the fire in her kitchen raged on. It felt as if the devil were dancing a jig on her grave, fingers of unease prickled their way down her spine as she narrowed her eyes.
“Ridge, something isn’t right here.”
From where they stood off to the side of the house, she could see around back. Her eyes landed on the path that led toward the river. She’d been weeding and slowly cleaning up the yard and hedges since she moved in. The row of azaleas in the front of the house was now pristine. After that, she’d cleared the brush and trimmed the shrubs along the back of the house so she could have a good view of the river. It had been movement from the shrubs that had seemed out of place.
Savannah started walking in that direction and Ridge followed. Feeling him behind her gave her the courage to continue toward the shadows.
“What is it?” Ridge asked quietly as she stopped at the entrance to the path leading to the river. There was a six-foot hedgerow of boxwoods on each side of her property leading toward the river. Across the back of her property was a smaller hedge made up of rosebushes against a white picket fence. In the middle of the fence was an arbor lined with multiple colo
rs and varieties of clematis.
“Part of the arbor is broken,” Savannah told Ridge as she realized what felt out of place.
“Okay,” he said slowly and Savannah knew he didn’t understand why it was giving her the heebie-jeebies. “I can fix that in less than a minute,” he said, looking at the small white wooden piece of the arbor hanging loose.
“I finished trimming this all back just a couple days ago. I look at this arbor all the time. This piece wasn’t broken when we left for dinner,” Savannah told him.
“So?”
“Miss Ambrose!” Savannah turned around and saw the sheriff walking their way with a fireman next to him.
“Yes?”
“We haven’t met yet. I’m Granger Fox, the sheriff. And this is Chief Lambert of the fire department.”
“Savannah Ambrose,” she replied automatically as she shook their hands. “Thank you for saving my house.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Chief Lambert said. Where Granger was in his thirties and had the chiseled look of an athlete, Chief Lambert looked to be in his early fifties with a big white mustache and a big pot belly. However, there was no doubt in her mind that Chief Lambert would be able to carry her or anybody else out of harm’s way. His shoulders were wider than a barn door. “The fire was started because the gas stovetop was left on. A dishtowel was partially on the stove and caught fire. It caused the old cabinets to go up like kindling. It was a good thing you caught it early or the house would be a total loss.”
Savannah knew her mouth gaped because what he said wasn’t true. “You’re wrong. I never leave the stovetop on. Not only that, but I haven’t used it today. I only baked and used the oven, not the stovetop.”
“I’m sure it was just an oversight,” Granger said, trying to placate her, but she wouldn’t be pacified.
“You’re wrong,” she said again, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.
“I assure you, it’s a clear-cut accident,” Chief Lambert said, backing up the sheriff.
“No, it’s not.” Savannah bit off the words as she felt her heart beating in her chest.
“Granger, Chief,” Ridge said, getting involved. “I was there, and the stove was not on.”
Both men looked at them disbelievingly. “We’ll show you,” Chief Lambert said as he turned and led them back toward the house. “We were able to save the house. The kitchen will need to be gutted and there’s some minor smoke damage, but nothing a good cleaning and airing out won’t fix. The house is livable, just not the kitchen.”
Savannah was both thankful and annoyed. “Thank you for saving the house, Chief, but I swear on my life, that stove was not used today. Then the whole arbor thing . . . I think someone set the fire on purpose.”
“Arbor?” Granger asked.
“That’s what we were looking at,” Savannah explained. “There was a broken lattice in the arbor that wasn’t there just hours ago.”
Chief and Granger shared a look and Savannah knew exactly what it meant. It meant they thought she was being an unreasonable female. Penn had given her that same look many times.
“I’ll look into it,” Granger said in a way Savannah was sure meant he wouldn’t.
Well, if no one was going to look into it, she would.
“Are you really going to look into it?” Ridge asked Granger as he examined the broken lattice.
“I told you I was. Have I ever lied?” Granger used his flashlight to look around the arbor area and Ridge felt bad for insulting him. However, neither Granger nor Lambert seemed to believe the stove had not been on when they’d left for dinner. So much so, Ridge started to doubt himself.
“No. You never lie. Or at least not well.”
Granger chuckled as he walked in the backyard, but then his flashlight suddenly stopped sweeping the yard. “Does Miss Ambrose have a boat?”
“I don’t know, why?” Ridge asked.
“Just wondering,” Granger said in a way Ridge knew he was lying. “Is anyone staying here tonight?”
“Something is wrong! We aren’t crazy.”
Granger shook his head. “I don’t know yet. But if it wasn’t an accident . . .”
Granger didn’t need to finish his sentence. Ridge already knew the answer. “I’ll see if she’ll let me stay with her.”
“I’m sure you would make the sacrifice,” Granger said teasingly as they made their way back to the house. The fire crew was cleaning up, and Savannah was curled up on a chair on the porch with a big blanket, drinking a large glass of wine.
“Miss Ambrose,” Granger said in his cop voice.
“Please, call me Savannah,” she said with a sigh.
“Savannah, I see what you mean about the arbor. Do you have a boat?”
“No, why?”
Ridge listened but didn’t talk. He had the same question as Savannah.
“It’s hard to tell because the tide is coming in, but I think a boat pulled up to your yard. The grass is indented as if it were kayak-sized or a small rowboat pulled ashore. Now, it could also be an alligator. Goodness knows Bubba is big enough to cause the same marks.”
“Bubba?” Savannah asked with her brow crinkled.
“He’s a very large gator that is known to wander around the houses here. If you see him, Gator can catch and move him,” Granger explained.
“I’m confused,” Savannah said, gripping the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “If I see a gator named Bubba, I’m supposed to call another gator so he’ll move?”
Ridge snickered and Savannah shot him a dirty look. “I’m sorry. The alligator is named Bubba. Gator is a person who removes gators. So if you see Bubba the gator, you call Gator the person to remove him. Is that as clear as mud now?”
“I think I’ve had too much to drink because that somehow makes sense.”
“Either way, it would make me feel better if you had someone here tonight,” Granger finished.
“Sheriff,” a young firefighter called out near them. “I’m going to stay tonight to make sure the fire is completely out.”
Ridge looked to Savannah who shrugged. “I’m going to sit out here for a while. I have fans running through the house and all the windows open. The bedrooms don’t smell too bad, so I’ll be okay here. Thank you.”
Ridge wanted to see what Granger came up with. The idea that someone set the fire on purpose didn’t seem likely. Sure, there were questionable people in Shadows Landing, maybe a few drunk pirate re-enactors, but not arsonists.
“I can stay if you’d like,” Ridge offered, but Savannah just shook her head.
“I’m fine, but that’s very nice of you to offer. I’m pretty sure that date I bought is all over. You’ve been a huge help, thank you.”
“I’ll be here early in the morning with my crew. We’ll get your kitchen back to right in no time.”
Savannah looked up at Ridge and felt herself take a deep breath. She was trying to be brave, but it felt good to know that Ridge would be back soon. “Thank you. I emailed my insurance agent who said he’ll be here tomorrow.”
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours. I’ll draw up some plans for you to consider. In the meantime, here’s my phone number.” Savannah reached up and took the business card from Ridge. “Please call me if you need anything at all.”
“Thank you, Ridge,” Savannah said, meaning it more than she could ever tell him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Savannah watched as Granger and Ridge walked off together. Their heads bent toward each other as they talked and she wondered what they were saying. But all too soon Ridge left, then Granger, then Chief Lambert, and soon she was all alone with a rookie firefighter who sat in her kitchen, making sure all the embers were out.
Savannah poured a glass of white wine from the bottle that the rookie had rescued from her refrigerator. This house didn’t feel like hers. She’d never owned anything of her own. Everything had been Penn’s. Since the divorce, she’d gotten her first place all by herself. She’d tak
en title to her little convertible and had driven away, hoping to never look back. Then Penn had delayed in deeding this cottage over to her. When she finally got here, she was a different person from who she’d been when she’d signed the divorce papers.She was free.And she was in charge of her future. Something she had never been with Penn.
Now she could get her degree. She could have her own career. She could find love. The kind that wasn’t one-sided. Savannah’s lips turned up as she thought of Ridge. What would it be like to be loved by him?
5
“Thank you,” Savannah said to Chief Lambert as he handed her a brown paper bag from Stomping Grounds Diner. Savannah had fallen asleep on the front porch couch and only woken up when she heard a vehicle coming down her gravel driveway.
When she’d awoken, she’d found that the rookie had put a blanket around her, her shoes had been taken off, and the wine was back in the fridge. The rookie had done well and she’d told Chief Lambert that when she first saw him get out of the truck. But then he’d handed her breakfast and she almost broke out in tears. It was overwhelming. She thought he’d written her off the night before and here he was, bringing her breakfast at six in the morning.
“I thought you’d be hungry without having a working kitchen.”
Lasting Shadows: Shadows Landing #3 Page 3