“The chief thinks it’s fishy,” Leah said. “I think the deputy’s asking around to see if anyone saw anything out of the ordinary.”
Rosie inhaled a deep breath as she fought back the tears that welled in her eyes. “Who would do such a thing?”
The fire was out within a half hour or so, which seemed like forever. Liam stood by Leah, watching the deputy and fire marshal walk around the bar. They were looking for evidence—answers to what had caused the fire.
Leah stood in silence as she watched the men work. They picked up their gear and reeled the hoses back to their trucks with huge cranks that looked too heavy to turn.
Nothing was left of Levy’s, except for the concrete slab it had been built on—covered in piles of burnt wood and ashes. Devastation shattered her hopes for the future of Levy’s. This fire had ruined her plans for the place. Now, they’d have to start from the ground up, and she wasn’t sure what would happen in the meantime.
“Witnesses have said they saw a light-blue, Chevy truck hanging around before the flames started,” the big-bellied deputy said, standing next to them.
The pit of Leah’s stomach fell at the thought of who drove a light-blue, Chevy truck. “Jake.”
“What’s that, young lady?” the deputy questioned, leaning in closer to hear her better.
With Liam’s steady gaze on her, she cleared her throat and asked, “Was there a description of who was driving the truck?”
“Witnesses say it was a young man with short gel-spiked, brown hair,” he said. “They weren’t able to give me much more of a description than that.”
Leah felt embarrassment, and complete disbelief that he’d have the nerve to do something like this.
Taking a quick glance at Liam, then turning to the deputy, she said, “I’m pretty sure it was my ex, Jake.”
22
“Everything happened so fast,” she explained to Rachel. “First we’re talking about the plans for Levy’s, then he proposes, and then Levy’s is up in flames!”
“That’s just insane! How’s Liam holding up?”
“He’s taking it a bit better than I thought he would. But just a minute, I want to talk to you about you and Scott for a minute,” Leah said, pressing the phone closer to her ear. “What’s the word?”
“He met me at the diner last night and told me how much he loves me and how stupid he was for the way he acted,” Rachel said. “He apologized and told me that he’s happy, more than happy, about the news of our baby, and he can’t wait.”
“That’s great, Rach!” Leah looked down at her notebook. “Say, when you get a chance, talk to Scott and see if he’d be able to help me out with building advice. I know he works for that construction company, and I thought about having him and his guys rebuild Levy’s.” She jotted down a couple notes. “I have a plan and I won’t let this fire stop it.”
“Lee, where are you going to find the money to rebuild it?” Rachel asked. “I mean, I’ll talk to him, but I’m just thinking about the cost—”
“I have a plan and nothing’s going to stop me. I’m not sure how it’ll work, but I have to try something. This bar was their livelihood, and they have so many memories with it, it hurts to think about it.”
“You’ve always been one of those go-get-’em types,” Rachel said. “I’ll let you know what Scott says when he gets home. Is there anything I can do, other than that, to help out? Do you want me to come over and help with anything?”
“I don’t think there’s really too much to do,” Leah said. “They finished putting everything in dumpsters a couple of hours ago. I’m going to run through my ideas and see what else I can think of. I may need your help with creativity. You’ve always been the one with the creative mind.”
“Sounds good. Call any time.”
Leah hung up and jotted down more notes. Not only did she need to figure out a way to draw people into Cedar Valley, she needed to figure out a way to get this small town involved enough to raise money for Levy’s. She scribbled down a reminder to ask Liam to call the insurance company later to get a few of their questions answered.
The more notes she scribbled, the more excited she became, and anxious. There were a few doubts that were heavy on her mind. A lot of what ifs—the biggest what if being, what if this small town wasn’t at all as close as she thought it was, and the plan to raise money failed miserably.
She shook the negative thoughts and continued to write down every thought that came to mind. She had turned the diner around—sure it was in a big city, but if she had to be honest, the City Diner had to be a harder project than Levy’s. Cities may have a lot of people, but the focus of all those people was all over the place, unlike a small town where everyone was able and willing to help each other out—at least she could only hope.
The back door cracked hard against the frame as Liam walked in. Without saying much, he walked through the house like he was on a mission to find something.
“I called the insurance company today,” Liam hollered from the next room over. Leah stood from her chair and walked to the doorway. “They’re unable to tell me anything until they have their report from the Marshal. It’s going to take some time.”
She watched as he paced the living room, almost ransacking the place in an attempt to locate whatever he was searching for. He stopped and jammed both hands into his pockets. She watched from across the room. He was tired; she could tell by the way he leaned against the fireplace mantel. He hadn’t slept much since the day of the fire. He had been too busy thinking and trying to figure out everything in one day. Leah had to remind him that this was going to take time. She had told him they’d need to take it one day at a time. The stress he reflected was overwhelming, but there was nothing more that she could do than just be there for him.
“Gramps is taking it hard,” Liam said, propping a bent elbow on top of the mantel. Wes hadn’t been home for more than a few hours at night—just long enough to eat and get some sleep. Leah had seen him once, and that was early this morning. She assumed he was down at Levy’s—where ever he was, she was sure he was working hard to get things figured out. “The insurance is willing to help out as soon as they receive the report from the Marshal.”
It was standard procedure for any structure fire—they needed to make sure arson caused by the owner was ruled out prior to writing the big check. The only downfall to that was there was no time frame for how long the investigation would take, or how long it’d be before the report was sent to the insurance company.
“Have you talked with the chief about it?” Leah asked, walking into the living room to sit down.
“Well, he said something’s odd about it,” Liam explained, running a hand through his hair to wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead.
“Has he said what he thinks might’ve happened?”
Liam’s face twisted with anger before he said, “He isn’t a hundred percent sure, but they’re saying there’s a pretty high bet that this was some sort of arson caused by the man witnesses had seen leaving the bar before the fire.”
The thought of someone wanting to burn down a local business in a small town was awful, but the thought of Jake being the one to blame was downright bullshit. This family was well liked. She hadn’t heard one bad thing about the Spencer’s since she had met them, and Jake had no right to mess with this family, if he was the one who had caused this fire.
Tossing his arms out to the side, he pushed away from the mantel. “I told the chief I wasn’t sure who would’ve done this, but I’ll find out.” He grabbed his hat from the center of the table. “And when I do, there’ll be hell to pay. If Jake’s the one who did it, he’d better hope the deputies get him before I do.”
* * *
The investigation lasted longer than expected. They had brought the big dogs in to help with it—help uncover something they may have missed. With each passing day, Liam became more agitated and worked harder on the farm.
Leah focused all of
her attention on their plans for Levy’s. The thought of someone wanting to burn the place to the ground continued to bother her, and she hated the fact that the investigation was taking as long as it was. Whether or not it was arson, the bar needed to be rebuilt, and no matter what, that’d send a huge message to whoever had it out for this family, Jake included.
She prepared the flyers and posters to hang around town and in the surrounding areas, announcing their grand opening. She borrowed Liam’s truck and drove into the city to hand out flyers to everyone who would take one. One way or another, the bar would be built and the grand opening would happen.
She had asked for Rachel’s help handing them out, and Rachel had agreed to do it, once she got off work. Leah handed out as many as she could before meeting up with Rachel.
Cool air hit her face as she walked into the City Diner. She hadn’t figured handing out flyers was so exhausting, let alone time consuming—not that she was complaining because it was the least she could do.
“Hey, Lee,” Rachel called out, waving a hand from the counter.
Smiling, Leah zigzagged through the tables until she reached their favorite booth. Chuckling to herself at the sight of Rachel—squeezed in on her side of the booth, chomping down her ice cream cone.
Wiping her chocolate-covered mouth with a napkin, Rachel said, “Have you had a lot of feedback?” Grabbing a flyer, she looked it over and smiled. “This looks great. I told you that you’d be able to do it.”
“It took a while, but once I got the computer to work with me, it went smoothly,” Leah admitted. She enjoyed working on a computer, but sometimes technology was a pain in the ass. It had taken her more time than she had expected to get things lined up on the page correctly, not including coming up with the right words.
“It looks great,” Rachel assured her. “How’s everything going over there?”
“Not as great as we had hoped. The insurance is stalling on the check because they’re waiting on the report. They want to make sure there wasn’t any foul play involved.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Is there anything suspicious about it?”
Leah nodded. Rachel’s eyes grew wider. “I didn’t tell you?” Rachel shook her head. “I guess the chief thinks something’s fishy about it.”
Making a pile of used napkins from the mess her ice cream had made, Rachel said, “I’ve never heard one bad thing about that family. Who would’ve done something so disrespectful to them?”
“You can’t say anything,” Leah whispered, leaning in closer to Rachel and motioned for her to do the same—laughing when Rachel couldn’t move in closer; she was stuck. “Witnesses told the deputy a light blue Chevy truck was seen leaving the bar right before the fire.”
Gasping, Rachel covered her mouth with both hands. Removing her hands and leaning in as close as she could, she whispered, “Who drives a light-blue truck?”
Sitting back, Rachel looked like she had seen a ghost. Placing a hand over her mouth, she muffled, “Jake drives a light-blue truck, doesn’t he?”
The bell above the door buzzed as an older couple walked in. From a distance, Leah was able to see it was the owners of the diner. They were well in their late sixties and the sweetest couple anyone could ever meet—aside from Wes and Rosie.
Carrying a piece of paper with him, the older man made his way to their booth. His looks hadn’t changed one bit since the last time she had seen him. If she had one wish granted to her, she’d wish to age just as fair as this older couple had.
“Leah,” he greeted, gently patting her shoulder. “It’s always nice to see you.”
“Same to you, Mr. Williams.”
Holding up the flyer in his hand, he asked, “I saw this on our walk.”
He slid into the empty seat across from her and laid the paper flat on the table in front of them. “I know you’ve spent quite some time with that boy,” Mr. Williams said, running a hand over the scruff on his face. “What’s his name?”
“Liam Spencer, sir,” Leah said, smiling like a love-struck fool.
“That’s right,” Mr. Williams said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a thick black leather-covered checkbook and a pen. Opening to a blank check, he scribbled in the empty spaces. He signed his name delicately—professionally—on the bottom of the check, and carefully tore it along the perforated lines. He handed her the check, and said, “Please give this to the family and tell them from one business to another, we’re deeply sorry for the loss of their business.”
She ignored the amount that so feverishly glared at her. She wanted to look, but not wanting to be rude, she quickly folded the check and nodded. “Yes, for sure, I’ll tell them. Thank you so much, Mr. Williams.”
Standing from her seat, she gently shook his hand. Walking unsteadily with a cane, Mrs. Williams made her way around the maze of tables and chairs.
“My dear,” she said, wrapping an arm around Leah. “How are you doing?”
Leah smiled. She always loved to see Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams was a spitting image of her grandmother—looks, personality and all. “I’m doing fine,” she said, finishing the hug with a gentle pat on the woman’s back. “How are you?”
“Well, I’m doing much better since the doctor gave me this cane,” she said as she flung the cane out to show it off. “About time that damned doctor listened to me.”
“That’s great, Mrs. Williams,” Leah said.
“Say, about that young man you’ve been seeing lately.”
Leah wasn’t too surprised how fast the word had gotten around—even for a bigger city, shit traveled fast. Without much of a response, Leah smiled and asked, “Yes, what about him?”
Mrs. Williams squeezed into the booth and motioned for Leah to do the same. Rachel walked off to grab another ice cream cone, Mr. Williams trailing right behind her.
“I heard you were in an accident and he came to your rescue,” she said with a slight smirk on her face. “I figure he’s your knight in shining armor?”
Leah couldn’t help but laugh. She was far from surprised at what the old gossipers had stirred up.
“One could only wish that’s how it truly happened,” Leah said, letting out a heavy sigh.
Mrs. Williams patted Leah’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Tell me, dear,” she said. “Tell me everything about him. I wanna know all about him.”
If it hadn’t been for her wink and charming old ways, Leah wouldn’t have told her much. But since she had known the woman for quite some time, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to set the whole story straight—put a rest to all the rumors.
Leah told Mrs. Williams about the night she had first met Liam and ended with the event of the fire—leaving nothing out, except their most intimate moments—which happened more often now that they were never apart.
Wiping tears from her cheeks, Mrs. Williams said, “Dear, I think you’ve finally found yourself a good one.” Reaching into her purse, she grabbed a few Kleenex. Stating matter-of-factly, she said, “If I were you, I’d hold on tight to that one and never let him go.”
Leah smiled and nodded while Mrs. Williams squeezed her hands, with a warm smile on her face. “You’ve always been the granddaughter I’ve never had.”
Tears stung Leah’s eyes as she fought to hold them back. With everything that had happened in the last few months, Leah had no control over her emotions anymore. Everything seemed to affect her one way or the other, and right now, sitting here, listening to Mrs. Williams say what she had just said…
“I’m so proud of you,” Mrs. Williams continued on. “I don’t blame you one bit for wanting to leave this busy city for what you have going for you there.”
Mrs. Williams held tight to Leah’s hands as she spoke to her. Her voice cracked a few times with emotion, but she fought it back. “We’re going to miss you here,” she said, her voice quivered in sync with her bottom lip. She waved a hand in front of them and said, “I know, enough with the soap box, right?”
Her l
augh was contagious. It was the kind of laugh that you heard among close family or friends who were sharing funny stories as they gathered around a fire. Leah smiled, allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks. She had never realized how close she had grown to the Williams’, until now.
“That’s probably a good idea, or we’ll both ruin our beautiful faces,” Leah said, wiping away what she could only hope were the last of her tears. “I can imagine I’m not a pretty sight when I cry.”
Laughter roared from Mrs. Williams once again, but now, Leah could see across the diner that Rachel had been affected by this conversation as much as she had. Ugly black streaks smeared down Rachel’s cheeks—her tears had stolen her makeup away from her eyes. Rachel waddled her way over to them. Mr. Williams wasn’t too far behind her.
“If I start crying, I won’t be able to stop,” Rachel chimed in.
“And when I cry,” Leah added. “It’s not pretty. My crying face is far more ugly than a nasty old bulldog with an under bite.”
Mrs. Williams tossed her head back, letting out a deep belly laugh. “Where… Where…” She waved a hand in front of her, laughing harder now.
After everything the last few months had thrown at her, it had done Leah good to have this conversation with the people she had grown to love. It was the relief that she had needed. Now, with the love and money they had received from the Williams’, she had found hope once again, and couldn’t wait to get back home to Liam. Home—finally, a place she knew she belonged.
23
“Hey, Wes,” she greeted, entering the living room from the front porch. “Where’s Liam?”
Wes motioned out the window and said, “He had to run and meet with the fire chief.”
She slid down into the chair by the door. “Is everything ok?”
Wes shrugged, and said, “As far as I know. They’re discussing the fire is all.”
Leah leaned back in the chair, grabbing her phone from her pocket. Holding her phone up after dialing Liam’s number, she said, “I’m going to give him a call. I’ll be right back.”
All She Ever Wanted (Cedar Valley Novel Book 1) Page 19