“Were you at Thomas’ house any last night?” Cop number one was medium height and obviously never missed a meal.
“Just to pick him up before dinner. We came here after.” She turned back to look at Thomas. Cop number two had gone inside to help him with Nancy. The two men were half helping, half carrying her into the living room.
“She’s okay.” Cop number one smiled gently at her. “Just relieved.”
What? Mina gave him a confused look.
“Thomas’ house burned down.” He watched her, waiting for her reaction. Nice or not, he still had to do his job.
“What?” That didn’t make any sense. How could his house burn down?
“It didn’t just burn down. There was an explosion that started it.”
An explosion. In Thomas’ house. She tightened the blanket around her shoulders as her mind began working up a never ending series of ‘what ifs’. He could have been there. He would be dead now. They could have been there. They would be…
A tear ran down her cheek. Heavy hands landed on her shoulders, turning her into a wide, solid chest. Thomas wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face against him.
“Everything’s okay angel. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head gently as she tried to wrap her mind around what had happened.
His house was gone and if she had made one decision differently he would be gone with it. She bit her lip trying to control the tears, but the idea of never seeing him again was more than she could handle. Thomas stroked her hair, holding her tightly as he let her cry against him. After a few minutes tucked into Thomas’ warm embrace, she didn’t have the energy to cry any more. She was exhausted.
“Let’s get her inside so she can warm up and we can talk.”
“Thanks Jer.” Thomas carefully led her into the house, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. “Do you want to go get on some warmer clothes?”
She did. She needed a few minutes alone. She looked up into his eyes and felt a lump in her throat. All she could do was nod.
Thomas cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin as he leaned down to gently brush his lips over hers. “Everything will be okay. I promise.” She nodded again and managed a weak smile. Turning to head up the stairs, she almost made it to her bathroom before she found the energy to cry some more.
SIXTEEN
“Tommy honey, I’m so sorry.” His mother picked her way around the yellow crime tape surrounding what was left of his house. The fire inspector was planning to come by later today, until then, no one was allowed near it.
Not that they could get too close anyway. Even with all the water they used in attempt to douse the flames and the bitter chill in the air, the charred pile of debris continued smoking.
The cold was however, making his leg ache. Made worse by the extra pain he was in from trying to impress Mina this morning. What he wouldn’t give for one of those pills he’d avoided having to take. Too bad they were probably charcoal. He’d have to add a refill to his list of shit to get when he went into town this morning.
“It’s alright. Just gonna be a pain in the ass.”
A huge one. His head was beginning to hurt right along with his leg as he thought of everything he was going to have to do to straighten this out.
Rich slapped him on the back. “I’m here for ya, if there’s anything I can do.” He looked over what was left of the house. “They know what started it?”
He came out to meet them this morning to check out the damage the fire did to the house. Damage ended up not being the right word for what was done to his house. Gut, incinerate, destroy. Those were much more applicable.
“Not yet. Said they might not be able to tell exactly what happened.”
Rich nodded slowly. “You had insurance, right?”
“Yeah. Their man is coming out in the morning. Then I guess they come up with a number for me. There’s still a mortgage, so they have to be in on everything too.” He rubbed his temples with one hand and moved the pharmacy to the top of his mental list.
“Your lady friend going to help you put it back together?” Rich gave him a knowing look.
“How’d you hear about that?”
“Everybody who knows your mother knows about it, so basically everyone knows.”
“Great.”
Rich gave him a confused look. “What’s the big deal? You like her right?”
“Yeah.” Hell yeah he liked her.
Standing here in front of the burned out shell of his house, all he wanted to think about was their time together this morning. Either he was still in shock, or it just didn’t really matter. All that really mattered was Mina was okay.
He shivered, shoving the thought of her being in the house when it happened out of his mind. He couldn’t even let himself consider that as a possibility. Him, yeah. Life would go on for everyone, but Mina had kids who needed her. The thought of her kids being without a mother or a father bothered him. It bothered him a lot.
“Then who cares who knows?”
He did. He didn’t like the pressure that went with everyone knowing your business and he certainly didn’t want Mina to feel it. She had enough on her plate with raising kids alone and running a business. He didn’t want their relationship to be one more thing for her to worry about. He wanted something to be easy in her life for once. He would do his best to make sure of it.
Rich forked a hand through his disheveled hair as he glanced at Nancy where she stood on the far end of the house scanning the debris.
His cousin looked like shit this morning with bags under his eyes and wrinkled clothes under his unzipped Carhart coat. Made sense considering Nancy probably started blowing up his phone before dawn too. Hopefully that was all it was.
“You thought any on that offer?”
He had. “I just can’t imagine selling the farm.”
“You’ve got a lot on your plate man. First your leg, now you gotta rebuild a whole damn house. Just sell it. You’d have enough money to live on for years.”
Thomas watched his mother as she neared the finish of her lap around the remains of his house. Selling the farm would break her heart. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Rich followed his gaze. “Don’t be stupid man. We may never get another offer like this. She’d get over it.” He zipped his coat up against the cold and shoved his hands in the pockets. “I’ll hold them off a little more. Start on your house. Spend time with Mina. Selling will start sounding like a better and better idea.”
Thomas was over this conversation. He had too many other, more pressing things to deal with, like making sure Mina had recovered from the shock of this morning. If not, maybe he could find a way to help her feel better.
He nodded his head to placate his cousin. Eventually he’d have to tell him he had no intention of selling, but he was guessing that conversation wouldn’t end well and right now he didn’t have the energy to deal with it.
“Good. I gotta go. Call me later.” Rich jogged across the frozen grass, giving Nancy a peck on the cheek before climbing into his souped-up truck, the engine roaring as he took off down the road, a fog of exhaust streaming behind him.
Nancy stepped to his side, having completed her inspection of the site, and wrapped her arm around his waist. “You know, he answers his phone when I call.”
He would never, ever live that down. On her death bed, his mother was going to bring up the night she thought he was dead because he didn’t answer his phone.
“If I left the ringer up during dinner, you would have yelled at me for being rude.”
“That doesn’t sound like me at all.” At least she’d regained her sense of humor.
“Let’s go. I can’t look at this anymore.” She left him to get in the drivers’ side of her Camry. He limped to the back seat and scooched himself in, stretching his leg across the seat. “Would your truck be easier for you to ride in? Maybe Mina can bring us back to get it tonight.”
“Can’t. Keys were in the h
ouse.”
“Why were your keys in the house?”
He motioned to his horizontal leg. “I wasn’t driving.”
“Was the spare in there too?”
He hadn’t thought of that. He shook his head. “I’ll call Rich, see if he can bring them over to Mina’s later tonight.”
“I need to stop at the store while we’re out. I told her I’d bring dessert.” She glanced up at him in the rear view mirror. “You’re going to love her kids.”
He wasn’t too worried about that. With the mother they had, he was sure they were great kids.
He was worried what they would think of him. They didn’t have the greatest experience with men, and they were both old enough to understand what was going on. He knew he wouldn’t have been too warm and fuzzy toward a man his mother had brought around when he was a kid, maybe even now. Maybe that was another excuse she used to avoid dating.
Luckily his mother was pretty set on seeing him and Mina together. Hopefully she worked her magic on the kids and they would cut him some slack.
**************************************
Mina looked at her watch. It would figure the one time she really wanted Don to show up he would be late.
She grabbed another corner of carpet and pulled it free of the tack strips holding it in place. There were other things she’d really rather be doing, but until Don graced her with his presence, she was stuck. She pulled the utility knife from her back pocket and cut a section free so she could roll it up and chuck it into the dumpster. This may not be her favorite job, but at least the house was quiet and she had time to mentally try to work her way through the emotions of this morning.
She had gone from one extreme to the other. One minute she was experiencing pure bliss, the next she was smacked in the face by the cold hard reality of chance.
If not for chance, she could be dead. Thomas could be dead. How do you come to terms with not being in control of your own fate? Especially if, for years, the thing that kept propelling you forward was reminding yourself that you were what controlled your life. No one else, and nothing they did could control you unless you allowed it.
This morning was a reminder that wasn’t true. It left her feeling out of control and that was a place she hated to be. With one exception apparently.
She obviously didn’t mind when Thomas took control. Maybe even liked it. She trusted him. More than she should at this point which should scare her. It didn’t. Maybe it was because of her friendship with Nancy, but she doubted it.
There was something about him, a quiet strength that made her feel safe. Something in his eyes, something she had not seen in any man’s eyes when they looked at her before, made her feel like he was really looking at her. Not her tits, not her mouth, not her ass. Her. I mean, of course he appreciated all those other things.
Clearly.
But only because they were hers.
She felt the same way. The aftermath of his injury left him very different from the strong, capable shaggy haired farmer she lusted after for months. Yet somehow, she found him even more attractive than before.
Without the distraction of his hair, she was able to appreciate the way his eyes betrayed him, showing every emotion. His beard took away the boyish charm he held before, shoving him into rugged man territory. If there was one thing she needed it was a man and Thomas had proven himself to be quite a man.
Her pulse spiked at the thought. He was almost more man than she could handle this morning. Ugh. This morning.
He’d called to tell her the house was a total loss. He’d been through so much in the past few weeks, now this. It was ridiculous. How much could one person handle?
Oddly, he hadn’t seemed that upset about it this morning. If anything, she was the one who struggled the most. Well, besides his mother, but that only made sense.
He’d been calm, comforting both she and Nancy while they fell apart. Hopefully he was still feeling the same way.
She dropped her utility knife to the floor and walked to the front window. Where in the world was Don? She needed to get this meeting with him over so she could go home and get ready for tonight. Thomas was going to be meeting Maddie and Charlie for the first time and she was a little apprehensive.
In the time since she left her husband, she had been out with exactly zero men. Her kids had never known her to be with anyone but their dad and that hadn’t exactly ended well for any of them. She just wasn’t sure how they would react to the idea of another man in their life.
She wouldn’t necessarily have to tell them she and Thomas were dating. The kids knew she and Nancy were friends. They also knew Nancy’s son’s house burned down this morning. It would only make sense he came over with her, right?
Maybe they weren’t even actually dating. What constituted “dating” now? At what point were you considered together? When did you decide to only see each other?
She suddenly felt sick.
The possibility of Thomas taking another woman out made her want to throw up. The potential he could be doing more than that with another woman made her want to scream. Once again, having time to think was proving to be a bad thing.
She checked her watch. Don was forty minutes late at this point. “Damn it.”
“Rough day?”
Mina swung toward the door, her heart pounding. Don stood inside the frame, blocking out the late afternoon light. Better late than never.
“A little I guess. You just startled me.”
He didn’t budge from the door. “Oh.” His voice was flat and unapologetic.
“I was wondering where you were. I thought we might have to reschedule.”
“I had other things going on.”
Why was he being so short with her? Normally she had to pry him away from her jobs. Now he couldn’t be bothered to even be on time? “That’s understandable.”
She smiled hoping to smooth over whatever had him so hacked. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Are you? Are you really glad I’m here Mina?”
She felt her smile freeze on her face. Something was wrong. Don’s tone was not his normal attempt at smooth and seductive. It was hostile and angry. She felt a familiar pang of panic deep in her gut. She was alone with a man who, for some unknown reason was pissed and it seemed to be directed at her. And he was blocking her only way out. She glanced around the living room, looking for another escape route.
Don snorted. “Maybe since you’re so glad to see me, you’d want to go out with me tonight? What do you think? You wanna go out with me tonight?”
What in the hell was going on?
“You know I can’t go out with you.” She tried to muster up all the sweetness she had. “It is a serious conflict of interest.”
“You sure that’s why Mina?”
She hated the way he kept saying her name, spitting it at her. The initial fear she felt was quickly being replaced by anger. Who the fuck did this guy think he was? He shows up forty five minutes late and is going to be a dick on top of it. What in the hell was he trying to accuse her of anyway? It was time to get this situation under control.
“I guess I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say, Don.” Two can play at this game. If he thought he was going to come in here and scare her into a date he was wrong. Really fucking wrong.
She watched as his ears began to turn red at the tips, the heat spreading down over his cheeks, his eyes burning into her. The vein in the side of his forehead was so pronounced she could almost time his heartbeat.
If he stroked out right here, she was just gonna let him die. There would be no mouth to mouth for him today. She might call 911. Eventually. Forty five minutes later.
Finally, he ripped the top couple of sheets off his pad and wadded them up. “Maybe I’ll just give you a little time to think about it then.” He spun around, knocking the screen door open with enough force to break the catch. He stomped down the steps and tossed the wadded up inspection forms into the dumpster.
&
nbsp; Mina watched from the porch, arms crossed, as he managed to peel out in the city truck, the smell of burnt rubber traveling quickly in the cold air. She knew he would see her in his rearview and considered flipping him off. She didn’t want him to get off on the idea he left her cowering.
She groaned as she went back inside. This project was already behind schedule. Now she had to report him and they’d have to figure out how to get this damn house inspected by someone else. It was going to set them back even more. Until then, she couldn’t do much of anything, leaving her stuck with a lot of free time on her hands.
It only took a second for her to consider maybe this wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. New man in her life, lots of spare time. Might not be such a bad thing after all. Plus, she’d finally be done with Don and his bullshit.
She shoved the last lingering thoughts of the argument with Don out of her mind, he didn’t deserve any more of her time. Lucky for her, she may have found someone who did.
SEVENTEEN
“Have you met Nancy’s son?” Maddie grabbed a pile of plates from the cabinet and headed into the dining room. “I bet he’s hot.”
Mina watched her daughter as she plunked a plate down on each placemat. “I have, and he is way, way too old for you.” The last thing she needed was her daughter crushing on Thomas.
“Oh. Like how old?” The string bean of a teenager went boy crazy a few months ago. Now boys and their varied levels of hotness dominated most of her conversations.
“Old enough to be your father.”
“Sick.”
“Exactly.”
Maddie came back in the kitchen, a thoughtful look on her face. “Does he have a son?” Her face brightened with hope.
“He does not.”
She dramatically huffed and stuck her lip out. “How am I ever going to find a boyfriend around here?”
“What in the world makes you think you could even have a boyfriend? You are only thirteen!” This girl was going to be the death of her.
Mina turned back to the steaming pot of beef and vegetable stew, stirring it before cutting the heat and popping the lid on it. Nancy and Thomas should be there any minute and she really did not want to be arguing with Maddie about age appropriate relationships when they arrived.
Run (Never Waste A Second Chance Book 1) Page 13