“The front door is open.”
“You stay here.”
I knew what Gussie had planned. She was going to save some merchandise so my grandmothers weren’t financially ruined. I stood on unsteady legs.
“I’m helping too.”
Gussie looked ready to argue then nodded. “Let’s go.”
We ran for the building.
“What are you crazy women doing?” Ted’s desperate voice called out to us.
We ignored him and continued with our mission. People formed a chain in front of Scrap This and Home Brewed, waiting for the flow of items.
The neighboring town’s fire engine trained their water on Scrap This, while another town’s ladder truck arrived and aimed their hoses at Home Brewed.
Buses pulled to a stop at the end of the parking lot. Both football teams and sets of coaches charged out of the buses.
“Get the large items, but if Chief Ridley says git, you git. Got it?” Coach Rutherford said.
“Yes, Coach!” the boys responded in unison.
The other team pulled out blankets and bottled water from their bus and set up a makeshift shelter. One teen walked over to Hannah and draped a blanket around her shoulders.
Quickly, products and tables came out of Scrap This.
“The game,” I said.
“Community first, football second,” Coach Rutherford said. “What’s the point of being a winning team if the town we represent is destroyed in the process?”
TWENTY-SEVEN
The fire crews rolled up their hoses, boots splashing in the water filling the parking lot. Polished had sustained quite a bit of damage, but was saved from total destruction. It would take Charlotte months, and a lot of money, before her store reopened. Scrap This wasn’t unscathed, though our loss was minimal compared to Polished. My grandmothers and I had started adding up the inventory ruined, quitting soon after we started. None of us wanted to face it tonight. There was plenty of time tomorrow to sort and tally it all up.
I drew in a deep breath, setting off a coughing fit as smoke still lingered in the air. More residents pulled out of the lot, heading back home. Our town had really pulled together. Warmth trickled into my heart. I needed to trust and have more faith in my community. We had our problems, created some along the way, but when push came to shove, Eden residents rallied. The football teams had gone over to Piece A Pie to share a meal. Coach Rutherford had returned to the shopping complex, delivering pizzas and drinks to the firefighters and helpers. He told us that the parents and teens of Eden had chipped in and bought the food, wanting to make the first move in patching up the relationship between them and the police.
Ted brought me a Diet Coke and a slice of pizza. “What you and Gussie did was dangerous.”
“Not that dangerous. It was safe to go in when we did. If the building was on fire like Polished, we wouldn’t have done it.”
“Shouldn’t have done it anyway. A fire can get out of hand quickly.”
“It’s my grandmothers’ livelihood.” I sat on the hood of my car. “Besides, it was Gussie’s idea. I figured if it was that bad of an idea, Wayne and Wyatt would’ve been dragging their mom away, or else would have come over to hose down Scrap This. Those guys would never let Gussie face danger without them.”
“Fine, I’ll scold Gussie too.”
A small laugh escaped me. “Good luck with that.”
Ted dumped some water onto a napkin. “You know, your grandmothers would much rather have you.”
“I want them to have both. To have it all.”
“I wonder if anyone ever can.” He stroked my face with the napkin, soot turning it from white to gray.
“Some can. It just depends on the way you go about it,” I said.
“It was still risky.”
“I’m willing to take risks when I need to.”
“Is that so?” He leaned forward, bracing himself with his hands on either side of me.
I was trapped. His green eyes locked onto my brown ones. My heart thumped out a frenzied beat I wasn’t quite sure of the reason for. Was I nervous, scared, hopeful, or anticipating something? Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my grandmothers ran up to me.
When Ted drew back, my heart rate returned to normal. I swear some disappointment skittered through me. I slid off the car.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hope pulled me into a hug. “We heard you coughing. I was trying to find out some information from Randall. No one has said anything about Daniel Burke being under arrest.”
I looked over at Ted. His eyes traveled toward an ambulance where a sheet was placed over a body. My grandmothers followed his gaze.
Steve joined our group. “Burke didn’t make it. Wyatt got him out, but it was too late.”
With the way Ted averted his gaze, I had a feeling Daniel’s death wasn’t from smoke inhalation or the flames. Daniel had found a way to take his own life. His conscience had caught up with him.
“I don’t know what to think,” Cheryl said. “He tried to hurt my granddaughter.”
“He changed his mind,” I said. “He helped me and Charlotte escape.”
“He wouldn’t have had to help you if he hadn’t started it,” Hope said.
She was right, yet I felt a need to defend Daniel. He wasn’t the good, upstanding citizen everyone believed, yet he wasn’t an unfeeling, evil monster either. He truly believed he had to kill Chad, knowing the man planned on disappearing and finding a new city to set up base and sell synthetic marijuana to teens.
Charlie. Charlie was the stumbling block in my willingness to forgive Daniel.
“He had good intentions when he started,” I said. “Once he made the first choice, he found himself tied to it and had to follow it through.”
“I think that’s true with most mistakes we can’t recover from,” Steve said.
“That’s no excuse,” Cheryl said.
“It’s not an excuse all the time.” Steve pocketed his hands and let out a resigned breath. “People sometimes make choices with the best of intentions. Like Faith getting involved in solving murders. She doesn’t want to annoy the police or interfere in a case; it’s not what motivates her, yet it’s one of the outcomes of her actions. She wants to make things better for people, and sometimes trying to make things better hurts people worse.”
Cheryl snorted. “Maybe that’s because the person was actually thinking more about themselves than the person they say they were helping.”
With his head lowered, Steve walked away.
“Grandma, that’s not fair.”
Cheryl hugged me. “Sweetie, I’m not talking about you. I know your heart. You truly do want to help.”
I pulled back some, not enough to hurt my grandmother’s feelings, but enough to let her know I was drawing a clear line. “You’re not being fair to Steve. He made a mistake. I don’t think there was malice intended in not telling me earlier about Adam. It hurt me when I found out. I felt stupid. Betrayed.”
“Come on, Cheryl.” Hope took hold of her arm.
“Where are we going?”
“To apologize to Steve. I don’t want him run out of town, and neither does Faith. And if she doesn’t, you shouldn’t.”
Cheryl studied me for a moment. She smiled softly and tweaked my nose. “Fine. I’ll do it for Faith. But that man still aggravates me, and I don’t think I’ll put him back on my Christmas cookie list.”
Well, at least he was back on the Christmas card list. “Thanks, Grandma.”
“What I do for our girl,” Cheryl muttered as Hope led her away.
Ted leaned against the car. “So, you and Steve? You two are back together?”
“My marriage to Adam did a number on my head and heart. I need him out of my life once and for all.
To have Steve in it is to have Adam in it.”
“The question you should ask yourself is do you love the man. If you do, don’t let a murderous thug dictate the relationship.”
I planted myself in front of Ted. “Why do you keep pushing me at Steve?”
“What?” His eyes widened.
“This is the third time you’ve encouraged me to date Steve.”
“Is not.”
“Is so,” I said. “First time was when my lockbox was stolen. You told me you’d be okay if it was because of Steve that I let my past go. Second time was after I got shot. You said it was a fact Steve and I would get through this issue. And now, here you are again, telling me I should be with Steve.”
“I’ll be damned.” There was regret and surprise in Ted’s voice.
I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked him right in the eye. “I’m not the one who said you were a second choice, a default. You did.”
“What does that mean for us?” Ted linked his arms behind my back.
Slowly, I drifted my hands down and covered his, unwinding his fingers. I slipped out of the loose embrace. Smiling, I inched my way to the driver’s side door, opening it. “Depends on the risk you’re willing to take, Detective Roget. You like to plead Steve’s case. How about you try your own for a change?”
“I find you infuriating. Stubborn. Sassy. Opinionated. Protective. Beautiful. I want the best for you. I want you safe. Most of all, I want you to have happiness and hold onto it, even if what makes you happy irritates the hell out of me.” Ted’s voice took on a raw edge that tripped my heart, and I found it extremely sexy. “I’ve think I’ve fallen hard for you, Miss Hunter.”
“That’s a good start.”
About the Author
The Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery series brings together Christina Freeburn’s love of mysteries, scrapbooking, and West Virginia. When not writing or reading, she can be found in her scrapbook room or at a crop. Alas, none of the real-life crops have had a sexy male prosecutor or a handsome police officer attending.
Christina served in the JAG Corps of the US Army and also worked as a paralegal, librarian, and church secretary. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, children, a dog, and a rarely seen cat except by those who are afraid or allergic to felines.
The Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery Series
by Christina Freeburn
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CROPPED TO DEATH (#1)
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DESIGNED TO DEATH (#2)
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EMBELLISHED TO DEATH (#3)
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FRAMED TO DEATH (#4)
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