by Unger, Erin;
I paced down the hall and looked at the blank texting space. I needed more time; that was it. Too much was going on to make a snap decision.
When I looked up, Christopher strode down the hall, staring at his own phone. I managed to side-step him but not before his foot caught on mine and tripped both of us. “Well, I tried to avoid a crash. Sorry about that.”
He almost dropped his phone. It toggled in his hands before he got a good grip on it. “Whoa, I didn’t see you there.”
Thrusting my phone into my pocket, I grinned. “It’s indicative of this world, isn’t it? Everyone on some type of device, oblivious to the world around them.”
He frowned, but I put up my hand. “Not that you are. I mean…” How should I fix it? “Never mind. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
He also put away his phone. “Oh, you’re right. Forgive me for not paying attention to you.”
Hmm. Double meaning? I decided to leave the comment alone.
With all the events of the day, Ava had asked me to do guard duty at his door. I should’ve mentioned it to him earlier, but I’d been so distracted it never came to mind. And knowing him, he wasn’t going to like it. “So, I’m going to sit outside your room tonight and keep watch.”
“Oh, please. You don’t have to do that. I can handle myself.”
With my shoulders squared, I tilted my head and tried not to answer like an outranking officer. “I’m sure you can, but I really need to be here. Ava asked me, and I won’t feel like I’ve done my part if I don’t.”
He looked away. “Well, I can’t stop you.”
I crossed my arms, trying not to bristle, and studied him. “What’s the deal?” Was he like Tony, who thought women weren’t capable? Or was it me he didn’t want on guard duty?
He must’ve picked up on my sudden shift in mood. “Uh, forgive me. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m the one who protects people, helps them. I’m not used to anyone doing it for me…It’s kind of hard to accept. But hey, if you feel the need to guard my door, go for it.”
Good. He wasn’t going to fight it. “Where’s your room?”
Rubbing his five o’clock shadow, Christopher spoke over his shoulder, “I’ll show you.”
We sauntered down the hall and gave each other shy glances. “Why don’t you work for the fire department full time since you’re into protecting people and all that stuff?”
“This town is too small to pay more than a few fire fighters, so I’m happy to volunteer. It kills a lot of boredom when I’m not at the yard.”
I forgot Ava had told me he worked or volunteered enormous amounts of hours each week. What was he hiding from? When people were workaholics, there was a deep-seated reason. “Oh? At least you get a lot of down-time with fire and rescue.”
“Maybe sometimes, but for the most part we do lots of drills and training and continued education. Inspections take place every week. That means all equipment must be checked and—”
He clamped his mouth shut as if he thought he was boring me.
I glanced at him. “Keep going, it’s interesting. I never considered all those things.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” we turned with the hall and stopped at the end.
Christopher cleared his throat. “And maintenance on the firehouse. We also go to schools and the community to teach fire safety. Well, I don’t go to the schools because I usually work night shift, but the others do.” He turned to the door. “This is it.”
Room 107. The last one. Now, where could I find a comfortable chair to relax in for the night? “Great. I’m surprised you don’t have a room in the private section of this B&B.”
“Nah. I used to camp out in her library on the couch when I was young. In my late teens, Aunt Eena let me stay in one of the guest rooms, provided she wasn’t booked solid. She trusted me, thank goodness. Not that she always should’ve.”
Wow, he was opening up more. I leaned against the wall and caught the faint sound of laughter from someone’s television in a nearby room. “Sounds like an easy way to sneak out and get into some trouble.”
He took the opposite wall. When he looked at me, Christopher gave me shivers with his penetrating eyes. “I don’t think you want to hear all this…do you?”
Why not? “You have me enthralled. Do tell.”
He crossed his arms on his chest, making his muscles bulge a little. “Sure?”
I nodded and licked my dry lips. He was quite a looker.
“’Cuz you don’t have to feign interest since I’m paying you.”
“No, I mean it. Keep talking.” Funny how he didn’t think I would care.
Amusement flavored his voice. “I tried to sneak out a few times, but when Aunt Eena caught me, she stopped giving me a room key. Then I couldn’t get back in once I left.”
“Smart lady.”
“Very.”
An easy silence fell between us, which shocked me as much as it did him by the look on his face. Christopher seemed more at ease now than I’d seen him since we met. “So…what’s it like to grow up as an only child? I wish I was one sometimes.”
“Oh, you don’t. It can get lonely. But I guess it’s fine most of the time.”
I almost joked about how an only child got all the inheritance but stopped myself. It would’ve been a huge blunder. “How’d you get into being a,” I squinted, “switch conductor? Is that right?”
“Yes. It’s the biggest company in the area. I fell into it, like most of the guys in this town. But I like it, and the pay is good. Keeps me real busy, which makes me happy.”
“You have issues with being still, don’t you?” Careful not to go too deep.
He looked to the tight knit carpet with a print in the weave. “I do.”
Good way to make him stop talking. I hit a nerve. And what of the one nerve I hadn’t mentioned? His mother? From his file, I’d noted his mother had been gone since he was young, but did her absence feed his workaholic nature and his need to help others? For sure.
Something swelled in my chest for him. Sympathy? Because he’d run if he saw it in my face again. Like when we were talking about his father’s death. I’d better steer clear. Why ruin a good night?
But there was one question I’d really like to ask. Where was he with the Lord? His answer yesterday didn’t give me a true clue, and I played with how to state it. “Go to church?”
“Aunt Eena’s always after me about it, but…”
Too many times I’d heard the “but” about serving God from those around me. But wasn’t Ava always telling me not to get so worked up about it? Let God do His work, and just be open to share when needed. That was sharing and not stuffing God down their throats. I bit my nail then put a foot on the wall as I rested against it. “I couldn’t live without church. Well, God. Uh.” Yep, the blundering had begun. Again. “I…I don’t know how anyone lives without Him.”
Christopher hooked his fingers in his jeans loops and shrugged. “There was a time when I never missed church, but…I’m too busy. I’ll get back to it when life slows down.”
I dropped my shoulders. Going to church may or may not be a sign he believed but it was a start. When did he expect life to slow down? If he took on his father’s businesses, then things would get so much busier than they already were. And if he didn’t, then he’d already proven he’d find a way to fill every second of his day in other ways.
I softened my tone, “But you can’t beat a personal relationship with God. Nothing tops it.”
His mouth tightened, and he went back to staring at the carpet. “I hear you. God and I used to be tight.” He said it so quietly I almost missed it.
A weight lifted off my shoulders. He’d been there before, so he could find his way back to God. But what would it take?
“So…anything new on the case?” He began to fiddle with his key card. Back to the case as always.
I wouldn’t push him tonight. See? I could hold back and let the Holy Spirit work. Take that
, Ava.
A half hour later, Christopher yawned. “I need sleep. I don’t know how you’re going to stay awake out here, but let me give you my chair. It’s the best one in all the rooms.”
He slid the plastic key into the electronic lock then pushed open the door.
How nice that he had a solution to the problem I hadn’t broached yet. I would’ve rolled out my blankets and crashed across the entryway, no problem, but the chair would be more comfy. I held the door open while he dragged an easy chair to it. The room was already losing its clean, fresh feel like his room at his Dad’s place. I bet his Aunt Eena wasn’t about to pick up after him now that he was grown. It seemed like the kind of woman she was…someone who expected those around her to be responsible for themselves.
The chair wouldn’t fit through the door. Together, we hoisted it up and turned it. It began to slip out of my hands but I popped my knee out and stopped it from slamming into the ground and disturbing the guests.
Christopher pulled the weight of it toward him. “Now go that way.”
I giggled and moved the direction he suggested. Embarrassing.
He ignored my girly chirp. “Good.”
The chair eked out the door, but the bottom leg scratched across the doorsill. I winced and prayed. Please don’t let us ruin the beautiful B&B.
Another adjustment and the chair came free with a loud creak. No real damage done. Yay. We put it beside the door and I dusted off my hands. “Thanks a lot. I just hope an inspector doesn’t come by and nail us for blocking an exit.” A bead of sweat built across my upper lip. “I only need a few things from my room to be set.”
He gave me a half salute and disappeared behind the closing door.
Interesting that he’d pick that gesture. Was it possible he’d figured out my past occupation? But how?
Minutes later, I returned with my laptop and the extra blanket from my room closet. Getting work done while I watched his door would hopefully keep me awake. But I yawned before I even settled. Not a good sign for tonight.
The e-mail I’d been trying to find a way to answer still glowed up at me from my phone. I typed a quick message to tell the sergeant I needed more time.
When I hit send, a hand on my shoulder sent me flying off the chair, my pseudo karate chop hands ready to knock out someone.
Ava jumped. “What’s wrong?”
I grabbed my chest and dropped back into the chair. “Don’t scare a girl like that.”
“I didn’t mean to.” She sat on the arm of the chair. “How’s it going?”
“Good. I talked to Christopher a little more.”
Ava pulled her shirt down then pulled her milk chocolate waves of hair up into a ponytail. “Did he divulge new information he hadn’t told us before?”
“No.” Great. Anything I said would lead straight to supposition about a future relationship. But they’d beat it out of me eventually. I looked away.
Ava stopped messing with the hair bow in her hair. “Wait. I see you trying to hide something. Spit it out.”
I would never out live the merciless way I’d teased Ava about Cory. And now I understood why Ava had been so exasperated with me. Only I’d been right, Cory was the best fit for Ava. Ava and Jillian were wrong about Christopher. He was no more interested in me than I was…interested…in him. OK, that was a lie. Sorry, God. There was a speck of something there. Something I’d have to stamp out before the trip ended.
I gave a brief and very bland run down of our conversation, ending with, “And you’d be proud of me. I didn’t tell him how wrong he was about being too busy for church.”
A chuckle escaped Ava’s lips. “I’m off to bed. Come get me at four a.m., and I’ll take my turn here.”
That was only five hours away. “No, I’ve got this. You get your sleep. I’ll plant my chair smack dab in the middle of the doorway if I have to, and nobody’s getting past me.”
“Yeah, just use that karate chop on them.” Only my friend wasn’t being serious; she was laughing at me.
Would they ever totally understand me?
22
Christopher
What was it with Aunt Eena and putting air fresheners in the room when I stayed? Taking one last glimpse out my bedroom window, I shoved the curtain aside and sneered at the car air freshener she’d tucked on the back side of it. I wasn’t that smelly of a guy, was I? Well, at least the room smelled nice—like a new leather car. I scanned the street but not even a stray vehicle darted down the quiet road. Better stop wasting precious sleep time. I turned off the light and fell into bed.
Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I glared at the light of the alarm clock which lit the room way more than I liked. I rolled away from it, phone up to my ear, and waited for my buddy and co-worker to answer his call. “Hey, Zach. Can you get your friends at the police department to do a few extra sweeps of Franklin Street?” I gave him the lowdown of what happened with Tony Slaiger.
Zach couldn’t hide the deep country accent unique to West Virginians. “Sure. But there was an accident out on Highway 81.” The word “one” dragged out of his mouth as slow as a tortoise crossing the road. “It’ll probably take them a while to deal with it, first.”
A prayer for the victims shot to mind. Where’d it come from? I didn’t even remember the last time I’d prayed. This had to be Shauna’s fault for talking about church. “Thanks.”
I hung up and set the phone on the nightstand. How did anyone expect me to sleep with Shauna on the other side of the door? Rubbing my eyes, I rolled over again. Nope, the light was way too bright.
Before I knew it, I was almost hanging off the bed, one leg swinging back and forth. Where’d the exhaustion go that had sent me to my room to begin with?
There was an easy answer. Shauna. Trying to keep me safe. Huh.
I threw a pillow over the alarm clock. Better.
But the streetlight must’ve been contributing.
Why was I so bothered by Shauna? She would be gone by the end of the week if the team accomplished all the interviews and research needed for the case. I had to admit that she liked the same things I did, and that made her interesting. Most interesting. Women didn’t care for anything I liked. I could see it in her eyes how much she loved to be outdoors, too.
A funny sound stopped the swinging of my leg. What was it?
A scraping whine reached me a second time, and I bolted upright in the bed. It came from the window for sure.
Before I had a chance to jump up, something small sailed through the air into the room, catching a glint of light from the window.
And smoke followed it. A bomb.
With everything I had, I leapt up and bolted for the door. Confusion clouded my brain. The window had been locked. I’d checked it before turning out the light.
Yanking the door wide open, I tumbled over the chair. “Quick, move.”
My hands went around Shauna as I pulled her clear of the door. Her body yielded under me as we crashed to the floor behind the chair. Shivers rocked me. They weren’t only from the bomb in the room either.
A blast, like guns going off, ricocheted through the building. The sound was as deafening as a motorcycle racing down the highway at a hundred miles and hour. I covered her head, but she tried to push up. “Stay down.”
Dark smoke trailed toward me for the second time in twenty-four hours.
When the chaotic noise died down, I had to make myself move away from Shauna as I crawled back to see how much damage the explosion had caused.
What if Shauna had been injured? What would I have done? For a split second, she’d stared up at me with more than what-is-going-on awareness. Better not think about her now.
Smoke but no fire filled the room. I pulled the door closed and got to my feet. I yanked the blanket off the chair Shauna had been in and rolled it to stuff it over the crack at the bottom of the door.
The whining sound…it must’ve been a glass cutter like the one I’d used to cut replacement panes for Aunt E
ena. Who would cut a hole in my window and throw a smoke bomb into my room? Only a gesture to scare me for sure.
And what if the perpetrator hadn’t left?
People started pouring out of their rooms. I needed to stop the panic before it started. “Everyone, everything’s fine. Go back to bed.”
Ava and Jillian ran full force toward Shauna. Ava was the first to speak as she helped Shauna off the floor. “That sounded like gun fire. Was it? Is anyone hurt?”
“No.” Shauna grabbed my shoulders and checked me. I resisted the urge to push her away. I was fine. But her hands somehow steadied me more. How was that possible? Good thing I didn’t refuse her help.
“You look OK. Are you?”
“Yes. Are you done?” I admit I liked her checking my well-being. I didn’t move until she released me a second later.
Aunt Eena seemed to be at a trot all day long, but now it became a full jog. She reached us then reiterated everyone else’s questions, and I gave her a quick answer.
A metallic scent from my room wafted toward everyone.
One man scurried to me, his pajamas six inches too long. “What’s happening? That sounded like gun fire in a movie.”
“No, sir.” I raised my voice. “It was a prank. Nothing more. Please, everyone, I’ve got this. I’m a fire fighter, and I need you back in your rooms.”
Wide-eyed and open-mouthed people stared back at me. “Really. I’m serious.”
Slowly, the doors began to close.
I put my hand to the door. No heat. “I have to go in and open the window.”
Shauna tried to stop me. “Wait. Don’t you need a mask or something? You just got out of the hospital from smoke inhalation yesterday.”
Aunt Eena’s crossed arms and squared shoulders made her appear twice as large at that moment. “Young man. Listen to her. She knows what she’s talking about.”
True. No sense doing further damage. I held in a sigh. Two women telling me what to do was a first—and I didn’t like it—but they were right. “I’ll be right back.”
I hurried down to Aunt Eena’s supply closet and took out my extra N95 mask I’d left in there. I’d gotten it in my emergency training EMT certification for protection when working with a tuberculosis patient, but it would have to do as long as I wasn’t in the room long. Then I found a flashlight.