And all because she hadn’t wanted to believe she’d made another mistake when it came to her judgment about a man’s character. Her sisters had tried to get her to see. But no. She’d dismissed their warnings because she hadn’t wanted them to be true.
“Cat,” Lucia said from beside her. “Oh, Cat.”
Caterina closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to see the loss in all of theirs. A loss that wouldn’t be there if not for her. She turned and started walking away, toward Antonio’s car. She didn’t think she could face Liam right now. Not after seeing the look on his face when he’d said, Your old boyfriend. That’s who I pulled out of the building.
He might have saved Mitch’s life, but Liam was furious right now. And if one of the reasons he hadn’t liked her before was because he disapproved of her choice of boyfriends, he was probably furious with her too. And she couldn’t blame him. She’d brought this on all of them.
“Where are you going?” She heard Liam calling after her.
She turned around. He’d followed her and was closing the distance between them. Her eyes felt hot, watery. She blinked back the tears she didn’t want him to see. Tears wouldn’t put out the fire, couldn’t make up for what Mitch had done.
“Hey,” he said and then pulled her against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, held tight. “I hope you’re not blaming yourself for any of this, because if you are it’s really going to piss me off, and I’m already feeling punchy enough.”
“He did this to get back at me.” Cat swallowed. “He told me he’d make me pay for walking out on him and leaving him in the lurch with the restaurant. I never imagined he’d do something like this, go this far for revenge. It just proves what a bad judge of character I am. I never should have—”
“You’re not responsible, Caterina,” Liam said firmly. “And I’m not going to let you take responsibility for that bastard’s actions. He did this!” He pointed toward the building, where the flames were quickly being extinguished.
There didn’t appear to be much damage to the main part of the structure. A couple of windows were shattered, probably from the water pressure of the hose. Fortunately, she and Liam had discovered the fire before it had been able to spread beyond the left wing. She prayed when they could survey the damage it wouldn’t be too extensive.
Cat looked down. Liam hooked a finger under her chin, lifted her head back up so she had to face him. “When I told you about Sylvie OD’ing, you told me I wasn’t responsible. You said people make their own choices and that, good or bad, they’re their choices, and we can’t own them. Did you mean it?”
“Yes, but—”
“No. No buts, Caterina. You either believe it or you don’t. Do you believe it?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
He ran a finger along her jaw. “Well, Gregory made the choice to set that fire. A bad choice. You can’t own it. It was his, not yours.”
“But if—”
Liam shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it. You were right, Cat, and if I’m wrong to hold myself responsible for Sylvie’s decisions, you’re wrong to hold yourself responsible for Gregory’s. No one died here tonight. We lost some time and materials. It could have been a lot worse.”
Caterina nodded, tried to take some comfort from his words. She had meant it when she told him that his wife had been responsible for her own decisions. Mitch striking out against her and setting the fire wasn’t much different from Sylvie trying to get back at Liam by taking the OxyContin. The only difference was, it had cost Sylvie her life. No one had died tonight. Liam was right about that. It could have been a lot worse. It might have been if she hadn’t asked him to take her home, if he hadn’t risked his own life to drag Mitch out of there.
Liam pulled her close again, held tight. “This isn’t the end of Serendipity.” He kissed the top of her head. “It’s just a setback. Whatever we need to do to fix things, we’ll fix.”
The ambulance’s engine turned on, and Cat and Liam both glanced over to see it back up. It turned around, then pulled out of the lot and onto the road to take Mitch to the hospital.
“Hey, you two,” Antonio said, drawing their attention away from the departing vehicle. “I just talked to the firemen. They said the fire is under control, but we can’t go into the building until after they get an inspector in there tomorrow and make sure it’s safe, so there’s no use hanging out here in the cold any longer.”
“I agree,” Lucia said from beside him. “I think we could all use something hot to drink. Let’s go home. I’ll make some tea and hot chocolate. El and Marcella were ready to race over here with us, but we told them there was no sense in all of us tramping around and probably getting in the way. They’ll be anxious to know what’s happening, and more importantly, that we’re all okay.”
She laid her hand on Liam’s arm. “You come too. I doubt any of us are going to be able to sleep now, and I want to look at your hands in case you should go to the emergency room.”
“The burns aren’t that bad. I’ve had worse,” Liam said, trying to shrug off her concern. “But I’ll bring Caterina back and come in for a drink. I’d probably prefer something stronger than tea or cocoa, though.”
“I’ve got a bottle of Old Pulteney, single malt, if you want to crack it open with me,” Antonio offered. “I think I’m up for something a bit stiffer as well.”
Liam gave him a thumbs-up. “That’ll do.”
Antonio and Lucia got into their car, Cat and Liam into his truck. As they pulled away, Caterina looked through her window, toward Serendipity.
It stood etched against the night. The lights of the fire trucks rolled across the façade, like red ripples over water. Behind it, she could barely make out the low, rolling crests of the Blue Ridge. And all around, big, soft white flakes of snow drifted down peacefully, in silent juxtaposition to the night’s destruction.
“There are some things you learn best
in calm, and some in storm.”
William Carter, author
They gathered in the library—Caterina, Liam, Antonio, Lucia, Eliana, and Marcella. Antonio built a fire in the large fieldstone fireplace. Flames danced over the dry wood, chasing the night chill from the air.
Lucia made tea, hot chocolate and set out some biscuits and some fruit and cheese. They brought out wine, of course, and Antonio fetched his bottle of scotch for anyone wanting a taste of something stronger to warm their blood.
Eliana turned on the tree lights and Marcella lit the candles on the mantle and in the balsam fir centerpiece decorating the coffee table. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they needed to surround themselves with beauty and comfort after the ugliness they’d just experienced.
A soft glow embraced the room—embraced them—and issued in a calm that restored some balance to the night. How different the entrancing flames of the fireplace and candles, Caterina mused, with their soft light and welcoming warmth…how different from the wild, uncontrolled flames that Mitch lit to destroy, to punish her for refusing to overlook his infidelity and lies.
Lucia fussed over Liam, examining the burns. She’d taken several courses on dealing with medical emergencies in the event they ever had a situation at the guesthouse that required quick action. “You’re lucky these are only first-degree burns,” she said, turning his hands over. “I’ll put some aloe on them, which should reduce some of the pain and swelling, and a light gauze wrap to help prevent any infection.”
“I appreciate your concern, but you don’t need to bother with that,” Liam said, seemingly planning to tough it out. Just like a man, Cat thought.
“Yes, she does,” she said from beside him, where they sat on one of the couches. “What if it were me who’d gotten the burns? Would you wave my sister off and tell her it wasn’t necessary to tend to them?”
“That’s different.”
“Oh, really? And how is that?”
Liam looked around at the audience of expectant faces. He frowned. Cat rais
ed a brow.
“It just is. I’m tougher than…In my line of work, I’m always getting…because you’re a—”
Caterina cleared her throat.
“I, uh, don’t think you want to go there, my friend,” Antonio, being the only other male in the room and having experienced his fair share of similar conversations with Lucia and her sisters, advised.
Apparently recognizing concession as the wisest course of action, considering the odds, Liam let Lucia administer to his hands without further objection. As she did, he answered what questions he could about the fire.
“I only wanted to see if I could tell whether it was contained to the end suite. Caterina was calling it in, and I had no intention of going inside when I knew it shouldn’t take the fire department more than ten minutes to get there. When I tried to see through the windows, I thought I heard someone yelling for help, and I knew that if someone was trapped in there, they might not have ten minutes.”
“How’d he get trapped?” Antonio asked.
“I don’t know, but he didn’t seem able to stand up. Maybe he fell and broke something, or maybe he got trapped somehow and the smoke overwhelmed him. There was a lot of stuff in that area that he could have tripped over—sanders, ladders, toolboxes. Once he set the fire, he probably wanted to get out and away from the site as quick as he could. He could have easily fallen over something in his hurry.”
Antonio gave his scotch a swirl. “I guess we’ll have to wait to find out what happened until after the fire inspector and police put together their reports.”
“I’m glad you were able to get him out, Liam, but what he did was stupid,” Marcella said. “I wouldn’t have expected him to go this far, but when Cat refused to let him intimidate her, I guess he decided to take his threats to the next level.”
Liam turned and looked at Caterina. “You didn’t say that he’d been trying to intimidate you, or that he’d made threats.”
“He’s a bully, Liam,” Cat said. “It’s how he tries to manipulate people.” She didn’t feel much like getting into her relationship with Mitch, but Liam had just pulled the guy out of a burning building. He had a right to some of the backstory. “You know I used to be the chef at Caulfield’s, in Ashburn, until a few months ago. Mitch is the owner.”
“Yeah, I know,” Liam said.
“And you know we dated, but it didn’t end well. He didn’t like that I was the one to break things off, and he blames me because the restaurant lost business after I left. He lost some waitstaff, too, and thinks I convinced them to quit. I didn’t, but he doesn’t believe that. He came here a couple of times threatening to get even with me for all the problems he thinks I caused. The first time was last fall, not long after I walked out on him and the restaurant. He’d been drinking, and he showed up in a foul mood, threatening to get even with me. He woke everyone up with his yelling. It got ugly. He and Antonio almost came to blows.”
Liam glanced at Antonio.
“He was way out of line,” Antonio said. “Marcella almost got a punch in, if I recall correctly.”
Caterina looked at her twin and grinned. “I know she wanted to, but I just wanted him to leave before things escalated any further.” She drew in a breath and continued. “The second time was the night of the holiday open house, when you found us outside arguing. He tried calling me several times, but I never answered, so he’d leave threatening messages. But I didn’t take them seriously.”
“You never said anything about him harassing you with phone calls,” Marcella said.
Cat shrugged. “I thought if I ignored him he’d get tired of calling and eventually fade away. They were always the same thing, how he’d make me pay for what I did. I thought he was just blowing hot air, blaming me for his own shortcomings. I know I realized too late that he’s bad news, but I wouldn’t have guessed he’d go so far. I probably shouldn’t have taken his threats so dismissively.”
“Bad news is an understatement,” Liam said. “What he did is criminal.” He studied her face a moment, searching her eyes. “And just to reinforce what I said earlier, you’re not to blame for his actions. None of this is your fault.”
“I know,” Caterina said, “but we’ve still got to deal with the fallout from my relationship with him.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about any of it now.” Lucia gathered her hair and started twisting it into a loose braid. “I’m going to get that aloe and some bandages to take care of our patient, and I suggest we not stress over it anymore tonight.”
“I agree,” Eliana seconded. “It seems we have more questions than answers, and we could talk about it all night without getting any closer to knowing what really happened.”
Liam looked around the room. “Since you all look like you’re in your pajamas, maybe you should go back to bed, try to get some sleep.”
“Yeah,” Marcella said with a hint of sarcasm, “like that’s going to happen.”
Eliana reached for one of the open wine bottles and poured herself a glass. “Maybe,” she said, “since all of us, except you and Cat, are in our pajamas, we should have a pajama party.”
“A what?” Liam frowned.
“A pajama party,” Cat repeated, and his frown grew.
“Don’t be so quick to scowl at the idea, Liam.” All eyes turned to Antonio, and he chuckled. “I’m just saying. Lucia and I used to—”
Lucia elbowed Antonio in the ribs, and he laughed. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
Cat rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s not go there. We all know about your pajama parties, or have you forgotten, mine and Lucia’s rooms share a common wall?”
“Unfortunately for some of us,” El chimed in, “given our current relationship status, we’re not lucky enough to enjoy those kind of pajama parties right now. I was thinking more of a hang out, drink some wine, and eat junk until the morning, to take our minds off things. Like we used to when we’d come home from college. Except that Antonio and Liam are here, so we won’t be able to talk about all the hunky guys we’d like to get to know better.”
“You mean listen to you talk about them,” Marcella corrected.
Eliana grinned. “Details.”
Marcella shook her head, a smile on her lips at their sisterly banter. “Whatever. I’ll hang out if the rest of you want to. It’ll be better than lying in bed staring at the ceiling until the sun comes up.”
Cat glanced at Liam. “What do you want to do? You’re welcome to stay, and, with the snow, it might be better to wait until morning to drive back.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel like I should go, try to grab a few hours of sleep even though I’m still keyed up. The snow’s not a problem with the truck, and there’s not that much.”
She nodded. “It’s your choice.”
He stood up. “You should try to get some rest too. Even if you don’t sleep, go up and lie down, try to relax.”
“Party pooper,” Eliana said, but her tone was teasing, and Liam grinned at the comment. He glanced her way. “Maybe next time.”
Caterina walked him to the door. She wished he would have decided to stay, but she wouldn’t try to persuade him to change his mind. He’d gone into a burning building tonight and saved a man he could barely tolerate. He’d done what any decent person would try to do, but that didn’t mean his feelings weren’t conflicted about it right now. Maybe he needed to be alone to deal with his own emotions without everyone else’s clouding things.
“I’ll give you a call tomorrow.” He leaned forward and brushed a light kiss across her lips.
Cat gave a nod, swallowed. “Okay. I hope you can get some rest.”
He reached for the door handle and pulled. The lights blinked off and on. Liam pulled on the handle again.
“What the—” He frowned down at Caterina.
She sighed and then glanced up toward the ceiling. “It’s been a long night, Rosa. He wants to go home.”
The lights flickered again. Liam tried the door again,
to no avail.
“I think our aunt has other ideas,” Lucia said.
“Can’t you do anything about her?” Liam asked, facing Cat.
“Not if she’s decided she doesn’t want you to leave.”
He gave a snort. “It was hard enough to believe your family has a ghost. Now I’ve got to deal with her being temperamental?”
Caterina sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Antonio walked over and put a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Looks like you’ll be staying the rest of the night, buddy. Should I pour you another glass of scotch?”
Liam’s shoulders slumped. “What the hell. Make it a double.”
“I’M ACTUALLY HAVING trouble keeping my eyes open,” Marcella said about an hour later. “I think I’m going to head up to bed.”
“I didn’t want to be the first to drop, but I’m feeling sleepy as well,” Lucia said and looked at Antonio. “I’m going up too. You coming?”
“Maybe I should stay down here and keep Liam company, since Rosa’s hijacked him.”
Liam glanced over from where he sat on the couch, with his head leaning against Caterina’s. “Don’t stay up on my account. Tomorrow’s probably going to be a rough day. Anyone who can grab some shut-eye should do it.”
“Well, I hate to jump on the train to dreamland, especially since I suggested an all-nighter,” Eliana said, “but a warm bed and soft pillow sounds very inviting right now.”
“You should all go up,” Cat insisted. “I’ll see to Liam.”
Eliana looked at her sister and wiggled her brows.
“Will you just go to bed?” Cat said with a snort, shaking her head, but Liam heard the amusement in her tone.
After Antonio and Cat’s sisters had all taken themselves off to their respective beds, Liam slipped an arm around Caterina and pulled her against his side. She leaned her head back, looked up at him, and smiled lightly, welcoming, he thought, the comfort of his embrace after a long, disturbing night.
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