The heavy scent of smoke had infiltrated the house. She hurried down the hallway toward her bedroom and ducked inside.
She snapped up the bag and slid into a clean pair of jeans and a black V-neck sweater. She quickly ran her fingers through her damp hair, which stuck up and refused to be tamed. There was nothing to be done about it, so she slipped on her other pair of shoes and headed toward the front door. She grabbed one of Ann’s jackets and headed outside. Gideon was waiting for her on the front porch.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Getting clothes. Hard to investigate when you don’t have pants on.”
The sound of a man’s voice rose before he could respond, and they looked to see Clarke and Ann arguing. She was keeping her voice low but was standing toe to toe with him.
Joan moved past Gideon and crossed to the couple. “What’s going on?”
“It’s none of your business,” Clarke said.
“I just spent a half hour putting out a fire, so I would say all of this is my business,” Joan replied.
Ann looked pale and tired. “I don’t want you two getting into it. I want to go back inside my house with my son and maybe get a shower and an hour or two of sleep.”
“You’re not going into that house,” Clarke said. “You and Nate need to move back to town into our house. At least in town, you’ll have better access to fire and rescue if this nut strikes again.”
“I’m not moving back into our house,” Ann said.
“I will move out,” Clarke said quickly. “I’ll stay at the fire station. I just want you and my son safe.”
“We’re fine,” Ann said.
“The shed was torched!” Clarke shouted. “Next time it might be the house.”
“Dad? Why are you fighting with Mom?” Nate asked.
They all turned to see Nate and Kyle standing in the driveway, wool blankets wrapped around their pajamas.
Clarke moved to Nate and knelt in front of him, hands resting on his shoulders. “Mom and I aren’t fighting, buddy. We’re worried.”
Nate looked toward the smoking remains of the shed. “Why? The fire wasn’t that bad.”
“It could have been much worse,” Clarke said calmly. “That’s what worries me.”
Nate yawned. “I want to go to bed.”
“I can put you in your old room,” Clarke said.
“I don’t want that room. I like the one here better.”
Ann stood beside Nate. “Gideon is on the property. Joan is here. We aren’t alone.”
“That’s not the point.” Frustration simmered under Clarke’s words. “You’re my family. My responsibility. This break you put us on needs to end.”
“The house is untouched,” Gideon said. “And I’m just down the road.”
“See? We’ll be fine,” Ann said. “But I agree—we’ll have to talk soon.”
Clarke kept his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “Ann, it’s safer for you both in town, and you know it.”
“We’re staying here,” she insisted. “I won’t be run out of my home by some coward who thinks he can scare me.”
“I’ll be here as well,” Joan said.
“But you might be the reason that my family is in danger,” Clarke said, his gaze cutting to her. “What the hell is it with you and fire, Joan?”
“What do you mean?” Gideon asked.
“Wherever she goes, disaster strikes. This is the second time she’s been near Ann when a major arson event happened. Three if you count the Beau-T-Shop fire, which happened within hours of her arrival.”
Tamping down her anger, Joan refused to let Clarke see he had gotten to her. The Beau-T-Shop fire might have just coincided with her arrival, but this fire was a direct message.
She was not comfortable with the thought, but better her than Ann and Nate. “I’ll get my gear and find a room in town first thing in the morning. That way the threat will be removed.”
“I appreciate that, but what if you’re wrong?” Clarke asked.
Gideon looked at her, his expression a mixture of annoyance and frustration. “I have a spare room at my house,” he said. “It’s over the garage.”
“It’s nice,” Kyle offered. “Dad and I used to live there.”
“Thanks, Kyle. But I’ll get a hotel room,” Joan said.
“It will cost you a fortune,” Gideon said. “Besides, you’re only staying a few more days, correct?”
Her return ticket was booked for Sunday, which gave her less than a week to clean up whatever mess was here before she returned home to the other mess she had left behind. “I’m here until early next week. But it’s better I stay in town.”