Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,37
There was random stuff everywhere – discarded tools, stiff paint brushes that were never cleaned, even piles of wood dust from sawing.
Morgan put some music on and they got to work. Jade was surprised by how much fun they were having. At one point, she laughed until she started crying.
It was a great day, really – as long as she could keep the fire out of her mind. Most of the time it wasn’t too hard, because it wasn’t something that she wanted to think about. But occasionally, a flashback and a feeling of panic would break into her mind and stop her in her tracks.
They got pretty close to finishing cleaning, but her mom insisted that they go back to her house for dinner and a night of board games. Luke stopped by, apologizing that he hadn’t come sooner – there were a few time-dependent issues that he needed to handle for the photography business.
“Can you believe that I trust this guy with that kind of stuff?” Morgan said in a hushed voice.
Tiffany nodded her head. “I can. He’s beautiful.”
“Tiffany!” Jade said. “You can’t – ”
It was no use, though. Morgan was already laughing, and Tiffany joined in.
“He really is a beautiful man,” Morgan said with a sigh. “And shockingly, he’s also really smart. And nice. And funny.”
“Ugh,” Tiffany put up a hand. “I get it. Despite your house burning down, you’re still the luckiest girl on the island.”
Morgan beamed. “I am.”
“So,” Tiffany cleared her throat and raised her voice. “When do I get to meet the heroic Matthew?”
Jade felt her body tense. She’d meant to call Matthew and thank him for what he’d done, but that seemed lame. She felt that it should be something that she did in person, but she’d been so busy that day that it was easy to come up with excuses why it wasn’t the right time.
Truth be told, she was nervous to see him again. Plus, she didn’t want to take away time from his weekend…especially if he was busy with Laura.
Luke swooped in and gave Morgan a kiss on the cheek. “Ah, I did try to convince him to come over, but the man is on a rampage.”
“Is he?” Morgan asked.
Luke nodded. “Oh yes. He’s been interrogating people all day. I couldn’t even get him to take a break for dinner when I ran into him in town. I had to throw a burrito at him from afar.”
“Oh, that sounds like him,” Morgan nodded. “Typical heroic Matthew stuff.”
Jade smiled but pretended like she was very focused on her playing cards. It was probably better that Matthew wasn’t coming – it would be hard to thank him with everyone else around. They’d already come up with a nickname for him, and there was a chance that her awkward but sincere thanks could turn into a big joke. And she wouldn’t want that, because what he’d done for her wasn’t a joke.
On Sunday, Morgan volunteered to finish preparing their insurance claim while Jade went over to Chief Hank’s house to get a head start on the rest of the cleaning. She’d made a discovery late the night before that there were some things left behind in the fridge that had grown unbelievably moldy. On top of that, there were spills and sticky spots that needed a lot of attention.
She was scrubbing a particularly stubborn mystery spot when her mom called.
“Hey honey! I’m running to the store. Do you want me to get you something, like some soda…or pepper spray?”
Jade laughed. “I don’t think I need pepper spray, no. Maybe a baseball bat? Or a dog.”
“I can help with that,” chimed a voice from the front door.
Jade jumped at the sound, dropping her phone.
Thankfully, it was just Matthew. Though as soon as she saw him, her nerves flared and she wondered if maybe she’d prefer to face an intruder – or the arsonist.
“Oh – I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “The door was open.”
“It’s okay, I was just in my own little world!” Jade stooped to pick up her phone. “Sorry Mom, I dropped you. Matthew just stopped by, is it okay if I call you back?”
“Yes,” she said, “tell him I can’t wait to see him again – and I have to find some way to thank him and I was thinking – ”
“Okay Mom,” Jade said, “I’ll talk to you later. Love you!”
“Love you too!”
She set her phone down and tried to smile as naturally as possible. “Sorry