two hundred block. Of the four commercial buildings, three had lights shining above the door to help—but naturally, hers was out. He knew this building, knew it had recently been a small restaurant that had closed down just a few months before.
“Is this it?” she asked, obviously trying not to sound disappointed.
“You really haven’t been here since you were a kid?”
She shook her head. “This used to be my grandmother’s store. I was eight when she died. My mother never brought me back after that.”
“Did you have the electricity turned on?”
She sighed. “No. I had planned to arrive during the day.”
“There’s a motel back—”
“No, I need to go in.” She unbuckled herself.
With a sigh, Nate brought a flashlight from beneath the seat. She gave him a quick, grateful smile, then jumped down into the rain. Nate glanced over his shoulder at Scout, who panted and watched her curiously.
“I know what you mean, buddy,” Nate said. “I’ll be back.”
When he joined her, she was already shivering, trying to enter a code in a numeric box next to the door. The flashlight helped, and soon she’d removed the keys from the box and was able to unlock the door. He followed her into a little hallway with two doors. He assumed one led upstairs to an apartment, like most of the buildings on Main Street. She used another key on the door directly in front of her and stepped inside. The place smelled musty and unused, but before he could even shine the flashlight around, he heard the squish of his foot stepping in water. Uh-oh.
Emily felt the last hope she’d cherished dissolve inside her. As Nate slowly moved the flashlight around the room, she saw that they were in the kitchen of the restaurant. The stainless steel gleamed dully from counters and appliances, and she winced as she saw a splash of paint spattered down the door to the walk-in refrigerator. Holes gaped in the walls, and the sink, with a slow stream of water coming from the tap, had overflowed, leaving the floor wet, although a drain at her feet took the worst of it. Garbage was strewn everywhere, and shelves had toppled.
“Let me check in front,” Nate said. “Wait here.”
Offended by his peremptory attitude, she reached to take the flashlight, but he didn’t see her as he walked away. She gritted her teeth, put her hands on her hips, and waited in the dark until he returned a minute later.
“No sign of a break-in. The restaurant owners were your tenants?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Guess they were mad at you.”
“I had to raise the rent after my mother died.” She didn’t owe him any explanations, especially not since he seemed angry with her over their mistake earlier in the evening.
“They weren’t from here,” he said.
Maybe he was thinking Outsiders, and that she was one, too.
“What did you plan to do here?” he continued. “Open another business?”
“God, no. I need to sell it, but I certainly won’t get a good offer like this. I won’t be leaving as quickly as I’d hoped.”
He remained silent, probably disappointed.
“You can go, Mr.—Nate.”
“Thalberg. Nate Thalberg.”
“Emily Murphy,” she said, knowing their formal introduction was a bit too late.
He hesitated, then said, “I can’t leave you like this.”
At last she turned to him. His face was in shadows, since the flashlight beam was aimed away from him, but she could see the gleam of his eyes.
“Of course you can leave.” She spoke more sharply than she’d intended.
“You’re going to stay here?” he demanded.
“It’s mine.” The last thing I own, she thought. But it was hers. “There’s an apartment upstairs.”
“And you think it will look any better?”
“Guess I’ll go see. Can I use the flashlight?”
He handed it over, then crossed his arms over his chest, obviously planning to wait.
“If I could borrow this until morning . . .” she began.
“The apartment won’t look better, Emily, but go ahead and check. I’ll wait here.”
She went back to the hallway off the alley, used another key while holding the flashlight under her arm, and went upstairs. The smell alone already convinced her, and the debris was just as bad, if not worse. Piles of furniture and boxes were toppled around her, and she couldn’t even get a sense of the apartment. It felt like a horror-movie set, where she didn’t know what she’d find when the lights were eventually turned on. What am I supposed to do now?
Without answers, she trudged back down and found Nate in the hall, waiting for her.