“What?” I ask, trying to mask the panic in my voice. “Why not? I thought it wasn’t that bad.”
“It wasn’t,” he says. “At least not compared to what it could have been, but you’re still going to have some damage. You’ll need to have some boards replaced in the floor and some drywall. But more importantly, you’re going to need some smoke mitigation done before you can stay here. Do you have somewhere you can go while you’re dealing with the insurance adjusters?”
Willow puts an arm around my shoulders. “She’ll stay with us.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “Maybe I should see if I can get a room at the Magnolia Inn. It sounds like it could be a while, and I don’t want to put y’all out for that long.”
Lucy scoffs. “You most certainly will not go to the inn. You’ll be staying with us, and that’s that.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I relent, waving my white flag. “Can I at least go in and pack up a few things? Is that allowed?”
“Of course,” Oliver answers. “I’ll go with you. You know, to make sure you’re safe.”
My forehead scrunches involuntarily. “The place isn’t going to spontaneously combust or anything, is it?”
“No, no,” he says, “but better to err on the side of caution, right?”
I nod. “We’ll be right back.”
It’s impossible to miss the satisfied look on my sister’s face as we turn to go inside.
“So, how many days do you think I should be prepared for?” I ask over my shoulder, the smoke fumes nearly knocking me over as I cross the threshold.
He hesitates. “Umm…”
“Give it to me straight.”
“Normally, I’d say about a month, but with the holidays, things will likely be moving a little slower.”
I whirl on my heel. “More than amonth?”
He winces. “Probably more like two…maybe three, depending on how backed up they are. Your insurance company will have to do an investigation before you can start the mitigation process.”
I press the heels of my palms into my eyes until I see stars. “Shit. Okay.Shit.” Tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks.
“Hey,” he says the word, and then I feel his arms around me. My body tenses for a second because it’s been a long time since someone has held me like this. But then my body sinks into his embrace without my permission.
“It’ll be all right,” he says softly against my ear, sending a shiver through me that collapses my muscles like dominos. “And if there’s anything I can do to help, I’m here.”
I sniffle, and my gaze meet his for a heartbeat as he gently swipes his thumbs beneath my lashes, as though he’d done so a hundred times before.
Get yourself together, Lindsey.I clear my throat. “This is fine. I’ll be fine,” I say, withdrawing myself from his grasp.
“I have no doubt you have this under control, but if there’s anything I can do to make it a little easier, I’m happy to help. It’s what you do in a small town. You take care of each other, right?”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “I see what you did there.”
“On that note, put me to work. What can I help you with?”
“Do you mind grabbing the stuff for the animals and giving it to my sister? Their food is in the pantry and their bowls are in the kitchen too. Oh, and June Bug’s crate and bed are in the corner over there.”
He grins. “You got it.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
I run upstairs and dig my suitcase out of my closet and start piling things inside. I’m thankful Oliver can’t see me as I take the entire contents of my underwear drawer and dump it in. Once I’ve got all the clothes, shoes, and pajamas I think I’ll need, I head to the bathroom with a duffel and shove everything on the vanity inside before grabbing my products from the shower. I make one last stop at my nightstand to grab my TENS unit and the muscle relaxers I keep on hand for fibromyalgia flare-ups.
About ten minutes later, I’m struggling to drag my bags down the stairs, probably because they’re stuffed more than a Thanksgiving turkey.
