Jesseholdsmyarmas we hurry away from the burning house. My eyes sting from the smoke. The smell of burnt wood is in my hair and my nose. I taste it. “What’s happening to Brady?” I ask as an ambulance flies down the driveway.
“We’re waiting to hear,” Jesse says. “Crusher knows what he’s doing.”
Brady’s nickname is Crusher? There’s so much I don’t know about Brady. What have I been doing?
I need to spend my time more wisely. I should be learning everything about the most amazing, heroic man I’ve ever met. If he’s okay, that’s what I’ll do.
He loves me.
Jesse pulls a blanket from the side of the firetruck and places it over my shoulders. “I’m going to leave you with the the paramedics.”
I nod. “Please bring Brady back safely.”
“You know I will.” He turns to the woman jogging toward the firetruck. “She did a hang and drop,” he says, nodding at me.“Needs to be checked for smoke inhalation.” He holds his hand to the side of his helmet. “We’ve got a man down. Possible broken leg,” he says to the paramedic. “Hang tight.”
“Understood,” the paramedic says.
“Is it Brady?” I ask.
Jesse doesn’t respond, only turns on his heel and runs back to the house.
It’s Brady.It has to be.
I shake uncontrollably under the heavy blanket. One minute, I was pulling Lara’s winter jacket from the closet in her room. The next minute, I smelled smoke. My phone was downstairs. I ran into Lara’s bathroom, soaked the towels, then shoved them against the bedroom door.
I was calculating the distance between the window and the ground when the firetruck came. I don’t know who called the fire department, but I’d be dead if that person hadn’t.
“We need you to come over to the ambulance so we can get a better look at you,” the paramedic says.
“But I need to see what’s happening.”
Ear-shattering popping erupts from the house. Flames lick the second-story windows.
The paramedic takes my arm. I jerk it back. “I need to see what’s going on.”
She nods. “Understandably, you’re upset, but it’s not safe this close to the fire. We need to check you out and make sure you’re in good shape.”
“I didn’t mean to, I swear.” A shrill voice cuts through the smoky air.“I didn’t think anyone was inside the house. Lara is in California. I didn’t know Sammy was inside. I had no idea.”
Daphne is being dragged toward us by one of the fireman.She’s the arsonist.She burned down the B&B and set fire to my car. She tried to kill me in my home.
“Sammy,” she shouts. Her chunky ivory sweater is dirt-streaked and covered in pieces of dry leaves. Strands from her ponytail swing around her face. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Not you. Not Brady. Especially Brady. IloveBrady. He’s the best T-ball coach ever.”
There’s something wild in Daphne’s eyes. She's got the look of someone who's lost touch with reality. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not capable of committing acrime. I only want Sammy to leave Whispering Pines forever.” She waves a finger at me while she addresses the fireman. “She keeps seducing my husband.”
“You think I’m seducing Jake?”
“Ma’am, we need to get you to the ambulance to check you out,” the paramedic says from beside me.
“Of course you are,” Daphne shrieks. “The way you talk. The way you look. It drives him crazy. When you’re anywhere near Jake, he forgets about his family. How can you do this to us? He loves you more than he loves us.”
Jesse and another fireman trudge across the lawn. They’ve got Brady on a portable stretcher. He’s wearing an oxygen mask. His eyes are closed, and his body is limp. Panic seizes me. I rush toward the stretcher. “Jesse, what’s going on?”
“He needs to get to the hospital.” Several paramedics descend on the portable stretcher and help carry it toward the ambulance.
“Oh my god. I can’t believe I killed Brady,” Daphne wails, racing toward the stretcher. A paramedic intercepts her with an outstretched arm that sends Daphne reeling backwards.
I follow behind the stretcher, fixed on Brady’s unmoving body and pale face.What’s happening?He’s always movement and brightness. “Please,” I say to the firemen and paramedics loading Brady into the ambulance, “tell him I’ll be waiting for him at the hospital. Tell him I love him.”
