Page 62 of Playing With Love

Tucker reached for me but I stepped back.

I didn’t want him to touch me, too afraid whatever spell of goodness his words had cast over me would be broken.

I glanced back at Chelsea and Matt. His hands were cupping her cheeks, tilting her head back. Her hands were hooked onto his forearms.

If there wasn’t a burning barn behind them, the scene would’ve been picture perfect. Or perhaps it was perfect because behind them a barn was ablaze and their sole focus was on each other.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The mood in my truck on the way back to my place was quiet.

Quiet and somber.

As it naturally would be after spending hours at the scene of a fire.

It was late, we smelled of smoke, and we were filthy. Me more than Liza. After the fire was put out and the state fire marshal did her walk-through, Logan, Luke, Trey, and I followed Matt around what was left of the barn so he could take video and pictures. Of course, the insurance company would come out and take their own but Matt wanted to do his own documentation. Chelsea also wanted a few items out of the tack room. The structure was a total loss. The barn roof was gone, one side completely demolished. The other three walls were extremely damaged but still standing—a testament to the strength of old sawmill posts. Luckily the tack room was located in the front corner of the barn and was still intact though heavily water damaged.

I needed a shower and sleep. I figured Liza did, too, but her silence wasn’t about the fire, at least it wasn’t the only reason for it.

“What’s on your mind?” I inquired.

“Chelsea and Matt.”

“This is going to be a pain in the ass for them, but you heard her, she’s okay. And if Chels is okay, Matt’s okay. She wasn’t blowin’ sunshine when she told you it was just a barn to her. The neighbor came over, dropped off some bales, her babies are fed and safe in the paddock. Truly, that’s all she cares about.”

“A fan,” she mumbled.

She was talking about the source of the fire. The fire marshal had easily found the cause, a fan Chelsea had going to move air around the hot barn. A fan that was in good working order because it was virtually new, it was the outlet that was the problem. With the pine shavings used in the stalls and the straw bales, a spark was all it had taken. Had Chelsea not been doing laundry and saw the smoke from the window it could’ve been worse. She might not have been able to save the horses. Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to hit the alarm before she ran out of the house.

“A fan,” I unnecessarily confirmed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use so many curse words at one time.”

I could hear the humor in Liza’s tone. Chelsea certainly had gotten creative with her words after the fire marshal and firefighters had left.

“I think it’s a safe bet to say she’s not fond of insurance companies,” she went on. “They haven’t even come out to inspect the damage and she’s already gearing up for a showdown if they don’t pay out.”

“Matt will build her a new barn and fight the insurance company for reimbursement later.”

“He will?”

“He’s loaded. He could build her five brand-new barns, fill them with thoroughbreds, and not feel the hit to his portfolio. Chelsea would have a shit hemorrhage but he can certainly afford it.”

Liza fell silent again.

I drove.

She broke the silence by asking, “Will you tell me about Chelsea?”

There was something I didn’t like in her tone. Not accusatory, more melancholy with a hint of curiosity. It was the curiosity that strangely worried me. And it worried me because Liza was doing her damnedest to throw up roadblocks and I wouldn’t put it past her to try to use Chelsea as an excuse to push me away. Even though she was way off the mark.

“What about her?”

“She called you Tim. She said you protected her before Matt could save her.”

“Remember when I was working that racketeering case in New York?”

“The joint task force with the FBI?”