Page 72 of Betrayed

“I don’t know what that looks like.”

She shrugged. “Me neither, but I think we start with spending more time together and talking.”

He nodded. “Let’s start with dinner with our friends?”

“Please.”

They stood, staying hand in hand, and joined Will and Zara in the kitchen.

Sunday afternoon, AJ walked beside Logan to the burnt remains of their house. After church, the four friends had had a quiet lunch, Logan and AJ waiting for the call from the arson inspector. He’d agreed to let them tag along since they worked for the police and fire departments.

The inspector met them at the front of the house. The older man with a classic firefighter mustache that curled up on the ends extended his hand to each of them. “I’m so sorry for the loss of your home.”

AJ said, “Thanks for letting us come over during your inspection, Leroy.”

“Of course. I think I’m getting a good picture of what happened, but I have a few more sections to inspect. But it can be incredibly dangerous in there. Wear these masks and gloves.”

They both took what he offered and put them on. AJ had known to wear work boots, long sleeves, and pants, despite the eighty-degree weather, And told Logan to do the same.

Leroy added, “Other than passing through, I want you to stay out of the living room and kitchen. Pretty much everything in there is a loss. Go to the bedrooms and see what if anything can be salvaged and if it’s worth calling a restoration team. You already talked to your insurance company?”

“I called them last night.”

“Good. Let’s go in. Be careful. The floorboards in the entryway are soft.”

Masks and gloves on, they entered through the front door.

No amount of firefighting experience could have prepared AJ for entering her own burned-down home, one she hadn’t lived in for the last five years. But so many memories were packed into this place. And it was gone.

She couldn’t tell if her heart stopped or pounded harder.

Logan offered her a hand across a rafter that had fallen during the fire. She took it and refused to let go as they walked into the short hallway. The first door on the right led to the extra room. When she had lived here, they used it partly for storage and partly for an office-type space. The door was open, and the room was gone.

She went in, reluctantly letting go of Logan’s hand. “Did you still keep the fireproof box in here?”

“Yeah. Careful, I’ll get it.” He passed her.

The roof was mostly intact, but the ceiling was falling in. The flames had clearly made it into this room. The window was busted, but they hadn’t had to vent the roof.

Logan found the fireproof box that contained all of their legal documents and set it outside the front window.

AJ looked around. She couldn't tell much of what Logan had once had in the room. A few books were still on the shelf. She reached for one, but the spine crumbled as she took hold of it. The rest of the book was intact but was a lost cause. Too much of it had been destroyed to be saved.

They didn’t bother to check the bathroom.

She couldn’t stomach the closed door, so she went into the open master bedroom.

Much of it was gone too. AJ went to the chest at the foot of the bed and lifted the lid with care. “Looks like these blankets could be worth saving.”

From the closet, Logan said, “Not everything in here is a complete loss. I’ll call a restoration team. Even if we save a few things, I think it’s worth it. The insurance will help.”

“Oh good.” The walls at this end of the house were still intact despite the damage from the heat and smoke.

She went to the window at the back and inspected the yard. The tree branches had curled back in response to the intense heat.

“AJ?”

She turned to Logan, who stood by the door. “Yeah?”