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“Now, let me feed you. I also have the fire report. We can discuss it over dinner.” Her anger quickly fades, and she backs down. She follows me into the kitchen, and I begin the prep work for dinner. Makayla sits at the table while I cook, but I sneak a glance every so often. She’s becoming antsy.
“Okay, just tell me what you found out.”
I empty the container of ground sausage into the frying pan. “It’s conclusive as arson.”
“What does that mean?”
I fill up a large pot with water and place it on the stove. “Someone deliberately set that fire.”
“But Jenny told us what happened, right? We know it was an accident.”
“Yes. She gave us some direction on how she thought it could have started, but what fueled it? The report came back with those answers.”
“And? I don’t understand.” I take in her expression. She’s definitely confused. I believe her when she says she had nothing to do with it. But someone did.
“The fire started from the gas, but most likely in coordination with a lit candle.”
Her eyes widen. “How’s that possible? I didn’t light a candle.”
I hold eye contact with her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I didn’t light a candle. I never even went into the kitchen after I came home. Only Jenny did—wait. . . you don’t still think? Absolutely not. She would never.”
“Mak, how do you know that? You said she was house sitting next door—which means you haven’t known her long.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Just think about it. I’m not trying to point fingers here. Just showing you the facts. Someone lit a candle. Someone turned the gas on.”
She shakes her head. “If she intentionally did this, why would she say what she did?”
That’s something I’m still trying to figure out. As much faith as she has in her friend, something doesn’t sit right with me. I can tell it’s causing her stress, so I drop the subject. There’s no need to stress her out until all the facts are on the table.
“I don’t know. But when I’m back on shift, I’m going to meet up with an arson investigator from the police station who used to work on cases with my father. The best of the best. Gonna meet him at the house. Maybe we’ll get more answers then.”
I hate the strain in her eyes. “I told you. I got you. No need to worry.”
It takes a moment, but she finally concedes. Nodding, she drops the subject. “Did you want any help with dinner?” she asks, her sweet tone back.
“Nah, I don’t want you to get your mittens dirty.”
She rolls her eyes. “Ha ha. Very funny.”
I serve us up a tasty Italian sausage pasta dish. She drops her fork twice before finally getting a bite into her mouth. I can barely eat myself because I’m so focused on her little sounds of pleasure as she chews. Each sexy moan creates a tightness in my jeans. The second bite takes longer. After dropping the fork a third time, I snatch it up.
“Here, let me help you.” Her stubborn side might want to say no, but she wants another bite more. I twist the pasta around her fork and lift it to her lips. “Open up.” She does, and I place the fork against her tongue. “What did you do today?” I ask, wrapping more spaghetti around her fork.
She chews and swallows. “Nothing exciting. Jenny came over for a bit, then Hannah. Hope you don’t mind. I also used your landline since I don’t have a phone. Called work to let them know I would be back in a couple days. Called a bunch of international numbers. Those are going to add up.”
I chuckle, placing another bite in her mouth. “I look forward to the bill. You sure you’re ready to go back to work?”
“Yep. I’ve run out of things to snoop through around here. Plus, I should be able to take these claws off by the end of the week, so I’ll be like seventy-five percent functional.”
I want to disagree with her, but I’m also enjoying us getting along, so I let it go. “Speaking of work, I kind of did something. . .”
Her brow perks. “What?”
“Well, it was in the heat of the moment. My job was on the line. I don’t normally jump on ambulances with the people I rescue, so I may have slipped and told my boss you were my girlfriend.”
