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“Why wouldn’t you want to move in now? He’s not here, and you can get settled,” Rebecca said.
I rolled my eyes. She was being a pain in my ass. I knew she was prodding to catch me in a lie. Well, baby sister, the joke is on you. I was riding this lie until it died a fiery death.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Tell me the plan,” I said. What was that saying? Fake it till you make it?
“First, we finish our wine and enjoy a movie and some of your delicious popcorn, then tomorrow morning, we all meet at Grateful Cup for coffee and breakfast and then go to your place. The guys can help most of the day,” Mindy said.
“That sounds good.” It meant I would have one more night before my life turned upside down.
Chapter 13
SID
“WHAT A MESS.” NASH kicked the rubble with his black boot. “I can’t believe it burned down.”
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Not sure. I got a call that the place was on fire, and when I got here, it was completely engulfed.”
I stared at the ashes of the old grain mill that used to stand between Ridge Point and Oak Springs. A lot of people were now out of work. The neighboring towns and cities that this mill provided grain to would be hurting too. Thankfully, no one was injured during the fire. It started during a shift change, and everyone was able to get out.
“I think it had something to do with that cold case I asked Connie to send over the file for.”
“Why didn’t you talk to me about it?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It didn’t seem important at the time.”
“Want to fill me in now?” It was more of a demand than a question. If this was a crime, I needed to know about it. I also needed to know how one ofmycold cases tied in.
Nash kicked at the ground with his boot again and crossed his thick arms over his chest. His biceps tested the material of his uniform shirt. He had about four inches on me, which wasn’t hard since I was only five foot eleven.
“How long you in town for?” Nash asked.
“As long as this takes.”
“You’d better call Will, then, because this is just the beginning, I reckon.”
“Sheriff Gentry. Sheriff Lewis.” Chief Hanson, the fire chief of Ridge Point, appeared with Oak Springs’ new fire chief, Griffin Maxwell, behind him.
“What have you found?” Nash asked.
“It’s too early to tell. I was coming to let y’all know the blaze is out and we’ll be starting our investigation into the cause soon.”
Nash nodded. “Thanks.”
“Sure, son,” Hanson said. He patted Nash on the back and walked away.
“I’ll send a few men to help,” Chief Maxwell said. “I’d offer my services, but Betty Lou is due any minute, so it’s not wise for me to be away.”
“It’s fine, Griff. I’ll be here too,” I said. “I’ll call Will and let him know I’m bunking with him for a few days, but I need to get back home by the weekend.”
“Why, do you have a hot date?” Nash asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“My fiancée and I…” The word felt weird coming out of my mouth. “We have dinner plans with our parents this weekend, and I don’t want to cancel.”
“Whoa-ho-ho. When did that shit happen?” he asked.
“Cut it out, Gentry. It’s not a big deal.”
