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“But—”
He places a finger on my lips. “I know you want a distraction from what’s happening, but you need to talk to River at some point.”
I nod. Since when is he the adult in this relationship?
Brody places his hand on my hip and steers me toward where River is standing with the other volunteer firefighters. I forgot he’s a volunteer firefighter when he came to pick us up, which is probably for the better. I would have lost my mind on the ride home convinced the home my mother left me was gone.
River steps away from the group and joins us in the middle of my lawn.
“What happened?” Brody asks.
River scratches his beard. “It’s too soon to know for certain, but it appears to be an electrical fire.”
My heart stalls in my chest. There’s only one main source of electricity in my shed. “An electrical fire? Did my kiln do this?”
He shrugs. “We need to investigate.”
“You’re hedging. You do think my kiln is to blame.”
“We need to investigate,” he repeats.
I fist my hands on my hips. “River Atlas Alston, I remember when you thought throwing your dirty diaper at a girl at the playground was the funniest joke you ever heard of. You better tell me the truth right this minute or I’m phoning your mom.”
He grins. “Mom’s been drinking champagne at the wedding reception all night.”
He thinks he can outdo me? He has another thing coming.
“I guess I’ll ring Sage and tell her about you and your wife’s little secret.”
His head rears back. “How do you know? We just found out.”
“River. River. River. Never buy a pregnancy test within a thirty-mile radius of Winter Falls.”
“Crap. Bessie will kill me if the gossip gals find out before she tells her family.”
“All you have to do is tell me the truth and I’ll forget all about your secret.”
He frowns. “We don’t have all the facts yet.”
“Stop repeating yourself. I want to hear whatyouthink happened.”
He blows out a breath. “I think the kiln had a faulty wire and started the fire.”
I stumble backwards and Brody catches me. “Easy, Soleil.”
“Easy? How can I be easy?” I wail. “This is all my fault! I should have replaced the kiln.”
Brody bends over until his face is mere inches from mine. “Did you know the kiln had a faulty wire?”
“No.”
“How would you know to replace it if you didn’t know about the faulty wire?”
I chew on my bottom lip instead of answering.
“You wouldn’t, would you?”
I try River’s line. “I need to investigate.”
