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Afraid she hadn’t heard him right, she repeated, “He’s okay? He’s not hurt? He’s not burned?”
Noah shook his head. “He’ll be right here. He took his shoes off to go wading, so he had to put them back on. I didn’t wait for him, but I heard him following us.”
“Oh. Oh, thank God. Thank God.” Just then, she heard her son’s little voice calling from the forest, “Mama! Mama! Mama!”
Her knees went weak, and she started to sink to the ground. Noah caught her. “C’mon, love. We need to scoot back a bit.”
Noah moved the group to a spot he considered safe andsummoned Lake in the Cloud’s volunteer fire department with a 911 call. He was still on the phone when Drew skidded to a stop next to Willow, his eyes round with worry. “Oh, this is horrible. Nobody was inside, were they? Nobody was hurt or killed?”
“No, thank God,” Willow assured him.
Drew clapped both hands on top of his head. “It’s still a terrible thing, though, right?”
Willow heard a note in his voice that put her on alert. This was the boy who survived the auto accident that killed his father. This was the boy who flipped out when he believed he’d watched a campmate drown last summer. Her son was fragile. He loved that workshop. Santa’s workshop. She needed to be careful with him. He’d come so far. She didn’t want to trip him back into a cycle of broken bones and stitches.
“Yes, honey, it is a terrible thing, but it’s a blessing because no one was hurt.”
Having finished his call, Noah said, “That’s right, buddy. Nothing is lost that can’t be replaced. That’s a good thing.”
“But it’s still a bad thing. A terrible thing. Right? Your apartment burned up! Your tools burned up! All our dollhouses are toast! That’s awful!” He all but screamed the final word. “Right?”
“It’s awful, yes, but—”
“Thank goodness!” Drew exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting.”
“For a fire?” Noah asked, his confusion evident.
“For a bad thing. I’ve been so scared. Bad things always come in threes. Daddy died and Grampy is really sick and this is a terrible thing, so it’s number three. But nobody got killed or hurt! And you can build a new workshop that’s even better because you’re a great builder, Mr. Noah. So thisis the best bad thing that could happen. Everything is good now. Right? I can quit worrying!”
“You’ve been worrying,” Willow repeated softly.
“Yes! But also, I was anxious for the good things. Because after you’re finished with the bad things that come in threes, you have good things that come in threes. Now we’ll have three good things. Right, Noah?”
“Sounds good to me.” Noah met Willow’s gaze, and he gave her a look she couldn’t quite read.
The fire trucks and ambulance arrived at that point, followed quickly by Helen and then her mother. Gage showed up not long after Willow’s family. Noah explained to all that, based on the evidence he could see, he believed the source of the fire was electrical in nature. “I think the investigators will find the fire simmered in the north wall for a while and traveled through the wall before breaking through to the attic. It could have been a short. It could have been a faulty outlet. I had the electrician out two weeks ago to replace some old wiring. Could have been he got some bad parts.”
Ten o’clock rolled around while things were still in chaos. Willow liked Damon and Lisa Randall right from the first. Luckily, AJ did, too, and he was happy to go off with them to the public park with plans to meet at Cloudy Day Fun Time at noon for Emma’s party.
Helen, God bless her, put herself in charge of the dogs, loading them all up and taking them over to Raindrop Lodge for the day. Drew was fascinated by all the activities of the firefighters. Speaking to Noah, Gage said, “I know that you could give him more professional answers to his questions, but it appears his mother needs your attention more than Drew. Why don’t you let me watch him watch the firefighters? You see to your lady.”
“Excellent idea,” Genevieve agreed. “Why don’t I oversee Emma’s bath and help her get ready for the party?”
Willow wasn’t prepared to argue with any of them. Her mother and daughter disappeared upstairs, leaving Willow and Noah alone. “How about some swing time?” he asked, taking her hand. He led her around to the front of the house, facing away from the remnants of his workshop.
They no sooner settled on the porch than the rain arrived earlier than forecast. “There’s a blessing,” Noah said. He draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight against him.
“If only it had come two hours earlier.”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t change a thing, Willow.”
She drew back and questioned his sanity with a look. He grinned boyishly, and his eyes began to dance. “What?” she asked. “Are you going to score some insurance bonanza from a total loss of your barndo?”
“I’m hoping… planning… to score something a lot more valuable. Three good things. Emma.” He leaned in and gave Willow a quick kiss. “Drew.” Another quick kiss. “And you.”
This kiss wasn’t quick at all.
When he finally pulled away, Willow’s head was spinning, and her heart was thudding so hard she feared it might explode from her chest like the window had from the fire.
