Chapter 30 #2
Blaze watched her go.
He cracked the egg into the bowl and tossed the shell.
“What happens to the child won’t be your decision.” Blaze poured in the butter and whisked.
He washed his hands. “True, but if I’m right and a kid started it on accident, I can’t see the church pressing charges. I think the focus will be on getting them help.”
“How? Through child services?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible.” He turned off the faucet just in time to hear the shudder in her breath.
He was making this worse and worse, wasn’t he? He dried his hands and followed her to the stove, meaning to hug her, but she lit the burner without giving him an opening.
He rubbed her back. “I wish the signs pointed away from a student.”
“Me too.” Her throat shifted with a swallow. She sighed forcefully. “This whole thing must be hard on you.”
“And you. I’m sorry it hits close to home.”
She nodded but didn’t speak as she oiled the pan.
As the griddle heated, warmth registered on his hand. He moved aside to allow her space to work and leaned against the nearby counter. “Eric’s on a mission to hold me responsible.”
“For the fire?”
“He says I should’ve done more to get to the bottom of the trespasser. And that I should’ve notified the police about the intruder last night instead of searching the building myself. Says that would’ve prevented the fire in the first place.”
“You couldn’t know they’d burn the place down.”
“True. And technically, we don’t know for sure that the intruder I saw started the fire.
But Nolan was at the scene last night, and he thinks I should’ve called the police too.
Said the intruder could’ve been an addict or a thief or someone in the middle of a mental episode.
” He scratched his neck. He did regret not calling the police, but not because of Nolan’s theories or Eric’s agenda.
If his suspicions were right, some child needed help, and he’d failed to find them.
Batter hissed as Blaze poured the first round of pancakes. “So what now?”
He ached to sit, but moving away from Blaze would be more uncomfortable than standing.
He stayed close. “An investigation. But that could take months, and who knows if they’ll find who did it.
It would help if someone came forward with information.
The sooner, the better. Help us sort all these random facts and theories. ”
“Huh.” She stared at the batter.
He rubbed her back. The building symbolized a way of life and had served as the setting for a parade of special moments between him and Blaze.
The day she’d marched into his office to go to war on Mercy’s behalf.
The afternoon he found her in the kitchen after raking leaves.
Watching her first connect with Hadley and later pray with the girl to accept Christ.
“Whatever the truth is, it’s quite a loss. For you as much as for me.”
“Hm?” Her face snapped toward him.
He shrugged one shoulder. “It was kind of a home away from home, wasn’t it? It won’t be the same, even once they rebuild.”
“Oh.” She fiddled with the spatula, then began flipping the pancakes.
“I was just thinking, I really hope it wasn’t a student.
I can’t imagine what it’d feel like to be responsible for something so catastrophic.
” An exaggerated frown curved her lips. “It’s been twenty years, and I still haven’t lived down a much smaller fire.
I wouldn’t wish responsibility for this on anyone. ”
“Me neither. But if it is a hurting kid, the only way to help is if we know.”
Blaze angled away as she piled the finished pancakes onto a plate. “Who do you suspect? Hadley still?”
He hadn’t even thought of her. “Considering her decision, I think you’re right that she needed something, but not necessarily a place to stay. The only kid behaving in truly unusual ways is Carter. Trouble is, he’s over six feet tall.”
Batter sizzled onto the pan. He almost didn’t recognize his phone ringing.
He fished it from his pocket and answered. “Hey, Greg.”
“Can you meet?” The senior pastor’s words were rushed. “We’re trying to figure out what to do for a building for the foreseeable future.”
“Sure. When?”
“Now. Eric texted everyone half an hour ago. I didn’t realize he’d left you off the message until I parked at his house. Looks like the last of the others are pulling up.”
Blaze laid a pancake on a napkin and smoothed butter across the surface. A little maple syrup and it’d be heaven, but he wouldn’t get to taste it.
“I’m on my way.”
“Good. I don’t think the omission was an accident.”
“Probably not. See you soon.” He ended the call and traced Blaze’s elbow with his fingertips. “I have to go.”
She folded the buttered pancake in the napkin like a taco and offered it to him. “For the road.”
“Thanks.” Considering he was running on zero sleep, a few calories might help.
He told himself to go, but his body stayed anchored.
He wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her in for another hug.
Probably should’ve put the pancake down first, but …
he closed his eyes and inhaled. She smelled of flowers, and the aromas of vanilla and butter hung on the air.
It blended into a sense of belonging. Home.
Did he have to leave?
She stepped back and retrieved her spatula. “It sounded urgent?”
Was she pushing him out the door? More likely, sleep deprivation was skewing his concept of time, and he was lingering too long. The less time he allowed Eric to address the board without him, the better. He lifted the to-go pancake. “Thanks. Enjoy your breakfast.”
She nodded once. “Good luck. I’ll be praying.”
Blaze stayed still, listening, until the front door whooshed closed. Then, she braced her hands on the counter, lowered her head, and kept her promise, but mostly, she prayed for herself. For wisdom. Strength.
The hot smell of the pancakes forced her into motion. She flipped them as her mind turned over the facts Anson had shared.
Someone in a Rooted hoodie had been in the building last night, while Mercy had been out wearing a Rooted hoodie. Blaze’s history testified that a hurt, displaced girl could easily start a destructive fire.
Soft footfalls sounded behind her. “It really wasn’t me. I swear.” Mercy’s voice came meek and worried.
If only Mercy hadn’t lied about that school report, her tone would convince Blaze. As it was, she peered over her shoulder at her sister and prayed for discernment.
“He doesn’t think it was me, does he?” Mercy’s bottom lip disappeared into her mouth.
“No.” Though that might change if he knew what Blaze knew. Incapable of monitoring the pancakes, she shut off the burner and leaned against the counter.
If she told Anson about Mercy’s outing, he’d report it.
There would be follow-up. Mercy might be blamed whether she was guilty or innocent.
After all, she was Blaze’s sister. If people believed Mercy had followed in Blaze’s footsteps, they might believe Blaze had taken after her mother and become an unfit guardian.
Mercy tugged her T-shirt. Goosebumps appeared down her arms. She’d taken off the hoodie.
Blaze forced herself to smile. “Anson doesn’t think you were involved. Swear to me you weren’t at the church?”
“I swear.”
“Then don’t mention to anyone that you left last night, okay? We’ll keep that between us.”
Mercy nodded eagerly.
Blaze’s sense of danger didn’t relent. “I’m going to finish cooking. Why don’t you queue up one of your shows, and we’ll eat in the living room, okay?”
“Okay.” Mercy’s voice quivered, but she left the room.
With three clicks and a whoosh, the burner ignited. Blaze poured four more circles of batter as she prayed some more. For herself and Mercy. For Anson, because she’d promised. For whoever was responsible for the fire.
And please, Lord, don’t let that be Mercy.