Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Three hours later, Kymberlie stood in the club’s doorway, watching in disbelief as a caravan of vehicles turned off the highway and rapidly filled up the empty parking lot.
She couldn’t believe how many people were showing up on short notice.
And it wasn’t just the Jacobsen Pack, either.
She spotted three Grizzly Creek Ranch pickup trucks, plus vehicles she recognized as belonging to the Ornelas Jaguar Clan and Cougar Lake Sabertooth Pride over in Bearpaw Springs.
And she could swear she spotted several of the club’s Ordinary regulars as they pulled in.
“All right, people!” former Bearpaw Ridge sheriff and Jacobsen Pack alpha Bill Jacobsen called out as he emerged from his SUV. “Let’s get a move on. Daylight’s wasting.”
Kymberlie’s older sister Annika strode over, pulling on her work gloves on. She gave Kymberlie a hug. “Kymber, I’m so sorry about your club. Tell me what you want me to do.”
Kymberlie’s vision blurred with sudden tears. “I can’t believe how many people showed up!”
Her older sister Annika had called right after Gabriel had left and assured her that the word had gone out to the pack members that Kymberlie needed their help.
“Fred’s promised to check your wiring and replace anything that needs fixing,” Annika reported. “And the twins are coming too.”
Kymberlie nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Senior pack member Fred Barker had been the town’s electrician for thirty-five years before retiring, and his twin daughters, Emma and Sophie, had followed in his footsteps.
If anyone could get Kymberlie’s wiring problems straightened out, it was the Barker family.
“Jesus, Kymber,” her younger brother Gage muttered as he surveyed the damage. “How’re you holding up?”
She squared her shoulders. “I’m fine. Nothing that can’t be fixed.”
“And you know we’ll help you in whatever way we can,” he said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Behind him, she saw Maggie and Cade marching across the parking lot in work boots and heavy overalls, and behind them, Maggie’s dad Dane and her uncles, Mark, Evan, and Ash.
For the next hour, Kymberlie directed her helpers as they formed a human chain, stripping out stained carpet, large sections of wet drywall, and boxes of ruined food.
Every item they carried out to the giant dumpster now sitting next to the club was another dollar down the drain, but she refused to dwell on that.
Keep moving forward. That’s what her dad always said.
Of course, Dad had also called her a damned fool for buying this club. Until last night, proving him wrong had been her goal.
Now she had a new goal: re-open before Christmas and keep her reception booking.
Fred Barker, his gray hair sticking up wildly, poked his head out from the storeroom. “Kymber, come look at this,” he called.
She picked her way around the piles of debris in her dining room, trying not to think about how much all this would cost to replace.
“See here?” Fred pointed to a pair of wires in the exposed wall. “None of this is up to code. Not even close.”
The wires looked nothing like the neat, plastic-sheathed cables she was used to seeing. The two thin, cloth-wrapped wires ran separately along the old wall studs, held in place by white ceramic knobs and passing through matching tubes where they disappeared into the wood.
Dust clung to the fabric insulation, and in places it had frayed down to the copper.
Kymberlie’s stomach sank. “That’s, uh… really old, isn’t it?”
Fred gave a dry snort. “Yup. This stuff was already ancient when Elvis was still skinny.”
Micah was wrong. Gabriel wasn’t just trying to drum up business for Swanson Construction.
Kymberlie sighed. “Can you fix it?”
Fred exchanged a look with Emma and Sophie, both of whom were examining another section of exposed wiring. “Fix it? I hate to tell you this, but your place is gonna need a complete rewire, Kymber.”
“Even if this old knob-and-tube wiring wasn’t already everywhere,” Emma interjected, “all the water from the firefighters’ hoses did you in.
” She pointed at what remained of the electrical panel.
“See this discoloration? That’s not just surface soot.
Water got inside the breaker housing—and it was pooled behind the insulation in the wall when we opened it up. ”
Kymberlie frowned. “But you could dry it out, right? I mean—it’s just water. We’re already removing all the drywall and insulation in the building. Just let everything dry out for a few days.”
Fred shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way, sorry.” His
voice
was gentle but firm. “Once electrical components are soaked, corrosion starts almost immediately. And with all that soot and mineral runoff in the water? You’ve got conductive residue everywhere. That means electrical shorts just waiting to happen.”
Emma said, “Code says anything that’s been exposed to water like this—panel, wiring, junction boxes—has to be replaced
by
all-new components.”
Acid churned in Kymberlie’s stomach. Her throat went dry. “But the firefighters sprayed down everything inside this building,” she croaked.
She’d already figured on having to replace the electrical panel and rewire the storeroom, as well as the backbar power outlets that Gabriel had cited her for.
But now the Barkers were telling her she’d have to put a whole new electrical system in her club?
She put a hand against the nearest exposed wall stud to steady herself. Shit. I hope that insurance check arrives fast.
“The new fire marshal was right about this place being a deathtrap,” Sophie added. “No offense, Kymber.”
“Just do what you have to,” Kymberlie told Fred. “I swear I’ll figure out how to pay you.”
“That’s the last thing we’re worried about,” he assured her. The twins nodded in agreement.
She heard the crunch of gravel outside as more vehicles pulled up.
“Excuse me, but I have to see who just arrived,” she managed before fleeing the storeroom like a coward.
One of the new arrivals was a Jeep. The doors opened and five sabertooth shifters emerged, led by a silver-haired man with brawny, tattooed arms. It was Daniel Langlais.
She stared at him in surprise.
Daniel was an honest-to-God celebrity chef. His restaurant at the Bearpaw Springs Lodge had won a ton of awards. And he was coming to help her? “Gabriel called me and said you could use a hand with demo. I brought a few guys who enjoy breaking stuff.”
“Wow… thank you!” Dazed, she smiled and nodded mechanically as he introduced the other sabertooth shifters who’d come with him.
Tyler Swanson emerged from the club. “Daniel!” he exclaimed, giving the other man one of those man-hugs that involved a lot of pounding on the back. “I have just the job for a bunch of big cats. How do you guys feel about getting up on the roof and removing damaged shingles?”
“I wouldn’t say no.” Daniel grinned as the other sabertooth shifters whooped.
Tyler herded the Cougar Lake volunteers towards the back of the club.
Then Kymberlie spotted a dignified woman in her sixties emerging from a sleek black SUV.
She recognized Jennifer Jacobsen, the longtime insurance agent for the Jacobsen Pack. She wore jeans with a stylish knitted sweater and a designer silk scarf wound around her throat. Her blue eyes were highlighted with subtle mascara and liner, and silver frosted her bobbed brown hair.
Kymberlie’s began pounding. This is it. The moment of truth. Am I gonna to have a big enough insurance payout to cover all the work I need to do?
Jennifer greeted Kymberlie with a warm hug. “I came as soon as I could. I’ve put together the preliminary paperwork for your claim.”
“Thanks for coming in person,” Kymberlie said, leading her to an empty corner of the parking lot where they could talk in relative privacy. “Please tell me you’ve got good news. I could sure use some right now.”
Jennifer’s expression didn’t change, but something in her eyes—a flicker of sympathy—made Kymberlie’s heart sink before the other woman had spoken a single word.
“I’ve gone through your policy with a fine-tooth comb,” Jennifer began, opening her leather portfolio.
“And I have good news and bad news. First, the good news: your policy covers direct fire damage to the premises. That includes the walls, any stock you lost, replacing smoke and water-damaged fixtures, flooring, and furniture, plus cleanup—though I see you already have that part covered.”
“So, what’s the bad news?” Kymberlie demanded.
Jennifer’s generous mouth thinned. “Code-related upgrades—electrical replacement, new sprinkler systems, anything that wasn’t up to modern standards before the incident—those fall outside your coverage limits.”
Kymberlie stared at her, not fully processing the words. “W-what?”
Jennifer grimaced. “Your policy covers replacing what was damaged—like for like. But we both know that your place is over a hundred years old. If the county requires you to upgrade your mechanical and electrical systems to meet current code before you can reopen—and they probably will—that’s considered an improvement, not a replacement. ”
“You’re saying all the things that the fire marshal ordered me to fix—those aren’t covered?” Kymberlie’s voice rose. Her wolf stirred restlessly beneath her skin.
Jennifer’s calm never wavered. This was why she was a pack elder—steady as a rock, even when delivering bad news.
“I’m afraid that’s right. And since you chose a high-deductible plan to lower your annual policy premiums, you’ll need to pay the first $7500 out of pocket.
Once the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and fire suppression systems inspections clear, we can release the rest of your claim. ”
Kymberlie turned away, fighting the urge to howl in frustration. That deductible would wipe out her entire emergency cushion—the one she’d promised herself she’d never touch unless the world was ending.
Apparently, it just had.