Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EVERLY
The diner closed early on Wednesdays, so there were no customers to contend with when Addison dropped me off before heading to the main inn.
The resort was busier than I’d ever seen it, and several guests strolled along the shore and walked the winding path through the cottages.
I was thrilled for Beck and his family that the resort had had a bit of a break after several years of barely getting by. They deserved it.
There was no place in Starlight Cove that made me feel as content as this place did. It was why I ran here instead of around town. It was quiet enough to think and so peaceful, it was hard not to feel at home.
I turned, ready to gather my things and head up to Beck’s apartment, but I did a double take when I saw Mabel—an older resident and Starlight Cove’s self-proclaimed investigative reporter, always ready at the scene to get the scoop for her infamous Facebook Lives—hiding in the bushes behind the diner.
With raised brows, I lifted a hand to wave, but she ducked farther into the brush, as if even the thickest foliage would’ve been able to hide her in all her fuchsia jogging suit glory.
I shook my head and reached for my bags, but before I could get far, Chief Brambert pulled up in front of the diner.
He was a nice, if gruff, older man, probably around my dad’s age, with dark skin and a thick beard but not a hair on his head.
After I’d performed emergency surgery on his dog, Martha, shortly after I’d moved here, he’d been nothing but kind to me.
But my stomach still bottomed out at the sight of him.
He stepped out of his truck, still wearing his uniform. “Hey there, kiddo.”
“Hey, Chief Brambert,” I said, trying to hide the slight shake in my voice over the fact that this man was about to reveal my future.
“Aw, come on now, Everly. You know it’s just Jim.”
“Okay, Jim. Did you…” I swallowed down my apprehension over what his answer might be and asked, “Have you been to my house?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m here. I was going to give you a call but thought this might warrant an in-person chat. Talked to Jana down at the bakery, who said you’re staying out here.”
I flattened my lips together and nodded, my nails pressing crescent moons into my arms from where they were crossed over my chest. “Yeah. With Beck.”
“Good. That’s real good. I’m glad you’ve got a place to stay because… Well, there’s no easy way to say this—”
“Hang on just a minute, Chief!” Mabel called, shuffling in our direction as fast as her short legs would carry her, her phone pointed toward us. “Want to be sure I catch all of this for the Live…”
“Mabel, I’m not sure now’s the time for this,” Jim said.
“Oh, nonsense.” Mabel swatted her hand through the air.
“The residents need to know if we’ve got an arsonist on the loose, setting fires and burning down beautiful, much-needed businesses.
And the historical home!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, I can’t even believe someone would set it on fire.
And while Everly and her sweet dog were inside! ”
“Now, wait just a minute. I never said—”
“You hush now, Chief. Besides, Everly doesn’t mind if I record this.” She turned to me, phone pointed in my direction. “Do you, sugar?”
Actually, I did kind of mind—this wasn’t exactly what I’d like splashed all over Starlight Cove’s Facebook page—but now wasn’t the time to stand my ground. So instead, I gave her a tight smile and directed my attention back to the chief. “It’s fine, Jim. What’s the news?”
He nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets.
“Well, it looks like it started in your kitchen—faulty outlet. The residence portion of the structure is severely damaged—that’s no surprise.
And though the crew was able to contain the fire before it could engulf the clinic like it did the living quarters, I’m afraid that portion still sustained too much damage to be safe. ”
The words sank in, confirming the worst outcome, and I closed my eyes.
Everything I had here in Starlight Cove was gone.
Poof. Just like that. And it’d happened in a matter of four and a half minutes—thankfully not because of a candle I’d left burning, which had niggled at the back of my mind.
But now, I had no house, no furniture, no business.
I had nothing.
Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, and I swallowed repeatedly, trying to force them down.
I didn’t want to cry out here, in front of Jim and Mabel, not to mention who knew how many people watching the Live.
But I didn’t know how long I’d be able to hold it in.
I just wished there wasn’t going to be a front-row seat to my impending breakdown.
“You saw it here first, folks,” Mabel cut in, standing in front of me while holding her phone toward us.
“I’m down at Starlight Cove Resort in front of the diner, where Chief Brambert just delivered Everly Bowman—owner of the totally and completely burned to a crisp veterinary clinic—the worst news possible.
As you can see, she’s taking this exceptionally hard, though I would be, too, if everything I had was suddenly—”
“Mabel!”
At the sound of Beck’s sharp bark, both the chief and Mabel startled, but I relaxed, my shoulders sagging in relief.
How he knew I needed him now more than ever, I had no idea, but he was just the distraction I required.
He stormed down the stairs, the picture of masculinity with his thick thighs encased in worn denim, his broad, muscular chest and shoulders outlined almost pornographically by a standard white T-shirt, and a backward baseball hat hiding a lush head of hair.
And then to top off all that hotness, he carried Chuckanut under his arm like a football while she smiled the whole way.
His eyes were dark and laser focused as he stormed toward us. No…toward Mabel. “What the hell are you doing?” Without waiting for her to answer, he plucked her phone right out of her hand, shut it off, and dropped it into his pocket.
“Hey!” she said, hands on hips. “You can’t keep that! I’m just doing my civic duty and keeping residents informed.”
“What you’re doing is being a menace.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Beck pressed his lips into a flat line and pointed his finger in the direction of where she’d parked her scooter. “Go home.”
“But my phone!”
“Starlight Cove’s had enough of your so-called news for the night. You can come back and pick it up in the morning. Or you can stand here and keep pissing me off, and I’ll throw it in the ocean instead.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Try me,” he snapped. “Now get out of here.”
Mabel sniffed, attempting to look imposing as she stood toe-to-toe with Beck, hands on hips as she glared up at him. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll call Brady. He’s arrested his girlfriend plenty, so I don’t think he’ll have a problem arresting you.”
She blew out a raspberry. “Between you, Brady, and Aiden, I never get to have any fun. Why can’t I ever get stuck with the entertaining McKenzie brothers?”
“Happy to send Ford your way,” Beck grumbled to her back as she walked toward her scooter.
Chief Brambert cleared his throat. “I really do wish I had better news to give you, kiddo.”
I nodded, unable to find my words. Unable to think about anything but the bomb he’d just dropped.
That interaction between Beck and Mabel had been a nice little distraction, but just as quickly, everything came rushing back, and I leaned into Beck, my mind a whir of chaos over what I was going to do now.
Somehow, in the midst of my major panic, Beck finished up with the chief, then guided me upstairs, hauling all my purchases as well as Chuckanut, while I could barely manage the steps on my own.
He set her down as soon as we stepped inside, then pointed to a chair. “Sit.”
Chuckanut did his bidding, but I knew he wasn’t talking to her. We were back to single syllables again, and I wasn’t even up for giving him shit about it, so I did as he said, shuffling over before dropping into the chair we’d slept in last night.
Beck opened his fridge and pulled out the bottle of wine I’d opened two days ago—before the fire, before my life was nothing but ashes—and poured me a healthy glass, all while keeping his eyes locked on me.
Then, he opened the cupboard above his fridge and pulled down a bowl of Starbursts—the FaveReds version because why would you choose any other flavors? —and brought both over.
He squatted in front of me, setting the candy on the table and holding the glass out to me, his hand resting on my thigh. “Tell me what happened.”
I grabbed the glass, taking a large swallow, unable to look away from his piercing gaze.
“Well, my house is ruined, and the clinic is unusable. Which means I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Just because I don’t have a working clinic anymore doesn’t mean animals stop needing care.
April canceled twelve appointments from this week alone!
There’re still all the appointments that are already on the books.
Besides figuring out all that, I also need to deal with insurance, I have to replace my driver’s license, call all my credit card companies and get replacements—but first, I need to make a list of all the cards I had.
God, I don’t even remember half of them.
” A hysterical laugh bubbled free, and I swallowed another gulp of wine.
“And it feels like things are weird between us after last night and then the shower, and I hate that. Oh, and I still need to check in and get a cottage, though I don’t have a reservation, so—”
“Not happening,” he said sharply.
“What?”
He blew out a long breath. “The resort’s booked through June.”