Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
MEYER
It took a while for the investigation into the fire to conclude. With the vandalism and the photos we found, the police are beginning to suspect there’s more to this—that we aren’t seeing the full picture. At least they’re taking things more seriously than they were in the beginning.
Once all the evidence had been gathered, we were given the go ahead to resume normal operations and fix up the storage room.
Luckily, there isn’t any damage to the structure of the inn, but the room itself is not a pretty sight. The smell of burnt plastic still floats through the air, and there is a layer of ash over everything, even the parts of the room the fire miraculously didn’t touch.
I stand in the middle of the destruction now, taking it all in. Every time I set foot in this space, I can’t help but picture Jackson trapped between the flames. I try to push the image out of my mind, but it clings, almost as stubborn as me.
I don’t know why I care this much. I’m grateful— beyond grateful—that he made it out of this room that day. But I’ve lost sleep over this, and I don’t know why . He’s just a guy. Just a guy who owns the other half of the inn. Just a guy who I’ve slept with, innocently and…not-so-innocently.
With a sigh, I shake away my thoughts and then get to work. The first step is clearing out all the burnt inventory so we can get the walls and the shelving repaired. I spend about an hour sweeping up soot and ashes before I hear a knock on the door.
When I spin around, I see Declan standing there, a group of people at his back. I recognize a few of them as his coworkers from the lumber yard. We know each other enough to be friendly, but I don’t think I’ve ever hung out with any of them before.
Declan steps into the room, and the group follows. They’ve got garbage bags and armfuls of supplies with them. I watch as they fan out, all taking a section of the room and starting to clear up the debris.
I whirl on my friend. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
Declan’s eyes twinkle as he says, “We’re here to help.”
I eye him in suspicion. “Help with what?”
“With rebuilding the storage room.” He pats the box he’s carrying. “We’ve got all the tools. This way, you don’t have to worry about hiring someone.”
“What? No.” I shake my head. “You guys don’t have to do that. I can figure it out.”
“We’ve all been talking, and we want to help you, Meyer. I know you don’t like accepting it, but that’s too damn bad.”
I choke on a laugh. “I guess I can’t say no, can I?”
He grins. “No, you can’t. ”
The doorway fills again, and then Pippa and Jackson are entering the room. Jackson has ditched his suit again in favour of a t-shirt and jeans. I won’t lie and say that I hate seeing him in his suits, but there’s something about seeing him in casual clothes that makes my stomach dip. What is happening to me?
I pin Pippa with an accusatory look. “Did you know about this?”
She throws her hands up in surrender. “I swear I didn’t. This whole thing was Declan’s idea.”
I glower. Until I feel the weight of someone’s arm settle over my shoulders. Strangely, I don’t have the urge to shrug him off, and that alone should worry me. It does worry me. I’m not supposed to like him being this close to me in a non-sexual setting.
“Let them help, Ellison. They want to be here for you,” Jackson says.
“For both of you,” Declan amends.
Jackson chuckles. “Of the two of us, I think Meyer has earned the goodwill of the townspeople more than I have.”
“I think you’ve managed to work your way into their good graces, too,” Pippa says. “Despite the rough start.”
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
Jackson’s jaw drops. “ What does she mean ? Basically the whole town had a vendetta against me when I first got here.”
“I feel like that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
Declan shakes his head. “It’s not. Everyone kinda hated him.”
“But people love you! It’s beyond infuriating,” I say.
“They don’t love me when they know you hate me. I was glared at for weeks ,” Jackson explains. “You underestimate your influence here.”
I knew the people of Fraisier Creek could be protective, but I didn’t realize my distaste for Jackson being here had spread so widely.
I offer him a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”
He shake his head, but an amused smile sits on his lips. “No, you’re not.”
“You’re right, I’m not.” Then I clap my hands, stepping out from under Jackson’s arm. “Alright, let’s get to work. We’ve got a mess to clean up.”
With the group of us, it still takes us all day to make any headway, but considering the fact that I was expecting to do all the cleanup by myself, I’m happy with the outcome. Hours fly, and by the time everyone is ready to call it quits, I’m a tired, sweaty mess.
But I’ve also never been more thankful in my life. I have my frustrations with living in a small town sometimes, but nothing beats this community and the way it shows up for people. It’s easy to forget, when I get in my own head about my insecurities, but I’ve always had a place in this town.
I tie off my last garbage bag and then lean against the wall. My whole body aches from everything I put it through today.
I close my eyes for a minute, wishing I was already showered and in the comfort of my bed. When I open them again, Jackson is making his way toward me. His eyes are trained on his phone. When he looks up, I notice a streak of soot on his cheek, and the sight makes me smile. His expression turns quizzical, his head tilting .
“What?” he asks.
I laugh. “You just have a little something here,” I reply, gesturing to my own cheek.
“Here?” He reaches up and swipes at his cheek, but it’s the opposite one.
I shake my head, taking a step forward. “No, the other one. Here, let me.” I reach for his face, swiping a thumb along his cheekbone, and I’m instantly transported back to that day we spent baking in my kitchen. My breath hitches, and I quickly pull away. “There, all better.”
“My hero,” he says with a smile.
I clear my throat and cross my arms. “You looked like you wanted to say something when you came over here.” Changing the subject is for the best, lest I melt into a puddle of awkwardness.
“Right.” His smile turns to one of pure excitement. “I have a new idea.”
He looks like a kid on Christmas, bouncing on his toes in anticipation of opening his gifts. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s adorable.
“Alright.” I wave him on. “Let’s hear it.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, how that green space beside the inn doesn’t really have a use. But we could give it one. It would be easy enough to rent one of those large tents and host events out there. I even have our first client.”
I arch a brow, admittedly a little impressed. “You’ve been busy today. Who’s the client?”
“I overheard someone talking about this charity dinner that’s happening soon, so I talked to the people who are running it. ”
This charity dinner for the local animal shelter gets thrown every year, and it’s essentially an excuse for the Fraisier Creek elite to dress up and pretend they’re New York City socialites attending some stuffy, highbrow art gala. It’s a Big Deal. I’m not a huge fan of attending, but it does raise a lot of money when all is said and done, so I suck it up.
“And,” Jackson adds, a glint of mischief in his eyes, “I’ll even let you take me as your date.”
“Yeah?” I ask, raising a brow. “Is that supposed to be a plus?”
“Oh, how you wound me, Ellison. What do you think?”
Of all the ideas I’ve had for the inn, something like this has never occurred to me. The side of me that is overrun by my own fears and insecurities wants to protest, to shut him down, simply because he was the one to come up with the idea. But I push that part of me aside.
We’re supposed to be partners after all. I haven’t been very good at the whole collaboration thing, but I want to try. I owe it to Cherie. I owe it to myself and Jackson.
“I like it,” I reply. “Let’s do it.”
The way Jackson’s face lights up with his smile sends butterflies swimming through my stomach.
The more I think about it, the more I recognize that maybe Mom was right. Sometimes, I do let my pride get in my way. But I’m trying to fix that.
“I think we make a good team, partner,” Jackson says.
I offer him a tired smile. “I think we do, too.”
His eyes soften on me. “It’s late. Let me walk you home.”
I push away from the wall as I nod. “I’d like that.”
Walking this familiar path back to my cottage with Jackson feels comfortable, and a warm feeling spreads over me. He doesn’t touch me, just walks beside me, but it makes my heart race nevertheless.
After the fire, everything felt a little hopeless. But maybe things are starting to look up now. This plan of Jackson’s has some merit, as long as we can pull it off.
And if we can continue working together like this, maybe our forced partnership will turn out to be a good thing after all.