Chapter 19
“If I’m honest,I’m really going to miss having you around.”
Grant sat in a chair across from Eli’s desk. He’d been in enough meetings with people to know that his boss was only saying what he thought Grant wanted to hear. While Eli was a good man with a good heart, he had grown tired of the vandalism just like Grant had.
Eli picked up a piece of paper, glanced at it, and shifted his gaze to Grant. “That’s not the only reason I called you in here. I wanted to apologize.”
Grant didn’t move. He’d been on the other side of the desk long enough to know that Eli was looking for a reaction, and Grant was determined to give him nothing.
His boss returned the piece of paper to his desk and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. He studied Grant for a moment before speaking. “I’m sorry for assuming you were the one responsible for the vandalism.” He paused for a few seconds. “I was actually hoping I might be able to convince you to stay.”
There it was. The reason for this conversation. Eli had heard that Grant was leaving. Yes, Grant had planned on putting in his two weeks’ notice, but he’d also wanted to tell Charlotte and Nick about it first. Someone must have overheard him talking to Bella.
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter,” Grant said.
“So you’ll stay?”
“You misunderstand. It doesn’t matter because I’m not going to stick around. I’m working on finding a place for my RV and I’ll be taking off in the next couple of weeks unless I can find something sooner.”
Eli leaned forward this time, the chair creaking with his movement. He wasn’t happy, that much was clear. “Perhaps we can talk this out?—”
Bo burst into the office. His eyes darted from a surprised Eli to Grant. “Your RV is on fire.”
Grant shot out of his seat. Eli did the same, but with enough force to knock his chair against the wall behind him. They rushed for the door, bumping into one another as they attempted to move through it at the same time.
The house must have been insulated better than most buildings because it wasn’t until they reached outside that Grant could hear the sirens. They were close, likely less than a mile away. Shouts and hollers came from the direction of Grant’s RV, and he took off toward the commotion.
Smoke rose in the air, and when Grant rounded the side of the house, he could see the flames licking the sky. Dark, inky smog rose from his home, polluting the air with its strident smell. About half of the onlookers were transfixed by the sight, while some quick thinkers had managed to find a hose.
It was already too late. Grant could see that clear as day. No amount of cold water would change the fact that he’d lost his home.
Then a realization hit him hard in the chest. It stole the air from his lungs and the blood from his head.
Nick.
Where was his son? He spun around to stare at the house. Grant had left Nick with Charlotte to finish his homework after dinner. There was a very real possibility that the kid had come back to the RV when he was done. It had happened a few times before.
Grant took a step toward the RV, but someone stopped him with a hard hand to his chest. He looked down at the hand, following it to the body of the man standing next to him.
Bo shook his head firmly.
For a brief moment, Grant considered tearing the man’s arm off. If there was anyone inside that mattered to Bo, he’d want to do the same thing. Before he could do anything about it, a small voice broke into his mind.
“Dad!”
It sounded so real—so close.
“Dad! Your house. It’s on fire.”
Grant turned toward the voice and his body went limp with relief. Nick threw his arms around Grant’s middle and buried his face in his stomach. He peered up at his father, tears streaking his cheeks.
“I was so scared,” he said shakily. “I thought you were inside.”
Grant could understand the sentiment. He dropped down to be eye level with his son. “It’s okay,” he assured him. “I’m okay and you’re okay—that’s all that matters.” He pulled his child into his chest and wrapped his arms around him firmly, never wanting to let go.
The sirens blared as the fire engine appeared. Those who had gathered to watch the spectacle that his home had become scattered to make way for the large vehicle. Men jumped from the open doors and ran this way or that. They got their hoses working and, in no time, the RV was just a smoldering pile of smoke and debris.
It was almost as if everyone who stood around him had gone into shock. The air was eerily quiet and something strange hung in the air, like an expectation of something more to come. Grant still hadn’t released his son, but now he was on a mission—to find whoever did this and sock ‘em.
Except no one appeared to have any clue how this had happened. It didn’t matter where he looked in the sea of faces, not one had a look of guilt. How was he supposed to track down the person who’d destroyed his home when he couldn’t see any inkling that someone here had done it? Grant refused to believe it had all been one great big coincidence.
Unfortunately, Grant would have to wait until the firefighters determined what had started it. He’d have to let his life remain hanging in the balance which made him want to hold his son even tighter.
A sheriff’s car, complete with flashing lights and a siren, drove onto the property. The siren turned off but the lights still spread their colors around the area, from the shrubs to the trees to reflecting off people’s faces. Bella jumped from the car and hurried toward them.
She grabbed Grant’s upper arms and gave him a once-over. “Are you okay?” she demanded before moving to examine Nick. She touched his face, his hair, and grasped his hand. “Were you hurt? Any problems with breathing?”
Nick ignored her questions, his eyes locked on the firemen as they finished up their job. “Do you think I could be a fireman one day?”
Bella glanced up at him from where she crouched in front of Nick. “You don’t think he’s in shock, do you? Maybe you should take him to the hospital.”
Grant didn’t need to be told what to do. Nick was his son. The boy hadn’t appeared to be all that upset. If anything, he was enthralled with the process of taking care of the RV. Grant shook his head. “I think he’s fine. What’s more important right now is figuring out who?—”
“Oh my goodness!” Charlotte’s petrified voice broke through the awkward silence of those around him. She hurried toward them and pulled Nick from Grant’s arms and away from Bella. “My poor boys.” As she hugged Nick, she gazed up at Grant. “Your RV. It’s so terrible. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling… homeless.”
Grant bit his tongue. She was only trying to show her sympathy for his situation, but all he heard was how he was now without a home—and so was his son. “We’ll be fine. It’s just an RV. I’m sure I can file a claim and get a replacement sooner than you might think.”
His pointed look to Bella was more than enough to keep her quiet. They both knew he could walk right onto the lot in Billings and get a new one without having to wait on insurance to fulfill their claim.
Charlotte hugged Nick to the point the boy squirmed. “You poor kid. I’m sure you were just so scared.”
“I want to see the firefighters—” Nick mumbled as he attempted to pull away from his grandmother’s vise-like grip.
“Nonsense. You shouldn’t be out here with all this chaos. You need rest. It’s getting late. I’m guessing you should stay home from school tomorrow, too. And of course, you can stay with Nana as long as you need. Wouldn’t that be nice? You can have your own room?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Grant interrupted as he pulled his son from his grandmother’s claws. “We’re going to find a place to stay in town.”
“What?” Charlotte shot to her feet. “You can’t be serious.” Her face nearly turned purple, indignation coming off her in waves. “You can’t take Nick away from me. I’m his grandmother. If you take him to town, he’s going to see me less and less.”
“I doubt that,” Grant shot back. “It’s not like we’re moving out of state.”
Though that idea was becoming more appealing by the second. Bella had been right about this one thing. Nick could have been seriously hurt. If he’d been doing his homework in the RV, then Grant would have lost him, too. He wasn’t about to let that happen. Nick was his priority.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ll see. First, it will be missed dinners. Then a week will pass with excuses about homework or you being too tired to bring him by.”
“I can’t do it anymore.” Grant could feel his resolve crumbling. He whirled around on the people who had shifted their attention from the fire to him. “You win, okay? You get what you wanted. Clearly, you would rather tear a family apart rather than hash out whatever you have against me as adults.” He returned his gaze to Charlotte. “You can’t expect me to stay here when Nick’s safety is at stake. I’m moving to town, and we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed and she stepped closer, her voice low. “I shouldn’t have to remind you about the current state of our arrangement.” Her expression shifted to that of a broken-hearted woman. “I can’t believe you would take my only grandson from me—the only connection I have left to my daughter.” She flung her finger at Bella. “You were there. You know how devastating it was for me to lose her. I can’t lose my grandbaby, too.”
His eyes bounced around wildly to Bella and then to those watching them, sure they were judging him for this. Everyone here loved Dee. Thankfully, they all seemed curious to know how he would react.
Grant’s gaze locked with Bella’s once more. She’d never told him that. Had she intentionally kept it from him? He wouldn’t have cared. At least, he didn’t think he would have. This was just further proof that they weren’t good together.
His glare shifted to Charlotte. If they were alone, Grant might have demanded to know whether she was threatening him. It sure sounded like she was. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she was trying to intimidate him into staying. Heck, she was probably trying to start the process of having them all living under one roof.
Well, he wasn’t his ex-wife. Dee was gone, and even if she’d wanted to move everyone into Charlotte’s place, Grant would have refused. Charlotte didn’t have a say in what he did with his son, but the more he looked at her, the more he wondered how this would play out if she were to actually take him to court.
Just to be safe, Grant chose the higher road. She was just worried about her grandson, and she didn’t trust Grant enough to believe him when he told her he would make sure her relationship with Nick didn’t suffer.
He heaved a sigh. “Fine. We’ll stay for one night.”
Grant didn’t miss the surprised look on Bella’s face. He couldn’t tell if she was concerned that he was sticking around or impressed he was willing to do what his ex-mother-in-law had requested.
Charlotte’s grin almost looked wicked, but there was a possibility he was reading too much into it. Long days and frayed nerves could do that to a guy.
Grant looked away from Bella, but he could still feel her scrutiny. He set his firm stare on Charlotte and waited for her to meet it. When she did, he didn’t waste a moment.
“We’ll discuss what happens next tomorrow after your shift.”
She smiled, her hands resting on Nick’s shoulders. “If we have time,” she said flippantly. “But I was thinking it would be nice to take Nick for a picnic. Does that sound fun, Nick?”
Before Grant could put his foot down, Charlotte chauffeured Nick toward the small cottage near the wrangler’s barracks. His voice died in this throat. He nearly charged after them, but Bella’s hand wrapped around his forearm.
“We need to talk about what’s happening.”
He shot a quick look in her direction before dragging his focus back to Charlotte’s retreating form. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Grant—”
“No. There’s nothing to talk about. Not with the fire. Not with us. And not with the case. You were right all along. I can’t keep Nick here when he’s in danger. And if I have to, I’ll move him out of the state.”
“But—”
“Like I said, there’s nothing to talk about. We’re not together, right? And if I don’t want to press charges, then it doesn’t matter.” Ignoring the hurt expression on her face, he strode after what was left of his family. It was the right decision. Nick needed to be his top priority.
So why did all this feel so wrong?