Chapter 47
47
SUMMER
Brenda Heaton turned startled eyes on Asher and me.
“What’s going on here?” she asked, waving her hand at us, her brow furrowed.
I stiffened. It hadn’t occurred to me before I’d wrapped myself around Asher that we’d yet to tell his family we were together. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be mad at me for jumping the gun.
“We’re dating,” Asher said, staring blankly at the charred front of his home. “We were going to tell you later today.”
I shivered. He sounded numb, and now that the adrenaline was beginning to seep from my limbs, I realized just how cold I was too. Despite the acrid smell of smoke in the air, and the dying embers of the fire, snow continued to fall around us. I could hardly feel the tips of my fingers, so I buried them in my palms, hoping to thaw them.
“You…and Summer?” Brenda was stunned. “You two are together? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes.” I forced myself to confirm it, since Asher didn’t seem capable of much other than holding Cookie and staring at his house.
“That’s wonderful!”
Before I could dodge, I found myself squeezed in a tight hug. Brenda was soft and comforting, and it was all I could do not to bury my face in her shoulder. Mum hugs were the best. She kissed my cheek and let me go, then floundered when she realized she couldn’t repeat the process on Asher because he was holding Cookie.
“You’re happy?” I asked, pleasantly surprised. It’s not that I thought she wouldn’t approve, but I hadn’t expected a celebration either.
“I’m thrilled for you both.” She wrapped her arm around her husband Garth’s waist. “We’ve been waiting for Asher to settle down for years, and I know he wouldn’t be dating you unless he thought you were the one.”
Her words warmed me, although not enough to dispel the ache from my fingers.
“This is lovely and all,” Nate said, looking like he thought it anything but, “but we need to get down to the police station and take statements. Asher and Summer, you’ll both need to come. “Parks, I’ll catch you later today.”
Parks nodded.
“Can we come along and wait for them to be done?” Brenda asked, clutching a handful of Garth’s jacket. “I don’t want to leave my baby alone during such a stressful time.”
“You can come to Mum and Dad’s place,” Liam said before anyone else could reply. “Invite Frannie too. We’ll all wait there together.”
Brenda hesitated. “Heather won’t mind? I’d hate to put her out.”
Nate snorted. “Mum loves guests. Liam is right. You should wait there.”
“Okay, then.”
Asher snapped to attention and looked at his mother. “Could you take Cookie please?”
Brenda softened. “Of course.”
He shifted the cat into her arms, and then he and I followed Nate off the property.
“I’ll drive,” I told Asher.
“Thanks.” He passed me the keys. “I think I’m experiencing symptoms of shock.”
I got into the driver’s seat—the door was still open—and turned the key in the ignition. He circled the hood and got in the other side.
“Once we’re at the police station, I’ll get a hot drink and a snack from the vending machine. Hopefully that will be enough.”
“Hopefully.” I kind of wanted to wrap him in a blanket and coddle him, but I doubted he’d appreciate that. “I’m glad your mum was so happy to hear we’re dating.”
I waited for Nate to pull out onto the road, and then followed close behind him.
“Me too.” He laid his hand on my thigh. “I knew she would be though. She adores you, and if you give her a chance at getting more grandchildren, she’ll love you even more.”
“Thank God.” The last thing we needed was for any other family members to kick up a fuss. “I’m sorry my brothers haven’t been as accepting.”
He grunted. “I wouldn’t expect them to. I knew I wasn’t what they wanted for you, and I started dating you anyway, so I have to be prepared to face the consequences. Besides, it’s fair enough for Liam to point out the fact that you having a crush on me for years does make it a little imbalanced. But I’m so far gone on you, you never have to worry about me taking advantage of that.”
“I know.” I felt a pang at the reminder that he hadn’t always returned my interest, but I tamped it down and focused on the part I could do something about.
Apparently, my brothers thought I needed a boring, predictable man in my life. That didn’t surprise me, considering I’d intentionally used my dating life to aggravate them in the past. I was just so tired of them thinking of me as their baby sister.
I was a grown woman with a thriving business and my own home. If they wanted to talk about what I needed, I’d be happy to enlighten them that the only thing I needed was for them to respect my right to make my own decisions.
We parked on the road outside the police station and followed Nate inside. Officer Patton was with him, and we were escorted into an interview room. I couldn’t help noticing how clinical it was. Almost like my examination room. A couple of cushions and a padded chair would go a long way to making it more welcoming.
But I supposed “welcoming” wasn’t necessarily the vibe they were going for.
Asher and I sat on one side of the table. Patton turned on a wall heater and withdrew a notebook from his shirt pocket while Nate set a recording device in the center of the table.
“You’re fine if we record this, right?” Nate asked.
“It’s okay with me,” I said.
“Yes,” Asher agreed
Nate started the recorder and he and Patton sat opposite us. Asher talked them through today’s events, and then mentioned the shattered window.
Nate faced me. “You thought someone might have a grudge against Asher. That’s seeming more likely with this latest development. Do you have any idea who might resent him that much?”
I glanced from one man to another. “What about Lionel Lowry?”
Asher scoffed. “He’s all talk. He wouldn’t actually do anything about it.”
I bit my lip, less certain of that than he was. “He’s been simmering in resentment for months.”
But Asher shook his head. “James Conroy is more likely. He punched me, and the rock was thrown through my window that same day.”
I scowled. “Surely he can see he’s to blame for the situation he’s in. If he hadn’t cheated, then there never would have been a problem.”
Officer Patton jotted a note. “Some people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions.”
“Anyone else?” Nate asked. “Anyone who might have felt slighted by you? Someone you dated, or pissed off?”
Ashley’s name crossed my mind, but I didn’t voice it. She was just hurt by Asher’s rejection. She wasn’t a violent person. A little mean perhaps, or just not considerate of others. I doubted she’d harm anyone though.
“Anyone at work?” Patton prompted.
Asher looked like he’d had a thought. “No one at work, but Frannie’s tire was punctured recently, and she said some things had been missing around her house as well. Could that be related?”
“Perhaps. We’ll need to talk to her too. Perhaps we shouldn’t be looking at who might want to target you specifically, but who might want to use you to get to Frannie.”
“I’ll arrange an interview with Frannie,” Nate said. “Meanwhile, you keep thinking and let us know if you come up with any other ideas.” He reached for the recorder. “Interview concluded at 1:15 p.m.”He pressed a button to end the recording and sat back.
“Are we done?” I asked, more than ready to get somewhere with a fireplace I could huddle in front of.
Nate nodded. “For now. Ash, I’m afraid you can’t stay at your place tonight. You probably know that. The damage alone would put you at risk until an engineer can assess the structural safety of the building, and until we confirm whether the fire was set intentionally, it’s a crime scene.”
“You can stay with me,” I offered tentatively. “Unless you’d rather stay with Frannie again, or with your parents.”
He touched my hand and met my eyes. “I don’t want to bring danger to your doorstep.”
I bit my lip. I understood, but he had to go somewhere. He couldn’t just hide out in the woods. “So far, the attacks have been targeted at you—and maybe Frannie. I doubt whoever is behind it will change their focus to me just because you spend a night at my cottage.”
He frowned. “But you could get caught in the crossfire.”
“He’s not wrong,” Nate said, helping no one.
“We’ll talk more later,” Asher said, getting to his feet. He took my hand and pulled me up.
As we left the interview room, Nate warned us to be careful and stay aware of our surroundings at all times.
“We will,” I said, but I didn’t hear his reply. Once we were out of the building, I stopped walking, and Asher did the same.
“What is it?” he asked.
I scraped my teeth over my lower lip. I needed to make him aware of the consequences of his actions while not giving him a reason to wallow in self-blame.
“When you ran toward the burning house earlier, I was terrified. Please don’t do something so reckless again.”
He hesitated for a long moment, but then his jaw firmed. “I can’t make that promise. I’ll do my best to be sensible, but if someone I care about is in danger, I can’t just leave them there.”