Chapter 37
“A crime scene?” I wasn’t sure if I heard Patrick right.
It had been a few days since the fire, and he came over to Olivia’s to give us the rundown on how the rail house was looking.
Apparently, it was a blessing that the old building was made of bricks, the bulk of it all held strong while it was mainly just interior damage we had to worry about.
Which was okay because it all needed to be removed regardless.
The part that didn’t sit well with me is that this was planned.
Patrick nodded. “We’re still running the investigation but things should be cleared up in the next day or two so we can get back in there.”
“I had been there all morning and nothing seemed out of place. I didn’t smell gas, there were no obvious fire hazards in the space…” I let my words trail off. Besides the whole damn dilapidated building, but he got the point.
Patrick nodded solemnly. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now. We found a jerry can in the trees less than a mile south that we’ll dust for prints. It’s very likely whoever it was had been watching and waiting for you to leave. But Stella, we will figure this out. I promise.”
I could tell Patrick was pissed about what happened, but he held on to hope that we could turn this around. All my friends did, and I was grateful for that.
“What can we do in the meantime?” Melody asked Patrick. Her unwillingness to just sit still and do nothing was a drive I admired, and the reason she had come so far in her life after facing struggles herself. It was inspiring.
Patrick shrugged. “Just hang tight—” The glare Melody shot his way made him stop what he was saying. “Actually, cameras. Security cameras would be a great idea moving forward. You’ll be able to keep an eye on things as the work progresses and know if anyone comes messing around again.
Cameras. That was something obtainable I could do.
“And Stella?” I blinked away the haze at Patrick’s voice, bringing my gaze to his. “Be careful, okay? It seems like this was more targeted to the rail house than it was to you since whoever it was made sure that you were gone first, but it still wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out.”
I nodded, and we said our goodbyes to Patrick as he needed to head back to the station. He and Melody lingered by the door a little longer than usual, but I didn’t blame them. Nothing felt normal right now.
I wished like hell that Calvin was here. I had no idea why he was still avoiding me. But I wasn’t letting his absence stop me from moving forward.
“I’m done sulking,” I declared to the girls as Melody made her way back into Olivia’s living room.
“Oh, Stell, we never thought you were. This is a bullshit situation, and sometimes we need to sit with our feelings before we move forward,” Olivia comforted me.
“Agreed. But we’re here for whatever you need. Let’s find the best damn cameras we can.”
Oh, I planned on it.
“These are like trail cams, so you can secure it to a tree around the property, and it will kick into action any time it senses movement. Solar powered with a backup battery, so you don’t have to worry about anything, also with infrared technology so there’s no flash to disturb the wildlife.”
I wasn’t as worried about wildlife, but I liked the idea that no one would be alerted if they triggered a camera while sneaking up to my rail house again.
Melody had connected us with a friend from Vancouver who sold security systems. Over the video call, Mason explained that he could overnight all the equipment and then talk us through the setup, which all seemed easy with their app.
I agreed on a package of cameras, and the girls and I set off to Simon’s store to get some extra hardware.
Mason said everything we needed would be included with the cameras but suggested a few other items we could get locally.
Plus, I wanted to make sure I had new locks for the building as soon as we got the doors back up.
As we passed by Vintage Vows on the way to The Tool Box, I noticed it was still closed.
“Where’s Val been the past few days?”
Melody and Olivia both wore matching confused expressions on their faces by my inquiry.
“Her vintage dresses are stunning and I want her involved in the rail house plans, too,” I explained to them, and their eyes softened. They may not have gotten along with Valerie, but my friends were not the type of people to wish bad on anyone.
“Last I heard, she had some sort of family emergency she needed to attend to. Something about her brother? Who knows?” Olivia shrugged.
“If you ask me, I think she’s run away to lick her wounds after Calvin publicly turned her down in Heartstrings a few weeks ago.”
What? Calvin hadn’t told me about that. But then again, he hadn’t told me much lately as I still hadn’t seen him after our fight.
“Have you heard from him?” I asked Melody. I tried not to bring Calvin up in conversation, but my resolve finally broke at her mention of him.
Mel shook her head sadly. “I’m sure he’ll still come around, though,” she tried to assure me, but I wasn’t certain I believed her as we walked into The Tool Box.
Mason was good. First thing the next morning the box of cameras was delivered.
Melody had to work the opening shift at Cupid’s Cup, and along with the cameras, Olivia had a huge order of books delivered to the post office that she had to process for her store. We agreed to get together after lunch and set out on our ways.
I had plans to place out all the cameras and then Patrick and Garrett would help me install them this evening.
I finally felt like I could breathe, like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, as things started moving forward once again.
Albeit we had taken about a marathon worth of steps backward, but my friends never let my vision falter.
January was normally extremely cold in Saskatchewan, but we had an oddly nice day today. Finding the forecast in the single digit negatives almost made it feel like spring when we had spent so many days in the cold frigid temperatures of the prairies.
The snow crunched under my boots and sparkled in the sunlight as I made my way along the railroad tracks.
The rays of sun shining down on me felt like they were shedding a new light on this situation.
It made me realize how unwavering my strength was.
I had already been through my scariest days, I had already felt my most hopeless.
Although I felt sad now, I also knew I could handle this and come out the other side.
Fear and strength, both feelings could coexist, and that felt like the most beautiful proof of progress I had been able to recognize yet.
As I approached the rail house, the sound under my feet grew louder and louder until I realized the sound wasn’t the crunch of snow at all but coming from inside the rail house.
It sounded like things were being torn apart. Boards were being smashed. Fuck. Bears should be deep in hibernation by now but that didn’t mean the commotion from the last few days hadn’t woken one up.
I dropped the box of cameras and grabbed the bear spray out of my pocket while bolting toward the rail house, tearing through the police tape that sectioned off the area.
The noises only increased in intensity as I got closer, and my heart rate sped up in anticipation of what I would find. But as I got to the open doorway, my breath caught, and my heart threatened to come to a full stop.
The creature inside may have been mistaken as a grumpy grizzly bear, but it was the red flannel shirt that gave him away. My lumberjack.
He hadn’t yet noticed I arrived, so I took the chance to admire this masterpiece of a man.
The sight reminded me of how I had found him chopping wood after finding out the true state the farm was in—when his muscles glistened with sweat, dark reddish golden hair tied up on his head but messy strands falling to frame his perfect face.
He grunted as he tore up a burned floorboard, tossing it into a pile. Standing up to survey the space, he turned, and his forest green eyes locked with mine, the ice in his gaze instantly melting at the sight of me.
“Stella,” he breathed out as he dropped the crowbar. He took a couple big strides toward me but stopped a few feet away. His hand flexed as he battled the war within himself on whether he should grab on to me or keep his distance.
I answered the question for him as I jumped onto him, linking my arms around his neck as I forced him to grab a hold of me.
“Oh, Stella,” he repeated my name like it was a prayer. “I’m so sorry.”
I buried my face into his neck, breathing in the woodsy pine and a scent that was all his own.
“Why did you leave?” I didn’t care where he had been and I didn’t need his apologies. I just needed to understand. If I was going to venture into a life with him involved, I needed to know he wasn’t going to run away from me again.
“After our argument, Grandma Trixie found me and talked some sense into me.”
The redness that coated his cheeks told me all I needed to know to be able to imagine that conversation for myself.
“Talking to her gave me an idea, but I needed to go to Toronto to pick it up. I swear, I had no idea about the fire until I came back last night.” He looked devastated, but I had already forgiven him long ago.
I don’t know if I ever held anything against him. I knew he had his own burdens to bear, as did I. His absence had shown me my strength was steadfast whether he was here or not.
And that was a very confidence-inducing fact.
I didn’t need him, but dammit, did I want him.
“How can I ever make it up to you?” He pressed his forehead against mine as he trailed his fingers up and down my sides. Even through my thin coat I could feel his touch send those familiar buzzes of electricity throughout me.
“Make love to me.”