Chapter 35 #2
“When Norma first came to visit me in the hospital, I told her to give it to me straight,” she said. “You and your father kept babying me, and all I wanted was the truth.”
My cheeks flushed as she lightly scolded me. “I didn’t want to upset you when you were recovering.”
“Oh, I know that, Iz.” She smiled kindly at me. “You were only trying to do what was best for me.”
“But how are you not a total mess about it?”
She released a sigh as she considered me. “It’s hard to know the café is gone, but I guess it’s also a little freeing.”
“Your life burning down feels freeing?”
Mom nodded. “I’ve been killing myself for years trying to keep the café afloat. And now that it’s gone, well, I guess I’m free to start over.”
“But what will you do? Open another café?”
The corner of her mouth lifted, and her eyes seemed to glitter. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about getting a certificate to teach yoga.”
“What?”
Her expression dimmed a little. “You think that’s silly.”
“No, gosh, no,” I quickly backtracked. “It’s just unexpected. I didn’t realize you were that serious about yoga.”
“I wasn’t, but that class I did in New York reignited my passion for it, and I’ve been doing an online class ever since.
I think it’s time I started focusing on a slower pace of life.
I know it will probably be a while before I’m good enough to run classes, but I was thinking it might be nice to teach on the beach.
And, if that goes well enough, maybe I’ll open a studio. ”
It sounded like she’d really thought this through. I guessed she’d had a lot of time to think while she was stuck in her hospital bed.
“You know you’ll probably still have to get up at the crack of dawn every day,” I said.
Mom chuckled. “I’m so used to it I think I’ll wake up at that time forever.”
It was hard to imagine my mom doing anything other than running her café.
She’d been doing it my whole life, so it felt like as much a part of who she was as her curly hair or her stubborn sense of pride.
But this did sound like a much easier existence for her.
Maybe a change of pace would be good for her.
“It does mean I might have to leave Rapid Bay for a while though,” Mom continued. “There’s a course I’ve been looking at taking in New York. With Matt being based there and you within driving distance of the city, I think it might work out perfectly,”
“Wait, what?” I interrupted her. I thought she was only considering this for her future, but it sounded like she had it all planned out already. I’d realized there would be some changes now she was engaged to my dad, but the thought of my mom leaving Rapid Bay still caught me by surprise.
“It makes sense for me to be there,” she replied. “And now that I don’t have the café…” Her voice trailed off, and a wave of anguish flickered through her eyes. My mom was holding herself together well considering everything that had happened, but she was clearly still deeply affected by it.
“I didn’t think you’d ever leave Rapid Bay,” I said.
“Me neither,” she agreed. “But it won’t be forever. I know I’ll be back.”
I stared at my mom, feeling both sad for her and proud of her all at once. She was so incredibly strong. She’d had so much taken from her, but she remained unbreakably optimistic. I hoped I could be half as courageous as her one day.
“So, you’re really not going to stay here?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. Not once I’ve recovered from the fire.”
“Because I was planning to move home to be with you.”
“Matt told me.” My mom reached out and took my hand.
“Isobel, one of the things I love most about you is the size of your heart. You’ve always been there for me and looked after me.
I know you would sacrifice your own dreams for me without question.
But what you don’t get is how much it breaks my heart to see you do that. ”
“Mom…” I whispered.
But she shook her head. “I know you want to be here for me, and I love you, Iz, but that’s not what I want. I don’t want you giving up your future for me. I never have. Especially not when it isn’t necessary. I really am doing okay—fires aside.”
“But you shouldn’t be facing cancer alone…”
“And I’m not,” she said. “I never have been. You’ve always been a phone call away when I needed someone to make me smile.
And now I have your father to hold my hand through it all.
” She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“And now that I don’t have the café to keep me tied down, I can come and visit you all the time. ”
She was right. And it did provide me with a lot of comfort to know Matthew was going to help her through all this. “Can I at least stay in town until you’ve recovered from the fire?” I asked. “You nearly died.”
“But I didn’t,” Mom replied. “And I refuse to let you stay here any longer than you need to. I’ll be back on my feet in a few days, and the last thing I want is my teenage daughter missing school to play nurse.”
“Especially when you already have one,” Matthew said as he returned to the room. “I’m going to take really good care of your mom, Isobel.”
“So, are we agreed?” Mom asked, turning to me once more. “You’ll head back to school tomorrow?”
I let out a sigh. I didn’t want to argue with my mom when she was supposed to be recovering. It was hard to imagine leaving her, but as I looked at my father, I realized I wasn’t the only person she had to lean on anymore.
“Okay, I’ll go back to school. But I want daily updates on how you’re feeling, and I’m coming home if you deteriorate even slightly.”
“I’m only going to be feeling better from here,” Mom replied. “I promise.”
The doorbell rang, and Matthew went to answer it as my Mom groaned.
“That had better not be Norma,” she said. “I told her to give me at least one day at home before she started coddling me.”
“And you expect her to listen?” I asked with a laugh.
Mom gave a weak chuckle. “No, I guess not.”
While Matthew was seeing to the door, Noah entered the room.
His hair was damp from his shower, and he was wearing a fitted Henley that molded perfectly to his strong chest. The boy was far too perfect to look at, and when my mom caught me staring at him, there was a knowing look in her eyes. I blushed and glanced away.
Noah took a seat on the couch across from me and gave me an easy smile before he focused on my mom. “Are you settling in okay?” he asked.
She didn’t get a chance to respond as my father returned to the room. There was a man following behind him wearing dark pants and a large jacket with the Rapid Bay Fire Department logo emblazoned on the front.
“This is Captain Paulson,” Matthew said. “He’s been overseeing the fire at the café.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Paulson said as he came to stand before us.
He directed most of his attention at my mom as he spoke.
“I know you’ve only just left hospital today, Ms. Grace, but I wanted to keep you updated on our investigation into the blaze.
We found something today that I thought you should know about. ”
My mom seemed to withdraw into herself as she stared up at the captain. She’d seemed so strong until this moment, but now I could see she was struggling. I wondered if seeing the fire official was suddenly making this real for her.
Matthew must have noticed too because he came to sit at her side and wrapped an arm around her before he turned to Captain Paulson once more. “What is it?”
The captain’s face was stoic, and I had a bad feeling whatever he’d found wasn’t good.
Why else would he be making a house call on New Year’s Eve?
A hint of apprehension flickered across his otherwise composed expression before he answered.
“I thought you should know that we discovered evidence an accelerant was used in the fire.”
The room fell deathly silent as we all stared at him.
“What exactly does that mean?” my mom asked.
“It suggests the fire was lit on purpose,” he replied. “That it wasn’t an accident.”
My hand found my mom’s, and we gripped each other tightly while Noah and my dad shared a concerned look.
“You’re sure?” my father asked, looking up at the captain again.
“We are.”
“Why would someone do that?” My mom appeared close to tears as she spoke, and despite all her talk of the fire being freeing, I could finally see just how badly it had upset her. Matthew’s face had paled too, and he rubbed a hand along my mom’s arm.
“We don’t know,” Paulson replied. “But the police will get involved in the investigation now, and hopefully we’ll get some answers for you.”
“Do you have any suspects?” Noah asked. His voice was stern, and his expression was dark. He looked as though he wanted to stalk out into the night and bring whoever had lit the fire to justice himself.
“None so far. We’re still investigating the scene though, and you will be kept in the loop about what we find.”
“Thank you.” My father stood to shake Captain Paulson’s hand. “We really appreciate you coming out on New Year’s Eve to update us.”
The captain dipped his head and said goodbye before showing himself from the house. My father and Noah continued to trade cautious glances once he was gone. Neither of them appeared surprised by the news.
“Why aren’t you both more shocked by this?” I asked, my mind whirring as I tried to figure it out.
They looked at each other again, and my stomach dropped. “Wait, you already thought it was arson?”
My father hesitated while Noah clenched his jaw.
“We discussed it was a possibility,” Matthew finally said.
I’d been staying with them for days, and they hadn’t mentioned this to me once.
I’d been so focused on my mom that the cause of the fire had barely entered my mind.
I’d assumed it was an accident, but it seemed like Matthew and Noah had already discussed the idea that it wasn’t at length. “Why would you even suspect—”
“I think we all know who’s behind this,” Noah said, stopping me. “Who has the motive…”
It took me a moment to realize who he meant. “You think your grandfather did this?” I gasped.
“Who else?” Noah said. “He’s lost his mind since the takeover, threatening to do whatever it takes to get his company back. We already know he’s gotten away with arson twice; it stands to reason he’d do it again. He probably figured threatening your lives would get him what he wants.”
“But he didn’t threaten our lives. He nearly took them. How would that get him his company back?” I glanced at my father, hoping he’d be able to make sense of it, but his skin had turned a shade of gray.
“If it wasn’t a strategy to get his company back, then it was revenge,” Matthew replied. He too sounded convinced it had been William, and the way he spoke of revenge made me feel nauseous.
“They’ve only just uncovered that it wasn’t an accident,” Matthew continued. “And I doubt William was stupid enough to leave any evidence tying him to the fire. I’m not sure we’ll be able to prove he was behind it.”
“So, we provoke him to reveal the truth,” Noah replied.
The two of them looked ready to do battle. Like they’d forgotten we didn’t live in the medieval ages and were preparing to storm a castle and threaten the mad king.
“A good idea, but it won’t be easy getting him to admit it,” Matthew said. “Maybe if he feels threatened himself. We could use the company to—
“The two of you will do nothing,” my mom said.
She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t have to.
Her calm and decisive tone cut right through the mounting tension in the room.
“I will not have you two acting like vigilantes trying to extract justice. We don’t even know that it was your grandfather, Noah. ”
“It was him,” Noah replied.
“Maybe,” my mom said. “But we should let the fire department and the police do their job before we jump to conclusions. Before we take any action.”
“You want us to just sit back and do nothing?” Matthew asked.
“I want us to enjoy our last night together,” she said. “It’s New Year’s Eve, and Noah and Isobel are headed back to school tomorrow. I’ll be damned if we’re going to spend it plotting revenge.”
“You’re right,” Matthew said. his anger seeming to disappear with a long exhale “Let’s focus on having a good night together.”
The tension remained in the atmosphere though, and no matter what Mom wanted, it seemed none of us could get Noah’s grandfather off our minds. Had William Hastings started the fire? Had he tried to kill my mom and me? And worst of all, was he going to get away with it?