The Mills & Boon Ultimate Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ up? My dreams, gone in one big puff of smoke? Kai inched over and wrapped an arm around me. “You’re shaking.”

      “Do they know where it started? How?”

      “The ballroom,” Kai said.

      The ballroom! I sniffled, trying desperately to hide the shock clawing at me. “Is everyone else accounted for?”

      Kai nodded. “Everyone’s fine. Joe the carpenter was the only other person inside when it happened. We think it was the same downlights that shorted out before; they were set too close to the insulation. And when the electrician fixed the wiring, the heat from the lights set fire to the padding. We’ll have to check once it’s out. But Micah saved the room, pretty much, Clio. He got up there fast with a fire extinguisher and managed to put most of it out. Without his quick actions the whole place would have gone up. Joe got out, but when Micah didn’t follow he went back in, and found him. He’d been overcome with smoke by then.”

      “He could have died in there.” I shuddered at the thought. Micah would have been thinking only of me and Cedarwood, of the hopes I’d pinned on the place, and not his own life.

      How close to disaster we’d come.

      A fireman walked over and removed his mask. “It looks worse than it is,” he said. “The room has sustained a lot of damage, and the floor above it, but it’s mostly cosmetic. Close call, but your friend managed to keep it at bay.”

      I tried to respond but my voice caught. I tried to compose myself to speak. “Thank…” I swallowed hard as the actualization hit me anew. In the end I gave up and let the tears flow.

      The fireman patted my shoulder and said to Kai, “It’s shock. Better if you get Clio out of here for the night. Tell everyone to stay away. We’ll keep a few guys here just in case. The paramedic is taking Micah and Joe to hospital for observation.”

      “Sure,” he said. “I’ll tell everyone to pack up and head home. Thanks for all of your help.” The fireman nodded and went back to his team. Kai pulled me close, and I rested my head against his chest. The steady thrum of his heart was a comfort as I tried to think rationally.

      Kai lifted a finger to my chin. “Are you going to be OK if I go chat with everyone? I’ll only be a second.”

      I wiped at my face. “I should speak to them. I can…”

      “Hey,” he said. “You’re upset. And rightly so. It’s a big shock and no one is going to hold it against you if you sit for a while. I’ll be right back.”

      Isla darted a glance to the firefighters before jogging to me. “I’m going to go with Micah. Just so he’s got someone with him. OK? I’ll report back as soon as we know anything. Will you be all right?”

      “I’m totally fine. He’d love that. And please, call me as soon as they check him over.” Micah was in good hands; he didn’t need me hovering over him, wringing my hands and pacing. Still, it was hard to switch the worry off.

      Isla gave me a quick hug and ran back to the ambulance, hoisting herself inside before they shut the double doors.

      The tradespeople gathered their tools and gave me somber waves as they headed for their vehicles. I sucked in a breath of air, trying to steady my heartbeat. We’d been lucky, so very lucky. Thankfully Micah had installed fire extinguishers into every single room before anyone so much as picked up a hammer. And he was OK, wasn’t he? He’d be OK. Sobs started anew as I imagined a very different scenario, a world without my friend. And I vowed we’d do another safety check before any work recommenced at Cedarwood.

      Kai was staying in a motel the next town over, in a basic room with a tiny kitchenette and small bathroom. There was a double bed, a sofa, and an old box TV on a buffet. I was tucked up on his sofa, phone resting on the arm, waiting for any news about Micah.

      “Thanks for the coffee,” I said. “I should probably go. I don’t want to intrude any more than I have.”

      Just then my phone buzzed, and I answered without looking at the display. “Isla?”

      “Clio! Oh, thank God, are you OK?” My mom’s desperate voice screeched down the line.

      “I’m good, Mom. You heard about the fire I take it?” My voice came out limp. I couldn’t fake it with her today.

      “Yes, why didn’t you call? Are you sure you’re OK?”

      Kai motioned to the door, as if he understood the need to speak privately. I nodded thanks. “I was going to head over to you. I’m with Kai… I’m fine, Mom. I wasn’t close when it broke out. But Micah was. He’s in hospital under observation and so is one of the carpenters. We’re worried about the amount of smoke inhalation at this stage.”

      “Poor Micah. I bet he was the hero, wasn’t he?” Her voice was soft with pride. Mom had always liked him. The Micah effect – everyone did.

      “If it wasn’t for him there’d be no more Cedarwood. I owe him everything. But still, I wish he hadn’t put himself in harm’s way. I’d choose him over property any day of the week.”

      “That place, Clio…”

      “What?”

      “I think you should sell it. Get out, get away before something truly terrible happens.”

      I sighed. “It was an accident, Mom. There’s bound to be accidents, no matter how much we try and prevent them. This was a one-off, an electrical issue that will be investigated to make sure it doesn’t happen again. To advise me to sell seems a bit dramatic. Why do you hate the lodge so much, anyway?” Again, I had that overwhelming feeling it was about more than the bricks and mortar of the place, and right then I was tired of pussyfooting around her.

      “I just don’t like the idea of you in that big, old lodge alone.”

      “I won’t be alone. Eventually I’ll have guests staying in the rooms. You could always sell your cottage and live with me. There’s plenty of room, you know.”

      She gasped as if that idea was preposterous. “That place is hexed, I’m telling you right now.”

      “What, Mom? What do you mean it’s hexed?”

      “Nothing. I didn’t mean to say… that.”

      She was speaking Mom riddles again. “Can we stop sidestepping the real reason for once? Do you have some connection with the lodge I don’t know about?” My mind reeled through possible reasons. The previous owners? “Did you know the woman who lived there? The one whose husband abandoned her and the business?”

      There was a pause. My pulse sped up. Was Mom connected to the former owners? If so, why hadn’t anyone breathed a word of it to me? Evergreen was a small town. Surely something would have got back to me after all these years, unless… it was something they all wanted to forget.

      “No,” she said, her voice tight. “If you’re coming to stay here for the night, I’ll leave the key out. I have to go to bed…”

      “Actually, I think I’d better stay where I am and wait for news. I don’t want to disturb you.” In actual fact, I couldn’t be bothered with Mom and her delicate moods. СКАЧАТЬ