Chapter Eight

 

Kelsey scrolled through the pictures on the screen Wednesday, a combination of sadness and hope filling her chest. Bancroft Automotive was officially on the market. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was the right decision. Selling the business would free up her finances and allow her to finish her doctorate degree, a goal she’d been working toward since middle school.

Satisfied with the way the listing appeared, she closed her laptop and added it to her tote bag. The dismissal bell had rung a while ago, but she could still hear a few students and other staff members in the hallway.

She opened her lesson binder. All teachers were required to remain in the building for at least thirty minutes after dismissal, so she’d use the time to review her lessons for tomorrow. She certainly wouldn’t get a chance to do it or much of anything else tonight. She’d invited Ella and Cat over. They’d both sent her text messages asking about her and Drew’s new relationship. They hadn’t been the only ones to question her either.

As she’d expected, news they’d gone out on Valentine’s Day had hit the North Salem grapevine. Coworkers both at school and the restaurant had asked about their relationship. While she didn’t mind sharing details with her close friends, she didn’t plan on sharing with anyone else. What she and Drew did and how serious their relationship was, wasn’t anyone’s business. She didn’t know if he’d received similar inquiries, but wouldn’t be surprised if he had. Unlike her though, Drew was used to people asking questions about his personal life. It went with the territory of being such a public sports figure. When he’d dated a well-known actress two or three years ago, their relationship had been plastered on magazine covers and across the Internet.

Kelsey stopped reading. Would their relationship end up there too? She hadn’t stopped to consider the possibility, but Drew was a football star. He’d accomplished something no other quarterback ever had. Football fans across the country either adored him or hated him, depending on their favorite team. People liked to know what their favorite athletes were up to, both on and off the field.

She groaned and closed her eyes. Yep, news of their relationship would eventually spread outside North Salem.

“Miss Bancroft,” Violet Shallcross said, her voice pulling Kelsey back to the classroom. “I found the lab report that was due today. It was in my locker.”

Kelsey accepted the papers. Whenever students turned in assignments late, they lost points. However, all her students knew that as long as an assignment came in at some point on the day it was due, she didn’t punish them. “Great. Thank you.” She’d already packed all those lab reports up so she could take them home.

“Um, Miss Bancroft,” Violet said, sounding unsure of herself.

In the two years she’d had Violet in her class, she’d never known her to lack for confidence. “Is something wrong?” Kelsey asked.

“A bunch of my friends and I were talking at lunch. One of ’em said you’re dating Drew McKenzie, the quarterback for the Rebels. Is it true?”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Getting questioned by her friends and coworkers was bad enough. Now her students were jumping on the bandwagon too. “We’ve been friends for a long time.” She wouldn’t share anything else. Some lines you didn’t cross with students.

“That’s wicked cool. He’s so cute.”

The appearance of another student saved Kelsey from any more questions. She didn’t have the other girl in class, but Kelsey knew she and Violet were both on the basketball team.

“Violet, c’mon, we’re going to be late for practice.”

“Bye, Miss Bancroft. See you tomorrow,” Violet said, sprinting out the door.

Violet thought Drew was cute? Kelsey chuckled. Many adjectives came to mind when she thought of him, but cute wasn’t usually among them. Then again, Violet was only in the seventh grade. She guessed if she spoke to some high school seniors their descriptors would be more in line with hers.

When Kelsey walked inside the kitchen, the new paint color immediately caught her attention. Monday he’d given the living room a second coat. She told him afterward not worry about doing any more, because a man destined for the Football Hall Of Fame didn’t need to be painting houses. He’d insisted he didn’t mind, and rather than have their first argument as a couple, she let the matter go.

Setting down the box of cupcakes she’d picked up on her way home, she took out her cell phone and brought up Drew’s number. While she waited for him to answer, she hung her jacket over the back of a chair. One benefit of living alone, perhaps the only benefit, was that she could leave her things wherever she wanted, and no one complained about it.

“The kitchen looks great. Thank you,” she said after he answered the phone.

“Glad you like it. You can thank me later.” His tone filled in the words he’d left out.

“Will do. See you tomorrow night?”

Drew had been disappointed when she told him she planned to spend her first night off this week with her friends instead of him. Her promise to leave the rest of her nights off open had appeased him.

“Sooner if you want. Call me after Ella and Cat leave, and I’ll come over. I don’t care what time it is.”

He might not care, but she did. Cat and Ella would be there for a long time. When they got together like this, they tended to lose track of time. She’d be amazed if they left before ten o’clock, and unlike Drew, she had a job to get up for in the morning.

“Trust me, they’ll be here for hours. I have the next two nights off, and your name is attached to both.”

“Guess that means I’ll need to find something to do tonight.”

Laughing at Drew’s dejected tone, she filled the coffeepot with water. “You’ll survive another night without me.”

“Yeah, that’s what you think.”

“You’re trying to make me feel guilty,” she said.

“Is it working?”

Drew made her feel a lot of emotions, but guilt wasn’t among them. “Nope.” She added coffee to the machine and switched it on. From the other room, the doorbell rang. “Someone’s here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She found both Cat and Ella on the steps when she opened the door. Like her, they’d both stopped at Peggy Sue’s on the way over. “Great minds think alike, I guess,” she said, pointing toward the bakery boxes. “I stopped there too on my way home and bought some cupcakes.”

“Brownies,” Ella said, walking inside. She handed Kelsey the box and shrugged off her winter jacket.

Cat did the same. “Assorted cookies. Wow, it looks nice in here. When did you have time to paint?”

“I didn’t. Drew did.” And here come the questions.

“Really?” Cat said. “He painted?”

“I knew I was right when I saw you together on Valentine’s Day,” Ella said, hooking her arm through Kelsey’s. “Come on. Time to tell us everything.”

Kelsey let Ella lead her into the kitchen.

“He painted in here too,” Cat said, going straight for the fresh pot of coffee.

“And you didn’t know if you were ‘together.’” Ella made quotation marks in the air. “Since we’ve confirmed you’re a couple, tell us when and how it happened.”

Before she did anything else, Kelsey opened the bakery boxes and got some plates. This conversation required junk food and lots of it.

Ella set down the milk and sugar. “Looks like we’ve got everything we need.” Cat had already placed three mugs of coffee on the table. “Start talking, my friend.”

Kelsey grabbed a cookie and said, “The Sunday after Gage’s concert, Drew came over asking questions again.” Kelsey proceeded to tell them about Drew’s wager, the card game, and his offer to help her financially. “I thought if I kissed him he’d be so shocked he’d leave and not bug me again. It didn’t—”

“Wait. You kissed him first? Go Kelsey,” Cat said as she reached for her coffee.

“He was sitting so close, and I really thought he’d run for the door if I did it.”

“We know he didn’t, so what did he do?” Ella asked.

Kelsey added a second cookie to her plate. She’d already finished the first one. “He kissed me back. After, I almost apologized, but then I changed my mind. I told him the truth. That I didn’t think of him as a brother.”

“That’s awesome. How did he respond?” Ella added a splash of milk and sugar to her second coffee.

She shared the rest of their conversation, leaving out the intimate moments they’d shared. Ella and Cat didn’t need those details.

“We know he took you out Valentine’s Day,” Cat said. “Ella told me he planned to take you skiing for the weekend. I still can’t believe you agreed to work instead.” She selected a cookie from the assortment and added it as well as half a brownie to her plate.

“Yeah, okay, I admit it wasn’t one of my smartest decisions. But we had a great weekend anyway.” Her cheeks burned as she thought about how they’d spent much of their weekend. She waited for either Cat or Ella to comment on the blush.

Ella paused, her brownie inches from her mouth. “You two really are together.”

“Did he tell you he loves you?” Cat asked. “If not, he will. Guys can be so weird about saying the words. It took Tony forever, remember?”

She remembered all the details Cat had shared about her and Tony’s relationship before they got married. The same was true when it came to Ella and Striker. “No, but—” She stopped and sniffed the air. “Do you guys smell that?” Before, the scent of coffee and sugary treats had tickled her nose. She no longer smelled either. Instead she thought she smelled smoke.

Cat sniffed the air too. “Smells like smoke. Do you have a candle burning or anything in the oven?”

Ella nodded. “Yeah, I smell it too.”

Kelsey stood. If Cat and Ella smelled it, then she wasn’t imagining it. “No.”

Don’t panic. The smoke detectors weren’t going off yet. If there was a fire, it had to be a small one. She grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the sink. She’d taken the time to use the curling iron this morning. Maybe she’d left it on upstairs.

The closer she got to the stairs, the stronger the smell of smoke became. Kelsey made it up the first five steps before the smoke detector upstairs screeched to life.

Crap. She bolted up the remaining steps. She had to take care of whatever was on fire before it spread.

Thick gray smoke seeped out from under her bedroom door. Her first instinct was to pull the door open, but she stopped herself. Instead, Kelsey touched the doorknob and immediately yanked her hand away from the hot metal. She didn’t need to see inside to know her fire extinguisher wouldn’t be enough for what was on the other side.

Dropping it on the floor, she sprinted back down the hall. She paused at the top of the stairs and searched her pockets for her cell phone. Kitchen. She’d left it in the kitchen.

Both Ella and Cat stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Call 911!” she shouted as the smoke detectors downstairs came to life as well.

***

He’d planned to spend the night at home alone. When Mom called and invited him to join the whole family for dinner, he’d accepted right away. Since his move back to town, he’d seen his parents and nephew once, but not either of his brothers. With Kelsey busy anyway, tonight seemed like a good time to catch up with Cody and John.

Drew parked behind his older brother’s car. A lopsided snowman wearing a New England Rebels baseball cap, clearly something his nephew, Joey, built during a visit, stood guard near the walkway. Mom had confided to him that while she was glad all her sons were living in town again, the fact Joey was finally so close meant the world to her.

“Uncle Drew,” Joey said, sliding down the railing to greet him.

He, John, and Cody had all done the same thing as kids. They’d all gotten hell for it too whenever Mom caught them. “It’s a good thing your grandmother didn’t see you do that.”

“Please don’t tell Gram. She tells me not to, but it’s so much fun.”

Drew struggled not to smile. “I won’t this time.” He hated to say the next part, because he remembered how much he’d enjoyed it, but his nephew’s safety was more important. “But don’t do it again.”

“I won’t, promise.”

At the moment, Joey meant what he said. Drew knew, though, that the temptation might be too great, and he’d probably do it again.

“Will you play a video game with me?”

Mom must have purchased the system specifically for Joey. Neither of his parents bothered with video games. “Sure. What games do we have?”

Khloe, his sister-in-law, joined them. “Hey, Drew.” She gave him a hug and turned her attention to her son. “You should at least let your uncle take his jacket off before you attack.”

“Uncle Drew said he’d play a video game with me.”

She ruffled Joey’s hair. “It’ll have to be a quick game. Gram says dinner is almost ready.”

He wasn’t surprised to find Cody and Dad in the family room discussing the previous night’s basketball games. Drew barely managed to greet everyone before Joey thrust a controller in his hands.

Joey reset the game and looked back at his father. “Dad, Uncle Drew said he’d play a game with me, so you don’t have to anymore.”

“Go easy on your uncle,” Cody said before he returned to his previous conversation.

“So, what do we need to do?” Drew asked. He didn’t recognize the game on the screen.

“We have to save the princess. A thousand years ago, an evil monster kidnapped her and locked her away.” Joey moved closer to him and pointed to the short joystick on the controller. “This makes you move, and if you hold these two together you will run.” He pointed to button marked with the letter Z.

Drew listened as Joey explained how to control the characters on the screen and use their various weapons. “I think I got it. Let’s go save the princess.”

“We won’t save her today. It takes a while to reach her.” Joey pressed Start, and the game’s music filled the room. “It took Brady almost a month to finish the game. He’s a friend at school.”

Drew tested out the various buttons on his controller to get the hang of moving his character. “Yeah, but Brady didn’t have me helping him. You do.”

For the next several minutes, Drew focused his attention on the screen and ignored the conversation between Dad and Cody.

He heard John’s radio beep from the kitchen. A firefighter in town, his younger brother took the radio with him everywhere. His fiancée even joked that John took it into the bathroom with him. Knowing how dedicated his brother was, Drew wouldn’t be surprised if John really did.

“Uncle Drew, watch out for the walking skeletons. They’re super hard to kill,” Joey said, before knocking the head off a skeleton on the screen. He then proceeded to hit the head with his sword until both the head and body disappeared. “If you don’t destroy the head, the body will put it back on and go after you again.”

Drew followed his nephew’s lead and took out the other walking skeleton coming toward them.

“Nice job,” Joey said when the skeleton Drew was fighting disappeared. “Uncle John has trouble with those guys.”

On cue, John entered the room, one arm already in his winter jacket. “There’s a fire at Kelsey’s house. The call just came in.”

The conversation in the room stopped, and his stomach hit the floor as his heart pounded against his rib cage. “What?” He’d talked to her before he left his house. She’d been home waiting for her friends. “Are you sure it’s Kelsey’s?”

Already at the front door, John paused long enough to answer him. “Positive.” He didn’t stick around for any other questions.

Tossing aside the video game remote control, Drew sprinted for the door too. He had to get to her. Make sure she was okay.

“Uncle Drew, you forgot your jacket.”

He heard Joey call out to him, but he didn’t go back.

Drew made it through the intersection of Pleasant Street and Timber Lane before he was forced to stop. A police cruiser blocked traffic from going any farther down Pleasant Street, but even from there he could see the smoke rising up from Kelsey’s house.

Damn. Pulling over, he parked the car. The smell of smoke hit him as soon he stepped out. “Please let her be okay,” he whispered to himself before he took off at a dead run. Stuff could be replaced, people couldn’t.

Several fire trucks along with police cruisers and an ambulance filled Lincoln Street. He heard a chain saw start. Thanks to John, he knew firefighters often cut holes in roofs to help the smoke and gases escape.

The back doors on the ambulance remained open, and there wasn’t anyone inside. He took that as a good sign. If Kelsey or either of her friends had been injured and inside the vehicle, the doors would’ve been closed as they treated them.

“Sir, I need you to move away,” a female police officer said when Drew got closer.

He didn’t have time for this, but he couldn’t ignore the officer either. “Officer, I just need to find my friend. She lives here.” Drew searched the area. Only first responders seemed to be around.

“I understand your concern, but I need you to move across the street.” She gestured toward the homes opposite Kelsey’s. Most of her neighbors stood outside and watched as the firefighters worked.

He was about ready to argue when he spotted Ella standing in a neighbor’s driveway. Both Cat and Ella were supposed to visit tonight. If Ella was over there, Kelsey and Cat were probably with her. He heard a few people call out to him, but he ignored them as he sprinted toward Ella.

Drew spotted Kelsey standing between her two friends, and his heart stopped. She’s okay. Despite the scene at her house, she appeared calm and in control.

“It’ll be okay,” Ella said to Kelsey as he approached. “It might not seem like it right now, but it will be.”

Kelsey nodded, but didn’t tear her eyes away from the burning house.

He didn’t care who else was around. Seeing her wasn’t enough. He needed to feel her against him. Have her safely in his arms.

Wrapping his arms around her, Drew pulled her close and pressed his cheek against her hair. “Kelsey,” he said, unsure what else he should say. Her house was on fire. She’d probably lost everything. What did you say to a person in that situation?

Kelsey clung to him and remained silent for several seconds. Then she let go and stepped back. “How did you know?”

Not ready to lose physical contact, he took her hand. Her fingers were freezing, and he noticed none of the women were wearing jackets. “I was at my mom’s when John got the call. Are you all okay?” All three women appeared physically fine. He didn’t want to think about how this was affecting Kelsey emotionally right now. There would be time for that later.

After each woman reassured him they were fine, he asked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. We were talking, and then we suddenly smelled smoke.” Kelsey shivered, and he pulled her close again. “I went upstairs and saw smoke coming from my bedroom. There wasn’t time to do anything but get out and call 911.” She shivered again. “Everything’s gone.”

“You all got out. Nothing else matters. Stuff can be replaced.”

“Drew’s right, Kelsey. Everything can be replaced,” Ella said. “And in the meantime, you can borrow anything you want from me. Clothes, shoes, whatever. You name it and it’s yours.”

“And you can stay with us for as long as you need. We have an extra bedroom. Tony won’t mind,” Cat said.

“I appreciate the offer, Cat—”

“Stay with me,” Drew said before Kelsey could accept or decline Cat’s offer. Having her in his house would not only solve her sudden housing problem, but also help him get her to the altar sooner. With Bancroft Automotive officially on the market, it couldn’t be soon enough.

Kelsey rolled her lips together and moved her gaze from her house to his face. “Are you sure?”

Cat and Ella looked away, but he knew their attention remained on his and Kelsey’s conversation. He didn’t care. He pressed his lips against her forehead anyway. “Positive. I want you to stay with me.”

Drew held her hand as she spoke to first Matthew Ellsbury, the chief of police in town, and then Patrick Atwood, the deputy fire chief.

“I’ll need to speak with you further, but I realize you must be freezing out here,” Patrick said after asking Kelsey several questions. “If you know where you’re staying, I can come by and we can finish up later.”

Kelsey shivered, and he wished he had his jacket. She’d swim in it, but at least it would’ve kept her warm out here. “She’ll be with me. Eleven Blueberry Court,” Drew answered before she could.

The deputy fire chief nodded and jotted down the address. “Kelsey, is there a number I can reach you at?”

“My cell phone didn’t make it out,” she said, her teeth chattering.

“If you need her, call my phone,” Drew said, and gave the man his number.

Patrick stuck his pen back into his shirt pocket. “Thank you. I’ll call before I stop by.”

It was all he needed to hear. “C’mon, let’s go get you warmed up.” He wrapped an arm over her shoulders and tried to walk away. She didn’t budge. Instead she remained focused on the charred structure across the street.

Drew moved, so she had to look at him and not the house. “It’ll be okay. I promise.” He hadn’t done a great job of keeping his promise to Ian, but he’d make up for it now. “You’re as cold as ice. Let me take you home. There’s nothing you can do here right now.”

Kelsey didn’t reply, but when he tried to lead her away, she didn’t resist.

 

Gone. Everything she owned, including her house, was gone. The gravity of what she’d lost hit her head-on as she followed Drew toward his bedroom. All she had were the clothes on her back, which at the moment reeked of smoke, and her car. At least she hoped her car had survived. It had been parked in the garage. From where she stood, it looked like the garage had suffered only minimal damage.

Closing her eyes, Kelsey stopped and grabbed the doorframe. She couldn’t breathe as her body shook. Please let this be a dream.

Something warm and solid pressed down on her shoulders. “Take some deep breaths and try to relax.”

She forced herself to breathe in and then out slowly, and opened her eyes.

“That’s better.” He led her toward the bed. “You need a soak in the hot tub. It’ll warm you up and help you relax. Sit here, and I’ll go turn it on.”

Kelsey didn’t argue. Since her parents’ deaths she’d been on her own. For once it was nice to have someone to lean on. Not to mention she was freezing. Drew had turned the heat up all the way in the car, but she still felt like a freeze pop. She doubted a soak in the hot tub would relax her, but it would hopefully warm her up.

When Drew came back, he took a long-sleeved T-shirt out of a drawer. “You can put this on when you get out. I’ll throw your clothes in the washer.”

She accepted the shirt. Ella had promised to bring some things over later, but until then she didn’t want to smell like an old ashtray. “Thank you.” Kelsey stood and hugged him.

The two words seemed insufficient. He’d rushed over when he’d heard the news. Stayed with her until she’d gotten the green light to leave, and opened his house up to her. Regardless of their relationship status, he didn’t need to do any of those things.

He nudged her chin up with his finger. “No need to thank me. I’d do anything for you, Kels. You know that, don’t you?”

Her vision blurred. So far, she’d kept the tears back. She wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to keep them from falling. “Drew….” She wanted to tell him she loved him. Admit she’d loved him since she was ten years old. Tonight wasn’t the time. Blinking to clear her vision, she nodded. “I think you’re right. A soak in the hot tub will help. I won’t be long.”

Kelsey stripped off her clothes and stepped into the bubbling water. Her skin tingled as heat seeped into her body. Stretching out her legs, she leaned her head back and tried to block out the fire.

“Better?”

She opened her eyes. Drew sat at the edge of the hot tub, her dirty clothes in his hands. “I don’t feel like one of those freeze pops we used to eat in the summer.”

For the first time all night, he smiled. “Good.” Leaning down, he kissed her lips. “I’m going to put these in the washer. Be right back. Do you need anything?”

Kelsey laughed. First, he painted her house, and now he wanted to do her laundry. What would football fans across the country say if they ever knew? “You don’t have to do it. Give me ten minutes in here, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Didn’t you hear me? When I said I’d do anything for you, I meant it. Even if it involves doing your laundry.” He held up the smoke-scented pile in his hands. “I love you.”

She’d spent years dreaming of the moment when he’d say those three words. Although each of those daydreams had played out differently, none of them had included him holding her stinky jeans and sweater. Kelsey pulled him closer and kissed him again. “I love you too. Actually, I have for a long time.” There was no reason not to tell him the truth.

“A long time? You’ve got me curious. Let me take care of these and you can tell me just how long.”

Kelsey watched him walk away. The same inkling of doubt she’d experienced before nagged at her again. If he loved her, why had it taken him all this time to tell her? “He could say the exact same thing,” she muttered before slipping under the water.

For almost fours years, he’d called her once a month. At any point she could’ve told him she loved him. She could’ve told him when they danced at Sean and Mia’s reception. Yep, she’d had just as many opportunities as him to say the words. She’d kept silent because she’d believed he didn’t feel the same way. Drew’s reason for not telling her sooner might be the same.

She popped her head back out of the water. Don’t doubt him.

Kelsey waited in the hot tub and considered how much to share. Admitting she’d loved him a long time, she could do. However, she wasn’t ready to share she’d decided while still in elementary school that he’d someday be her husband. He might hear the word husband and freak out. She knew more than one man who found the idea of marriage scarier than the business end of a shotgun. While he might love her, it wasn’t a guarantee their relationship would have one of those happily ever after endings. So for now she’d keep some of the finer details to herself.

When ten minutes passed and Drew wasn’t back, Kelsey got out and dried off with the extra-large bath towel he’d left out for her.

“All done?”

Kelsey pulled her head through her shirt and found Drew walking into the bedroom with a tray.

“For now.” She shoved an arm through one sleeve. “You were gone a long time.”

Setting the tray on a nightstand, he put his arms around her. “Ella stopped by. She left two huge suitcases downstairs.”

She’d never been so grateful one of her best friends was a shopaholic. Ella had more clothes in her closet than anyone she knew.

“And I thought you could use a snack. I brought up some cookies, fresh fruit, and hot chocolate.”

“Cookies and hot chocolate. I knew there was a reason I loved you.” She slipped away and made a beeline for the steaming mug. Thanks to her soak in the hot tub, she no longer feared she’d freeze to death, but she’d never pass up hot chocolate.