Chapter Twenty-Seven

Scarlett

I covered Cameron with one of my new plush blankets after he finally dozed off on the couch. I knew he needed the rest, despite him insisting he didn’t. My heart hurt for him and his daughter. I had given him some time to be alone while he’d called his parents. They were going to keep Ella for the morning, and then Cameron would tell her later.

The man was struggling, and I hated there was nothing I could do to help him. I jumped in the shower. The smell of smoke clung to my clothes even though I had stayed a safe distance away. I had a feeling the entire neighborhood was going to smell of smoke for several days. We had popped our heads out a little bit ago and saw the black, smoldering embers being doused by the firemen.

It was heartbreaking to see the remnants of his home.

I heard Cameron’s deep voice when I got out of the shower. I quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a simple sweater for the day and headed down the hall. As I made a fresh pot of coffee, I heard him giving someone his name and figured he was talking to his insurance company.

He appeared in the kitchen, dark circles matching the thick black eyelashes that framed his blue eyes. His dark hair was mussed, and the beginning of a five-o’clock shadow made an appearance on his square jaw.

“Hi,” I said, handing him a cup of coffee.

“Hi,” he said, the exhaustion evident in his voice. “That was my insurance company. They asked if I had a copy of my policy.” He smirked. “I told them of course I did. It was in my house in my fireproof box.”

“Did it survive?”

He shrugged. “I seriously doubt it. They’re not made to withstand that kind of prolonged burning. I’ll check, but I’m not holding out any hope. They’re going to send someone out today. She’s supposed to be emailing me a copy. I don’t even know what kind of coverage I have.”

“I’ll grab my laptop and you can go over it.”

“The fire chief is meeting me in about ten minutes. He’s going to let me know if they think it was arson.”

I put a hand on my hip. “I thought you were sleeping? You’ve been very busy the fifteen minutes I was in the shower.”

He smiled. “I couldn’t.”

I wanted to comfort him but wasn’t sure where we were in our relationship. I didn’t know if I could kiss him and hold him tight or if it would be stepping over that invisible line he had drawn between us. We could have sex—really hot, intense sex—and I could hang out with him and his daughter, but we weren’t an official couple. One of these days I would have to address the fact that he was treating me like a booty call. That wouldn’t be today. Not yet.

“Did you see anything?” he asked, looking at me with a plea in his eyes.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. The smell of smoke woke me up. My back window was open a little, and the smell drifted in. My smoke detector went off, and I flew out of bed thinking my house was on fire. I checked around, didn’t see anything, but noticed a faint glow in your backyard. I ran outside and saw the flames. It all happened so fast,” I explained, reliving the terror I had felt in those brief few minutes.

It was a terror Cameron would be living with for a long time.

“I’m going to head over there,” he mumbled. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and walked out of the house.

I thought about going with him but held back. It was something he needed to do on his own. It almost felt like a violation to his privacy to have me traipsing around in the remnants of his life. I kept busy, cleaning up the house a little and making the bed.

Cameron came back in, looking as angry as ever.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, suddenly worried.

“They’re starting an investigation. At this point, the investigator is leaning toward arson. It’ll take him a few days or longer to give me an exact cause.”

My mouth fell open. “I’m so sorry! That’s terrifying!”

I stared at him and could see the defeat in his eyes.

“I need more coffee if you don’t mind.”

I shook my head. “Why not sleep for a couple hours? There’s nothing more you can do. You need to get your rest,” I encouraged.

He sighed, and his shoulders dropped forward. “You’re right.”

“Come on, I just made up the bed.”

He hesitated for a second and then willingly followed me into my room. Once he was stripped down to his briefs, I realized his uniform was all he had. The man had no clothes!

“What size do you wear? And Ella?” I blurted out, an idea blooming in my mind.

He shook his head. “No way.”

“What?”

“You’re not buying me clothes.”

“Tell me your size or I’m going to buy you something nice and tight,” I said with a wink.

He rested his head against the pillow, his eyes drifting closed.

“Cameron?”

“No, Scarlett,” he said without opening his eyes.

“Fine. Get some sleep,” I said, grabbing his pants and shirt off the floor.

If he asked what I was doing, I would tell him I was putting them in the wash. He didn’t stir. I scribbled out a note, left it on the kitchen table, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door. I was going on a little shopping spree.

In the car, I called my mom.

“Uh, Mom,” I started, feeling a little guilty for calling so early.

“What is it? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I, uh, wanted to ask if it was okay if I used my American Express to buy some clothes for my neighbor.”

She was silent for a few seconds. “Why would you do that?”

I cleared my throat. “His house burned down last night. He and his daughter have nothing.”

I could practically hear her processing the information. “The cop?”

“Yes.”

“Well, of course, dear. You buy whatever you need. I’ll let your father know to tell the accountant. Is everyone okay?” she asked with concern.

“No one was home. They do suspect it was arson.”

“Oh my! That’s scary. Where is your cop neighbor now?”

I knew exactly what she was getting at. “My house,” I said sheepishly.

I heard her chuckle. “Good. I’d like to meet this cop boyfriend of yours.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

Soft laughter on the other end of the phone told me she didn’t believe me. “Your lover?”

“Mom!” I shrieked.

She burst into laughter once again. “Fine. I won’t press you—for now. But we will be meeting this man.”

I nodded. “Fine, and thank you. I’ll pay you back.”

“No, you won’t. We want to help. Anything we can do to help the man who is keeping his eye on you, we will. Not to mention he’s an officer. Of course we want to help.”

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you later,” I said and hung up the phone.

I drove to one of the department stores I knew would be open this early on a Sunday. The mall wouldn’t open for another two hours. That was a lot of time to kill.

As I was browsing the aisles, tossing in toothbrushes, razors, deodorant, and other personal items, I stumbled into the home furnishings department. Another idea popped into my head. I eagerly started buying various pink and purple room furnishings. I picked up a bed set and wall decorations and tossed them in the cart.

I was going to need another cart. I also needed to get to a furniture store. I wanted to turn one of my empty rooms into a place for Ella to feel comfortable. I knew it was a stretch, but maybe, just maybe, Cameron and Ella could stay with me until he found a new place to live. I wanted Ella to feel like she had her own space.

When I dragged two full carts to the checkout, there were some serious raised eyebrows. I smiled and happily loaded my items onto the conveyor belt, anxious to get to the furniture store and then the mall. I had a lot of shopping to do.

My phone rang. I expected it to be Cameron and immediately felt guilty.

It was Hannah. “Hi!” I said with enthusiasm born of my shopping high.

“What are you doing this cheery this early on a Sunday morning?”

“Shopping!”

“You’re an odd duck, Scarlett.”

I quickly filled her in on what had happened. She was shocked and told me to let Cameron know she was sorry as well.

I finished up at the furniture store, paying extra to have everything delivered to the house by this afternoon. Then it was the mall. I shouldn’t have worried about killing two hours before the doors opened. Once I got shopping, time flew by.

I happened to be walking by a children’s store when I noticed the exact dress Ella had worn to dinner at Cameron’s parents’ the other night. I walked in and realized I recognized several of the outfits. I guesstimated the size, hoping it coordinated with age, and bought enough clothes to replace Ella’s lost wardrobe.

Then it was off to another store to buy what I thought Cameron would wear. I didn’t go quite as crazy for him. He was a grown man and would probably not appreciate me buying him a wardrobe. I kept it simple with a couple pairs of jeans, T-shirts, a jacket, and the briefs I knew he favored. I had peeked at his police uniform shoes and grabbed a couple pairs of Nikes, hoping he would like them.

I was feeling elated by the time I pulled into the driveway. My midsize car was packed with the fruits of my shopping adventure. I immediately looked around for the cop car and didn’t see it. Cameron’s was gone. I was a little disappointed. It would give me time to unload all my purchases and get started on Ella’s room without seeing his disapproval, though.

“You know this is stupid,” I said aloud as I started to arrange the various prints of butterflies and flowers on the walls of the spare room. “You’re going to scare the man away. Hell, he’ll probably think you started the fire.”

I stayed busy, ripping tags off the dresses I had bought for Ella and hanging them in the closet. When I heard the doorbell, I assumed it was Cameron. He had left a note saying he was going to the station to get his truck and then to his parents’ house to tell Ella.

I took a deep breath, readying myself to hear Cameron’s protests about my purchases. I peeked out the window and laughed in relief. It wasn’t Cameron; it was the furniture delivery.

“Hi!” I greeted and showed them where to take the bed, dresser, and the little rocking chair I hadn’t been able to resist buying.

Once they were gone, I stared at the furnishings with glee. What girl could resist decorating a space? I got busy making the bed and adding little touches here and there. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to impress Cameron and hoped he would agree to stay with me, even if it was temporary.