“Who, Lotty? Who did this?”

Lotty jumped and her heart raced until she realized it was Jason standing behind her. He’d pulled his mask off and she did the same as she shook her head. Her hands quivered by her sides, so she folded them in front of her. “I don’t know.” She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there. It could have been thirty seconds. It might have been an hour. The words seemed to have lifted themselves off the wall and shattered any sense of safety and comfort her home had offered. Yesterday, her house had been robbed, but that had seemed random. This, this was targeting her. Someone had entered her home, her safe haven, and written this on her wall. She turned and faced Jason with wide eyes. 

Jason stared at her. That stare used to send electric pulses all the way down to her toes. Now it made her feel guilty since she figured it meant he was disappointed in something she’d done.

“I have no idea, Jason. Really.”

“Have you upset anyone lately?”

She raised an eyebrow at the ridiculousness of the question. “No.” Then she rolled her eyes. “Well, actually, yes. You.”

“Lotty.”

“Jason, I don’t usually go around making enemies with people who would rob us or start fires in our home.” 

He nodded, and she thought she saw understanding pass through his eyes. He set his hand on her arm, but immediately let it fall. She missed the comfort it offered for the half-second it had been there. A fireman down the hall pointed at their masks so they put them back on.

She wanted to get out of this house. Everything about it felt tainted. Someone had stood right here and written that warning. Someone who knew her and wanted her scared. Why was somebody targeting her? Were they trying to cause her harm? She motioned to Jason that she was going outside before she opened the front door.

She removed her mask and the cool air hit her face. She took a large, refreshing breath. Though there was still smoke and little bits of ash floating around, it was a welcome reprieve from the stagnant, smoky, confining space inside. They headed across the street, worry filling the space between them, but neither said a word. The back of Lotty’s throat burned and the sides of her head throbbed. 

As she looked at Jocelyn’s house, her heart ached. Jocelyn was a single mom. As scared as Lotty was, she could only imagine what Jocelyn must be feeling. It seemed odd that Jocelyn’s house was completely burned, while Jason and Lotty’s was mostly intact. Was Jocelyn the actual target? No, the message on Lotty’s walls made that seem unlikely. Maybe Jocelyn had a similar message somewhere. None of it made sense.

“I’m going to check on the boys,” Lotty said. She didn’t want to think about the last couple of days, to talk about the implications.  There were too many questions, too much fear. “They’re in Nikki’s basement so I’ll be down there.”

Jason nodded. “I’m going to see if Brent knows anything else.”

Twenty minutes later, Lotty stood in the Grantham’s backyard staring at the lake when Jason joined her. He stood next to her, close enough their arms were touching, but said nothing. She glanced sideways, wondering what he was doing. He never spent time with her unless he had to. She wanted him close, yet it worried her at the same time. Several minutes passed while they stared at the water, small ripples forming in its glassy surface. 

“Well, I talked to Brent.” Jason finally broke the silence. “That writing on our wall really changes things. They’re getting a team together to comb our house for fingerprints and they need to talk to you.”

Lotty could feel the blood draining from her face. “Me? Again?”

“Yeah. Since someone is clearly targeting you.”

“But I don’t know anything. I already told them that.”

“I know, but they want to be thorough. They may be able to figure something out from things you say that you don’t even know are clues.”

Lotty nodded, but didn’t feel much better. She couldn’t imagine what she might know. “Our life doesn’t seem exciting enough to have enemies who want to light our house on fire.”

Jason turned toward her with a smile. Not a big one, but still a smile. How was it that her looks had faded so much since they’d met and he still looked incredible? His white shirt hugged his muscles and the small lines around his warm, brown eyes only added to his attractiveness. She wanted to freeze this moment. It had been way too long since one of his smiles had been directed at her. She thought back to the day she’d given birth to Aiden. Jason had looked at her like she was the most amazing person in the world. He’d watched her with awe and smiled at her so much that she was sure she couldn’t squeeze one more ounce of love or happiness into her life.

“Lotty?” Jason watched her, his eyes full of questions.

“Oh, sorry.” She shook her head, wondering what she’d missed while her mind had been stuck in the past.

“What are you thinking about?”

Lotty swallowed and debated how much to tell him. She didn’t want to bring up painful memories, but she didn’t want to wave him off either. He was actually trying to talk to her. “Uh, well, I was thinking about the day Aiden was born.”

His smile returned. The wind wasn’t cold anymore. Lotty’s body tingled with warmth from the top of her head to the tip of her Asics-covered toes.

“Hey, Lotty,” a voice from behind her yelled. When she turned around, Cade Warner was running toward her. His quick pace looked unnatural in a bulky fireman suit. She’d met Cade several years ago when she first moved to Montana. She was working as a business intern at The Lakeside Chateau on Flathead Lake and met both Cade and Jason that summer. She dated both of them, but fell hard for Jason. Cade was slow to give up and, as a result, feelings between him and Jason were still rough and it was always a bit awkward when the three of them were together. “Jason,” Cade grunted his acknowledgement before turning back to Lotty. “They’re looking all over for you up there. I saw Jason headed back here so I thought I might find you.”

“Who’s looking for her?” Jason’s eyes turned to steel. 

Cade’s jaw clenched and he stood taller to match Jason’s towering height. “Everyone. A couple of the officers, the fire chief, Nikki.”

“Give her a minute. She needs some time away from all of the smoke,” Jason said.

“It’s cleared out a lot. She’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

In a normal situation, she’d be flattered Jason was standing up for her. However, right now it seemed he was doing it more because he wanted to argue with whatever Cade said than for her. She flashed the biggest grin she could, trying to lessen the tension. “I’m okay, Jason. I feel much better than I did earlier. If people are looking for me, I’ll head back.”

Cade nodded and Jason looked deflated. He shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, “I’ll check on the boys and then I’ll meet you over there.”

Her heart sank. So much for their moment. Now he was undoubtedly upset with her again. As they started up the hill, Cade set his hand on the small of her back and her muscles immediately tensed. She knew he was only trying to be comforting, but she was afraid Jason might be watching and take the gesture to mean something more than it did. She bent down and retied a shoelace which didn’t need tied so he would move his hand. Then she kept several feet between them as they walked past the Grantham’s house.

“Are you okay?” Cade asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re quiet.”

“Well this has all been a bit of a shock. And now, this is somehow linked to me. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I’m sure.” He reached toward Lotty again, but she sidestepped and pointed toward the entrance.

“Why would they burn down the sign? And those pretty little bushes. I loved those. They bloomed into these perfect pink bursts that smelled like lilacs, and in the fall the leaves on them were the brightest orange I’ve ever seen.” Cade was silent. She hoped he realized she was staying well out of his reach on purpose and he would stop trying to comfort her by setting his hand on her.

The silence was awkward so she kept rambling. “I heard that before this was Strawberry Lake Estates, it was awful. There was garbage everywhere and people dumped metal scraps here. It’s hard to even imagine that now, isn’t it?”

“Mm hmm. It actually used to be a steel processing plant back in the seventies and eighties,” Cade said.

“Really?” Lotty wanted to keep him talking. This was much better than the uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah, my grandpa worked there. People were upset when it closed down and they trashed the site.”

“They used this beautiful lakefront land as the setting for a steel processing plant? That seems like a waste.”

“Yeah, well, with Flathead so close by, I don’t think people cared much for Strawberry. Land was so easy to come by on the big lake back then.”

“Ms. Brooks, how nice of you to join us,” Officer Netley appeared out of nowhere. His face was glued in what seemed his trademark scowl. “Would you mind answering a few questions?” Though the words were a question, the way he said it was not.

“Uh, n-no, of course not,” Lotty answered. She hated that she wasn’t better at hiding her fear.

“Great. Follow me.”

They walked past the firetruck, where Cade joined several other volunteer firefighters, and on to Lotty’s house. Officer Netley strode through the garage and mudroom and Lotty had to jog to keep up. There were several people inside, including Officer Carlson and Brent. Netley marched straight to the writing on the wall and jammed his fleshy finger at it. “Have you seen this?”

She nodded. “Yes, a couple of officers showed it to me and already asked me a bunch of questions.”

“What does it mean?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Someone is threatening you and you’re telling me you don’t know?”

“I don’t.”

“Ms. Brooks.” He said her name as if he were scolding a toddler. “A woman lost her home today. She could have easily lost her life.”

Lotty started to point out that that woman was with her at the gym when the fire started, that they ate tiramisu together every Sunday afternoon, and that she was one of her closest friends whom she would do anything she could to protect, but it seemed moot. Instead, she said, “I know.”

“Then perhaps you’d like to try again.” He jammed his finger back on the wall. “What does this mean?”

Lotty shook her head.

“Okay, we’ll try this another way.” He lowered his face to hers and spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “Is. There. Anyone. Who’s. Angry. With. You?” His breath was a pungent mixture of fish and garlic, which burned her nostrils far more than the smoke.

Lotty held up her hands. “No,” she squeaked out, fighting to hold tears back.

Officer Carlson forced Netley to take a step back ,and, in a kind, calm voice, asked “Ms. Brooks, do you have any idea what they might have been looking for?”

Lotty’s brows furrowed. “Looking for? I didn’t know they were looking for anything.”

Officer Netley gave an exasperated sigh, but Officer Carlson continued, “Yesterday when your house was broken into, your desk was ripped apart. Today, your husband told us there was nothing left of the metal file cabinet in the workroom off the garage. Doesn’t it seem like you have something that someone is interested in?”

Her head spun. What could she possibly have? Her most extravagant purchase in the past year was a Baby Bjorn and the most exciting paper located in her desk was a coupon for five dollars off a twenty-five-dollar purchase at Target. As for the file cabinet, it was Jason’s. She thought it was mostly user manuals and warranties for his tools and yard equipment. Again, Lotty held up her hands. “I have no idea.” Both officers’ eyes were glued on hers, waiting for more. She shook her head. “I know it looks like there’s something they’re after, but I don’t have anything interesting enough for someone else to want.” She folded her arms across her chest so they couldn’t see her shaking. 

“I told you. She isn’t hiding anything.” Brent joined them by the front door. She was relieved to see a friendly face and moved toward him.

“We’re going to take her to the station to adequately question her,” Netley said.

“No, you aren’t,” Brent replied. “She has nothing to offer as far as clues in this case. We’re done here.”

Netley’s mouth stayed open in protest, but he said nothing. Brent opened the front door and turned to Lotty. “It will probably be another two or three hours before everyone clears out of here and you guys can return. Why don’t you just plan on staying at our house through dinner?”

“Thanks, Brent.” Lotty moved toward the door. Officer Carlson nodded at Lotty, but Officer Netley stuck his face in hers again.

“I’m going to find out what you’re hiding,” he whispered.

She leaned back and covered her nose to shield herself from the putrid odor seeping out of his mouth. She walked away and spent the next thirty minutes thinking through every person she knew and wondering if she trusted them.