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“We have a problem.” Ian’s serious tone set Ryan on edge. “Paul just called. His mother slipped into a coma this morning, and he won’t make the first week of the program, if he comes at all.”
Man. This was all Ryan needed. With the drop in funding, he’d already had to cut one staff member, and up the ratio of students to counselor. One less counselor and the kids had a better chance of ending up back in juvie than working through their issues, ultimately dooming this pilot program for juvenile offenders.
Not wanting to increase the anxiety level cutting through the ambulance, Ryan fought to keep the turmoil out of his voice. “How’s Paul holding up?”
“Says he’s okay, but you know, man. He’s hurting.”
“Make sure he knows we’ll pray for him.”
“Already done.” A breathy intake of air and long exhale followed the clipped words. “We have to figure out what to do. There’s no way we can function being down another counselor.”
“You have any ideas?” Ryan asked.
“One, but I’m not sure you’re gonna like it.”
Ryan tucked the phone under his chin and used his free hand to massage a tight muscle in his neck. “Tell me about it. Doesn’t matter if I don’t like it.”
“Okay, but hear me out before you shoot me down.” Ian paused as if he thought Ryan might object.
Ryan would consider anything if it helped the kids. “Go on.”
“The other day when we were talking about that Mia chick taking over Pinetree, you said she was a counselor. I know there’s some sort of history between the two of you, but you could ask her to fill in until Paul gets here.”
Ryan let his free hand fall to the bench with a thud. His stomach sank along with it. He looked at Mia. He was all for making amends for the way he’d botched their breakup, but how could he handle her daily presence at work? Living with the constant reminder of his mistake.
Easy answer—he couldn’t. “I don’t think—”
“I knew you wouldn’t like it,” Ian said. “But you have to admit, it’s a good idea. She has no wilderness counseling experience, but she does work with teens. You can at least think about it, right?”
“What about training? Our program is unique and she hasn’t participated in anything like it.”
“We’ve got enough time before the students get here to bring her up to speed. Even without experience she’d be better for the students than no one.”
Ian was right; Ryan had to think about what was best for the kids. “I’ll give it some thought.”
“Don’t take too long. The kids get here in two days.”
Ryan said goodbye and clicked off. He didn’t need a reminder of the looming deadline and the need to decide quickly.
He stowed his cell, and let his focus return to Mia. Her appearance had changed since high school, but man, she was still a knockout. And that’s what the many lacerations and bruises dotting her body did to him. Sent knockout punches to his gut. She could have died in the barn if he hadn’t arrived when he did. He would never have had a chance to talk to her. Never had a chance to right the wrong he’d inflicted.
He had to make things right with Mia—and the best way to get her to listen to him was to spend time with her. As a bonus, it gave him an excuse to keep her in his sight. To keep her from stepping recklessly into whatever danger loomed ahead.
FOUR
In the miniscule hospital bathroom, Mia moved her portable IV cart to the side and stepped up to the sink. Without a shower, she’d make little progress in fixing her appearance but she couldn’t spend the night without doing something. She’d hoped for a quick in and out in the ER, but due to continued low oxygen levels, the doctor opted to keep her overnight as a precaution.
With stiff fingers, she scrubbed her face. The pore-clogging soot not removed by the nurse’s antiseptic clung to her skin. No matter the amount of scrubbing, the steaming hot cloth wouldn’t wipe away emotional trauma. As if she knew what to wipe away first. She had so many layers.
Did she start with the memory of finding Jessie trapped in the barn and nearly losing her own life? Or the sappy way she’d reacted to Ryan? How about the fact that the fire wasn’t an accident? Or her father’s possible role in this disaster?
She leaned closer to the mirror and gently dabbed around sutured lacerations on her cheek.
Had her father really done this to her? As a teen he’d ignored her, blamed her for suggesting a ride in the country, and then distracting him while driving so he let the car slip off the shoulder and crash into a tree killing her mother on impact.
But was he so cruel that he could hire a man to commit arson in an attempt to scare her away? And if he did, how was she going to prove it? No one in town would entertain the thought that the good doctor Thomas Blackburn moonlighted as a criminal.
“Mia, you in there?” a male voice, deep and vaguely familiar, called from her room. “I need to talk to you.”
She hated anyone to see her in this condition, but his urgent tone moved her to respond. “Be out in a minute.”
She draped the cloth on the sink and finger combed her hair. Yuck. It would take several shampoos to eliminate the stench and caked-in ashes. She replaced the oxygen cannula in her nose and on the way out, freed the plastic tube stuck under the IV cart.
Standing by the door, her visitor wore a khaki police uniform and kneaded his shoulder with narrow fingers. He studied her, taking in every detail as she eased into the room. His presence was intimidating, drawing the air from the room.
Eyes fixed on her, he offered a stiff smile. “Don’t know how we’ll ever repay you for saving our little Jessie.”
His Jessie?
Mia checked his eyes. Oh, yeah. He was a Morgan. Even without the uniform, she’d know this was Ryan’s brother Russ.
The tallest of the Morgan brothers, he was more powerfully built than she’d remembered. Coppery hair had grayed at the temples, but retained a bit of the Morgan curl at the nape. His eyes were clouded, maybe in reaction to nearly losing his niece.
Trauma Mia knew all too well. Fire sizzling all around and no rescue in sight. She suppressed a shiver. “I don’t need any thanks for helping Jessie. I’m just glad I came along when I did.”
“How about we sit?” He gestured at the pair of gray vinyl chairs by the window and issued a full smile, broadening an already wide jaw. The lines circling his eyes and folds along his nose—likely from the stress of a career in law enforcement—fell away, and the teenager she used to know bloomed in front of her.
Not that seeing the teen who tormented her was a good thing. Still, she needed to know what he wanted with her.
Lifting her oxygen lifeline over the bed, she navigated the tank toward the chair and sat.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you around here.” He perched a booted foot on the wooden edge of the other chair. “With the way you shot out of here after high school, I’m surprised you came back. Guess it’s hard to turn down the money you’ll get when you sell Pinetree.”
Did he think she’d react to his cutting tone? Or his assumption that she’d sell Pinetree at the end of the year to capitalize on the valuable lakefront property? Snap judgments were common around here. Just another reason she’d stayed away. Still, she wouldn’t correct them. She knew in her heart she’d returned to Pinetree out of respect for her uncle’s last wishes. That was all that mattered.
“If you’re trying to bait me like you used to, Russ, I’m not biting.”
“I’m here to take your statement about the fire. Nothing more.”
“Sounded more like you were interested in passing judgment on me. Something you were so good at doing in high school.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it, Mia.” His sharp glare drilled into her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s in the past.”
“Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one wronged.”
His eyes creased, and he ran a hand around the back of his neck. “Look—I’ll admit I was hard on you back then. I should have been more understanding, what with the loss of your mom and all. But when you and Ryan started dating and his grades took a nosedive, I had to make you see what you were doing to him.”
“And you thought going behind my back and trying to break us up instead of talking to me was the right way to do that?”
He shrugged. “Might’ve used the wrong method, but I had the right motive.”
“As David’s friend I expected more from you. You knew how much losing our mother changed our lives.” She sent him a penetrating stare.
“All I can say in my defense is at the time I thought you were totally out of control. Figured you’d soon be breaking the law.” He sighed. “I couldn’t let you take Ryan down with you.”
Mia could appreciate Russ’s concern for his brother, but he had worried in vain. Ryan pushed her out of his life the day she learned of his unfaithfulness. “As it turns out, that wasn’t a problem, was it?”
Russ cleared his throat. “What say we put all of this behind us and get on with your statement?”
His offer to make amends was out of character for the guy she had known, but he could have changed. He could be one of the good guys now. She nodded, putting aside their past differences in honor of his profession.
He pulled out a notepad and pen. “Okay, so I need you to tell me exactly what happened today.”
She didn’t want to recount the fire. The searing flames. Suffocating smoke. Terrifying emotions. But she had to comply. She launched into the story, skipping the warning at the post office and replaying the rescue of Jessie with concise comments devoid of the emotions still tumbling through her body.
“I’m sure by now you’ve heard Jessie saw a man start the fire.” Mental exhaustion over telling the story made her tone fall off at the end.
“So,” he leaned closer, his eyes filled with interest, “now that you’ve had time to think about the fire, do you have any ideas about who would want to do this?”
Ideas? Like her father was probably behind it? A fact she wasn’t ready to share. “Not really.”
“Not really, or no?”
She wasn’t ready to tell him everything. She shrugged and tried to veil her eyes so he didn’t notice her evasiveness. She’d had years of practice in subterfuge with her father, but that had been so long ago she’d forgotten how to do it.
Russ drew in air through his nose and held it while looking at the ceiling. Letting out the breath, he fixed a stern look on her face. “I get the feeling you’re keeping something from me, Mia. It would be easier on both of us if you’d cooperate.”
She’d cooperate as far as she could and still keep this in the family. When she got out of here, she’d confront her father and put an end to the mess. Then Russ wouldn’t have anything to investigate.
She nodded solemnly as if she were taking his advice. “I’ll spend some time thinking about who might have started the fire and get back to you.” She held his gaze until a knock sounded on the door, and he turned to face it.
Mia eased out a breath of relief and watched as Ryan entered. Still dressed in his firefighting pants, the suspenders hanging limp, he strolled into the space with a confident smile. He let his gaze rove over her then linger on her face, warming her with the concern displayed in his eyes.
“Hope I’m not interrupting,” he said halfheartedly.
Russ’s foot hit the floor with a thud that echoed through the room, and Mia expected him to object to the interruption.
“Actually, you can help me out here,” he said. “I was just about to share arson statistics with Mia. Specifically, that it’s often committed by a property owner wanting to collect insurance money. With your training as a firefighter you can confirm that.”
“Well, yeah…” Ryan crossed the room, regarding his brother with a skeptical look, “but if you’re intimating Mia torched the barn for insurance money, you’re way off base.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.” Support for Mia was etched on Ryan’s rugged face.
Mia smiled her thanks and turned to Russ to see his reaction. His frozen features said it all. He believed she was involved in setting the fire.
His hand drifted to the top of his gun as if he were thinking he might need reinforcement. “On the surface it doesn’t look like you’d benefit from the fire as the property would be worth more with the barn standing. But…” His eyes darkened and fixed on Mia’s face like a mighty lion eyeing up lunch. “Maybe you can’t wait that long for the cash. By destroying the barn, you’ll get a nice settlement from the insurance company right away.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re seriously considering me?”
“Got to check out all possibilities.”
“You’re wrong, bro,” Ryan said.
Mia crossed her arms. “This is unbelievable. I’m almost killed in the fire and you suspect me of starting it. Guess you don’t really believe your niece saw that man.”
“Sure I do. You could’ve hired him.”
“Right. I hired a man to burn the place down then got stuck in the barn.”
“Accidents happen. You arranged to have the place torched but didn’t know Jessie would be in there.” He paused dramatically. “You couldn’t let her die so you saved her. Got trapped. Wouldn’t be the first time someone got caught in their own fire.”
“Seriously, Russ, you’re wasting time on me.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Mia lurched forward and grasped the wooden arms of the chair. “But you—”
He held up his hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not focusing solely on you.”
“Good, then you’ll find this guy and your case will be solved.”
“Or maybe I’ll find out you had a part in it. Trouble always found you in the past, Mia. Why would this be any different?”
Ryan shot out a hand and seared his brother with a heated look. “That was uncalled for. You should be thinking about how to protect Mia from the arsonist, not blaming her for the fire.”
Russ stared at Ryan so long Mia thought the brothers might come to blows. Their behavior was so reminiscent of high school. Russ insisting Ryan break up with her. Ryan passionately defending her. The pair nearly duking it out before parting angry and hurt.
Without breaking eye contact, Russ slipped his notepad into his pocket, his movements deliberate and slow. “I appreciate your wanting to protect Mia, but you’re overreacting. The fire wasn’t about physically hurting her. If it had been, the arsonist would have made sure she was in the barn before setting the fire.”
Ryan faced Mia. His withering stare made it clear that he wanted her to tell Russ about the threatening letter. She gave a quick shake of her head and hoped Russ didn’t notice the interchange.
If he did, the controlled expression on his face didn’t let on. “I apologize if my earlier comment crossed the line, Mia. I’m simply trying to locate the person behind this no matter who it is. The best thing you can do to clear your name right now is provide me with a copy of the will.” Letting a pointed look pierce Ryan, Russ tromped out of the room.
“Excuse me,” Ryan said and charged after his brother.
Watching him exit in hot pursuit of his brother, a wave of vulnerability crashed over her.
Was someone other than her father behind the fire and her life really in jeopardy? Had she done the right thing in keeping the letter from Russ…or had she left herself unprotected and in the path of a lunatic?
Ryan charged down the hallway, gaining on Russ who rushed away as if he hadn’t done something so unbelievable. Mia was not guilty of arson and Ryan would not let Russ accuse her of it. How could he think Mia had anything to do with the fire?
Near the nurses’ station, Ryan caught up to Russ and spun him around by the shoulder. “You’re crazy, bro, if you think Mia was involved in this. She gains nothing until her year is over.”
“Are you sure about that? Have you seen the will?” He paused and let his words linger in the air. “Maybe there’s a loophole. Maybe she gets the cash now if insurance pays out.”
Money never motivated Mia. She could have changed, but the warning letter pointed to someone else. If only he could tell Russ about the threat, Mia would be cleared. But Ryan promised.
