Page 55

“Okay.”
When the gleaming Merc rounded the end of the line of trailers, Ariel asked, “Esme, what’s going on?”
“Looks like something happened while we were gone,” I murmured, feeling a knot forming in my stomach.
A group of about ten residents stood around our home, their faces cloaked in concern and curiosity. Some wore expressions of pity, others tried to comfort my distraught neighbor, Mrs. Thompson. I knew our family’s struggles were no secret in the tight-knit community, but the attention was still unnerving.
I got out of the car on rubbery legs, helping the kids out one by one and saying, “Stay close to me,” as we approached the crowd. Wolfe followed closely behind, his presence somewhat comforting, I guess.
“Esme!” Mrs. Thompson cried out, rushing forward to envelop me in a hug. “Thank God you’re all okay! There was an accident with your trailer…”
“An accident?” I asked, my heart pounding. “What happened?”
“An electrical fault,” she explained, her voice shaky. “It caused a small fire inside. We were so worried about you all. At first, we didn’t know if you were in there or not.”
I felt my breath catch in my throat as I looked past her at the blackened scorch marks around one window. The fire had been contained to a corner of the living room, but there was significant damage—the curtains and part of the wall were charred, and the smell of smoke hung heavy in the air.
“Is everyone alright?” I choked out, my eyes stinging with the threat of tears.
“Thankfully, yes. Jim from across the way put out the fire with his extinguisher before it could spread, but… Esme, I’m sorry. The trailer isn’t safe to stay in until it’s fixed. The wiring is fried, and we don’t know how extensive the damage is,” Mrs. Thompson eyes filled with sympathy.
“Thank you for putting out the fire, Jim,” I said, turning to him. He nodded and patted me on the shoulder, his face etched with worry.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. The kids stood beside me, their faces pale, eyes wide. I knew they were scared, and I had to do something to keep us together and safe. But what could I do? We had nowhere else to go. I mean, it’s not like we could all squish into one of our neighbors’ trailers. Or Stef’s flat. And I sure as fuck couldn’t afford a hotel.
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.” I tried to sound as sure as I could, but I could see by the fear in Ariel’s eyes that I wasn’t fooling her, at least.
That’s when Wolfe stepped up, his face serious but determined. “You’ll stay with me.” He looked straight into my eyes as if daring me to argue. “I’ve got plenty of room, and I won’t take no for an answer.”
I felt the first twinges of relief, but I hesitated. This was... a lot.
Frustration flashed in his eyes. “Look, I’m only there half the time. You’ll have the whole place to yourselves.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, biting my lip. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Esme, don’t be ridiculous,” Wolfe urged, his voice firm. “This is what friends do. They help each other. After everything, surely we can at least be friends?”
Well, that made me blush. Hard.
“And besides, you won’t be a burden. You and the kids are more than welcome. Let me do this for you. And the kids.” His voice softened on the last words and my heart did a slow, painful roll in my chest.
We literally had nowhere else to go, and my priority was keeping them safe. I knew, without a shadow of doubt, they’d be safe at Wolfe’s. “Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
I turned away from the sudden intensity in Wolfe’s eyes and my gaze fell on the kids. It was hard to get a read on how they were feeling, but I guess that made sense. The last five minutes had been pretty intense. Tiana and Belle were holding hands. Florian was behind them, his arms folded tightly across his chest. Ariel looked like she was trying not to cry, and Christ, did I know how that felt.
“Can we get some of our stuff?” Ariel asked nervously.
Jim spoke up. “If you go in through the back door and don’t go anywhere near the front of the trailer and that window, you’ll be okay. But don’t muck around. In and out, quick as you can.”
“Okay, thanks Jim.”
I pulled open the back door of the trailer, my nose scrunching at the burned electrical smell. It was so much stronger inside the trailer. Oh fuck, and of course, the damage inside was so much worse than outside. All of one corner of the living area was coated in black grime. It covered the walls, the couch and the threadbare carpet. I couldn’t imagine how I was going to clean it up.
You don’t need to worry about that right now,I told myself, grabbing some duffel bags from under my bed, filling them with clothes, shoes, toiletries and chargers. As I packed as much as I could fit in the bags for all of us, I couldn’t shake the thought of how different this day could have been if it weren’t for Wolfe. He was a knight in shining armor, no doubt about it.
When I went back outside, most of the residents had dispersed, leaving Wolfe standing with the kids in front of his car. The short drive from the park to Wolfe’s place passed in complete silence. My mind was taken up with how to ensure the kids were dealing okay with the current disaster.
They stayed quiet as we pulled into the drive and Wolfe clicked the remote to open the garage. Still quiet as we got the bags from the trunk. Wolfe and I exchanged glances, and he raised a brow in question. I just shrugged in reply, because I really wasn’t sure how to deal with this.