Page 35 of Evergreen Desires (Wildheart Chronicles #1)

“Where do you need me?" I asked Will as I joined a small group of people gathered in the greenhouse.

"Hey, give me a minute. There's something you and I must do. Let me finish giving some directions," he replied with a smile, turning his attention back to the group he was talking to.

Will was organizing a few teams of workers.

Some were cleaning debris and hauling it to the dumpster on the far side of the greenhouse.

Another group was busy repainting the office building exterior that had char marks from the fire.

More were inside, doing cleaning and smoke remediation.

It was organized chaos. The scary part was, Will seemed right at home and in control of the chaos.

He came over to me as I was watching some workers picking up the metal pieces from the spot where Beau was injured.

"Hey, glad to see you today. I can use the help.

Beau is talking with the insurance adjustor and the county fire investigator.

They gave us the go-ahead to start clearing; the fire investigators took their photos and samples yesterday. "

"You got this all organized that quickly?" I was genuinely impressed .

"Yeah, I've always been known as the guy who can make things happen. Small town, you know. Besides, they were happy to have work here in their backyard, even if it's a small job."

"Okay, put me to work. What do you need me for?"

"Two things, really. One, given the people here in the growing area around the plants, we’re required to monitor under the law.

So, think of yourself as the security guard.

The second thing is we need to check the plants.

The cleanup team will pull out the pots and burnt plants from the far rows.

You and I need to work down the next few rows to make sure they're good.

There are likely some that need pruning from the heat, and others might be damaged from the melting greenhouse panels. "

"That doesn't sound too bad. We can handle it."

"Agreed. I know most of these people, so I'm not too worried about the security side, but we still need to follow the rules. Let's not give Rich anything to hang his hat on if he calls the state board again. As for the plants, they might need a little love, both from us and from Beau."

My face involuntarily fell. Beau and love in the same sentence felt like a punch in the gut after our fight yesterday.

"Hey, stop that,” Will, ever observant, said.

“I know what's going on. Beau came in yesterday, all pissy, and I got it out of him.

He was taken aback by the strength you're showing.

Good for you! But, the truth is, he's scared.

He lost his mother, and he's determined not to let anything happen to you.

Like I said, you just need hang in there. He loves you; he can't deny that. "

"He said that?" I asked, speechless.

"You know Beau. He was in here looking at the damage, watching the fire techs collect evidence.

But he was brooding, so I dragged it out of him.

Hang in there. You continue to show your strength, and feel free to vent to me.

At least until he comes to his senses again.

" Will pulled me into a side hug, his arm around my shoulder, guiding me toward the far rows of the greenhouse to start our work.

We started at the far end of the row at the back of the greenhouse to avoid getting in the way of the workers clearing debris.

We would just toss the plant and pot on the ground if it was not salvageable for the workers to come clear.

As we moved towards the corner of the greenhouse, more and more of the plants were trashed.

Will tossed what seemed like the hundredth plant to the floor. “At least the fire only caught in the first few rows in this corner. Something like this could have taken out the whole greenhouse.”

“Including me,” I muttered under my breath. It just hit me that I could have gone up in the same flames that took out these plants. Looking toward Will, I asked, “How did you know the fire was happening?”

"I was at the cabin working on one of the various projects," Will replied.

"When I set up Beau's iPhone the last time, I added myself to the emergency call alerts. So when he called 911, I got a text message with his location. I came running over. As soon as I got here, I saw him come around the corner with you before the ceiling collapsed. "

I still couldn’t shake the feeling of unease at how close I’d been to something really bad happening. "Glad you were close by."

"As talkative as I am, I'm generally a homebody. I was just at the cabin working on one of the various projects."

As we reached the end of the row, most of the debris had been cleared. Will and I lingered for a moment before turning down the second row, heading toward the far end again.

About five steps in, Will stopped suddenly.

“Hey—what’s that?” he asked, pointing toward the ground near one of the support beams.

Half-buried in the churned-up soil was something smooth and shiny, catching the light even through a layer of mud. I squinted. It looked like an oval gemstone, maybe part of a piece of jewelry.

“Definitely doesn’t belong here,” I said, keeping my distance.

Will crouched slightly, but didn’t touch it. “You think it could be evidence?”

“If it’s not yours, we should flag it and call Mat,” I said. “Better not to move it.”

Will nodded and took a picture from a few angles, careful not to get too close. Then he straightened and pulled out his phone.

“Hey, honey—work stuff,” he said when Mat picked up. “Just sent you a picture of something we found in the greenhouse. Thought you might want to take a look, see if it’s evidence. ”

He paused, then nodded. “Yeah, we’re in row two. Oh—you’re up front? Perfect. See you in a sec.”

He hung up and turned to me. “He’s actually here, talking with Beau and the insurance adjustor. Said he’d be right back.”

We both looked down at the gleaming shape in the dirt, the weight of it suddenly feeling a little heavier than just some lost trinket.

"I'm here," Mat called out, grinning when Will looked over to him.

Will showed Mat the object he’d found on the ground. "Here it is. I found it in the mud here. Right next to the leg of the nursery table."

Mat examined it closely on the ground. "This isn't something you recognize?"

We both shook our heads. Mateo bent down to get a closer look at it without touching it.

"Let me go get some gloves and an evidence bag out of the car. Who knows, it might be important."