Page 24

I zip up my suitcase while Sean talks with Julian. “I understand this isn’t ideal for you, Mr. Bellamy. Believe me, we wish we could be of help, but I think that strangers being here right now is making things harder for the children, not easier.” A brief pause, then he says, “They’re…” He sighs. “I’ll be honest. There was an argument between me, Mary, and the children. I’m not sure exactly what it was about. I was only in the middle of it because it became heated. They stormed out of the house. I talked to Grant, and he told me that the children often visit a beach nearby, and they’ve been known to run there when they’re angry. Grant is looking there while Beatrice checks the mall in town. I understand that’s another favorite hangout.”

I sit on the edge of the bed and stare out of the window. The sun is setting, and the shadows of the vines below are lengthening. Already, some brown is showing in the vines as the drenched soil causes their roots to rot. The disease afflicting this family is spreading.

"I'm afraid not, sir. It's no offense to you and none to Victoria. We just feel it's best we leave before the children get back. Yes, I'm afraid it was that heated. Oh, no, no, nothing like that. Just words. It's just… well, at that age, they don't really respect strangers. I didn't respect strangers when I was a teenager. Hell, I didn't respect my own parents. It's nothing to feel so terribly about, sir. This is just a trying time for your family and one that we're not very well-equipped to help with. I wish the best for all of you, but we just can't be of much help. And… well, I hate to say it this way, but we couldn't even keep the children in the house. Not unless we physically restrained them, and I think it goes without saying that would be a poor way to keep them safe."

There’s a long pause, then he says, “No need to apologize, sir. You’ve been perfectly polite. Don’t be too hard on the children, either. They’re young. This is just the way things have shaken out, unfortunately. All right.” He nods. “Yes, that’s a good point. We’ll wait for the children to get back before we leave. You take care, sir.”

He hangs up, and sighs heavily. “I told him we’d stay until the children got back. Then we’ll leave.”

“Yes, I heard you.”

He rolls his eyes but doesn’t call me out for my attitude. “I’ll bring the luggage to my car. We can put everything in my boot.” He smiles slightly. “Sorry, my trunk.”

I don’t react. His smile fades after a moment. He sighs again, then begins taking the luggage downstairs.

I remain where I am on the edge of the bed. It’s probably not healthy for me to do this, but I think about what will happen to the Bellamys after I leave.

The children will suffer. Their father is embroiled in the company concerns, and their grandmother is in severe emotional distress. They won’t have anyone to advocate for them and no one to be concerned for their feelings.

Then again, I haven’t done much for them there, have I?

Tears swim in my eyes, and I brush them away. I meant to do so much good. I only wanted them to be safe. I only wanted to stop all of the secrets and all of the aggression.

But that’s not exactly true either. Like Julian intimated when he caught me eavesdropping on his phone conversation in the library, I treated this family’s past drama like a soap opera.

But not their current trials. I never treated their current problems like entertainment. I might have failed, but I did try very hard to do what was best for the children. I did try to help them. That’s not much comfort to me as I hear Sean’s steps return up the stairs and try to wipe the tears free of my eyes, but it’s better than nothing.

When the door opens, I get to my feet. “I’d prefer to wait in the dining room,” I tell Sean. “I’d like some coffee before we begin the drive home.”

“I was thinking we’d spend the night at the Avalon Hotel in town,” Sean says. “We can drive home in the morning after a good night’s rest.”

“No. I don’t want to be here another night. You’re right. We should be gone completely as soon as possible.”

He looks like he’s going to argue further, but he stops himself and only nods. We head downstairs, and I make a pot of coffee for us. Sean stays silent and avoids eye contact with me. At some point, we’ll need to talk through our frustration with each other, but we’re a while off from being able to do that.

I finish the coffee and serve a mug to Sean and one to myself. I’m just about to take the first sip when the door flies open, and Nathan rushes into the dining room.

My blood chills when I see him. He’s covered in dirt, and his eyes are wide with terror.

Then I smell him. He’s not covered in dirt. He’s covered in soot.

“What is it?” Sean asks, recovering from the shock faster than I do. “Where’s Luann?”

“She’s at the barn on the Cartwright property. She went there to meet Kevin. I don’t know what happened, but the barn’s on fire now, and I can’t hear either of them.”

My stomach turns somersaults. “Does she have her cell phone?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“You call her,” Sean says. “I’ll call nine-one-one.”

“Take us to the fire, Nathan,” I command. “Sean, you drive.”

“Right.”

Nathan leads us to the car. I hear Sean on the phone with emergency services while we run.

“When did the fire start?” I ask Nathan.

“Umm… I think… Fifteen minutes ago? It was still small when I left, but they weren’t answering, and the door was locked.”

“All right. Thank you,” Sean says. He hangs up and tells us, “Emergency services says nine minute ETA. That means we’ll beat them by four minutes. Have you called Julian yet?”

I shake my head.

“Do so,” he says. “Nathan, do you have Robert Cartwright’s number?”

Nathan nods. “Yeah, I know it.”

“Do you have your phone?”

“No, I lost it on the way over.”

“Use mine,” Sean says. “Call him now. He might be able to have someone on the property get into the barn.”

When we pull onto the main road, I see the black smoke billowing up from the barn. My heart sinks to the soles of my feet. I hope desperately that Luann and Kevin aren’t inside there anymore.

“I don’t know,” Nathan says. “They just went inside. I figured they wanted to make out or something, so I just left them alone. I didn’t think they were going to get hurt. I’m sorry.”

I can’t hear what Robert says in return, but Nathan says, “We’re on our way back now. The fire department is supposed to get there a few minutes after us. Okay, yeah, please. If they can get in before us, maybe they’ll be okay.”

He sniffles, and I feel a pang of sorrow and fear on his behalf. I know how terrifying it is to lose a sister.

At that thought, I am filled with resolve. Nathan will not lose his sister today. I don’t care what else happens, but Nathan will not lose Luann. He won’t suffer the way I have. He won’t be plagued by bad memories the way I am.

Sean’s car is not at all suited for rough roads, but he bounces the car up the gravel and dirt drive toward the Cartwright house with no regard for his suspension. The barn is located behind the house to the right, and he leaves the drive behind and bounces over the loose ground until he comes down hard and snaps something in the front. The car skids to a halt, but if Sean is concerned about his vehicle, he doesn’t show it. We rush from the car and sprint to the building without a look back.

The barn is completely engulfed. Smoke billows from the windows, and yellow flame licks out between the boards. The fire appears concentrated in the upper half of the building, a good sign. The lower portion might be relatively free of smoke and flame.

“Call them, Nathan,” Sean commands. “See if you can… Mary! Mary, no !”

It’s too late. I’m already running for the nearest window. I don’t have anything to shield myself, so I cover my face with my right arm and throw myself through the glass. I feel a sliver of the material slice my back, but I don’t stop to see how bad the wound is.

The heat is enormous. The smoke is a thin haze near the ground, but the heat is unbearable. It’s like being caught in a broiler. I am in for only a few seconds before I’m gasping for air.

A strong hand grabs my arm, and a moment later, Sean hisses, “Mary! Get the hell out of here!”

“No, Sean. Help me find them.”

“Are you insane? We need to get out of here! The fire department will be here soon.”

“I’m not leaving them.”

He looks at me for a long moment. Then he curses. “Damn you. Fine. Two minutes. Not a second longer.”

That’s fine with me. Two minutes will be more than enough time to cover the ground floor of the barn. And if Luann and Kevin are on the upper floor…

No. I won’t think about that.

We begin the search, looking through the different storage areas of the barn. The dairy cow is bellowing madly for release, so Sean lets her out while I check the chicken coop. The chickens themselves have already fled outside through the little door cut into the wall.

Sean rejoins me when we begin looking through the feed stores. I am beginning to lose hope when I see a soft white hand lying outstretched behind a stack of grain sacks.

“There!” I call out. “Look!”

Sean turns to the hand. “Good eye, Mary. I’ll get her out of here. Keep looking for Kevin.”

“He might be with her,” I protest, following him to Luann.

I’m right. Kevin lies half atop Luann, arms splayed out to the side. Both of them are in an awkward position and neither of them are moving.

“They’re unconscious,” Sean says. “Take Luann. I’ll take Kevin.”

He hefts the young man over his shoulder. With somewhat more difficulty, I manage to lift Luann off of the ground, though I need Sean’s help to keep from losing my balance.

“Okay,” he says. “Out the way we came—”

Before he can finish that sentence, a loud groan sounds, and a moment later, a massive section of the flaming upper story crashes in front of us. Soot and smoke billow into our faces, causing us to choke and cough.

The heat is beyond unbearable now. It’s all-consuming. I can almost feel my skin blistering.

Sean grabs my arm and pulls me toward the back of the barn. Luann is a petite girl and not very heavy, but I am not a young woman, and my arms and legs burn when we finally reach the door.

A loud crack sounds behind us, but I don’t risk stopping to see how close we are to being crushed. It’s not until a loud thump sounds behind me and the ground shakes a little that I realize how near it was.

We keep running until firemen pop up in front of us and stop us. A light shines in my face, and a stern-faced but compassionate woman with a sturdy build asks my name.

I don’t answer her right away. I collapse to my knees, unable to hold onto Luann anymore. I look down at her, terrified that she’s not going to wake up, but just before the paramedics tend to her, she gasps and opens her eyes.

"Oh God," I breathe. "Oh, thank God."

She looks at me. “Mary? You came for us?”

“I’m so glad you’re all right.”

The paramedics rush her away, and two more sit me down and examine me. I look back at the barn just in time to see the engines start and begin to douse the flame.

It’s all right. The children will be okay. That’s all that matters.