Page 12 of Blame It On the Lattes

I nodded and hurried out of the room, stopping to grab my phone from the table before heading outside. Cassidy had her phone pressed to her ear as we stood in the parking lot, staring in disbelief as we heard another loud crashing noise.

I walked over to my SUV and sat on the curb in front of it, hating that I didn’t have my keys so I could get Kennedy inside. She was sick, and it was freezing outside, which wasn’t the best combination right now. I still had pajamas on with nothing to offer her to keep her warm except my body heat.

“Here honey, take this,” an older woman said, coming across the parking lot and handing me a blanket. I had seen her a handful of times and knew she lived next door to Cassidy.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” I wrapped the blanket around Kennedy and held her close to me as I rocked her back to sleep.

Before I knew it, fire trucks and paramedics filled the parking lot as people rushed about. Cassidy came and joined me on the sidewalk, looking completely lost.

“Did they say what happened?”

She nodded, her face pale.

“The older woman who lived above me had been running a bath but had a medical episode and died. They said it looked like it had been a few days since it happened and that the leak likely started small, but the ongoing water pressure from the tub continuing to fill caused the entire ceiling to collapse.”

“Oh my God,” I whispered, covering my mouth with my hands while trying to keep from waking Kennedy up.

“It’s a good thing she got up when she did,” Cassidy said, shaking her head. “I can’t even—”

“Don’t,” I interrupted, not able to hear her finish her sentence.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes while we watched the paramedics bring out a gurney covered with a sheet. My heart broke for the poor woman, wondering if her fate would have been different had she had someone there with her who could have called for help when it happened.

“Hey, are you guys alright?” Sam said, startling me as he stood in front of us.

“Yeah. We’re fine,” Cassidy answered with a shaky breath. “They said it’s going to be a while before I can go back since they have to deal with the water damage and fix the ceiling. I talked with Mom and Dad, and they said we can stay with them until then.”

She smiled at me and gave my arm a soft squeeze.

“I can’t do that,” I objected, already knowing how crowded it would be. Cassidy and Sam had grown up in that house, but they had since converted his bedroom into a craft room for Amelia. Cassidy’s room was big enough for her, but it wouldn’t fit the three of us easily, which meant Kennedy and I would have to sleep on the couch with nowhere to store our stuff.

“It’s not a problem,” Cassidy insisted. “You and Kennedy can take my room. I have a blow-up mattress we can put in there. I’ll sleep on the couch. I don’t mind.”

“I’m not doing that, but thank you. I’ll check into a hotel for a few days until we figure out the next step.”

“I hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing available. Everything was booked months ago. You’d be lucky to get a last-minute cancellation with it being a week until Frosty Fest.” Cassidy smiled sympathetically, but it did nothing to dull the burning pit of fire I now had in my stomach.

This wasn’t an ideal situation, but I would figure something out and make it work.

I rubbed my lips together as I tried to think about other options. Just because the hotels in Sugarplum Falls were booked didn’t mean that the neighboring towns would be booked as well. It would be a further commute to work, but I could figure it out.

“You and Kennedy will stay with me,” Sam said, bringing my and Cassidy’s attention to him.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“You and Kennedy will stay with me.” He nodded as if this decision was final.

“Sam, no. You’ve done enough for us already by giving me a job. I couldn’t ask—”

“You didn’t. I’m offering it to you, Avery.” He rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets as a gust of cold air whipped past us. “Technically, I’m telling you that’s what’s happening. Cassidy will stay with my parents, and you and Kennedy will stay with me. I have two guestrooms that I don’t use.”

I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut, unsure of what to say.

While I didn’t want to take advantage of Sam’s kindness, I honestly wasn’t in any position to be picky right now. It wasn’t just me and my pride I had to worry about. It was my baby girl, who was sick and needed a safe place to stay.

“I’ll pay you rent,” I offered, feeling the knot in my stomach get tighter as I thought about how I didn’t have the money to do that.

“You will not.”

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