Page 62 of Restless Ink

Dimitri squeezed her hand gently, then leaned forward to kiss her temple. She closed her eyes, trying to take in his scent buried beneath the smoke in her nostrils and the antiseptic stench of the hospital.

“We came in when we heard the fire alarm.” Mace sat on her other side, Adrienne by him, holding his hand tightly. “We told your staff to get any customers out of the building, as well as our space and the others in our lot just in case. No one else got hurt. Just you and Carter.”

Thea closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears to go away. “And he’ll be okay?” she whispered. “He has to be okay.”

Adrienne leaned forward and rested her forehead on Thea’s leg, her sister’s body shaking just like hers was. Then she sat up, looking directly into Thea’s eyes as she answered.

“He’s in the ICU with a concussion, a broken right arm from how he fell, apparently, and second and third degree burns on the right side of his body. It’s less than thirty percent, but it’s still enough that they’re going to watch for infection and keep him in the hospital for a while.”

“I…I can’t believe he got hurt because of me.”

Dimitri glared at her before schooling his features. “It wasn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.”

If only she believed that. She wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive herself if Roxie lost Carter because of her oven, because ofher.

“Mom and Dad are with Roxie, making sure she’s not alone. Shep, too. Shea has Livvy and Daisy at their place, keeping up with things there as well as answering any questions from the media that come in. Or, in her case, ignoring it but keeping everything organized for us. Mace and I are heading over there soon to help her. We just wanted to stay with you a bit.”

Thea reached out and gripped her sister’s hand. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay. I know there will be questions and I’ll have to talk to the police and my insurance company and everything but…thank you for being here. And for being here for Carter.”

Dimitri kissed her temple again. “Landon, Abby, Ryan, and Kaylee are around as well, though they’re helping with any on-site issues and bringing food and coffee to those who need it. They’re all looking for something to do, I think. We’re all looking.”

Thea looked at the bandages on her hands and wondered what she was going to do now. She’d almost died, and Carter had come even closer. Yet in the end, that wasn’t the whole of it. Once she was back on her feet, she would have to go to Colorado Icing and see what could be salvaged. From there, she’d have to restore and possibly rebuild. Her expansion loan paperwork might be thrown entirely out the window at this point, and the next phase of her dreams and her bakery might be over before they started.

She was just grateful that no one else had gotten hurt, though she’d never forget the feeling of Carter lying on top of her, his body limp after he’d slammed into her as the flames licked at their skin.

The heat of it was a clear memory, so vivid she could almost feel it against her skin where the burns beneath her bandages lay. She had second-degree burns on her arm and a cut on her chin from flying debris.

It could have been so much worse.

“I can’t believe I almost lost you,” Dimitri whispered.

“I’m still here.” She swallowed hard. “But I don’t know how.”

He blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Carter noticed that something was wrong at the last moment and pushed us both out of the way. What if he hadn’t noticed in time?”

“Don’t think about things like that,” Mace said quickly. “You can’t. If you do, you’ll go in circles and end up hurting yourself more.”

Mace squeezed Adrienne’s knee, and Thea knew he was thinking about the events that had led to her sister’s attack just a short time ago. So much pain, so much fear, and yet so little time had passed.

“Carter noticed something, but what?” She looked at the man she loved, biting her lip. “What if it wasn’t an accident with the oven, Dimitri? What if…what if it was on purpose?”

Mace and Adrienne cursed under their breaths while Dimitri just stared at her. She knew all four of them were thinking the same thing.

Molly couldn’t have done this. It had to be an accident.

And yet stranger things had happened.

Far stranger when it came to the Montgomerys.

Chapter 24

After Adrienne and Mace went off to check on Shea and see what they could do about their own building for the next day, Dimitri scooted closer to Thea’s bed, grateful the others had allowed them some privacy. He knew it wouldn’t last long since her parents and Shep made their rounds constantly, but he didn’t blame them.

His heart was still racing, and he felt like everything he’d thought he would finally be able to keep in his life was sliding through his fingers like sand.

The authorities had come and gone during the time he and Thea had sat next to one another, not speaking, just touching each other as if it would be the last time, as if itcouldbe the last time. He’d listened and tried to make sense of what they were saying, but for now, everything was inconclusive, and it would be a while before anyone could go back into Colorado Icing. That meant they had to wait for answers.

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