Page 39 of Bear Haven
They all laughed at her words and Bex was once again reminded of how good it felt to laugh, to have women as friends, to not be facing things alone. “Now, about that food…”
They followed the sound of male voices talking over each other.
Once upon a time, such a ruckus would happen in the house, presumably in the dining room once it was cleared of the maps and papers that had covered it during their planning sessions. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not here.
“Hey, do you know if Blake has heard from his uncle?”
“Yeah, he did. They made it safely to where they were going, though they wouldn’t say over the phone. I guess they’re taking extra precautions.”
“Then, presumably, Gus’s father and Beck got to where they were headed safely, as well.” Bex hoped that was the case, at least.
“Yeah. They did. They’re all together.”
“Good.” Bex glanced at the charred remains as she started around the side yard. “I really hate that everyone has to take all those extra precautions. This place was supposed to be a haven, somewhere to recharge, to relax and be safe.”
“I know and you’ll get to have that. It just won’t be here,” Maxine said.
“What’s going to happen to the house?”
Bex’s back neighbor Bill stood at the edge of his fence. At least the fire hadn’t touched his property. “Y’all go on,” she told Mari and Maxine. They looked skeptical, but she nodded and smiled. When they nodded in return, she joined Bill. “I don’t know. It’ll likely have to come down. It’s too unstable.”
“That’s a shame. It was old. Older than mine, I think.”
“Yes,” Bex agreed. “It is a shame. I knew the moment I saw it, that I wanted it.”
“Will you rebuild?”
“I don’t know. The insurance company still needs to do their appraisal of the extent of the structural damage.”
I’m… I’m sorry we gave you and your friend such a hard time the other day.”
She shrugged the comment off. “There’s always a little uncertainty when someone new move into the neighborhood.” She was over being pissed at the little group who’d demanded answers on her front porch. There were bigger issues now.
“I had no idea we had such hooligans in Dandridge. Setting a house on fire like they did?” He shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. “You can be sure I’ll take it up with the city at the next council meeting.”
Bex bit back a retort at his indignation. And she had to keep it to herself that it wasn’t a couple of local kids who’d done it. But that would mean admitting that she knew who had done it or at least had a theory, and there was no way she could actually prove it. Nor was there anyone she could physically point a finger toward because she didn’t know where any of them were.
At the same time, could a couple of local kids have been put up to it? Maybe for some cash or…?
It was assumed among her and Gus and the other shifters that the poachers themselves had snuck into her yard and started the fire, but what if they had used some innocent teenagers or even down on their luck adults? Would they do that much research? Would they go to that trouble? Would they risk the implication that if found out, those they’d found to commit the crime would name them?
Lydia came to mind, but really? Much as the woman rubbed her the wrong way, Bex just seriously wouldn’t consider it.
There was really no way of knowing. There would be an investigation and someone would let her know the outcome, but for the time being Dandridge was no longer the safe place she’d once imagined it could be.
“Well,” she finally said. “I hope whoever started the blaze is found and made to account for it.”
“Oh, they will be. Nothing like this has happened in this area of town in recent years.”
“I’m sure it won’t happen again.” Especially, she thought, if she and the shifters left the area as the Mayor had urged them to do. “I need to get back to everyone. Take care, Bill. And thank you for checking on me.”
She didn’t wait for a response and on her way to join Gus, she pondered the thought of the poachers potentially hiring others to cause harm or create confusion, making herself and those like her more vulnerable. It wasn’t a comforting thought.
She stopped beside the rope swing and looked up.
The sky was clear and there was still a slight breeze rustling the leaves in the trees.
To most it was a normal spring day.
To her, it wasn’t a normal day at all. Or was it? For her life now, perhaps it was. She wasn’t sure she remembered what a normal day actually felt like.
She was determined to find it again, that feeling of normalcy, of no fear, of no unease, of no secret shock hiding around the corner.
She was also determined to take the rope swing with her. She had no idea who was going to climb the tree, but the swing and ropes were leaving with her.
“Gus,” she called, her feet quickly eating the distance between the backyard and the front. “Gus, we need to talk about the swing…”
