Page 75 of Hollywood Undercover
She glanced out the passenger side window and smiled. It was a stellaridea.
“Bash can help you out,” Rosaadded.
Alexandra gave her a sideways glance. “Oh, no! Not you too,” she groaned, shaking herhead.
Rosa didn’t even deny her involvement in this set-up. Rosa and Dad were playing matchmaker. Dad had probably put her up to this. As soon as he found out Alexandra was staying at Sebastian’s house while the clean-up crew worked on making the Storme residence ready for repair, her enthusiastic father had lit up like a Christmas tree. Dad made a point of reminding her that Bash was the one who kept her company, brought over meals, and kept her spirits high while he wasill.
“Hang out with a man one time, and suddenly everyone thinks there’s a relationship brewing,” she said to Rosa, rolling her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you and Dad that Bash thinks I’m a guy? You know, I didn’t want to be the one to let the cat out of the bag, but Sebastian Sullivan isn’t really into vegan, if you catch my drift. He’s totally intobeef.”
Rosa blushed as Alexandra chuckled at her owncomment.
“Is that so? I never would’ve assumedthatgiven what I’veseen.”
“What have youseen?”
Rosa shrugged, and didn’t say anything more. There was something about the way she went quiet that made Alexandra wonder what exactly she wasn’tsaying.
* * *
Rosa dropped Alexandra off,and Sebastian’s Jeep was nowhere insight.
“Thank goodness,” she said under her breath, hoping Rosa didn’t hearher.
His absence meant she could go right on up to her room without having any jaw-dropping encounters with him. She and Bash had exchanged their spare house keys this morning, and he had let her know he would likely be at his physical therapy session for a few hours thisevening.
Before heading inside, she asked Rosa to pull into Dad’sdriveway.
“Except for that second floor office window and above it, you almost can’t tell anything happened to the house,” Rosasaid.
The two of them stared at Dad’s three-story home. From the outside, most of the house looked unscathed. The late evening sky hung dusky in the background, and only a small section of the grass out front showed some evidence of the ordeal where the firehoses had trailed through the lawn. The damage up on the second floor had done some damage to the interior of the two guestrooms and Dad’s office. Alexandra wasn’t worried about his files. Rosa had backed up all his essential electronic folders, and took his important hard copy files to his office shortly after he had been admitted to the hospital the firsttime.
Alexandra climbed out of the SUV and leaned into the open window of Rosa’s CR-V. “I think I’ll take a look around inside and see whether anything is salvageable. I’m hoping my guitar and the trunk of keepsakes in my room areokay.”
“I hope so too,dear.”
“Anyway, I guess I’d better get started. Tonight I’ll find a few more construction companies to call for quotes, now that I’m banned from daily visits to thehospital.”
“You’re not banned, dear. Your father and I just want you to get your mind off his health. He’ll be fine…and I think it would be a nice surprise if the renovations begin before he’s released. He would never ask you himself, but I know he would be so happy. You know how he is about people fussing overhim.”
“He would be the first to tell me, ‘Stop hovering, Alexandra!’or something very similar,” she said, trying to mock her father’s grufftone.
“Trust me, I know. Well, I’ll keep you posted on his progress, but as you already know, the doctor doesn’t expect to keep him for much more than a week ortwo.”
“Sounds good. Thanks,Rosa.”
“No problem. In the meantime, if you need me for anything, you know how to get in touch with me. I’ll even be available to help you break the rules when you want to sneak in and seeMax.”
“Thanks Rosa. I know this whole idea of keeping me away from the hospital is all his idea. See youlater.”
“See you soon,dear.”
Alexandra waved goodbye when Rosa drove off. Pulling out Dad’s house keys from her satchel, she stepped up to the front door. As soon as it opened, the acrid stench of charred wood overwhelmed her. Thankfully, as Tucson was so dry during the summer months, much of the water had evaporated, which meant there wouldn’t likely be a musty smell from the waterdamage.
The cleanup crew they hired had been at the house. The front entryway was clean in the places where mud had been tracked in last night. She took a cautious step inside, testing her weight on the stairs before climbing up to the second floor. The fire department had cleared the house, but the memory of the fire was still fresh enough to make her second guess hermovements.
Up on the second flood landing, she passed the large water damage restoration fan the cleanup crew left to ventilate the space. She held her breath at the second door. It was clear where the fire had started. Dad’s office door was open. It looked like a warzone.
“Christ,” she whispered, shaking her head as she peeked in. The walls were black, and everywhere including the ceiling was coated with soot. One step inside, and her shoes squished across the semi-damp rug. Now she wondered how much longer the clean-up crew would be. She made a mental note to call and find out. Renovations would have to wait until all the water up here was gone. The floors and drywall would probably need replacing as well. A survey of the room confirmed Dad’s computer, printers and other electronics were wiped out. His file cabinet was scorched, but seemed intact. Still, there wasn’t much she could remove from this roomtonight.
