Authors: Claire Adams
BAD BOY BILLIONAIRE VOLUME III
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
The
ride home that
night felt like the longest one ever, and by the time Riley and I got off the
train, it was well past dinnertime.
"How about we
go home and change our clothes, order a pizza, and curl up on the couch and
watch a movie?" I suggested as we rounded the corner and saw that a fleet
of fire trucks were parked halfway down the block with lights flashing and
equipment strewn across the road.
My heart sank as I
picked up the pace and raced toward our house. I was stopped by a Captain in a
crisp uniform who told me that she needed to see ID.
"That's my
house!" I cried as I stood looking at the charred exterior, broken
windows, and the muddied lawn in front. I could see the firefighters in their
bright yellow jackets and red helmets walking out of the house holding axes and
yelling at one another. I thought of Mama. I yelled, “Where's my mother? My
mother was in the house!"
"Ma'am,"
the Captain said as she put a hand on my arm. "Your mother was evacuated,
treated for smoke inhalation, and transported by ambulance to the
hospital."
"She's
okay?" I whispered. "She's not dead?"
"No,
Ma'am," the Chief said with a grimace. "She was very much alive and
kicking when my team pulled her out of the house."
"Did Gram
swear at you?" Riley piped up as she looked expectantly at the Chief.
"Indeed, she
did," the woman nodded. "She was quite vocal."
"Don't take
it personally," Riley said as she patted the Chief's arm. "She does
that with everyone."
I couldn't contain
a small smile as I listened to Riley describe the way Mama talked to those of
us who lived with her. I turned my attention back toward the house and realized
that we had nothing and nowhere to go.
"Ma'am, your
mother told us you have a brother close by; is that correct?" the Chief
asked as she pulled out a small notebook and began writing something in it. I
nodded as she continued to write. "So you have someplace you can go
tonight? Because if you don't, we can have the Red Cross provide you with
resources for a hotel room and clothing and things."
"No, my
brother will put us up tonight," I said not wanting to think about what
came after tonight. I asked, "Do you know what caused the fire?"
"I can't say
for certain, but we're pretty sure the blaze originated in the living
room," she said as she continued writing. "And it looks like it was
probably a cigarette or something similar. It's definitely not arson."
"I see,"
I said swallowing hard and fighting to keep the tears from falling. "Is
the house salvageable?"
"I'm pretty
sure it's going to need a whole new living room, but the rest of the house
seems to have escaped severe damage," the Chief said. "I'd be willing
to bet that you can have it back in livable condition in a month or two. I'll
give you the case number for the insurance company once the inspectors come out
and investigate in a couple of days."
I ran my hand
through my hair and, again, fought back the tears as I realized I'd let the
insurance policy lapse a few months back when we'd been short on the mortgage
payment and Riley had needed new clothes and shoes for school. I didn't want to
alarm Riley, so I put my arm around her shoulder and led her away from the
burned house.
"Let's go see
if Patrick has somewhere we can crash tonight," I said as cheerfully as I
could. "Then we'll order pizza and figure out where we're going to live
for the next few months, okay?"
"Miss
Walsh!" the Chief called as Riley and I walked away. She ran after me and
handed me a sheet of paper torn out of her notebook. On it were all the numbers
to call in order to get the help I'd need to deal with the fallout from the
fire. At the bottom of the page was a number with the word Al-Anon written next
to it. I looked up at the Chief quizzically. She shrugged and said, "In
case you need a place to go to talk about it. Your mother was pretty toasted
when we pulled her out of there."
"Thank
you," I said as I gave her a grateful look. I tucked the paper into my
purse before Riley and I continued our trek to Patrick's.
*
"
Are
you okay?" Patrick asked as he
stood in the doorway of the parish house. "Were you there when the fire
started?"
"We're fine.
We were still at work," I said as Riley and I entered the house and looked
around. The living room was equipped with sheets, blankets, and towels set out
on the stiff couches. The room smelled musty and old, but I was grateful for a
place to stay.
"Mama's at
the hospital. They said she's resting comfortably," Patrick said.
"I'll go over in the morning and check on her."
"Great,"
I nodded. "I've got to go to work and Riley's been suspended from school,
so I'll take her with me again."
"Leah!"
Riley protested as she threw herself down on the nearest couch and pretended to
pout. "You said you weren't going to tell anybody!"
"Patrick
doesn't count," I said tossing my purse onto the other sofa and shaking my
head.
"Gee,
thanks," Patrick grumbled with a mischievous smile.
"You know
what I mean," I said as I rolled my eyes at him before turning to Riley.
"I didn't tell anyone at work, just like I promised."
"Yeah, yeah,
yeah," she said waving her hand impatiently. "Are we going to get
some dinner soon or what? I'm starving!"
"Listen,
missy," I began, only to be cut off by my brother.
"I've got
some dinner in the kitchen if you're that hungry," Patrick offered.
"What do you
have?" Riley asked eyeing him suspiciously. "Probably liver and
Brussels sprouts or something, right? Isn't that what God eats?"
"Riley!"
I scolded.
"Well, it's
true, isn't it?" she asked as she looked at Patrick. "God eats all
that stuff that's good for you, but that kids hate."
"Well, I
don't know about that," Patrick replied with a playful smile. "But I
can certainly tell you that the dinner that's in the kitchen is definitely not
liver or Brussels sprouts!"
Riley reluctantly
got up off the couch and dragged her feet across the carpet. I could tell that
she was tired, but so was I. I didn't have the heart to nag her to pick up her
feet and walk like a normal person. Her spirits lifted when we entered the
kitchen and saw a box from our regular pizza place sitting on the table next to
two bottles of soda.
"Uncle
Patrick! Thank you!" Riley cried as she whipped open the box and pulled
out a large slice of pepperoni pizza and bit into it.
"Thanks,
Patrick," I said with a grateful smile as I sat down at the table and
helped myself to dinner. Patrick nodded, and then quickly exited the kitchen. I
wasn't sure what was going on with him, but it had been a long day; and I was
too tired to dig deeper.
Riley and I
quickly polished off the soda and pizza, and then went into the living room to
make up the couches. Once we'd done that, Riley looked around for something to
do, but when she couldn't find a television set or a computer, she began
perusing the bookshelf that stretched floor to ceiling across one wall of the
living room.
"Wow, there
are a lot of books here," she observed as she dropped down and tilted her
head to read the titles closest to the floor. "
A History of Angels
,
Angels
Among Us
,
When Angels Walk Among the
Living
… wow, they really like their angels, don't they?"
Not knowing what
to say, I simply nodded, and Riley turned back to the books. For the next hour,
I sat making a list of all the things I needed to do, and by the time I was
done, I felt overwhelmed but more in control. I looked up and saw Riley
engrossed in a book she'd found on the shelves.
"Something
good?" I asked.
"Mmm-hmm,"
she nodded and kept reading.
"Okay, well,
it's time for bed," I prodded. "We need to be up and out of here
early tomorrow morning."
Riley got up and
went to brush her teeth, leaving the book on the couch. While she was out of
the room, I picked the book up and read the title:
Orphan at Any Age: Children Who've Lost Parents.
I bit my lip and
put the book back down.
"We're going
to be okay," I said after we'd settled in and shut off the light. "I
promise."
"I know,
Leah," Riley replied sleepily. "We always are."
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
"
Hey
, good lookin', whatcha got
cookin'," I sang as I walked into Leah's office early the next morning. I
stopped as soon as she looked up at me. There were dark circles under her eyes,
and her lips curled into a weak smile before she turned back to the computer
and continued typing. I quickly toned it down and asked, "Everything
okay?"
"Yeah,
fine," she nodded without looking at me. "Just a lot of stuff to take
care of this morning. Did you need something?"
"I just
wanted to touch base and talk about the construction," I said as I tried
to figure out what was going on with Leah. "Are you sure you're
okay?"
"I'm fine,
Jack," she said tersely. "If you want to talk about the project, I'll
be done in a few minutes and can meet you out in the warehouse."
"Alright,
I'll be waiting," I said, backing out of the room confused as to what was
going on.
The construction
project was moving quickly and the warehouse team was helpful in answering my
questions. I took a look at Leah's new office and found that the crew was
nearly done with it. I pulled out my phone and called Norma and told her to
have the furniture brought in that afternoon once the crew was done with the
finishing touches.
The new office had
been done in light wood and cool calm tones of green and cream. I'd picked out
furniture that would complement the colors as well as being functional. I hoped
that Leah would like the overall effect. I walked across the room and pushed
open the door leading to the fully outfitted bathroom and found Riley curled up
in the shower stall reading a book.
"Hey, you're
not supposed to be in here," I said hearing my voice echo off the tile
walls.
"Huh?"
Riley looked up confused. "Oh, well, it was the only place where things
were quiet."
"What's going
on?" I asked.
"Dunno, just
trying to stay out of the way," she shrugged as she put her finger in the
book to hold her place and sat up. She seemed more withdrawn since the day
before.
"You
okay?" I asked, remembering what it was like to be that age and have
adults constantly badgering me to tell them what was going on.
"Fine,"
she shrugged again looking down at the book in her lap.
"You sure?
You seem kind of quiet," I said in a casual tone.
"Just a lot
of stuff going on, that's all," she said quietly.
"Well, I
don't want to pry, but if you need someone to talk to, my door is open and I'm
happy to listen," I said, turning to leave the bathroom. "Just do me
a favor, and don't let the work crew mess this up too much, okay? I want it to
look nice for Leah when she comes down to see it."
"Jack?"
Riley called just as I walked out the door.
"Yeah?"
I said, turning to look back at her. She looked small and miserable as she bit
her lip.
"Never
mind," she said.
"Okay, well,
the offer stands," I said before exiting the new office. I wondered what
was going on with her and Leah, but I knew better than to push.
*
That
afternoon, my brother called to ask what I was doing to ensure that Baby Steps
would turn a profit.
"What are you
talking about, Lincoln?" I asked, irritated that he was checking up on me
again.
"I'm talking
about the fact that the company now needs to turn a profit to cover not only
the yearly shareholders' profit, but also the loan you took out to renovate the
warehouse," he said sounding annoyed.
"Don't talk
down to me, brother," I shot back. "I know what I'm doing."
"Do you now?
I had no idea that you knew so much about the baby supply business," he
said doing his best to convey surprise. It always irritated me the way that
Lincoln could turn anything I did into a way to cut me down and show my
weaknesses.
"I'm
positioning us to take on new clients and increase our shipments over the next
nine months," I said, maintaining a calm I didn't feel. "You of all
people should know that it takes time to build new business and then turn it
into regular dividends."
"I'm not sure
about that," he said smugly. "I've always had the good fortune to be
productive from the start of any project."
"Yes, well,
that's how it goes when daddy holds your hand and walks you right into the
vault full of cash, now isn't it?" I replied coolly. I could hear my
brother inhale sharply on the other end, and I knew I'd hit a nerve.
"I've done
this on my own," he growled. "You know that."
"Yes, well,
I'm doing this on my own, too," I said. "Is there anything else you
need, Lincoln?"
My brother was
silent on the other end as I held my breath, hoping that he wasn't waiting to
drop a bomb. After what felt like an eternity, but couldn't have been more than
thirty seconds, I took a deep breath and said, "No? Well, then I've got a
lot of work to do, so I'm going to let you go."
Lincoln said
nothing before hanging up the phone. The smashing sound on the other end let me
know that while this battle might have been won, the war was far from over.