A Firefighter's Promise by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The next afternoon, Rachel frowned at her computer screen, tabbing down a list of articles. An untouched plate of watermelon sat beside her, and a breeze whisked through the window, stirring the hair that lay on her moist forehead. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air from the day before.

“Hello!” Aunt Louise sang out, knocking at the front door. “Anybody home?”

“In the kitchen!” Rachel called back, not stirring from her spot. The screen door banged and her aunt appeared around the corner, a bag of fresh corn on the cob in one hand.

“I brought some corn for the birthday party,” Aunt Louise said, depositing her gift on the kitchen table. She looked over Rachel’s shoulder at the laptop screen. “What’re you doing?”

“I’m trying to figure something out,” Rachel replied, shooting her aunt a smile. “And I think I need your help.”

Aunt Louise looked down at Rachel’s laptop in interest, pulling up a chair. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Three years ago, there was a school fire here in town,” Rachel said.

“Yes, of course. That poor little girl died. It was awful.”

Rachel nodded. “What do you remember about that?”

“Why the sudden interest?” Aunt Louise asked. “You aren’t reconsidering your job at the school, are you?”

“No, no,” Rachel replied with a shake of her head. “It’s hard to explain, but I need to know more.”

“Because of Matt Bailey.”

Heat rose in her cheeks. “Sort of.”

Louise shot her an amused look. “I don’t see any other reason why you’d be so interested in all the minor details.”

“I suppose this is about Matt. I just don’t understand it. He’s very private, and I know about the fire, but I also saw something at the church yesterday.”

“What?” The older woman leaned forward.

“Weird tension,” she replied. “And since I can’t figure out what to do with my son at the moment, I’ve decided to try to figure this out instead.”

Upstairs, Chris’s voice, singing his own version of “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain,” rang out, and both women looked upward.

“Did he set the fire?” Louise asked, her voice low.

“Yes.”

“On purpose?”

Rachel shook her head. “He’s seven. I don’t think he fully understood the consequences of a lit match.”

“You know that saying, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar?” Louise asked.

“Sometimes a fire is just a fire?” Rachel sighed.

“Sometimes a child’s mistake is just a mistake and not a sign of impending doom. I seem to remember you launching yourself out a window with a plastic shopping bag for a parachute, and you weren’t suicidal.”

“No, but I broke my ankle.”

Her aunt nodded. “That you did. Your mom told me that you were the most popular kid in school that September. It didn’t end your life. I know this is serious, but be careful how you handle it. Kids are like self-fulfilling prophecies. If you treat them like delinquents, they tend to meet expectations.”

Overhead, Chris plowed into the second verse of the song, and Rachel nodded. Even if there were bigger issues at play, he was happy and playing for the time being.

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