Justice for Hope by Susan Stoker

Author:Susan Stoker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stoker Aces Production LLC

Chapter Ten

“Hope, get up.”

Hope sat straight up in bed and looked over at the doorway. She could just make out Calder standing there. The hall light was on behind him.

“Did you hear me?” Calder asked urgently. “You need to get up. Billy too.”

She was moving even before she’d thought about it. The urgency in Calder’s tone making it impossible to do anything else. “What’s wrong?”

“The diner’s on fire.”

Hope stopped at the end of the bed and stared at Calder in shock.

“Hurry, honey. I got a call from Squirrel, Blythe’s fiancé. You met him last night, he’s one of the firefighters at Station 7. He’s off tonight, but he knows you work there, and he gave me a ring when he heard it come over the radio. I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to head down to check it out, check on Joseph. I’m not going to leave you here alone though, just in case.”

“Joseph!” Hope practically screeched. The older man had an apartment not too far from the diner, but she knew he often slept on the couch in the office in the back. Said since he didn’t have anyone waiting for him at home, it was easier to just stay there.

She hurriedly tore off her sleep shorts, ignoring the fact that Calder was still standing there, and put on a pair of sweats. Calder handed her one of his sweatshirts and she pulled that over the T-shirt she was wearing, not bothering with putting on a bra.

“Do you want to wake him, or should I just pick him up and put him in the truck?” Calder asked, gesturing to Billy.

“Truck,” Hope said immediately. Billy had been exhausted when he’d finally fallen asleep, and it was likely that he’d continue to sleep as long as they were careful.

Hope watched as Calder gently scooped Billy up, blankets and all, and carried him out of the room. She frantically put on a pair of sneakers, picked up a pair of shoes for Billy, and followed. By the time she caught up with them, Calder had already put her son in the back of his truck. He’d grabbed some pillows off the couch and made sure Billy was comfortable after he’d buckled him in.

Ever the gentleman, even in a situation like this, Calder helped her into the truck before running around and getting in on the other side. He drove quickly but not recklessly.

“What do you know?” Hope asked as they drove toward downtown.

“Not much. Just that several fire departments were called in. It’s big, sweetheart.”

“Was Joseph there? Do you know?”

“I don’t. I’m sorry.” Calder reached out and grabbed her hand and Hope held on tightly.

“I can’t lose him,” she whispered.

“Don’t borrow trouble,” Calder warned. “Until we know what happened, you can’t assume the worst.”

“It seems like with the good, always comes the bad,” Hope said quietly.

“Hang on to me,” Calder said.

“Okay.”

“I’m here no matter what. All you have to do is hang on.”

Hope nodded but didn’t say anything. She

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