“Uh, yeah. I wanted to apologize again for what you heard. Nick can be an ass but he’s usually harmless.”

Ridley snorted. “It’s fine. I should know better than to eavesdrop by now. It never ends well.”

They finished their food in comfortable silence. He rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher, so she did the same. He wiped off the counter with a damp rag and then clapped his hands.

“Okay, I’m going to grab my cleaning supplies and then I’ll meet you outside. It’ll be nice to have company while I clean the grill. I always put it off until the last possible second because I hate doing it.”

“I’ll help you. I’ve cleaned a few grills in my time.” She motioned toward the laundry room. “Do you mind if I throw a few things in the wash first? I was going to yesterday but…”

He nodded knowingly. “No problem. The detergent and stuff are in the cabinets overhead.”

“Thanks.”

She turned and walked back out to the family room and then took the stairs two at a time. By the time she got to her room, she was humming under her breath.

“You are so pathetic,” she muttered. She shouldn’t be so giddy at the prospect of spending more time with Jackson. He was just being nice; it wasn’t like they were going on a date or something.

After throwing the entire contents of her backpack in the washing machine, Ridley stood looking at the clothes swirling around through the clear glass panel on the front. It was tempting to just stand there all day and let herself be hypnotized by the motion. Anything was better than thinking about the events of the past few days and the fact that these clothes were the only things she had to her name at the moment.

“Not that I have so much back in Florida, but still.”

She’d been shaken after the accident but after a lot of prodding, a couple of bandages and a few painkillers, she was released from the hospital. The first day after the accident, she thought it was the trauma of what she’d seen that had her imagining things. Books that weren’t in the same place she’d left them. Doors left open that she knew she’d locked. Stupid stuff. It wasn’t until she came home and found her apartment completely trashed that she’d been scared. And if her mother had taught her anything, it was how to move fast.

She’d withdrawn a bunch of cash from the ATM and then left a voicemail for her boss at the garden center. Once she’d gotten back home, she’d thrown a bunch of clothes into her hiking pack and ridden her bike to the bus station. It was almost funny to think of her rusty old ten-speed locked to the bike rack outside the station. She wondered how long before someone cut it loose and disposed of it since there was no telling how long she’d be here. She’d told her boss that she’d needed a two-week vacation for a family emergency, but if things weren’t cleared up by then she’d have to quit. As much as she loved her part-time job, she could always find another one later.

“I’m not even going to think about it. I’m just going to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.” She would take Jackson’s offer at face value, a nice guy offering friendly conversation. Nothing more, nothing less. For just a few hours, she would talk, laugh, and not worry about anything.

She walked back through the kitchen to the staircase she’d descended earlier, casting a longing look at the plush cream-colored couch as she passed. This house was so beautiful, unlike anything she’d ever seen. How cozy it would be to snuggle into the deep cushions and read a book. Maybe after they were done cleaning up outside.

She went back to the guest room and checked her phone. She had one missed call. Maybe Raina had finally decided to stop ignoring her. But when she looked at the number she recognized it as her landlady.

“Mrs. Ashton called?”

Mrs. Ashton was a kindly older woman who rented out rooms in her large duplex to college students. She’d been willing to give Ridley a discount on the rent in exchange for her running errands such as picking up mail from her post office box and getting basic groceries each week.

“I should have let her know I’d be gone. She probably needed something from the store.” She immediately pressed the button to call her back.

She wasn’t sure if she was going to stay in Virginia permanently but it was only fair to let Mrs. Ashton know that she would be gone for a while. She’d probably need to hire someone else to help her out while Ridley was gone.

“Hello?”

Ridley sat up straight at the weak voice coming over the line. “Mrs. Ashton? It’s Ridley.”

“Oh, thank goodness child. Where have you been? I was so worried!” she declared.

“Worried? I just went out of town for the weekend.”

“Oh dear lord. When we couldn’t find you we thought you were in the building when it happened. I’m so glad you’re all right.”

A chill ran down Ridley’s spine hearing the normally reserved Mrs. Ashton so excited. Even though she helped her with her groceries, and random other things around the house, they’d never been particularly close. She’d learned more than once over the years that it just made it harder to move on in the end.

And she’d always had to move on.

“In the building when what happened?”

“There was a fire last night, Ridley. It seems to have started in your bedroom although no one knows how that’s possible. But all your things are gone. It’s all gone.”

“Oh my god.” Ridley cried.