That broke the remaining tension in the room and the rest of the occupants laughed.
“Women!” This came from Luke and Megan’s son, Cody, whom Carly had learned was the result of a holiday romance Luke and Megan had had sixteen years earlier. They’d only recently been reunited and still acted like newlyweds. Sasha, Daisy and Celeste were by Luke’s ex-wife—the mention of whom had caused Sarah’s lips to purse and Luke to change the subject.
Carly hadn’t quite got all the family relationships sorted out, but they were gradually falling into place.
Like his grandfather, Cody grabbed his hat and headed out the back door.
“I agree with them,” Luke said. “There are way too many women around here.” He kissed his wife and removed his hat from the peg near the back door, then followed his father and son out to start work.
“I’d better check in with the office,” Matt said, standing.
Jack glanced at his watch. “And I have an appointment with Frank Farquar. Seems the mayor wants me to build a stronger porch swing for Louella.”
“Louella?” Carly asked.
“The mayor’s pet pig,” Will explained. “She was hanging around with me at the fire. I’ll introduce you sometime.”
The brothers said their goodbyes, leaving Carly and Sarah alone in the kitchen. Carly stood, ready to clean up, but Sarah indicated she should sit.
She took a seat opposite Carly, poured more coffee and said, “Now, tell me, dear, how I can help?”
“You’ve done so much for us already. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” Sarah had produced clothes and pajamas for her children last night, since they’d had only the clothes they were standing in. Carly appreciated how Sarah did everything without fuss, saving her children from any further distress. If it had been her own mother in similar circumstances, it would’ve felt as if Carly was swept up in a tornado. Carly’s mom thrived on drama. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t turned to them after Michael’s death. And now that her dad was ill, there was no way Carly would even think of adding to his problems.
“Dear, I know you lost everything in that fire. I’m pretty sure the only possession you have left is your vehicle, and that got so much water damage parked where it was, it’ll take a while to get fixed.”
Carly nodded. She needed her minivan for work. Not that she had a job anymore since her mobile massage table was destroyed in the fire. She wished she’d had it in her van, but she’d left it upstairs because Mrs. Polinski had booked a massage after Carly’s appointments at the spa. And now she’d inherited the Polinskis’ dog.
Yesterday as they were loaded into the ambulance, Mrs. Polinski had asked Carly to look after Molly while they were in the hospital, but as of this morning, Molly was homeless. When Carly had called the hospital to find out how they were doing, she’d been put through to Mrs. Polinski, who’d been very upset that they’d be moving back east with their son and daughter-in-law. Apparently, their son’s wife didn’t want Molly coming with them. The old lady was understandably upset about Molly, and Carly promised to see what she could do. Unfortunately, Mrs. Polinski had misunderstood and thought Carly was adopting the dog.
So now it looked as if Molly belonged to her. Could her life get any more complicated? Oh, yeah, it could. Molly was due to be spayed the week after next and she’d just bet that hadn’t been prepaid!
Although Carly had no possessions left in Spruce Lake, at least she had her precious children. And that was all that mattered. From what she’d been able to glean talking to the babysitter afterward, there’d been a tremendous explosion that shook the building, followed shortly after by one of the other residents screaming, “Fire!” Then all hell had broken loose.
Tiffany had grabbed the three oldest children and fled down the stairs, just as Carly had pulled up outside the building. When Carly had asked her where Charlie was, she admitted she’d forgotten all about him. Carly forced the memory of that horrible moment out of her mind and told herself, Charlie is fine. Your children are all fine. You will get through this.
“I have nothing left,” Carly said. “I hadn’t gotten around to taking out insurance on our possessions.” Meager as they were, she added silently.
“I feel so overwhelmed! I don’t know how I’m going to get my business going again.” She fought the tears that threatened. Feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t get her anywhere. She needed to find some money to buy a new massage table and start earning again. She’d resented Michael for spending their savings on frivolous toys she’d had to sell for a tenth of their value when he’d died. And now she’d been just as reckless by not insuring their possessions.
“So you don’t have any savings?” Sarah asked.
Carly took a deep breath. She’d already told Sarah about her dad’s stroke and how she didn’t want to burden her parents.
“There’ve been too many bills to pay lately, what with moving costs, getting established in the apartment, paying for utilities—it all costs money.”
Afraid the older woman would see her as a loser for not having saved anything, she quickly added, “But I have a home in San Diego. It’s rented out. When my husband died I used the insurance money to pay off the mortgage and our credit card debts. Then …” Carly didn’t want to go into why she’d decided to leave San Diego, didn’t want to talk about Jerry Ryan getting too possessive of her. She’d tried letting him down nicely, but it had become very uncomfortable. In the end she’d used the excuse that she needed to get out of San Diego, to start her life anew.
“Unfortunately, the global financial crisis meant I couldn’t sell the house for anything near what we paid for it. So I decided to rent it out and relocate. The rent helps with my expenses for now, but there’s not much left over once all the bills are paid. In a few years, when the real estate market’s recovered, I’ll sell it and buy something here—if I can afford to.”
Sarah’s smile lit up the room. “So you like Spruce Lake? In spite of the fire?”
“I love it. My children are happy at school, even though we’ve been here such a short time. And Spruce Lake is delightful. It has everything I could ask for.”
“I’m so glad you like our little town. I fell in love with it, too, on my first visit with Mac.”
“I’d like to get established in my own business here, build up a good client base, but without a massage table, I’m going to have to cancel the appointments I had booked for next week.” Carly brushed her hair back and said, “Well, I guess I’d better get cleaned up and make an appointment with the bank manager. Plead with him to lend me enough to buy a new one so I can get started again.”
“That’s the spirit!” Sarah said, lifting Carly’s own spirits immensely. “I like the way you think, Carly.”
“I don’t know how to thank you. You’ve done so much for me. You’re a godsend,” Carly said. “In fact, last night I woke up and wondered if I was dreaming. Not about the fire, but about how kind you were. How safe you made me feel.”
Sarah rewarded her with another smile. “You’re welcome, dear. Now, you go see if you can get an appointment today. I’ll clean up here.”
“Oh, no, you don’t! Look at this place! It’s a disaster.”
Sarah glanced around. “True,” she agreed. “But I like it that way. Makes me feel needed. You run along.” She made shooing motions. “I’ll have the girls help me clean up. You don’t mind if I rope Maddy in, do you? That’s how they earn their allowance.”
“What a good idea. I’d get the boys to help, too, but they seem to have taken off to watch Luke with the horses.” She could see her boys through the kitchen window, sitting on the corral fence as Luke worked