“I’m the sheriff of this town,” Sean O’Brien declared. “It’s my responsibility to keep everyone safe. I’m going, and that’s final.”
Rhett finally made it to the outskirts of their small circle. “How can y’all be arguing at a time like this? No one should be going anywhere until we put that fire out.”
The three men turned to stare at him with shock and relief plainly written across their faces. Quinn stepped forward to pull him into a bear hug. Rhett thumped him on his back more in an effort to knock some sense into him than anything. Having had enough of the display, Rhett stepped away only to have Lawson, the third man from the argument, slap him on the shoulder. “We were arguing about who would have the privilege of saving your hide.”
“My hide is fine, but I do appreciate your concern.”
Sean blew out a heavy breath of relief then nodded beneath his jaunty wide-brimmed hat. “We were afraid you might be trapped inside the house since you’d told Lawson and Ellie that you were going home early.”
“Oh.” Rhett glanced back in search of Isabelle, but she’d been swallowed by the crowd. “I meant to, but I got a little distracted.”
“Good thing, too.” Quinn crossed his arms and nodded toward the fire. They all turned to follow Quinn’s gaze in time to see the front of the house collapse in on itself. Rhett braced himself for the wave of despair that was sure to hit. Instead, he only felt the numbness of shock. That was probably for the best. Right now, his focus needed to be on others. “Was anyone else hurt?”
“My pa would know.” Lawson scanned the crowd, presumably for his adoptive father, Doc Williams. “I’m sure he’s here somewhere. I think I’ll scout around to see if I can find him or someone who might need him.”
“My house is a lost cause. Our focus should be on keeping the fire from spreading.”
Sean nodded, already backing away. “I’ll get some men to help me soak down the houses beside yours.”
Rhett glanced around for some way to be of use. “Come on, Quinn. Even if we can’t save the house, we need to keep the fire under control. Let’s join the bucket brigade.”
Quinn stopped him after only a handful of steps. “You’re limping. Why didn’t you say you were hurt?”
“I twisted my ankle on the way down the fire escape. That’s all.”
“Fire escape?”
“Yeah, I was on the roof with...”
Suddenly realizing the facts might sound a little less than respectable, he decided to stop talking. Apparently, the decision came a second too late for the confusion in his friend’s gaze had turned to speculation. “With a distraction? A female distraction perhaps?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Quinn lifted a brow. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”
How could he when he hadn’t even had time to sort through it himself? He shifted his focus back to the fire. “There isn’t the time for that, Quinn. We need to find some way to help out.”
“What you need to do is sit down. I’ll find Doc. Meanwhile, you should resign yourself to staying with me and Helen for a while.”
“Staying with...?” He blinked, realizing he had no place to sleep tonight. “Y’all don’t have to do that. I can stay at the hotel.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know. But I can’t stay at your place long-term, anyway. Y’all are practically newlyweds. Besides, I’ve got a business to run in town. I need to be close to it.”
Quinn gave him a doubtful look. “Depending on what Doc says, you may not be running anything for a while. Now, will you go sit down?”
“No. I told you I’ll be fine.” Rhett did his best to minimize his limp as he walked to the bucket brigade. He didn’t want to sit down until the fire was under control, and he knew no one else’s house was in danger. He might be starting the New Year with nothing more than a pirate costume and a harmonica, but that didn’t mean anyone else should have to lose their home.
Knowing he’d be too slow to do much good at the front of the line, where men raced back and forth to the fire, he stood near the back and helped pass buckets down the line. It wasn’t something that took a lot of thought, so his mind strayed back to those few minutes when he was alone on the hotel roof with Isabelle. It had been beyond perfect. He hadn’t stammered or stuttered once as far as he could remember. He’d kissed her, though. He remembered that—vividly.
Had his prayers finally been answered, then? Had God taken away his impediment around women? What other explanation could there be for what had happened with Isabelle?
He couldn’t think of one. Of course, he wasn’t exactly of a mind-set to try too hard at it, either. With so much turning to ash around him, how could he not fan the few embers of hope still burning in his heart?
* * *
As soon as Rhett left her, Isabelle took off in the opposite direction. He might not realize it yet, but he was going to need someplace to stay. She knew exactly who could help him with that. She stumbled into that very man as she rounded the corner toward Main Street. “Pa.”
“Isabelle!” Her father pulled her into a tight hug then stepped back to look at her. “Are you all right? What was that sound?”
“I’m fine.” She told him about the fireworks exploding before explaining that Rhett’s house was on fire. “Surely, there’s something we can do to help him now that he has nowhere to go.”
For the first time since Amy’s elopement, she saw her father’s eyes fill with a mix of determination and purpose regarding the boardinghouse. “Of course we can. We have a vacant room. He’ll stay with us rent-free for a while.”
“Thank you, Pa. I knew you’d feel that way. The only problem is that he hurt his ankle in the rush to get to the fire. I’m not sure he’ll be able to make it up the stairs right now.”
“He can stay in my study until he’s healed a bit.” He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Go on home, sweetheart. Help your ma set up one of the extra mattresses in that room. I’ll see what I can do to help at the fire.”
She rushed home to do exactly that. When her younger sister offered to help their mother set things up for Rhett, Isabelle found herself returning to the fire. The scene was far less chaotic than when she’d left it. The volunteer fire brigade seemed to have everything under control, though they still battled to put the fire completely out. Bystanders, mainly women, watched in groups. Most still wore their costumes from the masquerade, but had taken off their masks. That helped her spot Helen and Quinn near the front of the crowd.
“I was wondering where you were,” Helen said as she gave Isabelle a quick hug. “Quinn and I have been trying to figure out what we can do for Rhett.”
Quinn grimaced. “More like, what he’ll let us do.”
“Where is he?”
Quinn nodded toward the fire. “He’s somewhere out there battling the fire even though I know he’s in pain. He says he twisted his ankle coming down a—”
Isabelle hushed him as she glanced around, half expecting to find her father standing behind her with a scowl on his face. Thankfully, he was nowhere in sight. He might be a little more reluctant to extend their family’s hospitality if he guessed she’d been on the hotel roof with Rhett. Her father had taken her up there before, and he’d never said that she couldn’t go up with anyone else. He’d only said she shouldn’t go alone. Of course, there was also the not-so-little matter of the midnight kiss she’d shared with Rhett. “I wouldn’t spread that around if I were you. It might get someone in trouble.”
Helen’s