You would never know that we hadn’t known each other our whole lives, being as close as we are. I met Lucy when I was nineteen in school in Austin, and we instantly bonded over the fact that we’d grown up in neighboring towns. We shared a dorm for a month before John moved me into an apartment with him, but Lucy and I remained close. She decided to move back home with me after I opened up The Sequel in Wire Creek. She wasn’t wrong the other night on the way to the PieHole when she told me some people share a bond as close as family without being related.
This, right here, is my family, and even though I’m heartbroken about the store, I still have them.
The rest will figure itself out.
I hope.
I finally stopped crying shortly before I fell asleep, but not once did my best friends let go of me all night.
6
CAROLINE
“Rich” by Maren Morris
Eight days later, the insurance adjuster had finally made it out to what was left of The Sequel. Luke wasn’t saying much about what he’d heard about the investigation from his friends at the fire department, but I knew it was looking like someone had set fire to my store intentionally. I couldn’t think of anyone who’d hold a grudge against me enough to try to kill me, something they’d clearly been hoping would be the outcome. Needless to say, Luke was being more protective than normal, and that was saying a lot. I honestly didn’t mind one bit though.
It had taken five washes and a ton of fabric softener to get the scent of smoke out of my clothes, but at least it had finally come out. All of the furniture would have to be replaced, something the insurance adjuster would hopefully deal with. Everything inside of the store was ruined. If the fire didn’t get it, the water did. All in all, it could’ve been so much worse. I was alive. I just had to pull myself from the ashes again.
“You hangin’ in there?”
I look up at Luke, falling into his side when he offers his arm. “Yeah. Just sad to see it like this. Who would do this, Luke?”
“Don’t know, sweetheart. Could be some dumb kid for all we know. They’ll get it sorted, just have to trust the boys leadin’ the investigation. You’re safe and that’s all that matters.”
“It could’ve been worse,” I agree, saying my earlier thoughts out loud for the first time, still looking on as the insurance man pokes around the bottom level of my building.
Luke shivers and I look up at him. “You’re still breathin’, so yeah, it coulda been a whole helluva lot worse.”
“It’s gonna take a while to rebuild, Luke. I don’t want to keep imposing on you and Lucy.”
“It’s not imposin’, Carrie, and you know it. Family isn’t a burden. You’ll stay until things are back up and runnin’ here and not a minute earlier.”
I nod but plan on finding a way to get out of their house before that. I know he doesn’t see things my way, but all I’ve been is dependent on someone else my whole life until opening up The Sequel. I don’t want to fall back on that just because I’m now homeless. I already talked to Sheila at the motel in Law Bone and she’s worked out a deal to help me with a long-term-rent-type situation at the motel. I would’ve preferred to stay in Wire Creek, but we don’t have a motel, so that was out. Pine Oak was definitely not an option. So, Law Bone it is. I’ll find a way to break it to the Hazel duo in a few days.
“I’m goin’ to head back to your house, if you don’t mind stickin’ around with this guy. It just . . . it’s just seein’ it like this. You know?”
Luke gives me a small, sad smile and nods. “Yeah. I’ll be back to pick you up when he’s finished and we can head over to Hazel’s together.”
After letting Dan, the older man checking things out, know that I’m leaving and that Luke is there for any questions he might have, I head back to Luke and Lucy’s place to get a nap before heading over to Hazel’s for the night.
Whether out of pity or a general need for someone, Luke asked me to work at Hazel’s until things are back up and running at The Sequel. Since all he wanted me to do was act as his office manager of sorts, handling all the paperwork and orders he hates dealing with, I said yes. To be honest, it was something I jumped at in order to keep my mind occupied, more than anything. I’m good with numbers—actually, damn good with numbers—so handling his books was something I could do in my sleep. It didn’t hurt that, when I finished work for the night, I could get a drink while waiting for Luke to close up.
Lucy was only helping me out at the store on her off days at the hospital where she was a full-time registered nurse, so she isn’t out of a job, thank God. However, now that I was working weird hours with Luke and sleeping during the day, I felt like I hadn’t seen my best friend in weeks, not days.