Velvet and Lace(33)

“We are going to look into a few things and see what we can do. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much that is since we don't have any witnesses or video. The security system that was in place was wired so that it alerted the police with the window was broken and the fire department when the smoke detectors went off. However, the cameras aren’t installed yet, so we couldn’t see anyone.”

“What do you mean about the window?” Daphne was trying to stay calm.

Officer Gordon waved his hand in the direction of the shop. “It seems that someone threw a brick at the window, and then poured a little gasoline on the floor, lit a match, and, well, you can see what happened.” Daphne felt like she was punched in the stomach. She grabbed at her middle and the officer placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Ms. Brooks? Are you okay? Would you like to sit down?” She was touched by the concern in his voice, and she nodded. He led her over to a truck with sheriff painted on the side, and he helped her onto the tailgate. He then brought her a bottle of water.

Daphne took small sips from the bottle as she tried to wrack her brain. She had never considered that she had enemies before, people who didn’t like her, sure, but none who would do something like this. She was lost in her thoughts, when Trent placed a hand on her knee. She looked up at him, trying to clear the cobwebs from her mind.

“Hey, how you holding up?” His voice was soft and careful.

“I don’t know. Damn it. How could someone do this to me?” Daphne felt the tears begin to well up, and she cursed again, she hated crying. But when Trent placed a hand on her cheek, the tears welled up and began to spill over. She placed her face in her hands and felt the tailgate dip, as Trent sat next to her and gathered her into his arms.

She momentarily thought about everyone seeing and didn’t know if he wanted that, but decided it she didn’t matter as the heat of his body seeped into hers.

“Shhh, baby. It’s going to be okay.” He rubbed her back with one hand, and her shoulder and arm with the other. “I’ve already called my crew away from a different job and we are going to get started today on fixing it. They can handle it themselves if you want me to stay with you, or I can help here. I am at your service today in any way I can help.” He placed a kiss on her temple and she forced herself to stop crying.

“I need to go see Grams. She is going to be worried once the news spreads through town.” She groaned as she thought of the gossip this was going to start. “You think you and your crew can fix everything? I’m not really sure how much damage was done. I have insurance on the property and I will have to have an agent come out tomorrow to take note of all of the damage that was done so that the paperwork can be started.”

“I talked to the fire chief and he said that there wasn’t any structural damage. There is obviously fire damage to one of the walls and to some of the floor, which means we will probably just replace the sheet rock and redo the floor that is messed up. There is some smoke damage, so we will probably redo the air ducts and clean everything up. It might also be good to redo the paint on all of the walls. It shouldn’t take more than a few days.”

Daphne nodded as she tried to follow everything Trent was saying, but she was more focused on the crowd that was now gathering. She groaned. She didn’t want to deal with this today. Sliding off the tailgate, Daphne looked at Trent.

“Could you drop me off at Grams?”

“Of course. We can check with Officer Gordon to make sure that you can leave, and then I will go ahead and get my crew on installing some fans to dry everything off and begin clean up. At the moment, the biggest problem is just all of the water damage. But don’t worry. We will take care of everything.” He kissed her forehead and turned to go find the sheriff.

About twenty minutes later, Daphne was sitting in Trent’s truck, headed home. She had agreed to stop by the station later today to speak more with Office Gordon, or Justin, as he asked her to call him. He wanted to try and compile a list of anyone who might want to hurt her. She still couldn’t think of anyone but she agreed to meet with him anyway.

“Baby, we’re here.” Trent placed a hand on her knee and she was surprised to be sitting outside Grams’ house. She had been absorbed in her thoughts and not paying attention to where they were.

Trent climbed out of the truck and came around to help her out. He placed a kiss on her cheek and then one on her forehead as well. “You sure you are going to be okay? I can stay with you. I know my crew can handle the clean-up. If you want me to stay here with you and Grams, I don’t mind at all.”