Letters of Love (Green Division Series Book #3) (3 page)

The day following was to be her girls night. Something to look forward to after endless amounts of work.
If her family didn’t all live in Florida, she would have an abundance of help, but since they did, it was on her.  Her friends stopped by occasionally to chip in, but she didn’t expect it.
Aubrey closed the door and locked it behind her.  It was coming along. 

*****

Ben cleared the domestic at 3:30am.  A husband and wife bickering over the television, of all things.  Ben wasn’t sure when a State Trooper’s job description changed to that of a marriage counselor, but that was exactly what he’d done.  Considering he was a single man, it was outside his area of expertise.
“Killington Fire Department, fully involved structure fire reported at 344 Main Street. Again, Killington Fire, structure fire 344 Main Street.  Redmond clear 0335 hours.”  Redmond was the county dispatch center, they dispatched for all of the municipal police departments and fire departments.  
Killington had its own police department, but they didn’t sign on duty until 8am.  Between midnight and eight, there was an officer “on call”.  Ben saw where this was going.  They’d call the on call officer, but Ben was right there and it was a heavily travelled road.
“Green, 604.”
“I’ll be en route to assist with traffic.”  He beat them to the punch.  “Is this a business?”
 
“10-4.  It’s a business in the process of renovations.”
“10-4.  I should be there in about five.”
Ben clicked the mic back on the radio and switched his blues on again.  This had been a never ending night.  The day began at 10am.  It was going on 4am and he still had no prospect of getting home.

*****

Aubrey’s phone rang.  
“What the hell,” she mumbled.  It was 3:50am.  Who the hell would be calling her at that hour?  An unknown number.  Maybe it was Mack.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Hi this is Melanie with the Redmond County Dispatch Center.  Are you the business owner of 344 Main Street?”
“Yes.”  
“The fire department is at your business now.  We took a report of a structure fire—”
“I’m on my way.”  Aubrey hung up the phone, threw on a pair of jeans, and went out the door.  
“Space heater.”  Aubrey remembered as she spun onto the road.  “I left the damn space heater on, I can’t believe I did that.  Son of a bitch!”

*****

Ben blocked off one side of the road with his cruiser, the fire department did their part on the other side.
 Though it was early, traffic already began to become an issue.  Motorists would have to take a side street to bypass the fire.  It wouldn’t take a genius to find their way around, but not all people are geniuses after all.

Two additional fire departments were called to assist.  The business would be a complete loss.  The fire departments’ only job at that point was to save the neighboring businesses.
Out of the corner of his eye, on the opposite side of the fully engulfed business, Ben saw a commotion with two firefighters.  He jogged away from his cruiser toward what looked like a fight.  The firefighters wrestled with a woman in an attempt to keep her back from the blaze.  It had to be the owner.
“No, no!”  The yells could be heard over the loud sounds of the fire scene.  Ben joined in the fray and tried to pull the woman back.  She was a fighter.  Jesus.  A loud explosion rocked the building.
“What is in there for fuel?” a firefighter yelled at her.  She continued her fight to push through them.  She was in panic mode.
“What is there for fuel?  Combustibles?” the firefighter asked again.  Ben held her back by her shoulders.
“Propane.  And oil.  And paint,” she said barely audible.  Another explosion.  The firefighters jogged away from the woman and Ben.  He hadn’t seen her face, nor had she seen his.  A third explosion rocked the building.  An impressive explosion.  It cemented in this woman’s mind that her business had literally gone up in flames.
“No!” she yelled again and tried to take off.  Ben grabbed her shoulders and held her back.  It didn’t work.  She broke free and bolted forward.  Ben jogged after her and grabbed her by the center.  She was about the same size as him, so she put up a fair fight.  “Let me go!”
“Calm down!” Ben yelled at her.  She wrestled with him.  Ben wrapped his arms around her pinning her arms at her sides.  Walking backward, he pulled her back to a safe distance.  “It’s too late.”
She continued to resist.
“Stop!”  Ben tightened his grip.  “They’re doing all they can, but there is nothing you can do.”  
She went still in his arms.  Ben loosened his grip.  And to his shock, she turned around and hugged him.  Ben saw her face in the darkness, but she hadn’t seen his, her eyes were closed.
TOAD.
What were the odds?  Toad was everywhere he turned.
“I’ve spent years...”  Her voice shook and steam rose from her mouth in the cold morning air.  “Working and scraping by to buy....and build this.”
“You can rebuild.”  Ben tried to play nice.
“You da...don’t understand.”  She gripped his shirt.  “This was my dream.  It...It’s why I work eighty hours a week.  And I was...was going to be able...to get done my job...so I could...could make a go of it.  Na..now I have to start all over again.  I ca...can’t do it.”  She trembled from the cold in his arms.
Ben sighed.  This was perfect.  How could he be snappy and hate her when she was a broken down mess hugging him like velcro.
“It’s going to be okay.”  He tried for convincing, but came off as obligatory.  
“You don’t have to lie.”  She leaned her head onto his shoulder.  “It’s not going to be okay.”
Damn her.  
Ben felt bad for her.  And it pissed him off that she’d gotten to him in a new way.  Empathy.
“At least you’re okay.  If you’d have been in there—”
“If I’d have been here, it wouldn’t have happened.” She trembled worse.  “I forgot the space heater.”
That would do it.  Her trembling further made Ben feel for her.  
Ugh.
Ben slid his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.  
“Do you have insurance?”
“Yes.”
“Then it can all be replaced.  All that matters is no one got hurt.”  
She held onto him tighter.
“I hope the businesses next to mine don’t catch.”  She took a deep breath.  “They are so close together.”  

She changed from hysterical to depressed.
“These boys are good.  They’ll do everything they can to save them.  It looks like they are getting control.”
“It’s all my fault.  I can’t believe I forgot that fucking space heater.  Stupid.  So fucking stupid.”  She hid her face in the crook of his neck.
“You’re not stupid.”  He found his sympathetic tone.  “It was an accident.  Accidents happen to us all.”
“Have you ever accidentally burned down a building?”
No.  
“Not yet.”
“I’m just—” she sniffed.  “I can’t believe this.”  

She fully cried.  She was progressing through the stages of grief at a rapid pace.
Ben played therapist once again.  It would be more profitable to be a therapist than work as a trooper, maybe that was his calling.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized.
“Don’t be sorry.”  Ben had held out on returning her embrace, but gave in.  “I’m sorry it happened to you.”
“Me too.”  She gasped for air between crying.
“It’s okay,” Ben said in a soothing voice.  “It’s going to be alright.”

*****

Aubrey felt like it all was a dream.  And prayed to wake up.  But, she didn’t.  It was real and the reality was, her business was gone.  A complete loss.  She was too embarrassed to look up at the stranger who held her close without complaint.  He brought her comfort and security, two things she very much needed.  The voice sounded familiar, but she didn’t care.  It wasn’t a concern of hers at that moment.  What mattered was the bakery and it was gone.
“Aubrey!” Jill yelled from a distance.  
Aubrey raised her head from the strangers shoulder and looked for Jill.  She was on the sidewalk behind a fire truck blocking the scene.
“Jill!” she yelled back.  It was then she saw the Good Samaritan’s face.  Only it wasn’t a Good Samaritan.  “You?”  
Aubrey’s eyes doubled in size and she gasped at the sight of him.
“You—”  She let go of him and stepped back as though he was a leper.  “Why?  What—”
She couldn’t find the words to express her confusion.  
Why
was
he
holding
me?
 That was the question on her mind.  Every time something went wrong, there he was.  
She pried herself away from him, shoved his jacket into his chest, and jogged to the sidewalk into Jill’s arms.  
“Hun, I’m sorry.”  Jill stroked her hair.  “I’m so sorry.”
“I guess I’m not going out with you tomorrow,” Aubrey tried for a joke.
“We’ll be wherever you are, doing whatever you want to do.”
Aubrey turned around and looked at the flames jumping from the roof.  And then to Trooper Asshole.  
“Come over to the house and you can cry with me.”
Jill wiped the tears from Aubrey’s face.
“We’ll bring a bottle of wine and the tissues.”  
“You better bring more than one box of tissues.”  
Jill smoothed her bangs from her face.  “We’ll make it two bottles of wine too.”
Hours later Aubrey was released from the scene.  Home.  Bed.  Stare at ceiling.  Sleep was not in the cards.

*****

Ben stared at the ceiling above his bed.  Why did he care?  Toad was...Toad.  He shouldn’t have her on his mind.  
“Aghhhh, go to sleep.”  Ben wiped his eyes.  He couldn’t get her off his mind.  It wasn’t because he was worried about her.  He wasn’t.  No way in hell was he worried about her.  He was...too tired to sleep. That was it.  
 

CHAPTER FOUR
Saturday.  Aubrey didn’t want to get out of bed.  If not for a training session with one of her patients in the early afternoon she wouldn’t have moved until Jill and Taylor were to come over.  Even then she might not have budged.
RING RING
“Hello.”
“Aubee honey, you should have called!” Aubrey’s mother said very dramatically.
“I wasn’t going to wake you up, there’s nothing you could do.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better.”
“We’ll come up for the weekend.”
“I’ve got a lot going on Mom, you don’t need to come up here.  There is nothing you guys can do.”
Her mom sighed.
KNOCK KNOCK
Aubrey jumped at the sound.  

“I have to go Mom, someone is at the door.”  Aubrey hung up.
“Aubrey,” Tom called out from her partially open door.
“Come on in, Tom.”  
“I’m sorry to hear about your bakery.”
“Me too.”  Aubrey picked up her riding boots.
“I know you had a lesson today so I figured I’d saddle them up for you before I left.”
Aubrey smiled sincerely.  For a teenage boy, he was more responsible than most adult men.
“You’ve made my day.”
“I’ll be back Monday morning.”
“Thank you again.”  She reached her hand out.  “This is for next week in advance.”
“Thank you.”  Tom let himself out.
Aubrey heard a vehicle pull into the drive.  Her student arrived.
“Hiya Aubee,” the young girl called out.
“Hi Monica.  How are you feeling today?”
“Today is a good day.”
“I’m glad.”  Aubrey smiled brightly at her.  
Monica was thirteen and her cancer was in remission.  Patches of blond hair partially covered her pale white scalp.  She was full of life despite her ghostlike appearance.  Her parents stood at the fence.
“Hi Sam.  Hi Tracey.”  Aubrey waved as they walked inside the fence.  
“Trixie is ready for you.  Are you ready?”  She looked at Monica.
“Of course.  I’m always ready!”
“Well, let’s get you up and riding.”
The next hour Aubrey spent giving advanced lessons to Monica.  She gave her lessons once a week so long as she felt up to it.  It had been a long time since Monica had felt up to it.  Monica had ridden for two years with Aubrey, battling two rounds of cancer treatments during that time.  Monica was the definition of strength.
“Thank you for the lesson.”
“You’re welcome.”  
They walked back to the fence together.
“Thanks as always.”  Sam shook Aubrey’s hand.  
“You don’t need to thank me.”  
Tracey put her hand on Aubrey’s shoulder.
“Give me a call again when you are in town and want to ride,” Aubrey said.
“Thanks.”  Sam smiled.
“Bye,” the three said in unison.
Before they reached their SUV, a robin egg colored car pulled into the drive.
“What the—”  Aubrey looked up.

*****

 As soon as Ben drove down her driveway second thoughts overtook him.
I shouldn’t be here.  
Too late.
Three people stood next to Aubrey.  And she clearly wasn’t happy to see him.  
Shit.
Ben put the car in park and stepped out.
“You guys have a nice weekend,” she said.  The three got into their SUV.
“Can I help you?”  Aubrey was anything but pleasant and walked toward the pasture away from him.  He wouldn’t complain about the view from behind.
“How are you doing?” Ben asked.  For some off reason, he worried about her to the point where he needed to check and make sure she was okay.  It was a first and he tried to deny it, but there he was.  In her driveway, pissing her off.
“Why are you here?”  She stopped.
“Standard follow up to check up on a victim after a traumatic experience,” Ben lied.  That was bullshit, though it sounded somewhat plausible for pulling it out of his ass.
“Ah hah.  I’m fine.  Follow up completed.”  She continued on toward Gunny and Trixie.
“I also wanted to talk to you about the ticket I issued you yesterday.”
“If you came to lecture me Trooper, you better find your way off my property.”
“Miss Devlin, stop walking away from me for one minute.”
“What do you want?”  Aubrey whipped around and put her hands on her hips.
“Do you have the ticket?”
She hesitated in answering.
“On my kitchen counter.”
“I’ll take it back.”  Ben decided her business burning down was bad enough for one night.  The ticket was inconsequential to him, but only added to her stress.
“What?”
“You had a bad enough day yesterday.  I’ll take the ticket back if you promise to slow down.”
“I can’t promise that,” she said candidly.  Ben was trying to do her a favor, but she still was standoffish.
“Promise me you’ll try.”  Ben was far more patient than he would have been with her pre-fire.
Aubrey led the horses to the barn and into their respective stalls.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I already told you.”
“You hate me.”  She undressed the horses.
Ben had loathed her, but somewhere along the way, the hate lifted.  A strong dislike was still present, but not enough so that she was at the top of the shit list.
“I don’t hate you, I dislike you.”  That was honest.
“You’ll take the ticket back?”
“That’s what I said.”  Ben could only take the one he’d written her the night prior.  The others he’d already submitted to the state.  There was no going back.  And he shouldn’t be taking tickets back to begin with.  That’s not the way things worked.
Aubrey looked at him in disbelief.  Ben couldn’t help himself, he smiled at her expression.  
“I don’t want any favors from you.”
“It’s not a favor.  I figured you’ve been punished enough, but if you want to keep it, fine by me.”
She walked toward the house and disappeared inside.  A moment later she came back out with the envelope he’d given her in hand.
She passed it to him.
“Thank you,” she said.  He could tell the words she’d spoken caused her physical pain to say.
“No problem.”  Ben looked over at her horses.  “So you give lessons?”
“Ah, I’d call it therapy.”
“Therapy?”
“I give lessons to some of the kids I work with.”
“What do you do for work?”
“I work at the children’s hospital, in the Pediatric Unit.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“A nurse.”  She crossed her arms in front of her.
“Was that girl sick?”
“She’s in remission.”
“Cancer?”
“Why are you still here?” Aubrey asked.
Why am I cutting her a break?
 Ben thought to himself.  
“Just being nice.”
“Nice,” Aubrey huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Nicer than you at this moment.”  Ben turned and walked toward his car.   She was less pleasant on this day than when he’d pulled her over, both times.