I figured I might as well take advantage of the rare quiet time and enjoy a bath. My muscles ached from all the stretching that painting and planting required, and a good, hot soak would probably help loosen things up.
While I waited for the tub to fill, I scrolled through the music on my phone to make a quick bath-time playlist and then grabbed a change of clothes before slipping into the steaming water. It only took a minute or two before my knotted muscles started to relax. So I popped in my earbuds, turned the volume up on an old jazz song I loved but hadn’t listened to in forever, closed my eyes, and sank deeper into the water. The equivalent of a sigh rolled through my body. This is exactly what I needed.
A half hour later, I was pretty much a prune when I finally got out. If the water hadn’t started to cool, I probably would’ve stayed in there all night. I rolled my head from side to side as I dried off, surprised by how much I’d loosened up. Only a deep-tissue massage or a good orgasm could’ve relaxed me more. Though the Zen feeling I relished came to an abrupt halt when a high-pitched alarm began to wail.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
What the hell?
I tugged on my PJs and whipped open the bathroom door to see where the sound was coming from. But the second I took a breath in, an overwhelming smell hit me.
Burning! Something was burning!
There wasn’t any smoke in this hallway, so I ran to the kitchen to check if maybe I’d left the oven on, but I hadn’t. Everything was off. The piercing alarm kept blaring as I ran through the rest of the house, trying to figure out what was going on. The burning smell grew stronger as I reached the south wing and approached the room that had been sheetrocked today. Smoke billowed out from under the door the workers had closed when they left.
Shit! I ran back to the bathroom to grab my phone and quickly dialed 9-1-1.
“I need the fire department,” I blurted as soon as they answered. “There’s a fire in my house!”
“What’s your address, ma’am?”
“Six thirty-eight Palm Court. It’s The Palm Inn.”
“Okay.” I heard the clickety-clack of typing, and then the woman spoke again. “I’ve dispatched the fire department. Are you inside the house?”
“Yes, I am. There’s smoke coming from one of the bedrooms. The door is closed, so I haven’t actually seen what’s going on. Do you want me to open it to see how bad it is?”
“Absolutely not. Get yourself outside and leave that for the fire department. Is anyone else in the house with you?”
“No, it’s just me.”
“Okay, good.”
I jogged outside and stood on the lawn, staring at the house. The room on fire was located at the front, but I didn’t see flames or anything through the window, so I thought that was probably a good sign. Two minutes later, I heard fire engine sirens in the distance.
I still had my cell up to my ear, but had forgotten I was on the phone for a second. “I hear them,” I said to the operator.
“Yes, ma’am. They’ll be to you any minute. Let’s stay on the phone until they arrive.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
When two big, red rigs and a black SUV pulled up, I said goodbye to the 9-1-1 lady and went to speak to the firefighters.
One of the men stepped forward as I approached. “I’m Captain Morales. Dispatch said the house was empty. Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m positive. I was the only one home tonight.”
He nodded. “Good. Okay. Tell me what’s going on inside.”
“I don’t know. I was in the bath, and when I got out, the smoke alarm went off.” I pointed to the room at the far right of the house. “There was smoke coming out from under the door of that room. We had construction done in there today.”
The fireman waved for his crew to proceed to the house. “Levi Miller owns this place, right? The quarterback?”
“Yes. We own it together.”
“Okay. Why don’t you wait over by the truck while we check out what’s going on inside.”
I watched as at least ten firefighters in full gear ran into The Palm Inn. A few were carrying hoses, while others held axes and other tools. Neighbors started to gather and ask what was going on, and the block quickly became a scene. At one point, one of the firemen yelled for water, and the hoses connected to the truck started to pump. I felt a little sick watching all of the action, but also immensely grateful that no one else had been home tonight, especially Alex.
It seemed to take forever for Captain Morales to come back out again. But when he did, he walked right over. “So, you have a small fire in the walls. I can’t be sure what happened until we take a closer look, but usually with a thing like this, it has to do with old wiring. You said you had construction done on that room today?”
“Yes, but not any electrical work. Just sheetrock.”
He nodded. “They could have moved a frayed wire while they were working, or disturbed wires with rotted casings. It’s an old building. I can tell you more once we make sure all the hot spots are out.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Behind us, a pickup truck skidded to a loud stop. Both the captain and I turned toward the sound. Levi’s door was wide open, and he was already running toward me.
“What happened?” His eyes darted around at everything going on. “Are you okay?”
The fireman lifted his chin to me. “I’ll let you fill in Mr. Miller while I go check on things inside.” He looked to Levi. “When I come back, I’ll answer any questions you might have.”
Before I could even finish telling Levi the full story, two news vans pulled up. Cameramen and reporters got out and started looking around.
“Shit,” Levi grumbled. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and turned our backs to them. “The vultures already heard. Let’s move over here.”
We walked to the big tree on the front lawn and stood behind it as much as possible. But just when we thought we were safely shielded from attention, the fire department threw on a huge spotlight. They aimed it at the house, but we were standing right in the line of fire, now completely illuminated. Levi’s eyes dropped to my chest. “Uhhh…” He swallowed. “Your shirt is see-through.”
Looking down, my eyes bulged. The flimsy pajama top I had on did nothing to cover anything. I might as well have been standing outside fully naked.
“Oh my God.” I folded my arms across my chest. But then it dawned on me that my flimsy top also had a matching bottom. And I wasn’t wearing any underwear. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Levi, please tell me my shorts aren’t as see-through as my top right now.”
He said nothing for a few heartbeats, until… “Hands up.”
Confused, I opened my eyes. I was about to remind him that I couldn’t move my hands because I was busy covering my boobs, but then I saw why he was asking. Levi had already pulled off his shirt and had it above my head, ready to slip over me.
“Raise ’em up,” he grumbled.
The material fell to my knees like a dress, covering all the important stuff. Although Levi was now shirtless.
“Thanks,” I said. “But the reporters are going to have a field day with you half-naked. Pretty sure your bare chest attracts more ogling than mine.”