“Yes, exactly.”
They started walking again, but this time Owen shifted the Bible to his right hand and looped his left arm with Susanna’s. She gave him a smile, hoping he realized just how much she wanted that connection.
“I hope,” she finally said, feeling that it was important to offer Owen some assurance, “you won’t worry about what you must do with Gary. At least not on my account. I have no say in the matter, nor will I beg for special privileges for him. If you recall, I was the one who warned you when you took him on.”
They left the river and walked north toward the road that would lead them back into town. Susanna felt as if she’d finally found the peace her life had been missing. First with her decision about Jesus, and now spending time with Owen.
When Mark had first made her promise she would remarry after he died, Susanna couldn’t fathom that possibility. And though she had promised him she would, she hadn’t meant it. Not really. Now, after spending even these short few months with Owen, she could see the possibility. Owen made her feel safe and cared for, just as Mark had. He made sense in her otherwise senseless world. She could only hope he felt the same way about her.
“When we get back to the hotel, I’ll fix us some lunch,” she said. “If you aren’t expecting anything too fancy, we should be able to put together a decent meal.”
Owen laughed. “I never expect anything fancy, so have no fear of . . .” His words trailed off. “There’s smoke up there. Something’s on fire!”
13
The hotel’s on fire!” one of the boys who’d fetched the constable for Susanna called out as they approached the hotel. “Hurry, Mrs. Jenkins!”
She frowned and looked at Owen. “A fire?”
They rounded the corner and made their way to the front of the building, where quite a few people had already gathered. The volunteer fire department stood around, discussing what had happened. Thankfully, the fire was already out.
Susanna went up to the group of men, finding LeRoy and Mr. Medford among them. “What’s going on? Where’s my father?”
“It seems there was a fire in the living quarters of the hotel,” LeRoy told her. “A candle fell over and set the desk papers on fire, and that spread to the floor and cabinets. There’s not a lot of damage, though. The desk contents and desk suffered the bulk of it.”
Susanna shook her head. “But I didn’t light a candle this morning. I had no need. The sun was so beautiful this morning that I opened all the windows instead.”
Father had arrived early that morning as usual, and then they had left the front desk unattended after the last of the guests checked out. The hotel had been empty and locked while Father and Susanna were at church. Of course, Gary had still been sleeping when they left. What if he were still inside?
She started for the door. “My brother was sleeping in his bedroom.”
LeRoy escorted Susanna inside with Owen at her side. “He was already out. He showed up with your father while the fire department was working and then left again.” They made their way into Susanna’s living quarters. “I don’t know what you kept in the desk drawer, but it looks to have burnt up.”
“There was money in the drawer, and the drawer was locked.” Her voice was barely a murmur as she stared at the open drawer. Inside lay a pile of completely consumed papers. Only ash remained. “The hotel money. I kept it there because we don’t yet have a fireproof safe and the bank is closed until tomorrow. The drawer was locked.” She was repeating herself, but the shock of the situation had unsettled her.
She looked around the room. Much of the living quarters remained untouched, but the kitchen area and desk had suffered much. Someone had thought to move the table and chairs so they escaped being consumed, but the counters and cabinets had smoke and fire damage. Everywhere soot and ashy remains mingled with the water used to put out the flames. Her area rug was tracked and soggy. It would take a lot to clean up everything and get rid of the smoky smell.
Susanna sat down on the closest chair, shaking her head. “What in the world could have happened?”
LeRoy shrugged. “Like I said, it looked to the fire chief that a candle fell over.”
“Maybe Gary lit it when he woke up. I had pulled down a couple of the shades, so maybe he felt the need for more light.” Susanna sighed heavily, fighting tears. “I can’t believe this has happened. I must get in touch with Uncle Harrison. I should send him a telegram.” She thought of the lost money. Had it truly burned up?
“Don’t you imagine your father will do that?” Owen asked.
She shrugged. “I thought my father would be here after church. It’s his job, and yet where is he? Why isn’t he here even now?”
LeRoy spoke up. “He and Gary did show up for a while. The fire chief sent someone to the Medford house to get them. Your father came and gave things a cursory look. He said you had no reservations for the night, so he’d keep the place closed for cleanup. After that, he left.”
“No doubt he figures you’ll take charge of making things right,” Owen said, looking at Susanna. “Don’t worry, I’ll stick around and help you.”
“Lia and the boys and I will come over too,” LeRoy added. “We’ll have the place whipped into shape in no time.”
“You’re so kind to offer,” Susanna said, still feeling weak, even nauseated, from the sight of the room.
“I’ll help too,” a new voice said.
Susanna looked up to find Gary standing in the doorway. She shook her head. “I was so afraid you had been hurt.”
“Nope. I was up and out.” He glanced around. “It sure made a mess.”
“Did you light the candle?”
“What candle?”
“They said a candle started the fire. I didn’t light a candle before I left for church. I don’t know who would have, other than you or maybe Father.”
“It wasn’t me.” Gary’s voice was tight. He turned away. “Look, I said I’d help you clean, and I will.”
Susanna thought his response strange. “Where’s Father?”
“Back at the house.” Gary seemed to compose himself. “I think he plans to close the hotel for a while.”
“Close it for a while?” She got to her feet. “There’s hardly any need for that. I agree to keeping it closed today and maybe tomorrow to get the smoky smell out of the rooms, but there isn’t so much damage that we need to worry about safety. Do we?” She looked to LeRoy.
“Oh no. It’s perfectly safe. The fire didn’t damage the structure at all. The walls are good. It mostly just burned the desk and counters and the floor. We can pull all of that out of here.” He stepped closer to the origin of the fire. “See, the candle fell on the desk and set the desk and papers on fire. That fire traveled onto the floor. The floors probably caught fire and in turn lit the curtain you had hiding the area under the counters. Then the flames traveled up the curtain and set the counters on fire. But the damage is really minimal. It’s mostly the smoke damage and the water used to put out the fire that made all this mess. You’ll see, though—it’ll clean up pretty easy. Why don’t you and Owen come to our house for lunch, and then we can come back and tackle everything? You can come too, Gary.”