My mom and I stayed in hospital for the next few days, which meant we were there for Christmas. I thought it would be depressing to be in the hospital over the holiday, but Noah and my dad did everything they could to make it special.
Noah somehow convinced the hospital staff to let us have a tree in our room. Though, of course, Noah didn’t take half measures, and when I woke on Christmas morning, there was an enormous tree in the corner of our room that was so tall the tip was bent where it hit the ceiling.
He also covered the ceiling with fairy lights and hung tinsel throughout the room. The place looked like a rival to Santa’s workshop with all the Christmas decorations. I told Noah he was going overboard, but he insisted it was worth it. And, I had to admit, it did make it a little easier to spend the holidays in a hospital bed when your room wasn’t quite so sterile.
Matthew was always in our room, and I loved to see the way he doted on my mom, like he’d been waiting for his chance to do so for years. He was constantly sitting next to her bed, holding her hand as they discussed their engagement or simply gazed at each other. I didn’t think I’d ever seen my mom so happy. It was the best Christmas present I could have asked for.
My father also organized an incredible Christmas lunch for us, but neither my mom nor I had the biggest of appetites, and Noah ended up eating most of it. It was the most surreal Christmas I’d ever experienced, sitting around a hospital room, eating our turkey on our laps. But all my previous Christmases had been a little lonely in comparison with it being just my mom and me. For the first time, I realized what it felt like to spend Christmas with your family.
The morning after Christmas, I was feeling much better, and my doctor said I could be discharged from the hospital. My mom was still on the mend though, so she needed to stay a little longer.
It was hard to leave her behind. And harder still to leave the hospital and know I wouldn’t be going home. That I would never sleep in my own bed again. Matthew had rented a place in Rapid Bay, so I was going to be staying with him. The house wasn’t far from the café, and I wasn’t all that surprised when we pulled up outside one of the ridiculous mansions that lined the foreshore.
I’d always admired these homes growing up. They were only a few streets away from the café, and yet they felt like they belonged in a different world. I’d always wondered how two places so close to each other could be so different, and I never dreamed I’d cross the invisible line that ran through our town and enter one of these homes as though I belonged there.
It was so strange to wake up to an uninterrupted view of the ocean each morning rather than the overpowering smell of bacon and coffee wafting from the café downstairs. To look out over the beach I’d grown up playing on from the balcony of my bedroom rather than pulling on my apron to start my shift serving customers and cleaning tables. Rapid Bay was still my home, but staying in this luxurious mansion made me feel a little like a stranger here.
Still, the thing I was struggling with most was being apart from my mom. She was recovering well though, and Matthew and I spent every minute we had over the next few days visiting with her. Norma was there as much as she could be too, and the nurses often had to remove us all from my mom’s bedside each night.
Mom had asked several times about the state of the café after the fire, but I’d avoided her questions every time. I wanted her to concentrate on getting better, and I knew the news would shatter her. The café had been totally destroyed by the fire, and despite what Matthew had said, our apartment wasn’t much better. The firemen had managed to salvage a few things from the wreckage, but most of our possessions were gone.
I had thought Noah might return to New York now he knew I was safe, but he remained in Rapid Bay. He didn’t even see me that much because I spent so much time at the hospital, but he was always at Matthew’s when I came home at night. And he got up at the same time as me every morning and insisted on making me breakfast. He even brought me lunch in the hospital. I got the feeling he wasn’t sure what to do with himself, so he’d decided to make sure I was eating enough.
It was New Year’s Eve when Mom was finally released from hospital, and I went with Matthew to pick her up so we could bring her back to his place.
My mom’s mouth dropped open when we pulled up at the house. “This must be costing you a fortune to rent, Matt,” she said as he helped her from his car. Her voice was still slightly husky, and she gripped his arm tightly, still needing assistance to walk.
“Uh, about that…” His expression turned meek. “I might have bought it.”
“You what?” my mom and I gasped.
“I signed the papers yesterday,” he replied. “It was a good investment, and I’ll sleep a lot easier knowing you have a comfortable place to stay while you recuperate. The place is yours, Candice.”
My mom’s eyes widened as she glanced at the house again. “What do you mean it’s mine?”
He let out a soft laugh. “Think of it as an early wedding gift.”
My mom lightly slapped him on the arm. “You bought me a house? This house?”
“If it makes you feel better, I did practice some self-restraint and decided not to purchase the hospital you were in while you were sick.”
“You wanted to buy the…” She paused and shook her head. “No, Matthew, that doesn’t make me feel better.” Mom let out an exasperated sigh, but as she looked into my father’s eyes, a little of the fight seemed to leave her. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to your impulsive purchases, aren’t I?”
Matthew shared a warm smile with my mom. “Probably.”
She sighed again and glanced up at the house once more. ‘It is very beautiful,” she said.
“It is.” Matthew looked a little relieved, and I wondered if he’d been gearing up for a harder battle to convince my mom to accept his lavish gift. “And it’s even better from the inside. Warm too.”
“Yes, let’s get out of the cold,” my mom agreed before she leaned into Matthew and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
When we got inside, Noah was waiting for us with a massive bunch of flowers. He’d already given my mom a bouquet in the hospital, but apparently, he thought she needed some to brighten her room at home too.
“Aw, they’re so beautiful.” My mom eased herself forward so she could hug Noah.
“You probably don’t want to hug me,” he warned. “I’ve just been out running.”.
“Nonsense,” my mom replied, unfazed as she pulled him close. “This was very sweet of you, Noah.”
“It’s nothing.” He scuffed a foot across the floor. “I’m glad to see you home again, Ms. Grace.”
“Please don’t make me tell you again; call me Candice.”
“Right, sorry.” Noah flushed. “Anyway, I better jump in the shower. Do you guys need any help getting settled?”
“No, we’re good, thank you,” Matthew said.
Noah gave me a smile before he headed upstairs. I’d been coming and going from the house so much these last few days it felt like we’d barely talked. He’d been nothing but supportive, and I wondered if now that my mom was home he might consider leaving.
My mind snagged on the thought. We were due back at school in two days, so, of course, Noah would leave tomorrow. But I’d told Matthew I intended to stay behind to help my mom, which meant I’d be saying goodbye to Noah in the morning. I didn’t know when I’d see him again, and the idea left me feeling cold.
My heart might have been a confused, jumbled mess, but that didn’t make my feelings for Noah any less intense. The thought of not seeing him every day felt like a gaping void opening in my chest.
I didn’t know how to be without him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to be in a relationship with him either. Just a week ago, I’d thought Wes was the only guy for me, and I’d clearly been wrong. I didn’t trust my own heart right now, and there was no way I was going to figure it out before Noah left tomorrow.
I silently mulled over my feelings as Matthew gave my mom a brief tour of the house. I’d expected her to want to rest after getting home from the hospital, but she refused to take it easy.
“I’ve been bedridden all week,” she said after insisting on sitting with me in the living room at the end of the tour. Noah was still in the shower, while Matthew had a few phone calls to make in the other room. It was just my mom and me, and she let out a happy sigh as she sat on the couch and looked out at the view.
She seemed remarkably at peace considering all that she’d been through, and I wished I could share just an ounce of her calmness. Ever since the fire, it felt like I hadn’t stopped, and I could feel the weight of too much emotional baggage pressing me down.
“How do you feel?” I asked her.
“I feel good,” she said. “Weak but good, all things considered.”
I didn’t want to say anything that might upset her when she seemed so happy, but now she was out of the hospital, I knew it was only a matter of time before she started asking about her café. I couldn’t keep putting the conversation off, and this might be the only chance I’d get to tell her without anyone else around. Matthew and Noah were constantly hovering these days, and I was sure Mom would prefer a little privacy to come to terms with the news.
“About the café…” I started to speak, but Mom shook her head.
“I know it’s gone,” she said. “I know our apartment was destroyed too.”
“What? How?”
“When Norma first came to visit me in the hospital, I told her to give it to me straight,” she said. “You and your father kept babying me, and all I wanted was the truth.”
My cheeks flushed as she lightly scolded me. “I didn’t want to upset you when you were recovering.”
“Oh, I know that, Iz.” She smiled kindly at me. “You were only trying to do what was best for me.”
“But how are you not a total mess about it?”
She released a sigh as she considered me. “It’s hard to know the café is gone, but I guess it’s also a little freeing.”
“Your life burning down feels freeing?”
Mom nodded. “I’ve been killing myself for years trying to keep the café afloat. And now that it’s gone, well, I guess I’m free to start over.”
“But what will you do? Open another café?”
The corner of her mouth lifted, and her eyes seemed to glitter. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about getting a certificate to teach yoga.”
“What?”
Her expression dimmed a little. “You think that’s silly.”
“No, gosh, no,” I quickly backtracked. “It’s just unexpected. I didn’t realize you were that serious about yoga.”
“I wasn’t, but that class I did in New York reignited my passion for it, and I’ve been doing an online class ever since. I think it’s time I started focusing on a slower pace of life. I know it will probably be a while before I’m good enough to run classes, but I was thinking it might be nice to teach on the beach. And, if that goes well enough, maybe I’ll open a studio.”
It sounded like she’d really thought this through. I guessed she’d had a lot of time to think while she was stuck in her hospital bed.
“You know you’ll probably still have to get up at the crack of dawn every day,” I said.
Mom chuckled. “I’m so used to it I think I’ll wake up at that time forever.”
It was hard to imagine my mom doing anything other than running her café. She’d been doing it my whole life, so it felt like as much a part of who she was as her curly hair or her stubborn sense of pride. But this did sound like a much easier existence for her. Maybe a change of pace would be good for her.
“It does mean I might have to leave Rapid Bay for a while though,” Mom continued. “There’s a course I’ve been looking at taking in New York. With Matt being based there and you within driving distance of the city, I think it might work out perfectly,”
“Wait, what?” I interrupted her. I thought she was only considering this for her future, but it sounded like she had it all planned out already. I’d realized there would be some changes now she was engaged to my dad, but the thought of my mom leaving Rapid Bay still caught me by surprise.
“It makes sense for me to be there,” she replied. “And now that I don’t have the café…” Her voice trailed off, and a wave of anguish flickered through her eyes. My mom was holding herself together well considering everything that had happened, but she was clearly still deeply affected by it.
“I didn’t think you’d ever leave Rapid Bay,” I said.
“Me neither,” she agreed. “But it won’t be forever. I know I’ll be back.”
I stared at my mom, feeling both sad for her and proud of her all at once. She was so incredibly strong. She’d had so much taken from her, but she remained unbreakably optimistic. I hoped I could be half as courageous as her one day.
“So, you’re really not going to stay here?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. Not once I’ve recovered from the fire.”
“Because I was planning to move home to be with you.”
“Matt told me.” My mom reached out and took my hand. “Isobel, one of the things I love most about you is the size of your heart. You’ve always been there for me and looked after me. I know you would sacrifice your own dreams for me without question. But what you don’t get is how much it breaks my heart to see you do that.”
“Mom…” I whispered.
But she shook her head. “I know you want to be here for me, and I love you, Iz, but that’s not what I want. I don’t want you giving up your future for me. I never have. Especially not when it isn’t necessary. I really am doing okay—fires aside.”
“But you shouldn’t be facing cancer alone…”
“And I’m not,” she said. “I never have been. You’ve always been a phone call away when I needed someone to make me smile. And now I have your father to hold my hand through it all.” She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “And now that I don’t have the café to keep me tied down, I can come and visit you all the time.”
She was right. And it did provide me with a lot of comfort to know Matthew was going to help her through all this. “Can I at least stay in town until you’ve recovered from the fire?” I asked. “You nearly died.”
“But I didn’t,” Mom replied. “And I refuse to let you stay here any longer than you need to. I’ll be back on my feet in a few days, and the last thing I want is my teenage daughter missing school to play nurse.”
“Especially when you already have one,” Matthew said as he returned to the room. “I’m going to take really good care of your mom, Isobel.”
“So, are we agreed?” Mom asked, turning to me once more. “You’ll head back to school tomorrow?”
I let out a sigh. I didn’t want to argue with my mom when she was supposed to be recovering. It was hard to imagine leaving her, but as I looked at my father, I realized I wasn’t the only person she had to lean on anymore.
“Okay, I’ll go back to school. But I want daily updates on how you’re feeling, and I’m coming home if you deteriorate even slightly.”
“I’m only going to be feeling better from here,” Mom replied. “I promise.”
The doorbell rang, and Matthew went to answer it as my Mom groaned.
“That had better not be Norma,” she said. “I told her to give me at least one day at home before she started coddling me.”
“And you expect her to listen?” I asked with a laugh.
Mom gave a weak chuckle. “No, I guess not.”
While Matthew was seeing to the door, Noah entered the room. His hair was damp from his shower, and he was wearing a fitted Henley that molded perfectly to his strong chest. The boy was far too perfect to look at, and when my mom caught me staring at him, there was a knowing look in her eyes. I blushed and glanced away.
Noah took a seat on the couch across from me and gave me an easy smile before he focused on my mom. “Are you settling in okay?” he asked.
She didn’t get a chance to respond as my father returned to the room. There was a man following behind him wearing dark pants and a large jacket with the Rapid Bay Fire Department logo emblazoned on the front.
“This is Captain Paulson,” Matthew said. “He’s been overseeing the fire at the café.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Paulson said as he came to stand before us. He directed most of his attention at my mom as he spoke. “I know you’ve only just left hospital today, Ms. Grace, but I wanted to keep you updated on our investigation into the blaze. We found something today that I thought you should know about.”
My mom seemed to withdraw into herself as she stared up at the captain. She’d seemed so strong until this moment, but now I could see she was struggling. I wondered if seeing the fire official was suddenly making this real for her.
Matthew must have noticed too because he came to sit at her side and wrapped an arm around her before he turned to Captain Paulson once more. “What is it?”
The captain’s face was stoic, and I had a bad feeling whatever he’d found wasn’t good. Why else would he be making a house call on New Year’s Eve? A hint of apprehension flickered across his otherwise composed expression before he answered. “I thought you should know that we discovered evidence an accelerant was used in the fire.”
The room fell deathly silent as we all stared at him.
“What exactly does that mean?” my mom asked.
“It suggests the fire was lit on purpose,” he replied. “That it wasn’t an accident.”
My hand found my mom’s, and we gripped each other tightly while Noah and my dad shared a concerned look.
“You’re sure?” my father asked, looking up at the captain again.
“We are.”
“Why would someone do that?” My mom appeared close to tears as she spoke, and despite all her talk of the fire being freeing, I could finally see just how badly it had upset her. Matthew’s face had paled too, and he rubbed a hand along my mom’s arm.
“We don’t know,” Paulson replied. “But the police will get involved in the investigation now, and hopefully we’ll get some answers for you.”
“Do you have any suspects?” Noah asked. His voice was stern, and his expression was dark. He looked as though he wanted to stalk out into the night and bring whoever had lit the fire to justice himself.
“None so far. We’re still investigating the scene though, and you will be kept in the loop about what we find.”
“Thank you.” My father stood to shake Captain Paulson’s hand. “We really appreciate you coming out on New Year’s Eve to update us.”
The captain dipped his head and said goodbye before showing himself from the house. My father and Noah continued to trade cautious glances once he was gone. Neither of them appeared surprised by the news.
“Why aren’t you both more shocked by this?” I asked, my mind whirring as I tried to figure it out.
They looked at each other again, and my stomach dropped. “Wait, you already thought it was arson?”
My father hesitated while Noah clenched his jaw.
“We discussed it was a possibility,” Matthew finally said.
I’d been staying with them for days, and they hadn’t mentioned this to me once. I’d been so focused on my mom that the cause of the fire had barely entered my mind. I’d assumed it was an accident, but it seemed like Matthew and Noah had already discussed the idea that it wasn’t at length. “Why would you even suspect—’
“I think we all know who’s behind this,” Noah said, stopping me. “Who has the motive…”
It took me a moment to realize who he meant. “You think your grandfather did this?” I gasped.
“Who else?” Noah said. “He’s lost his mind since the takeover, threatening to do whatever it takes to get his company back. We already know he’s gotten away with arson twice; it stands to reason he’d do it again. He probably figured threatening your lives would get him what he wants.”
“But he didn’t threaten our lives. He nearly took them. How would that get him his company back?” I glanced at my father, hoping he’d be able to make sense of it, but his skin had turned a shade of gray.
“If it wasn’t a strategy to get his company back, then it was revenge,” Matthew replied. He too sounded convinced it had been William, and the way he spoke of revenge made me feel nauseous.
“They’ve only just uncovered that it wasn’t an accident,” Matthew continued. “And I doubt William was stupid enough to leave any evidence tying him to the fire. I’m not sure we’ll be able to prove he was behind it.”
“So, we provoke him to reveal the truth,” Noah replied.
The two of them looked ready to do battle. Like they’d forgotten we didn’t live in the medieval ages and were preparing to storm a castle and threaten the mad king.
“A good idea, but it won’t be easy getting him to admit it,” Matthew said. “Maybe if he feels threatened himself. We could use the company to—
“The two of you will do nothing,” my mom said. She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t have to. Her calm and decisive tone cut right through the mounting tension in the room. “I will not have you two acting like vigilantes trying to extract justice. We don’t even know that it was your grandfather, Noah.”
“It was him,” Noah replied.
“Maybe,” my mom said. “But we should let the fire department and the police do their job before we jump to conclusions. Before we take any action.”
“You want us to just sit back and do nothing?” Matthew asked.
“I want us to enjoy our last night together,” she said. “It’s New Year’s Eve, and Noah and Isobel are headed back to school tomorrow. I’ll be damned if we’re going to spend it plotting revenge.”
“You’re right,” Matthew said. his anger seeming to disappear with a long exhale “Let’s focus on having a good night together.”
The tension remained in the atmosphere though, and no matter what Mom wanted, it seemed none of us could get Noah’s grandfather off our minds. Had William Hastings started the fire? Had he tried to kill my mom and me? And worst of all, was he going to get away with it?
