Nerds on Fire (16 page)

Whipping her cart around the aisles,
Trixi fantasized about what it would be like to shop with an
amazing man at her side...

Chapter 16

After a couple of
nights of uninterrupted sleep, she forgot what it was like to be
woken in the dead of night. Only this time it wasn’t just ominous
noises or bricks thrown through multiple windows.

Those were awful enough, but this time
a snapping fire yanked them awake as an outbuilding close to the
house erupted into flames. It had originally been the ice house,
but was now used as storage for lawn care items. Except now the
small structure was engulfed in fire that roared far too close to
the house.

Her heart in her mouth, Trixi managed
to call 911, but it was a scary few moments. She stood now with
Katy and Gran, and watched as firefighters struggled to save the
corner of the house that kept trying to catch fire. They had soaked
this same corner several times.

What if her house burned down? All
those years of history, gone in the heat of the hungry blaze. The
firefighters fought with the wind. It seemed intent on snatching
the flames to spread them with lavish disregard to their
efforts.

The icehouse was gone, none of the
firefighter’s efforts could save the piece of history smoldering at
their feet. It was sad to think of the structure as no longer a
part of the estate. Of all the buildings to catch fire, the old
icehouse was the best, at least.

There had been an old outhouse, but
one of her ancestress had long ago razed it because she felt it was
an eyesore. Now, the icehouse was also gone.

“
Who owns this house?” The
fire chief looked at Gran.

Gran pointed to her. Trixi stepped
forward. “I do.”

“
And your name?”

She offered all the pertinent
information.

“
You might want to file a
police report, ma’am.”

Her heart heaved. “A police report,
why?”

“
Because this fire was
deliberately set.”

She swayed in the wind as the fine
hairs on her body rose. “Deliberately?” Panic swelled as Katy and
Gran both grabbed her.

He nodded to them, touched the brim of
his hat in a gentlemanly fashion then loped off to assist with
something his crew needed.

Trixi stood there, the wind trying to
rip her clothing off, tears streaking her smoky face and had no
idea what to do. The warmth Gran and Katy provided didn’t begin to
quell the ice sleeting through her veins.

The arrival of a vehicle approaching
fast stole her attention. She squinted through the smoke as Leo’s
SUV skidded up beside them. He steered the vehicle off the driveway
and then he and Mark erupted from the interior. Leo swept her and
Katy into his arms and Trixi nestled close, shuddering.

Mark extricated her from Leo’s arms.
She was surprised, but he smelled good and he proved an excellent
windbreak. Trixi huddled against him, willingly admitting she was
scared. He turned her around when the fire chief approached again
and she felt him stiffen when the chief reiterated that she needed
to speak with the police.

Nearby, Leo snarled something she
didn’t catch. He had curled an arm around Gran so both she and Katy
sheltered against him.

“
Why does she need to speak
with the police?” There was a hard note hidden in Mark’s
tone.

“
Because this wasn’t an
accident.” The man touched his hat brim again, and then he
disappeared into the bustling activity around them.

Trixi shivered in the cold and because
of the ice still pummeling her veins. What was she going to
do?

Mark called someone who asked a lot of
questions he answered with her help. Her heart sank a notch as he
spoke.

It wasn’t safe for Katy or Gran to
stay here. Yet without ever mentioning it, she was well aware
neither of these stubborn women would leave her. They would stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with her and defy anyone trying to run her out
of the house.

But it didn’t make sense. No one had
made an offer on the place. At least not that she’d heard. The
offer had to go through her so she’d surely know.

The only person who had been unhappy
with her ownership was Chrissy.

Trixi stiffened. Chrissy and her
father weren’t even together now. What purpose would her father’s
ex-fiancée possibly have in harassing her like this?

It was a long shot at best.
Unfortunately, it was the only one she had.

She pressed tighter to Mark, thankful
he and Leo had rushed to their rescue.

“
How did you know we had a
fire?” she asked.

“
Katy called
Leo.”

“
Of course.” Contacting Leo
was the first thing Katy would do. Call in the rescue squad the
minute she knew there was a need.

“
I called 911. She called
Leo.”

He laughed and she enjoyed the ensuing
rumble. It was nice to be sheltered like this in his arms. The
world didn’t look as daunting now. Even in the dead of night with
the wind whipping around them and a small, crescent shaped moon
offering wan light.

“
I’m glad you came,” she
murmured.

His arms tightened around her and
Trixi thought he dropped a kiss on her head. Her heart swelled but
one of the firefighters approached before she could savor the
moment. They spoke to him for a few moments, then to the police who
she couldn’t remember arriving, before it was decided the fire was
out and the men swarmed their trucks and soon, with a roar of
powerful engines, thundered away. The police poked around, asked
more questions, and then they departed.

Their exodus left the five of them
shivering in the wind. Trixi finally tugged free to lead the way
into the house. She made hot chocolate, needing something to do and
she figured they would all appreciate the warmth.

“
We’ll stay the rest of the
night with you,” Mark announced as she offered the steaming mugs
with an assortment of hastily thawed cookies.

Trixi nodded. “You’re welcome to do
so.”

“
We’d love if you stayed.”
Katy leaned against Leo who stroked her arm in between sips of his
chocolate and bites of cookie. They didn’t appear to know whose
cookie was whose, or care. Katy had experienced an upset and Trixi
thought it very telling whom she called first. Leo hadn’t wasted
time in arriving, either.

“
Actually, Mark is planning
to move in...” Leo started to say.

“
Oh no, we didn’t call
Dad.” Trixi cut Leo off. Was it too soon to call her father? Should
she have done so immediately?

Gran shook her head. “I called
him.”

“
He’s not...” Before she
completed the statement, her dad sailed through the back door,
shouting for them. She and Katy rushed toward him and he bundled
both of them close.

“
What happened?” He swept
them across the room to engulf Gran as well. Katy introduced him to
the two men and she was relieved they all took to each other. It
was good. She would have hated it if the de Vosse brothers and her
father disliked each other upon meeting, especially
Mark.

Her father listened then while she,
Katy, and Gran related the nighttime events.

“
I’m moving back in,” her
dad declared when they finished.

“
Thank you, love. But no,
you need to stay where you are.” No one challenged Gran’s
decree.

Her dad cleared his throat.
“Mom—”

“
This nice young man is
planning to move in.” Gran waved in Mark’s direction.

“
What?” Rylan’s disbelief
was evident. So was Trixi’s. This was the first time she had heard
those plans as well. When had Mark and Gran discussed this?
Confusion buzzed like a cloud of circling mosquitoes.

Like the experienced surgeon he was,
well used to performing under intense pressure, Mark stepped
in.

“
I haven’t had any luck at
all in my house search. Everything promising has fallen through.
I’m living with Leo at the moment, but if I can rent a room here,
I’ll be on hand for emergencies.” He turned to Katy. “You can move
back to your house, or stay here if you’d like.” If he was daunted
by the prospect of living with three women, he didn’t show
it.

“
I’ll return to my house
this evening.” Katy glanced around the kitchen. “I really like
living here, though.”

“
Yeah, it’s not every place
where you get awoken by strange noises, bricks through the windows,
and now fires.” Trixi wasn’t feeling bitter, just tired and a
little scared.

“
The ice house is gone?”
her dad asked.

She nodded. “It burned to the
ground.”

His lips tightened.

Katy waved at their dad. “Hey, how did
your date with Nina go?”

If she didn’t know better, Trixi would
say his cheeks reddened. “Oh yes, you had a date.”

Her dad’s smile did reveal happiness.
“We went out to dinner and it was...”

For a moment, she thought maybe he
wouldn’t finish but then he cleared his throat again. “Really
nice.”

While Mark and Leo were perfectly
satisfied with his answer, she exchanged knowing looks with Gran
and Katy. They all settled around the table.

“
Nice?” Exasperation
threaded Gran’s tone.

“
Yeah, Dad, you have to do
better for us.” Katy snuggled against Leo who wrapped an arm around
her.

Trixi grinned. “Nice isn’t even
close.” She folded her arms on the table then leaned on them. “We
want more.”

He shrugged. “We went out to eat. We
talked and ate, and laughed. Then I took her home and we talked
some more.”

“
Are you seeing her
again?”

“
We went out again this
past evening.”

This time his cheeks definitely
reddened.

“
And when is the next
date?” Katy asked. There was a smile in her voice.

“
I can answer that.” Trixi
raised a finger. “He’s taking her to church this
morning.”

“
Yes, I am.” He didn’t
prevaricate.

“
This is all pretty fast,
isn’t it?”

Her dad smiled. “Yes. But neither of
us are exactly young. We don’t need to make this long and drawn
out.”

“
Right. I have a lot to
learn,” Leo muttered. Katy rubbed a comforting hand up his
arm.

“
You’ve got
time.”

Leo nodded, but looked askance at
Katy. Trixi wasn’t certain what to make of his
expression.

Instead, she turned to Mark. “When are
you planning to move in?”

“
Soon.” Was all he
promised. “We’ll stay here for the rest of the night, if that’s
okay?”

She, Katy, and Gran all agreed, with
palatable relief.

“
I can show you the guest
rooms.”

“
Maybe later, after church,
you can show me the house. We’ll figure out then where I’m to live
and can settle on rent.”

“
You don’t have to pay
rent.” Trixi’s protest died when he shook his head.

One of his eyebrows rose. “Of course I
do. You’re providing me with much needed housing. Leo only has one
working bathroom right now.”

“
It’s only a problem before
work.” Leo didn’t appear to find the bathroom situation too
inconvenient.

Mark grimaced. “Yeah, but it’s a big
hassle then.”

“
Why do you only have one
working bathroom?” Trixi hadn’t seen his house, but surely there
was more than one.

“
Because I’m redoing the
others.”

Mark translated. “He’s updating the
master and the two powder rooms. That leaves the main
bath.”

“
They’re moving along, but
we’ve been busy so I haven’t had as much time.”

“
I know the name of a good
man who can finish the job for you,” Rylan offered.

“
Thanks, but my cousin
would never forgive me. He’s gotten busy with another job, so I got
dropped to the bottom of the list.” Leo again didn’t act like it
mattered.

Gran yawned, followed quickly by
Katy.

“
You all try to get some
sleep.” Mark settled a hand at the small of Trixi’s back when she
stood.

“
I can show you to your
rooms.” Trixi managed to keep her own yawn at bay, maybe because
she was running on the still dissipating vestiges of
adrenaline.

“
We’re not planning to
sleep.” Leo hauled Katy tighter against him.

“
You’re going to stay up
the rest of the night and keep watch,” Katy stated. She craned her
neck to peer at Leo. “That’s not healthy for either of
you.”

“
We’re doctors. Neither of
us needs much sleep.” Mark shrugged when she and Gran opened their
mouths to add to Katy’s protests.

“
This is to keep you safe,”
Leo added, and Mark nodded once, very firmly.