A Moment on the Lips (A Whistle Stop Romance, #3) (26 page)

Piper sniffled. “Wake me up from this nightmare.”

Sympathy shone in Alexis’s eyes. “I wish I could.” She glanced around. “Where’s Joe?” Then a look of panic crossed her features. “He’s not still in there, is he?”

Piper shook her head. “He rescued me. I was asleep. I didn’t even know there was a fire until he showed up at my door.”

“Thank goodness he woke up.”

“I don’t think he woke up. When I went to bed, he wasn’t home from Holden’s.” An arched brow had her adding, “Holden’s a friend of his.”

Ella was the next to arrive. She glanced at the now-thinning smoke and then back at Piper. Instead of offering platitudes, she simply wrapped a supportive arm around her. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”

Piper’s gaze scanned the area. Where was Joe? She’d been able to make out his form in the lights from the vehicles and the big spotlight the firefighters used to illuminate the area. But it’d been a while now since she’d been able to locate him.

She had to believe that Tony, Moe, Cord, and the rest of the firefighters would make sure Joe didn’t get himself into any trouble. Still, she found herself continuing to seek out his image. She wished he’d come back to her.

She’d never felt that comfort in anyone else’s presence. There was just something special about him, something that went beyond the way he made her heart race. It was something much, much deeper.

And the truth was, that in all the time they’d spent together, she’d never worked up the courage to tell him how she felt. She didn’t think she could bear him rejecting her love.

But by playing it safe, she risked him packing up and leaving Whistle Stop. She couldn’t let that happen. The time had come for her to be honest with him.

If he knew she loved him, he’d want to stay and rebuild.

♥♥♥

T
alk about a nightmare.

As the last firetruck pulled away from the scene, Joe stood alone on the sidewalk, staring through a darkened window into his coffee shop. Though it was still too dark out to distinguish shapes and figures, he’d already had a preview of the devastating damage when the fire crew had gone through the building with their flashlights, making sure the fire was indeed out.

The fire marshal would be called first thing in the morning to determine the cause of the fire. Joe wasn’t up on fire procedures, but something told him they suspected something besides old wiring had caused the blaze which had started in the coffee shop. His gut churned. Was it possible Whistle Stop had an arsonist?

The thought was so preposterous he wanted to outright reject the idea. Everyone knew everyone else in this small town. If someone was that off-balance, he’d have heard. People wouldn’t just stand by and watch someone in obvious need risk their own life, not to mention jeopardize someone else’s. No. There had to be some other reason for the fire chief to consider this a suspicious fire. He couldn’t blame the man for having questions. He had a growing list of his own.

How could this have happened?

Was it accidental?

Or had someone set out to destroy him?

Joe blamed himself. He should have stayed here, and then none of this would have happened. He’d have been on top of everything. Why, oh, why had he left town?

In that moment, he felt a gentle hand brush over his back. Then another hand joined it and wrapped around his chest. It was Piper. She was hugging him, as though sensing he needed her strength.

He sighed.

He was wrong about one thing...

He hadn’t lost everything after all.

The most important part of his life was holding him close. He loved Piper with all of his heart. The tension eased from his body.

He turned in her arms until they were chest to chest. Her face was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot, most likely a combination of irritation from the smoke, lack of sleep, and tears over their dreams being destroyed.

She pressed a hand to his chest. “What...what will you do now?”

In all honesty, he didn’t know. But he didn’t want her to worry about him. She had enough worries with everything she’d need to do to get her business up and running again.

“Don’t you worry,” he said. “I’ll figure something out.” He hated to see the pain in her eyes. He wanted desperately to smooth her worries. “Everything will work out. You’ll see.”

Her hesitant gaze moved to the building still dripping with water, sooty lines from the smoke trailing up the front. “I don’t think it’s going to be easy.”

“Never said it would be easy. But I do think it’s doable.”

“Will...will you remain in Whistle Stop?” Her gaze searched his.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He’d really missed her the past few days—more than he’d imagined possible. There were so many times he’d wanted to bask in the glow of her smile, hear the lilt of her voice, watch her eyes light up with excitement. At last, he was ready to face the truth he’d been fighting for so long. It was abundantly obvious that he was in love with Piper.

The only good thing that had come out of this damn fire was that it’d made him realize life was full of uncertainty. He couldn’t drag his feet. He had to seize the moment.

“Thank you for staying here with me.” His voice was deep and rumbled with emotion that he was unable to contain.

“I am right where I belong.”

His hand moved to her face. His thumb gently stroked her cheek. He couldn’t imagine ever leaving her. At last, he was truly home. Wherever Piper was, it was his home.

His heart pounded as he searched for the words to tell her how he felt. And then, instead of words, he wanted to show her. He drew her closer, and she willingly obliged. When her soft curves pressed to him, need thrummed through his veins.

He stared deep into her eyes. He most definitely loved her. He’d never felt an emotion so strong, so delightful.

Loud footsteps sounded behind him. They came to a stop, and someone cleared their throat. He didn’t want to release Piper. He just wanted to keep holding her, savoring this new amazing feeling.

“Joe, can I speak to you?” Tony Granger’s voice came from behind them. “It’s important.”

Joe inwardly groaned in frustration. With great reluctance, he released Piper from his embrace, but he caught her hand in his, needing the physical connection. “We’ll finish this later.”

Her worried eyes met his as she nodded in understanding.

He turned to find Tony standing behind him in full uniform with the fire chief emblem on his helmet.

“The fire’s out. It looks worse than it was. It’s a good thing you came home when you did. You really should have smoke alarms—”

“I’m having a fire and burglary system installed, but it’s not scheduled until next week.”

Tony nodded in understanding. “As it is, we were able to knock down the fire without losing the whole building.”

That was good, so why did he have the feeling there was still more bad news about to come his way? Joe braced himself for the worst.

Tony shifted his weight from one booted foot to the other. “The first floor is a mess. It’s going to need a lot of work. But the other floor doesn’t have nearly as much damage. Do you have insurance?”

Joe released a pent up breath. All was not lost. “I had to secure insurance coverage in order to get a loan.”

“Good. That will help a lot.”

Joe squeezed Piper’s hand and then asked the question on everyone’s mind. “What about the Poppin’ Fresh Bakery? Is there much damage?”

Tony adjusted his fire helmet. “On that front, we have some good news. We were able to contain the fire, and other than some smoke and water damage, the bakery should be fine.”

Joe breathed easier. “Thanks. We’ll take any bit of good news we can get at this point.”

“You’ll need to keep an eye on the coffee shop for a bit just to make sure the fire doesn’t catch again. Can you do that?”

Joe nodded. “I’d never be able to sleep now anyway.”

“I’m really sorry this happened.” Tony patted his shoulder before he walked away.

It wasn’t until then that Tony’s words started to sink in. More questions started to plague Joe. He held up a finger for Piper to wait. “I’ll be right back.”

“Go ahead. I...I’ll be fine.”

He rushed after Tony, knowing if he didn’t get some details about what started the blaze, he’d never be able to shut his eyes, even when it was safe. Obviously it’d started in the coffeehouse, but that just wasn’t enough to settle his mind. He needed something more.

♥♥♥

T
his couldn’t be real.

This whole night had to be a nightmare.

Piper gazed over at the building where the spotlight was still highlighting the smoke-stained bricks and broken windows. The acidic stench of smoke hung in the air. A fresh wave of sadness washed over her. She knew how much that business meant to Joe and now it was ruined. How had it all gone so wrong?

She glanced over at him talking with Tony. She was certain he was dragging answers out of Tony, answers about how the fire started. Her feet started moving in that direction. She had to know, had to understand how something this horrific could have happened.

“I can’t give you a definitive answer.” Tony glanced her way and then back at Joe. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow when the fire marshal goes over the scene.”

“I just need your best guess.” Joe’s voice held a determined tone. “Based on your experience, I’m guessing you have a pretty good idea of what happened here. If it’s my fault, I need to know it.”

Tony gave him a long, hard stare. “If I had to hazard a guess, and it is only a guess until the fire marshal has a chance to issue an official report—”

“I understand. Just give me something to go on.”

“Okay. This is just between us.” When Joe nodded, Tony continued. “It appears an overloaded electrical outlet and old wiring triggered the fire. The fuses should have kicked off automatically, but for some reason the breaker wasn’t tripped. I don’t know why. There are a number of unanswered questions at this point.”

The fine hairs on Piper’s arms rose. This nightmare just seemed to get worse and worse.

“An overloaded outlet?” Joe’s forehead creased as he thought it over. “But I wasn’t home. Nothing should have been running.”

“Are you sure? It’s easy enough to forget things.”

Joe shook his head. “I’m real careful about those things.”

Piper listened in horror. She’d been in Joe’s shop. She’d been the one to plug in a bunch of stuff. She’d been the one to destroy his business, his home. She moaned in agony.

Joe wrapped an arm about her waist. “Are you all right?”

She blinked repeatedly, trying to keep her emotions from spilling forth. She had to get this out, and she couldn’t do that if she broke down now. Joe deserved the truth, the whole truth.

“It was me.” Her voice crackled with emotion.

“What was you?” Joe gripped both of her upper arms as though worried she was going to topple over. “Piper, you’re not making sense. What are you talking about?”

“I...I was there. I did it.”

“You were where? Piper, start at the beginning.”

“I wanted to surprise you. I...I thought if I could show you what you could do with the space, how you could make it more intimate for the customers, that you’d realize I was right.” Piper sniffled and dashed the back of her hand over her eyes. “I wanted to surprise you. I thought I was helping—”

“Piper, what did you do?” Joe looked at her like he didn’t even know her anymore.

“I...I had some extra furniture in my attic that wouldn’t have cost you a thing to use to create a seating area for your customers.”

“But what does any of that have to do with an overloaded outlet?”

He was going to hate her. And she deserved it. How had she destroyed absolutely everything?

“I wanted to light up the place so I plugged in a bunch of lamps. I wanted it all lit up for when you got home. Then I was hurrying and dropped a potted plant. I plugged the vacuum in the same outlet. I...I must have overloaded the circuit.”

Joe staggered back from her as though she’d just stabbed him in the chest. She was pretty certain that at this precise moment he wouldn’t see much difference between stabbing him and burning down his dream. There had to be some way to turn this around.

She pleaded with him with her eyes. “I didn’t notice anything wrong when I left.”

“That’s because it would have started with the wiring in the walls.” His eyes grew dark and unreadable. “Let me get this straight. You burned down my place because you didn't approve of my decorating?”

She worried her bottom lip as she fought to keep the tears in check. With her throat thick with smothered sobs, she shook her head. He had it all wrong.

His voice took on a menacing tone. “I already told you I wasn't interested in your help. Yet, the minute I leave town, you take it upon yourself to make decisions for me because you know better than I do what’s right for my business?”

“It...it’s not like that.”

“You”—Joe pointed accusingly at her—“you just had to meddle, didn’t you? It didn’t matter what I said, what I wanted.” His voice shook with anger. “Why in the world did I think things would be different with you?”

She opened her mouth, but no words would come to her. He was right on all counts.

“Calm down.” Tony stepped between them. “We don’t know anything for sure. And Piper told you she didn’t notice anything wrong when she left. Why not let it go until the marshal’s report comes in?”

Piper stepped around Tony. “Please, Joe. You have to believe me. I would never do anything deliberately to hurt you.”

His eyes said he didn’t believe her, not one single word. The warmth and caring that had been reflected in them just moments ago had disappeared. Now there was just a hard, cold look. And it was her fault. All her fault.

H
ow could he have been so wrong about Piper?

Joe staggered back from the woman he’d almost confessed to loving. Boy, would that have been a huge mistake. Now, as he stood there staring at her, a tear splashed onto her cheek, but he was too devastated for it to affect him. His mind and body were on overload.