“I’d best get started now,” she joked. “Anything else?”
“Sorry,” he said with a slight cringe. “I don’t know how long one takes you.”
Sophie swung her feet down, shifted to the other side of the chair, and pulled her feet back up. “Depends on my mood, how much I need the relaxation, and if I already know what the subject will be.”
“I’ll leave everything up to you when it comes to the sketches,” he assured her.
“Well, I was thinking for the bedrooms, maybe they should each be a theme. You know, one could be Paris, one could be London. Whatever. Chelsea was so prone to take off and travel, but she never got to the places she truly wanted to see. Why don’t we do each room as one she’d had on her bucket list?”
When he remained silent, she wasn’t sure if he was processing the information or afraid to reject her ideas for fear of hurting her feelings.
“If you’d rather—”
She stopped midsentence when he jerked and reached for the cell in his pocket. Staring at the screen, his brows drew together before he answered.
“Hello?”
His eyes widened as he jumped to his feet. “I’m on my way.”
Clearly alarmed, Zach shoved his phone back into his pocket. Sophie came to her feet. “What is it?”
Without looking back, he raced from the room. “The Sunset Lake property is on fire.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sophie darted after Zach. She didn’t ask, she just hopped up in the passenger side of his truck and buckled up as he tore out of her driveway.
“Who called you?”
He punched his hazard lights as he accelerated through town. “Braxton. The fire department was on the way.”
A ball of dread filled her stomach. Could fate be this cruel to pull Chelsea’s dream right out from under them? After they’d all finally come together, they had a plan and a real purpose to work as a team, could it all be gone?
Beyond that, this home was a piece of history for the town. The grand estate had always stood tall on the small hill, overlooking Haven for over a century.
As they drew closer, Sophie couldn’t help but let her mind flood with possible scenarios they’d face once they arrived. Would the entire home be engulfed? Would it be minor and they could rebuild with just a slight setback? How would this affect the grant funding? Was it arson?
Oh no. She seriously prayed it wasn’t arson, because heaven help the one who set the fire if the Monroe boys discovered them.
As Zach pulled into the long drive, Sophie sat up straighter in her seat and clicked her seat belt off. Relieved that flames weren’t shooting out of each window, she struggled to see exactly where the fire was. Two fire trucks sat in the drive; hoses were pulled and disappeared into the front and side doors.
Zach had barely put the truck in park and killed the engine before she was out and running up the walk. Well, running as fast as she could until the twinge in her hip kicked in.
Strong arms encircled her, lifting her off the ground and back against a familiar, firm chest.
“Slow down. There’s nothing we can do until we see how bad the damage is.”
Sophie nodded, gripping his arms. “I’m okay. You can put me down.”
He eased her down but kept an arm around her waist. “We’ll go in together, but you’re coming back out to sit in the truck if you pull a stunt like that again or if I even think you’re hurting.”
The way he cared, putting her needs ahead of his fear for this house, was all too telling. But she’d have to pick apart all of that later because right now she was terrified of what they’d find inside.
Just as they hit the porch, Braxton stepped from the house. A streak of black covered his gray T-shirt and his hair stood on end.
“It’s under control,” he told them with a long exhale. “I came by earlier to sand some more in the bathroom. I was only here a few minutes when I smelled smoke. The kitchen where you ran new wiring along that outer wall was on fire. I grabbed that small extinguisher we keep here and got most of it before I called the fire department and then you. But there’s some damage.”
Sophie stepped from Zach’s grasp and turned to look at him. He rubbed his forehead, closed his eyes, and muttered a curse. “I was just here,” he stated, clearly frustrated. “There was nothing wrong when I left and I can run wire in my sleep.”