Jane's Gift (Lone Pine Lake 1)

He wanted that all. And he wanted it forever.

“Chris, watch out,” Josh called and Chris dodged a large burning ember that fell from what was left of the roof. He sidestepped it, watched as it fell to the ground and broke into tiny red and black smoldering pieces. “That would’ve burned you real good.”

“Thanks, man.” Chris shook his head, disgusted at himself. He needed to pay attention, focus on his job and not get all googly-eyed over a woman. A very important woman, but still, he needed to prioritize. Work came first at the moment.

Concentrate.

“Chris! Goddamn it, move!” Josh screamed.

Chris glanced up, his movements slowing, his mind hazy. A large, still smoking beam was barreling down upon him, so fast he didn’t have time to move. Wouldn’t have been able to get out of its way in time, it was so large.

Josh yelled, sounding panicked just as the beam struck Chris on the back, knocking him down to the ground. Clouds of ash puffed around him, filling his lungs, and he coughed. His hands pressed into the broken and melted glass that littered the ground, making him wince. The smoky, still burning chips of wood singed his palms.

Fleeting images of Jane flashed through his mind before his head hit the ground.

Chapter Sixteen

“Where are you?” Mac asked.

Jane frowned as she held Mindy’s cell phone to her ear. “I’m with Mindy. We’re headed over to Mom and Dad’s to pick up the kids. What’s going on?”

Her little brother did not sound good. And that scared her. “Eric just called me. He was looking for you.”

“Why was Eric looking for me?” Fear trickled down her spine, making her sit up straighter in her seat. She glanced at Mindy, saw the questioning in her sister’s eyes.

“He tried to call your cell. Don’t you have it with you?”

“The battery’s dead.” She’d left it on all night at Chris’s house and didn’t have her charger with her.

“Jane.” Mac took a deep breath, as if fortifying himself. “It’s Chris. He’s been hurt.”

“What?” She felt as if she’d been sucker punched, socked so hard in the stomach all the breath left her in one big whoosh. She tried to inhale, found she couldn’t, and she jerked out the words as best she could. “Wh—what happened?”

“The old church burned down, Saint Elizabeth’s.”

“Right, I know.” She watched as Mindy pulled into their parents’ driveway and turned off the car engine.

“Want me to stay or go?” Mindy whispered and Jane shook her head, mouthing the word stay.

She needed as much support as she could get.

“Well, there was an accident. He’s been hurt pretty badly.”

“H-how bad?” Oh, God. She couldn’t take this, she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. Memories assaulted her yet again, sudden and furious. The roar of the fire in her ears, how the thick smoke choked her, and the smell of flesh burning. Her flesh. How she’d searched everywhere for Stephen but couldn’t find

him.

Jane gasped, her throat dry, tears streaming down her face at the sudden, overwhelming images. She’d never remembered any of that before, not in the two years since it happened. But it came back to her now in a horrific rush, one moment after another, like little pieces of a puzzle all fitting together and finally making sense.

The EMT who found her in the backyard, who held her in his lap and let her know her children were safe. The relief she’d felt, how she’d cried and asked for her husband. The EMT’s somber expression, how he refused to answer, and she’d known. She’d known then Stephen was dead.

She’d screamed. Again and again, she’d screamed. Her voice had grown hoarse with it, the acrid stench of smoke everywhere. The flames so bright they turned the night sky into day.

And her life was forever changed. Stephen was gone.

Dead.

“Jane. Jane, are you there?”