Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Finally, her smile returns, and I bust out a laugh. “Well, when you check, ask if they have a policy for beating up cheating exes who don’t leave their uninterested ex-wife alone.”
Her head whips back in my direction. “Uh-oh, what happened?”
“He’s back to his old ways. Calling and hanging up. He sent me flowers at work today.”
“How does he know where you work?”
“No idea! To be honest, it makes me nervous. What if he followed me here?”
“Okay, that’s way creepy. You know, you could always hide out at my place.” She waggles her brows and takes a right turn to the grocery store.
“Actually, that would be the first place he would go. I’ve talked about the Fergusons and how much they meant to me. So, heads up. If a crazy ex comes beating on your door, just knock him out, ’kay?”
Jenny laughs and squeezes her hands into fists. “You got it!”
Chapter 32
Ben
Three hours later. . .
I look down at my watch. This day is lasting forever. This shift is never-ending. The only thing I can think about is going home, getting my girl naked, and burying myself deep inside her.
There’s so much shit swirling around in my head. Plans. The future. Things are moving fast, but it feels right. Labeling her as my girlfriend isn’t enough. I need more. Fuck, it’s crazy to even imagine, but it’s like everything in my life is finally aligning. I’ve never been so happy. At peace. In love. And hell, I want to make it a permanent thing.
Yeah, I’m talking about getting a ring and making her mine. The guys are going to have a field day with this one. But I’ll take it. She’s worth it. Every single delectable inch of her.
She makes me think about my dad. I wish he could have met her. See how wonderful she is. How she’s changed my life. For so long, he was the only one who had impacted my life. Until she came back. I feel like Chase quoting a lame movie, but damn, Jerry Maguire said it best: “She completes me.”
I pull up to Makayla’s father’s house, and Steve’s truck’s already here. Steve was a close friend of my dad’s and a damn good arson investigator. I put in a favor and asked if he would meet me at the house. And to keep it between us for the time being. I want to get all my ducks in a row before I go to the chief with my findings.
The house—what’s left of it anyway—is taped off. I find him around back. “Hey, Steve. Thanks for meeting me.”
“Sure thing.” He reaches out and shakes my hand. “Not sure why you need me, though. I read your reports. Seems pretty cut and dry.”
“I just need a second opinion. It’s obvious where the fire originated. There’s a clear indication it started in the kitchen. From my timeline, I concluded a lit candle and turned gas knob are the primary causes.” I walk over to where the kitchen once stood. “The question is—”
“Who lit the candle and turned the knob?”
“Correct.”
“Well, it doesn’t give me any electrical arcing signs. You said the owner was home and asleep when it started?”
I nod. “On the couch. Woke up to it. She can testify the flames were protruding from the kitchen.” In my notes, I also stated Jenny had been in the house. I know Makayla is concerned about her friend getting in trouble, but I sure as hell am not. I have twelve years’ experience under my belt and just completed my fire investigator certification. Someone set that fire—and it wasn’t a goddamn accident.
“I’m just gonna come out and say it. You think someone other than the owner set this fire?”
“I do.”
Steve stares at the rubble. He rolls his shoulders back and rests his hands on his hips. “In my professional opinion, the stories don’t match up. My angle would be to bring in the other person in the house that night. Are you aware of any issues between the alleged arsonist and the owner?”
“Are you asking my opinion or what she would say?”
“You’re a natural, Ben. Always said you should have gotten that certificate sooner.”
I just wanted to hear my theory from someone else’s mouth. “I think she deliberately started that fire. She waited for her to fall asleep, then lit the candle, turned the knob, and left. A simple Google search will tell you a gas leak fed by the smallest of flames will cause an explosion.”
“That’s a pretty big allegation. One you may need to take up with your chief and the police.”
“I will.”
“Okay, say she did light it and forget about it. . . we both know it would take time even for the smallest amount of combustible material to start a fire.”
“Not this kind. The timeline Makayla gave to the police from when she went inside the house to when she woke up was at least forty minutes. That’s not enough time for a gas leak. The knob had to have been on full blast to create such an explosion. If she lit that candle, hit the knob with her sweater, then sat on the couch for what’s believed to be almost thirty minutes, the combination of gas and candle would have detonated way before she left. Also, in those thirty minutes, neither of them smelled gas? It’s a small house. Doesn’t seem likely. You ask me? She waited for her to pass out, went into the kitchen, lit that candle, and turned the gas up full blast.”