Marriage Seasons 04 - Winter Turns to Spring (32 page)

As she slapped her thighs and called to him, the pup bounded in a circle and scampered back toward her. When he reached the deck, Ashley slid on her knees to the edge and scooped him up.

“Good doggy!” she said. As she hugged the puppy, she scanned the burning house. The huge oak tree in Miranda’s backyard had snapped in two. Its frozen branches reached upward, as though gnarled white fingers were grasping for the roof.

“You’re going inside,” she told the pup. She pushed Yappy through the front door and shut it, closing him inside.

In an effort to warm up her phone, she rubbed it against her leg. How dare the thing just up and die when she needed it most? This was insane. Not a single button worked. And why wasn’t anyone else in the neighborhood racing outside to help Brad? Hadn’t they heard the tree break too? Did they expect Brad to do it all?

Images of a chain saw gnawing through fresh timber surfaced in Ashley’s brain. What if Brad got hurt? In his hurry, he might forget to be careful. He could be bleeding even now.

Straightening, Ashley gripped the deck railing and slid her way down the icy steps. Her ears rang as frost nipped at them. She could hear the chain saw in the distance and behind it the sound of a woman screaming.

“Mrs. Finley!”

Scrambling, falling, righting herself again, Ashley made her way across the grass toward the house. As she ran, she pressed the buttons on her cell phone. “Work, you dumb thing! Work!”

And suddenly it did. The numbers appeared on the screen—
9-1-1
. She held it to one stinging ear.

A woman’s calm voice answered. “Emergency, how can I help you?”

“A tree fell through Mrs. Finley’s roof, and the house is on fire. Send an ambulance and a fire truck!”

“What is the address, ma’am?”

“It’s Miranda Finley’s house. I don’t know the number.” Ashley paused, gasping for air, feeling as though each breath turned to ice crystals in her lungs. She focused on the black mailbox by the roadside. “Okay, I’ve got it. It’s 43 12 Shadyside Lane. Did I say Deepwater Cove already? That’s where we are. Send a fire engine out here with water. Everything’s frozen. Mrs. Finley’s wall is burning, and her roof collapsed. And my husband has gone over there with a chain saw. He could get hurt!”

“Please stay on the line with me, ma’am,” the dispatcher said. “I’m contacting emergency services. One moment.”

Ashley tried to hold the phone to her ear as her feet slipped and skidded toward the burning house. “Brad!” she shouted. “Brad, are you okay?”

A piercing scream split the air. Miranda again! Ashley grabbed the porch post and heaved herself onto her neighbor’s deck. She had to help. First, she needed to find Brad. He couldn’t get hurt. He couldn’t die. Not yet. They weren’t finished. There was more to say, more to do.

Black smoke wafted past Ashley, and she bent over, coughing. Her fingers had gone numb. Her teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. She had forgotten gloves, a hat, her scarf. Skating along the deck, she paused to peer through a window.

Inside the house, she could see the silhouette of a man—coal black against a picture window behind him. He wielded the chain saw on the ice-encased tree branches surrounding him, lowering it to let the revolving teeth bite through timber, then raising it and mechanically bending to cut again.

Smoke poured from the house. The roof and back wall were mostly gone. The bank of windows facing the lake reflected a bright orange flame that danced through the curtains and licked up the wallboard and studs.

“Ma’am, are you still there?” The dispatcher’s voice startled her. “Emergency vehicles are en route to 43 12 Shadyside Lane. Ma’am, is that near Tranquility?”

“Yes—Deepwater Cove is right down the road from Tranquility. Did I tell you my husband is inside the house? He could die in there! I gotta go!”

Unable to bear the tension any longer, Ashley folded her phone and shoved it into her pocket. She pulled her way around the deck to Miranda Finley’s front door. It hung on the frame by a single hinge.

“Brad!” she shouted into the engulfing smoke. “Brad, are you okay?”

“Ashley?” The chain saw squealed down to a low sputter. Brad’s deep voice called over it, “Get away from this house, Ash! Go find Derek Finley. Tell him his mom’s trapped, but I’m nearly there.”

Ashley stepped through the door onto the carpet. At once, she could see the scope of the devastation. The huge treetop had snapped from its trunk, slammed into the roof, and filled the living room, imprisoning Miranda inside her own home. The fire now blazed out of control. Could Brad even stay conscious with so much smoke?

Ashley shivered. What if a burning branch or roof beam fell on her husband? What if the fire reached the propane tank not far outside the back door? Again, Miranda cried out for help.

“Brad, I’m scared for you!” Ashley shouted. “I don’t want you to die!”

Suddenly he emerged through the smoky cloud. Chain saw in one hand, he caught her close with the other. “Ashley, I love you,” he said as he urged her out the door again. “Please stay away from this place.”

“I called 9 11,” she choked out. “Help is coming.”

Face coated in soot, Brad waited an instant, his bright blue eyes fastened on her, and then he vanished into the house again. As though suspended in midair like a puppet, Ashley froze on the icy deck, unable to move. Then the chain saw roared to life again, and heat poured back into her veins.

Grabbing the phone from her pocket, she scanned her saved numbers. Kim and Derek Finley weren’t among them, so she dialed the Hansens. Jennifer answered. Picking her way across the road toward the Finleys’ house, Ashley told her friend the situation.

Ashley pictured Brad’s face, his intense eyes, his pleading voice. He loved her. He had done everything he knew how to do. He wanted to win her back.

Tears blurring her vision, Ashley slid down the sidewalk to the Finleys’ front steps. She had just lifted her fist to hammer on their door when it flew open. Derek barged through, nearly knocking her over. Struggling for balance, she felt his hand grip her arm.

“Did you see my mother?” he asked, his face pale. “Where is she?”

“She’s alive but trapped. Brad has his chain saw. There’s a lot of smoke. He needs help, Derek.”

“Can you stay here with Kim? I’m worried about her, and the twins are freaking out about their grandma. I need you to do this, Ashley.”

“Okay, but hurry.” She caught his coat sleeve as he started away. “Derek, it’s not just your mom in that house. It’s my husband!”

“Brad’s a smart man, Ashley. He’ll be fine.”

“You make sure he’s all right. Promise me!”

“I will.”

As Derek sprinted off toward the road, Ashley stepped into the house. From the fireplace, Luke and Lydia ran at her with all the pent-up energy two eleven-year-olds could possess. But Kim was two steps ahead of them.

“Ashley!” she cried. “Thank God you’re safe. Come over to the fire and warm up. What on earth is happening?”

Before Ashley could move, Kim ordered her twins to run next door, check on Opal Jones, and then come straight home. After the power went out the night before, Kim told Ashley, the widow had flatly rejected any offer to leave. She wouldn’t hear of intruding on the Finleys or consider going to a motel. In fact, Opal wouldn’t hear at all.

“She refused to put in her hearing aid,” Kim explained as she edged down onto a pile of cushions near the hearth. Despite the layered sweaters Kim wore, Ashley could easily discern the mound of her belly. The second set of Finley twins seemed as determined to make their presence felt as the first.

“Derek argued with Opal until he was blue in the face,” Kim continued. “She told him she had waited out many an ice storm in her ninety-five years, and she wasn’t about to let this one dislodge her. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Derek so frustrated. I’ll bet he checked on her every half hour through the night.”

Ashley held her hands out toward the crackling blaze on the metal grate, but as her fingers warmed, all she could think of was Brad’s soot-streaked face. The fire trucks and ambulance seemed to be taking forever to get to Deepwater Cove, and she knew that even the main roads must still be icy.

“Derek’s mother was nearly as bad as Mrs. Jones,” Kim said. “We called her, of course. Miranda insisted she was perfectly fine at home. Now look at what her stubbornness has done. Oh, I hope she’s all right.”

Ashley glanced at Kim. “I’m scared for Brad, breathing so much smoke. Branches are all around him. It’s like he’s tangled up in that tree. Anything could happen … and I … oh, Kim, I’ve been way more stubborn than Mrs. Jones or Derek’s mother. I didn’t want to listen to Brad. All those weeks when he called and e-mailed and sent messages through my parents—I was too angry to even speak to him. I deleted every message without even reading it. Last night when we got stuck in the house together, he kept telling me how much he loved me … and I just pushed him away. I’ve been so mad at Brad. I hated him … but now I’m afraid I might lose him. I don’t know what to think.”

“Hey now.” Kim smiled as she gently squeezed Ashley’s hand. “Take it easy. It’ll be all right. Derek and Brad both know what they’re doing. I’m sure they’ll be fine. You’ll still have a chance to work things out with Brad.”

“That’s the crazy part. I’m not even sure I
want
to work things out with Brad. I’ve been so … so … angry and hurt and …” She swallowed hard. She didn’t want to start blubbering in front of Kim.

“I understand how you feel. Maybe better than you realize. I don’t know if you know this, but just a few months ago I was sure that marrying Derek was the biggest mistake I’d ever made.” Kim gave a wry smile. “Or maybe the second biggest, after my first marriage. I know the problems in my first marriage were even worse because I still had so much growing up to do.”

Ashley nodded. “Brad’s immaturity definitely contributed to our marriage falling apart.”

“Only Brad’s?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you think the whole problem is Brad’s fault? I know he was unfaithful, and I can’t even imagine how that must make you feel. But I know from my own experience that anytime there’s trouble in a marriage,
both
people contributed.”

Blinking at the tears that flooded her eyes, Ashley gazed into the fire. “Patsy said the same thing. She said I was wrong to hang on to my evening shift at the country club even though I got better tips. I didn’t want to accept that. But I guess she was right.”

“Now you’re on the right track.” Kim squeezed her hand.

“I wasn’t at home for my husband. Even when our schedules did cross, I was usually over at the Hansens’ house, working on my beads. Brad was drinking so much that I stopped wanting to be with him.”

“I know what that’s like. You both start pulling back in little ways, and before long, you’ve pretty much checked out of the marriage.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Ashley brushed the heel of her hand under her eye and it came away damp. “At first, I loved Brad so much. But he did stupid things. Like he bought that truck on credit, and then he wrecked it. But he’s done some really wonderful things, too. He fixed up our house with Mr. Moore’s help. He built a bridge for you and Derek. He led the parade to honor Mrs. Moore right before she … she died. And also … he used his savings to buy my engagement ring. I loved it so much.”

Bending over in pain at the memory of Brad’s loving gesture, Ashley covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Kim, I know it wasn’t all his fault. We both did stupid things.”

Awash in the torment of her own guilt, Ashley felt her heart flood with fear. “I have to make sure Brad’s okay,” she said, rising from the hearth and heading across the room to the front window. For a moment, all she could see was a spiderweb of frost coating the glass. Then she heard the sirens.

“Finally!” she called, turning back toward Kim. “The fire trucks are coming.”

“What’s happening at Miranda’s house?”

“I can’t see it. The Hansens’ place is in the way.”

“Run down to our bedroom at the end of the hall. Derek told me he keeps an eye on his mom’s shenanigans through that window.”

Ashley glanced at Kim, who waved her off. “Don’t worry about me. This is my second set of twins. Everything’s normal. It’s just Derek—he’s driving me nuts fretting over every little thing.”

Hurrying down the hallway, Ashley passed framed photographs of the Finley family. Images of Luke and Lydia seemed to run on forever. Then she burst into the master bedroom. Pushing back the curtains, she studied the scene through the window.

The plume of flame in the sky had been replaced by smoke. Ashley spotted the red fire trucks with their lights still flashing but their sirens off. An ambulance waited near the deck. Firemen in their heavy gear were climbing ladders propped against the front of the house. Water shot through hoses into the air. From a safe distance, Charlie Moore and Cody stood watching the unfolding drama. And then she saw Brad.

Carrying a limp Miranda Finley in his arms, he emerged through the front door of her ruined house. Before Ashley could assess the situation, EMTs surrounded him. They lowered Miranda to the deck. Someone lifted an IV bag overhead. And Brad vanished into the crowd.

Fearing he had gone inside again, Ashley ran back to the living room. “Brad carried Mrs. Finley out,” she called. “I saw him on the deck.”

“Is she all right?”

“I’m not sure. The ambulance is there.”

“Did you see Derek?”

Ashley shook her head. “People are swarming the place. I saw Mr. Moore and Cody. Maybe Patsy, too. It looked like Steve Hansen was talking to Cody.”

“Please go find my husband, and then call me right away.” Kim rattled off her cell number while Ashley entered it into her own phone. “And make sure Luke and Lydia don’t go near that house. Check on Opal Jones, too. Oh, I hope the kids didn’t leave her and run off to see the fire.”

“Are you sure I should leave, Kim? Derek wanted me to stay with you.”

“Go—
please
! Go to your husband. Just make sure Derek’s okay, and find out about Miranda.”

Ashley dropped the phone back into her pocket. “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”