Cara scrubbed at the soot marks above the stove. It could have been worse. It definitely could have been worse. It was lucky she had a functioning smoke alarm, the fire brigade told her, or the shed most certainly would have gone up in flames in a matter of minutes. Cara shivered.
How could she have been so stupid?
The firefighters told her they saw it all the time. People who walked away from their stoves and left a wooden spoon just a tad too close to the heat. That’s what had happened in this case, given the charred state of the spoon next to the camp stove. When they told her that, Cara had apologised profusely.
‘I think I just panicked,’ she explained.
After the smoke alarm pierced her sleep and she saw the shed starting to smoulder, she’d reached immediately for her phone and dialled triple zero. The lady at the end of the telephone was very kind and very calm. She asked if anyone was in danger, then told Cara to wait outside the shed until the brigade arrived. Opening the door could introduce oxygen that would only fan the flames.
And so she waited for what felt like hours but, in reality, was simply the longest five minutes of her life. When the firefighters went through the door she expected to see the entire interior of the shed ablaze. In fact, the flames were no bigger than a foot high, much like a camp fire, and it took one firefighter all of two minutes to put it out with a hand-held extinguisher.
Poppy slept through the whole thing.
Everyone in the street had been so kind, so concerned, offering her cups of tea and warm blankets.
Thinking back on it now, Cara flushed.
How could she have left the stove on?
She ran through what she remembered. They’d partially prepared the risotto for the launch party in the shed, then Cara had taken it to Beth’s to finish in her kitchen. At the end of the night, they’d cleaned and tidied and Cara had put Poppy to bed, before returning her equipment to the shed.
How had she not noticed the gas flame then? Much less the spoon?
Exhaustion was her only answer. Pure exhaustion. With Nourish starting to take flight, she was burning the candle at both ends.
More like burning the spoon, she thought gloomily.
Fortunately, the damage was relatively minimal, mostly caused by the smoke. She’d need to re-paint, but she could simply add that to the long list of jobs that needed to get done around the house. The shed was still useable, provided she got rid of the awful smell. One firefighter had kindly suggested vinegar, and keeping the doors open for a couple of days.
Cara went back to scrubbing.
She’d been on such a high after the tasting party. An exhausted high. But still, it had gone incredibly well. The neighbours had raved about the food and several of them had placed orders. Will was going to ask his siblings not to sell. It gave her hope.
But the fire was a reality check.
Things, bad things, happened when you least expected them.
Knock, knock.
Cara startled and dropped the scrubbing brush.
‘Sorry, Cara.’ Talia stood at the doorway. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’
‘It’s fine. Come in.’
The teenager stepped inside the shed and wrinkled her nose. ‘I thought you might like some help.’
‘Aren’t you lovely.’ Cara picked up a second brush and handed it over. ‘I won’t say no.’ She’d spent most of the day cleaning. Poppy had helped a little after school but her incessant complaints about the smell outweighed the value of her assistance. Cara had despatched her back to the house to do homework.
Talia took the brush and started scrubbing. ‘Something similar happened to us once. Mum had been cooking, and she went to sleep without remembering to turn the gas off. Luckily my dad found it in time, so it wasn’t too bad. He’s good with stuff like that.’
‘Like crazy.’ She went on quickly. ‘He’ll be here soon, I think. And I love my mum, too. She and I are just … different.’
Cara looked at the younger girl, scrubbing intently. ‘I can see that.’
‘She’s a good person, but she’s tough. Big on rules and sticking to them.’
Cara resumed her focus on the sooty wall. ‘It’s hard being a mum. Sometimes, you feel like it’s this big test and unless you do things a certain way, you’re going to fail it. Or fail your children.’
Cara felt Talia’s eyes on her. ‘But really, all you have to do is love them, right? Try to make them happy.’
‘And feed them, and clothe them, and make sure they get to school, and do their homework, and brush their teeth.’ Cara laughed. ‘It’s not as easy as it looks.’
‘Mum’s always working on the Primal stuff. I wish she was more like you. You spend lots of time with Poppy. I’ve seen you. All that painting and craft stuff.’
‘It’s only because I can, and I’ve got the time,’ sighed Cara. ‘But with this business starting to take off I seem to have less and less.’
‘So it’s going well?’ Talia dipped her brush in the sink to clean off the cinders.
‘It’s going really well. Better than I imagined.’
‘Yeah? Well, that’s good, right?’
‘Talia, it’s a bit hard to explain, but this business is everything to me and Poppy right now. It has to work, or there’s a chance Pops and I won’t be able to live in Cuthbert Close any more.’
‘Everyone seems to really love living here.’
‘We do,’ said Cara. ‘And you will too, in time.’
‘Oh, I already do like it. Everyone’s great. Really friendly. I just wish Dad was here.’
‘I’m sure that if he could be here, he would be.’
For the next few minutes, the two of them worked in silence, with only the scrubbing sounds of the brush against the wall to break the quiet. Eventually, from across the garden, came the filtered sound of someone calling.
‘Talia. Talia. Where are you?’
Cara put her brush down. ‘That sounds like your mum.’
Talia pulled a face. ‘She’s probably got jobs for me to do.’
‘Probably more important you do those jobs than helping me.’
Cara followed her out the door, through the garden and down the side passage to the street. Charlie Devine stood at her front door, a hand shielding her eyes from the sun. As she spotted Talia and Cara, her frown deepened.
‘Sorry, Charlie. Talia was just helping me clean up the shed.’ Cara remained at the bottom of the Devines’ drive while Talia scurried towards her mother. ‘She’s been terrific, actually. She’s a real credit to you.’
‘Thank you, Cara, but Talia knows she’s actually supposed to be doing her homework. She really doesn’t have the time to be playing around in the street.’
Playing around?
Cara prickled.
What was Charlie Devine’s problem? Why was she so determined to refuse every kindness, every hand of friendship, every olive branch? She hadn’t even asked about the fire.
Cara went to open her mouth but was stopped by the sight of Talia Devine slowly shaking her head.
She retreated down the driveway. The teenager was telling her not to push it, so she wouldn’t; if a parent didn’t fit in, that wasn’t the fault of the child, as Cara well knew.
Back in the shed, she checked her phone. Nothing from Will Parry. Should she tell him about the fire? She thought for a second. The damage was minimal. Telling him might only deter him and his siblings from wanting to buy the property. No. He didn’t need to know. Nothing could jeopardise her and Poppy’s chances of staying in the Cuthbert cottage.
With a small sigh, she picked up the brush and started scrubbing again.