Bailey only took two steps when she spotted the flames. They flickered from Ed’s door and grew larger by the minute. Adrenaline surged in her.
This was not going to be the way it all ended. Not if she had anything to do with it. She was a nurse; it was her job to help people, not to leave them in their time of need.
She darted back downstairs, into the laundry room, and grabbed a fire extinguisher she’d seen there while cleaning. Tucking it under her arm, she sprinted back to Ed’s room. She wasted no time in spraying the flames.
Finally, any visible flames disappeared, leaving only a faint orange flicker to the black charred wood and a lot of heavy smoke. She had no idea what it looked like inside the room, though.
She jerked off her sweatshirt and wrapped it around her hand before grabbing the doorknob.
Please open.
Thankfully, it did.
She pulled her shirt over her mouth as thick smoke billowed out. Where was Ed? She could hardly see through the thick, gray air.
She pushed her way inside, using the extinguisher to douse more flames.
Despite her shirt, smoke filled her lungs. She swatted the air in front of her, desperately wanting to see.
She spotted Ed, bent over with a hand on his head.
“Come on!” she shouted.
She slipped an arm around his waist and led him out of the room. She didn’t stop until they’d reached the end of the hallway. Her shoulder ached, she could hardly breathe, and her head was pounding by the time she lowered Ed to the ground. She sank down there beside him.
“What happened?” she asked.
He nodded, still trying to catch his breath and looking a bit dazed. “Someone hit me over the head. It’s the last thing I remember before waking up with flames around me and then seeing you.”
“I’ve got to call 911. You going to be okay?”
He nodded again, sucking in a raspy breath. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
She grabbed her phone and dialed, knowing things could have turned out much worse.
* * *
“We won’t know for sure until the fire marshal investigates, but it looks to me like an electrical fire that started between the walls,” Sheriff Davis said. The man was probably in his early thirties with curly blond hair and blue eyes. Bailey had insisted that he was trustworthy, but Ed remained leery of most people.
Should he tell the sheriff that someone knocked him out before the fire happened? Or would that raise too many questions? The last thing he wanted was people poking into his business.
“An electrical fire, huh?” Ed ran a hand over his face.
The sheriff nodded. “Not unusual in older homes. With the power just being restored, there could have been a surge. Anyway, it’s a good thing you got out when you did and that Bailey thought to hit the breaker. When the fire marshal gets here, he’ll be able to tell you whether it’s safe to sleep here in the residence.”
Just then, a shadow filled the doorway. Ed looked back and saw Henry Wilkins there. The man had been the groundskeeper here for many years. His wife had recently become ill and he’d drastically cut back his hours. He was in his late sixties with thin light brown hair, a protruding gut and at least three chins.
Ed had called the man this morning and asked him to stop by and take a look at the window. Plus, he wanted to talk to Henry, see if he knew anything. “I heard there was trouble and headed over here early,” he said. He glanced up, where smoke still clung to the ceiling. “Looks like more than a window that will need to be fixed.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go file my report.” The sheriff slipped away. “I’d stay out of that wing of the house until we know if there’s any structural damage.”
“Will do,” Ed said.
Ed and Henry chatted about the fire for several minutes before Wilkins turned toward Bailey. “I meant to tell you, a man stopped by the other day looking for you.”
Bailey raised her eyebrows. “A man?”
He nodded. “Said he was trying to find you. That was the day you went over for the funeral. I couldn’t make it because my wife was feeling especially ill. I stopped by here for just a moment to grab some tools before heading home.”
“No one’s been in contact with me since then,” Bailey said, shaking her head. “What did he look like?”
Wilkins shrugged. “I figured he was an old boyfriend or something. He was tall and big. Not like fat big, but weight-lifting big. He had a bit of an accent. It was slight, but it was there. He had dark, curly hair, a cleft chin, and maybe he was Middle Eastern or from India? I’m not sure.”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“Either way,” Wilkins continued. “He said he was going to be back. Something about picking up something that you have for him? I’m sorry I forgot to mention it. I’ve had so much on my mind lately.”
Ed could read the emotions washing over Bailey. Surprise, confusion, fear.
What was she scared of? Something lurked beneath the surface. He had to figure out what. She’d saved his life, but her earlier behavior was so peculiar.
“Wilkins, have you noticed anything strange going on around here lately?”
The older man rubbed his chin. “I did see a boat outside at your dad’s pier a week or so ago.”
His instincts spiked. John had mentioned the same thing. “Really? What were the people on board doing?”
“I figured they pulled up thinking the place was abandoned or something, so I shooed them off.”
“Did they say anything?” Ed asked.
“Naw. Not much. Just apologized and went on their way. It was a guy and a girl. Couldn’t tell much about them. Both were wearing hats.”
“Is that unusual?” Ed continued.
Wilkins shrugged again. “Wouldn’t say so. People come from all over to see this island. They think it’s the place where time stood still. People just get curious. This house, of course, stands out. It’s about ten times the size of the rest.”
“It is a big one. You would know that better than anyone, since you’ve been keeping the grounds up for...for how long now?”
“Nearly twenty years. Even before your father bought the place. I’ve been coming twice a week to cut the grass, trim the bushes and pull the weeds. Can’t do some of the other stuff anymore. But I can find people who can.” Wilkins fixated on Ed a moment. “You going to stay here?”
Ed shrugged. “I don’t know yet what I’m doing, Mr. Wilkins. The idea is tempting, I suppose. I’m not sure island life is for me, though.”
“Stay here long enough and you’ll realize that it is. The slower pace does a body good.” He turned toward Bailey. “How about you?”
“I’ve got to figure things out. I’ll probably look for another job as a home health nurse and see where that takes me.”
“You could help Doc Jennings out,” he suggested.
“I hardly think the island needs a doctor and a nurse.”
“Rumor has it he wants to retire and move down to Texas to be with his son and grandkids.”
She shrugged. “Tempting, but who knows if that will happen or when it will happen. I’m just trying to wrap everything up here.”
He glanced back at Ed. “You want me to take a look at that window?”
Ed nodded. “That would be great. If you can’t fix it, if you could point me in the direction of someone who can, that would be great. I’ll show you where it happened.”
They started walking toward the kitchen when Bailey called to him and motioned him over. For a moment—and just a moment—he wondered what it would be like if she was calling him over for some reason other than all the craziness happening lately. What it would be like if the two of them were a couple enjoying time together.
Then he realized that the thought was crazy. No matter how hard he might want the possibility.