Chapter 83

In front of the shop, the men were cutting a hole through one of the plate glass windows with their axes, while others cleared out neighboring shops and kept pedestrians safely away. Clearly the fire had started in back - someone should tell Stan to take the truck through the alley. All Eli could do was look at the woman in pink, crumpled right by the front door.
"She's breathing," one of the men called, peering through the smoky glass. "Why the hell didn't they leave her a key?"
Eli didn't answer. As soon as the hole was large enough, he pushed one of the other men aside - he was too far out of his head to notice faces - and climbed through, rushing to Nettie.
She moaned in his arms. Alive. "Thank God!"
He handed her off to one of the others and climbed back through, taking her into his arms again. Finally feeling the pain in his leg, he allowed someone to push him down onto a sidewalk bench before he fell. He cradled Nettie close, stroking her face.
"I'm all right, Eli." Her voice was raspy and her forehead was bruised, but otherwise she seemed intact. "Someone has to go back in - my father." She stopped to cough. "Under a shelf."
"The Websters?"
"Out to dinner in Grand Haven."
Eli yelled that there was another man inside, but no one upstairs. He also mentioned to one of the policemen who'd arrived to manage the crowd that the other victim was the arsonist.
The police were ready when they brought Al Price, unconscious but alive, out of the shop. Nettie gave her statement to a more senior officer, and refused to go to the hospital. Someone handed him a blanket to wrap around Nettie, and they sat until the fire was out.
"Store room is gutted," Stan reported. "Front area is mostly smoke and water damage, but I doubt any of the books are salvageable. Floor upstairs is partly sound, though it will need replacing. I sent someone up to bring out clothes for you and the Websters. They'll smell like smoke, but a wash or two and they'll at least be something to wear."
"Put them all in my car," Eli said. "They can all stay at my house until their apartment is repaired."
"More strays?" Nettie murmured. "I haven't even unpacked and I'm going back where I started."
"Where you're staying," he growled. "I'm not that much of an idiot, Nettie. I love you. I won't let you go a second time. You're stuck with me now."
Nettie laid her head against his shoulder and sighed. "I wish it hadn't taken this to bring you to your senses."
Nettie felt history repeat itself as Eli carried her up the stairs to his apartment, although this time with an obvious limp and grunts of pain. The VanCleves hurried behind him.
"I can walk." There was nothing wrong with her but cuts and bruises. "And where's your cane?"
"Not yet." He set her on her feet at the top of the stairs. "Cane's somewhere in the middle of Main Street - or maybe the fire house."
"You were so worried you dropped it and ran?" He was such a hero.
Eli shrugged. "What else was I supposed to do?"
Mrs. V put her arm around Nettie's shoulder and led her toward the guest suite. "You left a nightgown behind, Miss Nettie. I'll go start your bath and leave it out on your bed. So good to see you back."
"I'll bring up the things in from the car," her husband added. "We'll put the Websters in the Gold Room, all right? They can borrow night things from us. We'll have clean clothes for everyone by breakfast."
"You three are some of the most wonderful people on Earth." Nettie looked back at Eli and smiled. "You need a bath too. And get off that damn leg, you idiot." Her wonderful, beloved idiot.
Later, she joined Eli for supper in the breakfast room, which seemed appropriate for the pair of them. He'd taken a mild pain pill, but she could see he still hurt. "You didn't reinjure yourself, did you?"
"No, I only strained it a bit," he said. "I've learned that I can move when I need to, though. I feel more...whole than I had been. I have my limits, but I'm still a man."
She rolled her eyes. "You were always a man. Even if you'd been in a wheel chair, I wouldn't have cared. I love what's in here..." She reached over and touched his forehead. "And here." She placed her fingers over his heart, feeling it beat. While she was in one of her own nightgowns and his bathrobe, he wore only a clean shirt and trousers. The scene was very intimate - this is what it would feel like after they were married, she was sure of it.
Eli reached into his pocket and pulled out her engagement ring. "I'm hoping you'll take this back. I've been a fool, but I do love you, with all my heart."
She held out her hand. "I don't want to wait for the wedding."
He smiled as he slid the ring on her finger - the left this time, where it belonged. "Next week? We can probably arrange all the legal matters by then."
"Next week is fine." She laughed, and stood, reaching out with both hands. "But that isn't what I meant. The Websters will be here in an hour or so, so we don't have long. Take me to bed, Eli. Give me something to dream about that will erase all the nightmares."
"Next week at the latest." He threw down his napkin and stood, taking her hands. He led her into his bedroom and locked the door behind them. "You're sure?"
"Completely." She untied the belt of the robe and let the heavy silk slither to the floor. "I'm done waiting for you, Eli Lawson. I want us to belong to each other in every way possible."
"I want that too." He dropped his suspenders and unbuttoned his shirt, slowly, his gaze holding hers. "Are you sure you don't want me to turn off the light? My scars are pretty ugly."
"I'm aware of that. Remember, I changed the bandages? Besides, it's the scars that make us who we are." She pulled the nightgown over her head and turned, letting him see her bare back for the first time.