Free Skylar (The Love Family Series Book 1) by Kate Allenton Page B

breath and wiped her tear-stained face. “You’re right. I know you are. We can handle this.”
    He pressed his lips to her hand. “Of course we can, baby.”
    Skylar turned her gaze to the window, the passing beauty of the island tainted by what unimaginable scene might lie ahead. Olivia in the hospital and their shared store potentially in ruins. Her gut clenched as she swallowed around the lump in her throat. The killer and his trail of destruction would haunt her memories for years to come.
    “Oh my god.” She pointed to the smoke billowing over the tops of the trees as lightning flashed across the angry sky, the storm slowly making its way toward the island. The old legends believed it to be an impending omen, but she disagreed. The water was a blessing to her, a source of nutrients for their green vegetation to thrive. Only time would tell if the rain did more damage than good concerning the fire looming in the distance.
    Luke turned on Pike Drive and slowed as he approached the chaotic scene. Fireman swept water, spraying from the hose, back and forth across the rooftop of the two-story building as others scurried around the street. Bile rose to her throat, clogging her words. One of her most dreaded fears was realized. Townspeople and bystanders stood at a safe distance, watching as her life fell into ruins. Luke parked and they both got out. She stood motionless by the door, watching the destruction of her life’s work as the fire licked the night sky.
    Luke appeared by her side, putting a reassuring hand on her back. “You’ll rebuild.”
    She turned to look at him, biting back the tears. She nodded as he led her toward the young fire chief, Cole Buchannan.
    “Chief,” she called out, sidestepping over the hose running along the ground. “I’m Skylar Love.”
    Cole glanced up from his clipboard and met her halfway. “Ms. Love.” He turned toward the building. “As you can see, you’re looking at a total loss.” He turned back to her, ignoring the horrendous scene behind him. “It’s still too soon to speculate, but we believe it was arson. A witness saw a man running from the back entrance after hearing a woman’s scream.”
    “My business partner, Olivia Parks,” she answered, unable to take her eyes off the carnage of everything she’d spent her life building. “You say there was a witness?”
    “Yeah, he’s the one that called the cops and carried Olivia to safety when he noticed the fire inside the building. Right now we’re just trying to contain the blaze. We’ll be here for hours making sure that it’s out. We haven’t found anyone else. Do you know if anyone was working?”
    She shook her head. “There shouldn’t have been. My partner and I do the closings at night after we send the staff home.”
    Luke wrapped his arm around her waist in support.
    “Chief, I appreciate everything you’re doing, but we’ve got to go to the hospital to check on Olivia. Is that all you needed?”
    “I understand.” Cole unclipped a card from his clipboard and handed it to her. “The fire inspector will call you with his findings, and we’ll keep you apprised of the situation.”
    “Thank you.” Luke shook the chief’s hand before leading Skylar away. She glanced at the black charred brick on the building one last time as she climbed into the SUV.
    Luke climbed in the other side and buckled his belt but didn’t move to start the ignition as he quietly observed the scene. “Sky, I think we should leave the island.”
    “What? No,” she answered without hesitation. “This asshole is not running me out of my damn town.” She spoke her words through gritted teeth. “The only thing this shithead has done is piss me the fuck off.”
    “Sky…we don’t even know that it was him.”
    Sky rested her head against the seat and inhaled a deep, calming breath to combat the raging nerves running through her body.
    “Don’t we?” She glanced at him. “Who else could have done it?”
    “I