Free Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) by R.T. Wolfe Page B

that the boys would
     help with.
    Absentmindedly, Nathan placed his hand on the small of her back as they headed for
     the front door.
    It wasn't an absentminded gesture for her. The earlier tug on her heart changed to
     a solid punch. In her head she carried a short debate with herself about the foolishness
     of her reaction to such a mundane gesture. "I'm impressed. It seems... overwhelming.
     You can get this done by summer?"
    The dogs were crashed on the holey porch, sitting in the snow the same as they might
     by a cozy fire.
    " End of summer," Nathan corrected. "And remember, this is my job for now. The furniture's
     mostly built and waiting in storage."
    Nathan grabbed his dog as she split two, short whistles.
    "Thanks for the tour." Chase shook Nathan's free hand. "Let me know if there's anything
     I can do to help. Or have Brie do to help so you can start on my table sooner." He
     smiled and headed around toward the back.
    * * *
    Pleasantly worn from taking down lights from fourteen homes in forty-eight hours,
     Brie lay in bed thinking back on the past few days. She and her siblings had told
     stories about their childhoods—embarrassing stories, heartwarming stories. Nodding,
     she thought of the feeling of contentment from that part of her life.
    Her brothers had joined their sons in tussles over football. Her nieces had debated
     the true New Year's Eve Twister champion. Enough food had been made to feed a small
     country. She sent her brothers off with to-go bags of food. Kisses were passed and
     promises made to spend time with each other the coming summer.
    And the house had become silent again.
    Chase had tried to fill his role of eldest brother after their parents died, but Brie
     shut that off. His children were just reaching adolescence. It made more sense for
     Brie to handle the affairs since she lived locally. She had nothing and no one, then
     or now. It suited her. She preferred it that way, as Brian so aptly pointed out for
     her.
    She grinned as her mind flipped to the small tantrum her brother had pitched when
     Chase told him the Nathan Reed that bought the old farmhouse was Nathan Reed, founder
     of Woodridge Studio, and had agreed to make a coffee table for Chase's front parlor.
     His reaction confirmed that her new neighbor must have built up quite a business.
     She wondered what made him leave that kind of success. So his nephews could be closer
     to their grandparents?
    She thought of the conversations with her brothers and sister, reminiscing about their
     parents, this house and the neighbors who made this their own little retirement community.
     Gossip was that Clifford Piper had been spending an awful lot of time over at Lucy
     Melbourne's. Mr. Piper's house was near the entrance of the short cul-de-sac, just
     a few houses from hers. Brie could see it from the window as she rode in the back
     of a yellow car. A cab. This was familiar.
    Fear seeped into her spine. She couldn't quite think of why she would be afraid. Someone
     was walking. She remembered someone was walking. A couple. Don't take time to stare
     at them, she told herself. Don't take time to look at the red flowers her mother had
     planted as she walked in the moonlight. She felt an urgency to get in the house and
     then realized it was too late. It would always be too late. Failure and guilt took
     her.
    Everything came back. She knew she had to go in and watch her parents die and that
     she would be useless in saving them. She recalled that her legs weren't going to run.
     So, she just walked. She stood this time at the bottom of the stairs and let the tears
     stream down her face, feeling mortified that she was actually eager for the moment
     that her mother would turn to look at her one last time. When their eyes met, Brie
     simply cherished their last connection and brought her arms out to her sides waiting
     for the explosion. Her eyes opened and she was lying in her bed. She rolled over and
     buried her trembling body