Page 30 of Hard Evidence
- Groceries.
- Flowers for Marion.
- Check in with Jake.
- Call Isabel.
- Gym.
- Dinner?
“Why do you have to meet with a loss adjuster?”
“My house burned down.”
Huh?
“But…isn’t this your house?”
He gave a rueful smile.“Yes and no.I do own it, but I never meant to live in it.”Justin perched on a stool and took a sip of the gross-looking concoction.“My company built this whole development, and this was the model home.I live—lived—in a duplex ten miles away, and three months ago, my eighty-year-old neighbour decided to burn some leaves in his yard.The fence caught fire, and I was out, and…you know where this is going.”
My hands pressed against my cheeks.“Ohmigosh.Was he okay?”
“Yeah, thank fuck.The fire crew found him in the yard.He’d managed to unroll the water hose, but the whole damn place was ablaze by then.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Anyhow, I needed somewhere to stay in a hurry, so I just moved in here.”
“That actually explains a lot.”
“Oh?”
“The plastic on the mattress, the empty drawers, everything being brand new…”
Justin’s expression turned sheepish.“I haven’t spent much time here.A restoration service took a bunch of my stuff away for cleaning—the smoke got everywhere—but I haven’t sorted through it yet, and then there are the structural issues.That’s what I need to speak with the loss adjuster about.”
“So you’ll stay here until you can move back home?”
“Yeah, probably.It’ll be a while, though.Months, not weeks.”
“Can I help with anything?Picking up your belongings?Making this place more homey?Should I get flowers for Marion?Who is Marion?”
“Marion lives next door, and the flowers are a thank-you for the sack of dog food.We need to replace the dog food as well.”
“I could bake her a cake?And I can make the grocery list while you’re speaking with the loss adjuster.”
I thought Justin was about to say “no,” but then he smiled.A proper smile, and heck, my heart skipped.
“That’d be real nice of you.”
Whatever Saylor said, I knew I wouldn’t be hurrying to look for another place.This one was perfect.And with Shiro playing his part perfectly and giving Shadow a wide berth, another piece of the puzzle slotted into place.I was going to be the best roommate Justin Norquist had ever had.And I was going to buy that tripod.Ridge might have worn me down over the course of our marriage, but I was back on my feet again, and he wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I loved.Carefully, because if he found out where I was, he’d show up and haul me back to Maine, but A Sprinkle of Happiness was about to be reborn.
And perhaps this time, it wouldn’t be a complete lie.
CHAPTER14
JUSTIN
