5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mars

It was strange to wake up in Steven’s old room, but it also felt familiar and comforting after the previous day’s events.

I began most of my days with a centering meditation before I did anything else, but this morning, the smell of coffee and bacon was way too tempting. Samuel must have already started his day. I tossed on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt I’d picked up at the store the day before and wandered out to the kitchen.

I’d been so caught up in the events of the day before that I hadn’t taken the time to think about what it would be like to share a space with Samuel, even for a short time, but seeing him there at the kitchen table, with a cup of coffee, a tablet, and wearing a pair of glasses, made me pause. The glasses were new—or at least new to me. I’d never seen him wear them before, and they were sexy as hell. I’d never had a glasses kink before, but it looked like I did now.

He heard me come in, set the tablet down on the table, and, sadly enough, pulled off the glasses and laid them on top.

“Good morning, Mars. I wasn’t sure what time you’d be up.”

“I get up early most days.”

“Well, breakfast is ready if you want some. I made a pot of coffee. I don’t know how you like yours, but I have sugar, artificial sweetener, and cream, so just help yourself to whatever you need. And there’s a plate of bacon and eggs in the oven staying warm for you.”

“That’s amazing, thank you. I don’t usually eat breakfast, but I sure won’t say no. Do you, by any chance, have any honey I could put in my coffee?”

“Sure, I have honey. I’ve never put it in my coffee before, but that’s an interesting idea.”

“Well, I usually get it at a coffee shop downtown. It’s a real fruity-flavored coffee, and they put grapefruit and honey in it.”

“Grapefruit?”

“I know, right? I honestly didn’t expect it to be good, but the barista at Connections wanted me to try it. So I did, and now I’m sold. I don’t put grapefruit in mine at home, though—just honey. I’ll leave the fancy stuff for the professionals.”

“It’s a good thing because I don’t have any grapefruit. What time is Steven supposed to be by?” he asked.

“We just said mid-morning, so I don’t know for sure.”

“Well, if I’m going to go with you, I need something a little firmer than mid-morning so I know how to plan my day.”

“You know you don’t really have to go with us. We can manage.”

“I’m sure you can, but I’m still going. Now, why don’t you have a seat and text Steven to get a time, and I’ll get your food.”

I felt a bit silly letting him wait on me, but since I was only going to be here a few days, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to indulge the fantasy that I had a big, strong, sexy guy waiting on me hand and foot. I took a seat and sent a text to Steven.

Me: So, your dad is going with us to the house. Which means “mid-morning” is not sufficient. Steven: Of course it’s not. I’m shocked he doesn’t want a full itinerary with bullet points and annotations. Me: Be nice. He’s giving me a place to stay. Steven: True. Tell him I’ll be there at 10:30. Me: Will do.

“Steven says ten-thirty,” I said as Samuel placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me, along with a hot cup of coffee, cream, and a jar of honey. I looked up at him and grinned.

“I’m going to leave this bed-and-breakfast an excellent Yelp review… five stars.”

He gave a mock bow and grinned at me. “So glad my humble establishment was able to meet your expectations.”

I added the cream and honey to the coffee, took a sip, and let out a sigh. This was just what I needed this morning.

“While you eat your breakfast, I have an errand to run, but I won’t be gone long. I’ll make it back before ten-thirty easy. You just make yourself at home.”

He left, and I devoured the food he’d prepared for me. Then I went about my normal morning routine. I fed Kismet, did some yin yoga, and then found a nice spot out in the backyard to do my morning meditation.

That was where Samuel found me when he got back. “What are you doing out here?” he asked.

I opened my eyes, tilted my head to one side, and looked at him. “Meditating. Haven’t you ever meditated?”

“Not really. We did have someone come to the station one time to talk to the crews about stress and relaxation techniques, and she talked about meditation. But it didn’t really appeal to me.”

“Well, she was right. Meditation is a very grounding practice and helps a lot with stress.”

“Okay, then, I’ll leave you to it.” He turned to go back inside, and I pulled my legs up under me and hopped up.

“No, I’m done. I wanted to make a list of things I want to look for at the house. I know a lot of it will be gone, but I figured a list would be a good place to start.”

“That’s a good idea. Let me get you a pad and a pen, and you can get started.”

Samuel dug around in his desk and came back with a spiral-bound notepad and a pencil. I took them from him and sat down at the kitchen table to get to work. By the time Steven got there, I was pretty much done with my list.

“Now.” I held up the notepad in the air. “This is just everything I can think of that I’d like to find, but from what the fire investigator told me, I’m not really expecting to find most of it.”

“Well, we won’t know until we look. Let’s go see what we can find.”

Ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of my house. The funny thing was, from the outside, you could barely even tell there had been a fire. I said as much, and Samuel nodded his head.

“Yeah, that’s the way it is with brick houses. Unlike a wood house, the bricks don’t burn, so the outside structure stays intact. But I want you to be prepared for what you’re going to find inside. It’s going to be much worse.”

I nodded and let out a sigh. “Yeah, that’s about what I expected.”

We got out of the truck, and Samuel walked around to the back, pulling out a stack of laundry baskets. He handed one to Steven and one to me, keeping the rest for himself. I looked down at the basket, then back up at him.

“What are these for?”

“Well, you need something to put items you’re able to salvage in, and plastic laundry baskets work perfectly. They have handles, they’re easy to carry, and they’re cheap enough that we can either throw them away when we’re done or clean them up, and you can keep them.”

“This was your errand this morning, wasn’t it?”

“Among other things.”

“What other things?” I asked.

“Just some cleaning supplies that we can use for anything you’re able to keep.”

This man . I could only dream that someday I’d find a man of my own like him.

“That’s my dad,” Steven teased. “Always prepared.”

“Well, let’s get started.” We walked up to the front door. I thought I had prepared myself for what I would find inside, but when I pushed open the front door and saw the mess inside, I gasped. Samuel hadn’t been joking. The inside was a disaster.

Samuel

I heard him gasp and immediately stepped up behind him, placing my hand on his shoulder. I should’ve done a better job preparing him for what to expect. Most people thought that fire was the thing that caused the most destruction, but the truth was, most of the time, the majority of the damage came from smoke and water. That was certainly the case here in the front part of Mars’s house.

“I knew it would be bad, but I wasn’t prepared for this,” he said.

“I know. It’s hard, but let’s go see what we’ve got.” I placed my hand on his lower back and guided him into the living room. A large portion of the ceiling had fallen in, and his couch was covered in broken, soggy sheetrock. He sniffed, then shook his head.

“You know, I hated that couch anyway.”

Steven chuckled. “You did. I remember when we brought it home from Mrs. Simpson’s yard sale. You said, It’s a hideous color. That’s probably why it’s so cheap .”

“It was hideous.”

I watched as Mars stood in the middle of what had been his home, looking around.

“What do you guys think?” Steven asked. “Anything worth keeping?”

“I’d be surprised if there was,” Mars mumbled.

“I don’t know. This lamp is probably okay.” I went over, picked up a lamp, and put it in my basket.

“Oh, look!” Mars exclaimed as he walked over to the wall near the couch. “Steven, come help me move the couch. I want to get to something off the wall up there.” Steven helped him move the couch to the side. “I think they’re all okay. I’ll put them in my basket.”

“Here you go.” I grabbed the basket Mars had been using and handed it to him, and he reached up, taking photographs off the wall.

“These were on my list, and they appear to be salvageable. See, look at this.” He handed me a picture of him and his aunt. The two of them were sitting with a group of people, all holding drums. “That was at the last summer solstice drumming my aunt attended. I’m not the one who took the picture, and I don’t have another copy.” I handed the photo back, and he pulled it to his chest, inhaled deeply, and then released the breath slowly. “The drum I was playing that day was in my bedroom, but I’m honestly not expecting to find it. It’s on the list, but I can replace the drum. I couldn’t replace the photo.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s alright,” I said.

He looked around and sighed. “I guess just pick up anything you think we can save. I’ll sort it all out later.”

We spent the next hour doing exactly that, with occasional exclamations of joy because something had been found and occasional moments of sadness because something had been lost. I had to say, I thought he was handling it all very well. The only time I actually heard him sound distressed was when he found a small rolltop desk.

“Oh no, look at this. That was Aunt Lilly’s favorite desk. It’s the only piece of her furniture I kept, and now it’s ruined.”

I had to admit, on the surface, it looked that way, but I wasn’t quite so sure. I walked over and tapped on the side of the desk.

“This is real wood. I bet it could be restored.”

Mars looked over at me, looking hopeful. “You think so?”

“Well, it isn’t burned. The finish is a little bubbled, though.” I tried to open it, but the roll top wouldn’t budge. “The wood swelled from getting wet, but that will dry out. Honestly, I don’t see any reason why, with just a little bit of elbow grease, it couldn’t be completely restored.”

“I wouldn’t have any idea where to begin.”

“Well, lucky for you, I would.”

“You wouldn’t mind helping me?”

“Not at all. As a matter of fact, I’d be honored to help. Let’s just get this all loaded up, and we can put it in my garage. I’d be happy to show you what we need to do to make it good as new.”

He looked up at me. His eyes were a little teary, but he was smiling. “Thank you, Samuel.”

I couldn’t do much about all the things he lost, but I was glad I was able to do something that made his day even a little bit better.