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* * * *
Paula sat on her bed and opened up the mail that Susanna had given to her. She pulled out the white sheet of paper and read the typed letter.
You’re too good to be working there. I’ve watched the way men look at you, wanting to destroy that innocence about you. They’ll keep coming, trying to touch you. You deserve better. You deserve a real man like me.
Paula reread the letter. It sounded different from the other notes she’d received from the secret admirer. This one seemed like the writer was angry. She shook her head. Until he revealed himself, she really couldn’t do much. She wondered who had sent it, but she was so tired she just couldn’t keep her eyes open. She placed it into the folder and went to bed. She’d deal with it in the morning.
* * * *
The sounds of fire engines roaring in the distance awoke her from her sleep. It was 5:00 a.m. and she could hear the blaring of the engines’ horns. She closed her eyes and threw the pillow over her head. It wasn’t their house or one in their neighborhood. The fire engines were just passing through on their way somewhere else. The longer she listened the further they seemed to go before disappearing completely. She was tired and soon she fell back to sleep.
It was 11:00 a.m. when Paula awoke and headed downstairs to get something to eat. She was surprised to see that everyone except herself and Alexa were awake.
“Good morning,” she stated, and everyone greeted her.
She poured some sweet tea into a glass then turned to look at everyone. They were awfully quiet.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Did you hear the sirens this morning?” Ava asked her, and she nodded then took a sip of tea.
“There was a fire at the Murphy Hotel outside of town. Over a dozen people were injured, and so far two are dead,” Sally told her as Alexa joined them.
“What? Oh my God, how terrible,” Alexa added.
“Jeez. Is there anything we can do to help out?”
“Susanna was at BJ’s and Monte’s last night. They said it’s under control, but it looks like arson,” Elise told her.
“Well, if it is, the fire inspector will be able to figure it out,” Juliet added.
“That is just so terrible,” Paula added before taking an uneasy breath.
“It’s kind of odd about how many fires we’ve had in Delite over the past few months,” Elise stated.
“You’re right. There have been at least five bad ones. I wonder what caused them?” Alexa asked, and Paula couldn’t help but wonder if Tyler was trying to figure out the same thing. He seemed grumpier than usual, and she hadn’t seen him or Matt leave Dixie Chix with any women at the end of the night. That thought made her belly ache and a feeling of jealousy move through her. She shook her head. They didn’t even like her, so why should she waste any thoughts on them?
Chapter 5
Dixie Chix was extra crowded tonight. A lot of the firefighters, police, and EMTs came in to have some beers and recover from the fire at the Murphy Hotel. The place was pretty much demolished and a few firemen were injured.
Paula talked to a couple of the guys and she heard that Tyler had it pretty rough. As the fire inspector, and due to budget cuts in the area, he also helped out with arson investigation. He apparently knew a lot of stuff about the process to follow to try to gather evidence. Arson investigating was difficult work. She noticed how tired he looked as he sat a few stools down from the other men and next to his brother. Cautiously, she approached from behind the bar. She was helping Juliet keep up with the bar crowd.
“Can I get you another round?”
Tyler looked at her as if surprised to see her then nodded his head.
She grabbed two more beers, opened them, then placed them down on the bar.
“How are you doing? I mean, I’m sure kind of crappy and all, but I…” She didn’t finish her sentence as Tyler gave her the look of death. She felt her cheeks warm and freaked out. She left and headed toward the other end of the bar.
She could see from a distance that Matt was arguing with Tyler over something, but then Clara, another barmaid, showed up and replaced Paula so she could go out onto the floor. As she walked past the bar, Matt grabbed her hand.
“Hey, Paula, Tyler’s sorry about before. He didn’t mean to look so pissed off.”
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have bothered him.” She pulled away from him as she headed to the other bar area. Before she could get far, she felt the eyes on her. It was so strange, but she sensed people staring at her. Turning toward the side, she noticed some men sitting at a table. The two of them stared at her. Two looked drunk, and when the third turned around she noticed that it was Jimmy.
He smiled then waved her over. Reluctantly she walked that way and would use the excuse that she needed to head to the office.
