At the sound of a shout across the street, Deanna suddenly turned toward the house that had apparently been her home. The relief at having found her son gave way to a shock so profound, her knees buckled.
Sean caught her before she fell, inhaling a faint whiff of some soft, feminine perfume that made his pulse leap. The skin of her arms was soft and smooth as satin against his rough palms. When he gazed into her eyes, they were filled with tears and a level of dismay that almost broke his heart. No matter how many times he saw people hit between the eyes by that sudden recognition of everything they’d lost, he’d never been able to steel himself against their pain.
“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for a fresh bottle of water inside the truck and holding it out for her. “Sit down for a minute and drink this.”
She sank onto the fire truck’s running board. “I had no idea,” she whispered, looking from him to Ruby and back again. “I thought…I don’t know what I thought, but it wasn’t this. What am I going to do? We didn’t have much to begin with, but everything we owned was in there.”
Sean exchanged a look with Ruby, whose helpless expression encouraged him to take over and reply.
“But you and Seth are safe,” he said, dredging up a familiar platitude. It was a reminder he’d delivered a hundred times, but he knew it was small comfort to someone who’d seen everything they owned—all the sentimental keepsakes from the past—go up in flames. There was always a gut-wrenching sense of loss even when they understood that life was more important than property.
He held her gaze. “You know that’s what really matters, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course, but—” She shook her head as if something had confused her. “You said something about Seth?”
“Your boy.”
She turned to the child in question, an unexpected grin suddenly tugging at her lips. “Why did you tell him your name is Seth?”
“Because I’m never supposed to tell my name to strangers,” he said dutifully. He slid a guilty look toward Sean. “I’m sorry I lied.”
Sean was surprised at having been taken in by a pint-size con artist. “You’re not Seth?”
The kid shook his head.
“Then who’s Seth?”
“He’s my friend at school,” the boy admitted. “I wanted to do what Mom said, but I figured you had to call me something if we were gonna be friends.”
“At least one lesson stuck,” Deanna Blackwell said gratefully, then met Sean’s gaze. “His name is Kevin. I hope you won’t hold this against him. He was trying to do the right thing.”
Sean chuckled at the clever deception. He’d deserved it for pushing so hard. Maybe she was doing a better job with the kid than he’d been giving her credit for. Maybe she was just a struggling single mom doing the best she could.
“No problem,” he reassured both of them. “Look, if you need a temporary place to stay, there are services available that can help. I can make a call to the Red Cross for you. Your insurance will kick in in a few days.”
She shook her head. “No insurance.”
He should have guessed, given the sorry state of the building even before the fire. Anyone forced to live here probably couldn’t afford insurance. “The landlord probably has some,” he suggested.
“On the building, not the contents,” she said. “He made that very clear when we moved in.”
“Even so, if he’s found liable through some kind of negligence, he can be sued.”
“You’re assuming I could afford a lawyer to handle the suit,” she said despondently. “I know what they charge, and I couldn’t even afford an hour of their time.”
Sean desperately wanted to find something that would put some life back into her eyes. “What about your family? Can they help?”
She shook her head, her expression grim. “That’s not possible,” she said tightly. “Look, this isn’t your problem. You’ve done more than enough just by keeping Kevin out of mischief, when there are probably far more important things you ought to be doing. We’ll manage.”
“Stop worrying, Dee. You two can stay with me,” Ruby volunteered, giving Deanna Blackwell a reassuring hug. “It’ll be crowded, but we can make it work. You’re hardly ever home, anyway, and Kevin’s already with me every afternoon. I can loan you some clothes, too.”
Sean tried to imagine Deanna wearing Ruby’s tight-fitting clothes, but the image wouldn’t come. Impulsively he reached for his wallet and peeled off a hundred dollars and tucked it into her hand. Before Deanna could protest, he said, “It’s a loan, not charity. You can pay me when you get back on your feet.”
He saw pride warring with practicality, but then she glanced down at Kevin. That seemed to stiffen her resolve. She faced Sean. “Thank you. I will pay you back.”
“I’m not worried about it,” he told her.
“But I always pay my debts. It’s important to me. Where can I find you?”
“At the fire station three blocks over most of the time,” he said, though he was mentally kissing that money goodbye. Years ago he’d learned the lesson never to lend anything if he couldn’t afford to lose it. He’d taken very few possessions with him when he’d left home, and since then he hadn’t bothered to accumulate much that had any sentimental value. As for money, it was nice to have, but he wasn’t obsessed with it. And he had few material needs that couldn’t be met with his next paycheck.
“Bring my pal Kevin by sometime, and I’ll let him try out the siren,” he suggested, giving the boy a solemn wink.
“All right!” Kevin said.
Satisfied at last that Kevin was in better hands than he’d originally assumed, Sean jogged back across the street to check on the progress being made at the fire. Only an occasional wisp of smoke rose from the ashes. They’d be out of here soon
