“I’m not saying she set it on purpose,” Josh said, his voice calm and quiet. Which only infuriated Tate even more. He wanted to punch Josh in his smug-looking face. “It was most likely an accident.”
“No.” Tate shook his head. “I refuse to believe it.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. Bailey had a lot of nerve, accusing Wren of setting her own place on fire. She wasn’t even home when the fire started. How the hell could she have done it?
Leaving a curling iron on, or whatever the hell women used to primp and make themselves pretty. Or maybe she forgot to blow out a candle that burned for so many hours, the flame became higher . . . eventually catching a curtain on fire.
Tate frowned. He didn’t like thinking along those lines. Blaming her. She was smart. She came from a family of firefighters and he knew she wasn’t careless. She’d never leave a candle burning or a curling iron plugged in. She wasn’t stupid.
But sometimes we all do stupid things. You know this. You’re an expert at making dumb moves. Look at how you’re letting Wren slip right through your fingers and back into the arms of her arrogant ex.
Tate shoved the negative thoughts into the farthest corner of his brain.
“I’m not ruling it out yet,” Josh said carefully. “But we’ll see.”
“That’s all you’ve got?” West asked incredulously.
Josh’s expression betrayed nothing. The guy was one serious nut who proved almost impossible to crack. “That’s all I’m willing to discuss regarding the fire at Wren Gallagher’s residence. Otherwise, we have no new leads, no new fires. The Ridge fire has officially been declared as arson—”
“We already knew that,” Tate interrupted, earning a hard stare from Josh for doing so.
“Right. And that’s it.”
“Why the hell did you call this meeting then?” West asked.
“I wanted to let you both know that I’m not quite sure if Wren’s house was set by the arsonist. See if you have any info in regards to the fire or to . . . Wren’s state of mind over the last few weeks, especially before the incident happened,” Josh said.
“How are we supposed to know?” West made a face.
Inside, Tate seethed. He knew what Josh was getting at. And it pissed him off.
“Was she upset? Was something bothering her? Distracting her?” Josh looked from West to Tate, his gaze sticking to Tate. “Relationship troubles possibly?”
“Are you implying something?” Tate asked tightly.
“Not at all. You two are the closest to her, from what I can tell. Well, and your brother Lane. But that guy would rather pummel me into the ground than give me the time of day,” Josh muttered with a shake of his head.
Tate could relate. Lane was a solid judge of character.
“Well, our mother was going through some health problems . . . ” West’s voice drifted, and Tate sent him a meaningful look. One that said shut the fuck up.
West pressed his lips together, remaining quiet.
“She didn’t do it,” Tate said after a few moments of tense silence. “I know Wren. I’ve spent a lot of time with her lately, and I know she wouldn’t do something as careless as you’re implying. I don’t care how supposedly distracted or worried she might’ve been. She knows better.”
“I’m glad you have so much faith in her.” Josh stood. “She’s going to need someone standing by her side.”
The moment Josh walked out of the office, West cursed under his breath. “I really dislike that guy.”
“You and me both,” Tate muttered.
“THANK YOU FOR agreeing to meet with me.” Levi smiled at her, revealing his perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth. She remembered back in high school when he wore braces. Remembered when he used to flip his hair away from his eyes with a flick of his head, a gesture she always found incredibly cute. The way his brown eyes would crinkle in the corners every time he looked at her and smiled.
They were crinkling now as he watched her from across the table at the tiny local coffee shop tourists loved to come to. The end of the season was close, but there were still people flooding the area. Labor Day weekend was the final close-out for the summer, and it loomed.
It still surprised her that Levi was in Wildwood visiting his parents. It shouldn’t, considering his family never left. But if he came back over the years, she’d never heard about it. Though what gave her the right to know? After he ended their relationship, they didn’t even remain friends.
But just maybe . . . they could change that and become friends after all. She definitely didn’t want anything more. They were long done. Surely he had a girlfriend or even a . . . wife.
Her gaze dropped to his hands resting loosely on the tiny round table, and she leaned in closer, trying to see if he had a wedding ring on.