They’d talk later in the morning. Hopefully things would be clearer then.
For now, she’d just escape into the blackness.
29
The next time Autumn awoke it was Lydia she saw next to her. Her sister was in the dent Griff had left behind, her arm flung over her head as she lay on her back, unashamedly snoring. Autumn’s lips twitched at the sight, at the same time her stomach dipped at the realization that Griff wasn’t next to her. The urge to curl up in his arms felt stronger than ever.
She rolled over and sat on the edge of the bed, circling her shoulders to loosen the knots there. The unbearable shivers had gone, and the constant icy feeling of her skin had disappeared with it, but her muscles still told the story of last night.
“What time is it?” Lydia croaked, groaning as she sat up. “Oh hey, are you okay? No headache or shivers or anything?”
“Nope.” Autumn turned to her sister. “How about you?”
“I’m exhausted.” She yawned as though to demonstrate the truth of it. “One minute we were curled up in bed together, the next I’m being woken up by Ally and getting dragged outside. Now I know how my first boyfriend felt when Dad found us in bed together.”
Autumn would have laughed, but she remembered that night so well. The poor boy hadn’t stood a chance.
“Talking of Dad, is he still here?”
“Yeah. He’s in the living room. Griff left to meet his friend Lucas at the pier. They’re inspecting the damage.”
Autumn scrambled to her feet. “He should have woken me up. I need to be there.”
“He only left half an hour ago. I promised to tell you as soon as you woke up. We can head over there now.” Lydia swung her feet to the floor. “Just as soon as you put some clothes on.”
Autumn blinked and looked down at her tatty leggings. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Yeah you do. Your things are still here, remember?” Lydia pointed to the open bag on Griff’s ottoman as she stifled a yawn. “Let’s shower and clean our teeth, then we can head over, okay?”
* * *
The pier looked worse than ever in the morning light. The end was charred, the red painted iron buckled from the heat of the blaze. Griff’s boat was floating there, the port side black from smoke. Autumn pressed her lips together, determined not to cry again. She’d shed enough tears for a lifetime.
A group of people were huddling around the boardwalk, talking as they faced the pier. She recognized Frank and Deenie, Lorne from the surf shop, and Ally’s husband Nate, along with the firefighters who worked at the ASFD under Lucas’s captainship.
As soon as they saw her, Autumn was swallowed up in a succession of hugs, each one of them telling her how sorry they were.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to get the pier up and running again,” Frank promised. “We’ve already started a fund for the repairs.”
“I’ll put a bucket next to the register,” Deenie told her. “Everybody will. It’ll be okay.”
“That’s so kind of you, but I have insurance.” Autumn attempted a smile. “Maybe we can raise money for the Delmonicos and Griff instead. They’re going to lose a lot of money until everything’s repaired.”
“We’re a generous community,” Frank said, patting her arm. “You’ll all be taken care of.”
She could see Lucas and a few of his firefighters at the end of the pier, so she said her goodbyes before she headed up there. It was only when she climbed the steps that she realized Griff was with them, too. He swallowed hard when he looked at her.
“So, what’s the damage?” she asked, trying to keep her voice light.
Lucas shook his head. “It’s not great news. The end of the pier is a write off. It’s going to have to be rebuilt from scratch.”
She breathed in sharply. “Okay. How about Griff’s boat?”
Griff shook his head. “I can get another.” Their eyes met and she felt her chest tighten.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s not your fault.”