“Forever love,” she agrees. She shoves one last fry in her mouth and pushes her plate away. “I’m stuffed.”
“Me too.” I smirk. My plate is empty, whereas hers still has about a quarter of her burger and about the same amount of fries remaining. “You ready?”
“Yes.” Grabbing our ticket that our waitress dropped off when she brought our refills, I offer her my hand to help her out of the booth. I look at the total and toss some cash on the table for a tip. Together, we make our way to the register.
“You kids ready to check out?” Dorothy asks us. We’re far from kids, but Dorothy is pushing eighty, so to her we are.
“Yes, ma’am. It was delicious,” I tell her.
“You have a charmer with this one,” Dorothy tells Ramsey.
“Don’t I know it,” Ramsey agrees.
I quickly pay, and she passes me my change. “You be safe out there. I hope they’re getting that fire under control,” Dorothy says.
“Is that what all the sirens were about? Do you know where the fire was?”
“Such a shame. Just a few blocks over. The Willow Tavern.”
“What?” Ramsey breathes.
“Poor Hank,” Dorothy replies. “You kids have a good day.”
With my hand on the small of Ramsey’s back, I lead her out of the diner. “I have to go see what’s going on.”
“I’ll go with you. Let me call the office and let them know I’m taking a longer lunch.”
“It’s a couple of blocks, Deacon.”
“I’m coming with you.” I lace my fingers with hers, and we begin to walk. The scent of smoke fills the air. My other hand is at my ear. I call the office but there’s no answer. Our machine picks up. Our receptionist must be at lunch too. “Hey, guys, it’s Deacon. There’s been a fire at the Willow Tavern. I’m walking Ramsey over. I’ll be back to the office as soon as I can.” Ending the call, I slide my phone into my pocket.
“I hope everyone is okay. This is terrible. How did a fire start at the Tavern?” Ramsey rambles on with questions through her worry.
We make it to the corner, but that’s as far as we’re allowed to go. The firefighters seem to have the blaze under control. I spot Hank a few feet away, and I point him out. “Let’s go see what he needs.”
“Hank!” Ramsey calls out once we’re close.
He turns to look at her, his face showing a million different emotions. “Hey,” he greets us.
“What happened?”
“It started in the bathrooms. I smelled smoke and came out of my office to see what was going on. Smoke was rolling out from under the door. I got everyone out as fast as I could before I called 9-1-1. The bathrooms are right next to the storage closet where we keep the extra bottles. Once the flames reached that room, it was out of control. Nothing my little fire extinguisher could handle.”
“I’m so sorry.” Ramsey gives him a quick hug and steps back into my embrace. I hold her close as we watch a staple of this small town being doused with water. “Where is everyone?”
“I sent them all home. There is nothing they can do here. After they were all checked by the EMTs, I told them to leave.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I ask him.
“No. Just hang tight the next couple of days until we can see how bad the damage is. It’s going to take some time to get this cleaned up and repaired. I’m hoping it’s not a complete loss,” he says solemnly.
“If there is anything at all that I can do, let me know. Ramsey can reach me.”
“Thanks, Deacon.” He offers me his hand.
“Me too.”
“I’m sorry you’re going to be out of work for a while.”
“That’s… fine.”
“What? What’s that face?” he asks her.
She sighs, glances at me, and I nod. “I was coming to put in my notice. I feel terrible even telling you, with all of this,” she points behind us at the building, “going on.”
“That’s actually a relief. One less person I have to stress over. I know you live on your own and need the money.”
“Well, I live with Deacon now, but I know what you mean. Once you get this place back up and running, I’m willing to help train new employees or paint or whatever.”
“Me too,” I chime in. “Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, man. My brother, Heath, is on the fire department, so hopefully, we can get some answers.”
Ramsey offers Hank another hug, and we turn and walk away. “I wish there was something we could do. I hate just leaving him there.”
“I know, but they have it under control, and his brother is here with him. All we can do is be there for him for whatever he needs.”
“I think I’ll go to the store and grab a few things and make dinner. I can take it to the firehouse so the guys can eat later.”