"Eww," she said, wrinkling her nose as he offered his socks to her.
"Your feet are cold; I'm offering a solution," he shrugged. She kissed his cheek, then took the socks and put them on as he slipped his bare feet back into his sneakers.
"Thank you," she said. "I love you."
"I love you too. I know dirty socks aren't much, but they're what I have at the moment."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too. You're in shock, and I shouldn't have let myself get annoyed with you." He pulled her into his arms and held her. Now she looked at the house. Flames roared up from what looked like the woodpile and were quickly engulfing the side of the house. One of the windows had caught, and she could see the curtains inside in flames. She buried her face in Fabian's chest and cried.
"Adrianna? Wake up. Talk to me."
Adrianna opened her eyes, then blinked. There was a fireman kneeling next to her with Pablo Moreno's face. She wasn't on the ground; she was on her back on a stretcher and there was a pillow under her head. The side of her face throbbed and her throat was sore.
"What did you hit me with?" she demanded. Her voice came out a hoarse whisper, and she started to cough.
"Shh. I didn't hit you. I suspect whoever set this did. Hold still." He was fastening straps around her. "I need to get you away from the house quickly. Hey Greg -- ready to lift?"
"Hey Adrianna," Greg Kendall smiled at her.
"What did you do, Moreno? Set this so that you could put it out and be a hero?" Adrianna struggled against the straps and Greg held her shoulders firmly. She started coughing again.
"He didn't start it, Adrianna. He was with Fabian and me at the Tavern." They moved the gurney away from the house just as the plastic gas can exploded, sending more flames up the side of the house.
"Is Lisa in there?" Adrianna asked, apprehensive. She struggled again. A team of firefighters passed them with hoses. Greg smiled, looking beyond her to the driveway.
"I'd say not," he told her. Fabian stood in the driveway, holding Lisa tightly.
"I'm so sorry," Fabian said as Lisa sobbed into his chest. The shock had finally worn off and Lisa was crying harder.
"No, I'm sorry," she said. "Thank you for coming in to get me. Why didn't I just walk away and let him have the place?"
"You think your uncle did this?" Rick joined them.
"I don't think he did it personally, but I'd be willing to bet he arranged it." Lisa managed to calm down enough to talk and dried the tears on her face with her fingers. "Dad told me that he got turned down for the permits to subdivide and demolish all of the buildings. He was here just a week or two ago -- the day Dennis opened my garden. He was furious that I was starting a garden when he said I was going to be evicted. He said he was going to appeal. Dennis Mowery said his boys found the irrigation system plugged up in February -- someone was trying to kill the trees. The Mowerys fixed it so that it looks like it's still stopped up but the trees are getting water."
Fabian gave a snort of laughter.
"Sorry -- just imagining your uncle's shock when the cherry trees bloomed this spring just like they always did." Lisa smiled, too. They both sobered, however, when Pablo and Greg brought Adrianna up to the ambulance.
"Too brave for your own good, Addie," Fabian admonished his sister. She stuck her tongue out at him, then coughed a rasping cough.
"I'll be talking to Dennis," Rick told them. "He's the one who saw the fire starting and called it in. And I'll need to talk to Ms. DiSanti, whenever she's been taken care of."
"Excuse me, Chief?" Autumn tugged at Rick's uniform sleeve and he looked down in surprise.
"What is it, Autumn? It's late -- what are you doing here? Did you see anything?" She nodded.
"I saw the man light the fire and hit Ms. DiSanti with the gas can. Then he grabbed my hair and said I had to come with him. He threw away my glasses and I don't know where they are." That annoyed her; she snorted, then continued. "The geese are in the orchard. So are my daddy's bees. So if you want to know who did this, he's probably all scratched up and has a lot of stings."
"Autumn Mowery, you and your family are treasures," Rick smiled. "Is your daddy back yet? I know he called from your house." Autumn nodded.
"He and my brothers are trying to get the geese and bees under control. The man was gone by the time they got back."
"That's okay, Autumn. I'm almost positive I know who it is and I'll find him." He gave her hair a gentle affectionate tug.
Pablo turned away from the gurney where Greg was administering oxygen to Adrianna. He looked puzzled, as though he was trying to remember something, or had remembered something very odd.
"Lisa, do you have a chain saw?" he asked.
"A what? No," Lisa said. "Dennis does. He usually handles jobs big enough for a chain saw. Why?"
"Dennis's chain saw was stolen a few days ago," Rick said, interested.
"Crap!" Pablo raced over to the side of the house, yelling for the firefighters to get back.
"What's that all about?" Fabian wanted to know. Adrianna removed her mask.
"There was a chain saw," she said.
"What do you mean?" asked Lisa.
"There was a chain saw over there. I remember one on the ground. Wonder what the chain saw was for? A gas can I can understand, but why the saw?" She started coughing again and Greg made her put the oxygen mask back over her nose and mouth. Then he applied an ice bag to the side of her face, which was swelling and turning purple.
Most of the firefighters stepped back when Pablo ran towards them. The one person who didn't notice Pablo was Chief Lange, who was on his cell phone. Pablo stuck out an arm as though he was back on the football field and gave the Chief a shove just as another explosion lit up the back of the house and made the flames roar up again. The firefighters tackled the new blaze with water and chemicals. The Chief stood, brushed himself off, and turned to see what had happened. He noticed Pablo lying on the ground.