“What do you mean? What happened?”

“There’s a fire. It’s all on fire.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

JESSE STOOD WITH HER sisters in front of the still-smoldering ruins of what had once been the Keyes Bakery. Most of the flames had been put out but the smell of smoke lingered in the air.

Over the past few hours, the building had been reduced to a pile of rubble. Nothing had been saved. When Jesse had arrived, flames had climbed toward the sky, like some frightening form of entertainment. The heat had kept them back. Now there was nothing but embers and ashes.

“I can’t believe it’s gone,” Nicole whispered, sounding as stunned as Jesse felt. “Just like that.”

Claire stood between them, her arms linked with theirs. “No one was hurt. That’s the most important thing. The rest is just stuff and can be replaced.”

Jesse didn’t bother fighting the tears that flowed down her face. “Good Morning America isn’t going to be coming out now,” she said. “There’s not much of a story.”

Small business destroyed by fire. Who cared about that?

“It’s not the end of the world,” Nicole said. “We can fix this. We have insurance. We’ll rebuild. It will just take some time.”

Jesse didn’t say anything. What was the point? She’d come back to Seattle to prove something. She’d given herself six months to make her point—that she could be a viable part of the business, that she could make a difference. But with the bakery shut down, that was impossible.

“What are you going to do until then?” Claire asked.

“I don’t know,” Nicole admitted. “Oversee the building.”

It was the death of her dream, Jesse thought sadly. She would have to go back to Spokane and pick up her quiet life working in a bar. She would never get the chance to show that she had good ideas and could make a difference. She was—

“We can rent a kitchen,” she said without thinking. “We’d have to cut down on some of the items, but not all of them. We can get the word out about the location. And we can use this time to go live on the Internet. The CDs with all the programming and information is at Paula’s house. I could find a server in the morning. It wouldn’t take long. Then we would still have most of the business during the reconstruction.”

Nicole shook her head. “It would never work. Jesse, I know you keep pushing this, but it’s not possible. This isn’t the right time. You can’t ship baked goods across the country. They won’t pack well and even if you’ve solved that problem, they’ll be stale when they arrive.”

“Not if we use overnight shipping.”

“No one’s going to pay for that.”

“How do you know?”

Nicole pulled free of Claire and turned on Jesse. “Maybe in your pretend world at community college they will. But not out here. No one is going to spend all that money to get brownies or a cake to Cleveland.”

“You don’t know that,” Jesse said, frustrated by Nicole’s constant refusal to admit her plan could work. “I did a lot of research and it wasn’t in the pretend world. I checked out how other companies with delicate products did it. Yes, having to pay overnight will cut into sales, but it won’t eliminate all of them. The start-up costs are so minimal, it’s crazy not to try.”

“I have spent years in this business,” Nicole snapped. “I know my customers.”

“You know the people who come into your store. You don’t know the rest of the country and I don’t know why you won’t consider the possibility. There is more to life than just what you see.”

“I’m aware of that,” Nicole said through obviously clenched teeth. “But what you want is impossible.”

“Because you say it is. You won’t even try.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Claire said as she released both of them. She stepped in front, then turned to face them. “No more fighting. Not tonight. We’ve been through enough as it is.” She looked at Nicole. “It’s going to take a while to get everything figured out. The cause of the fire, designs for a new place, construction. We’re talking months, maybe a couple of years. I don’t know. In the meantime, you have employees. Are you going to let them go?”

Nicole shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s all too much right now.”

“I agree,” Claire said. “But Jesse’s right. A rented kitchen is a fast way to get going and there isn’t much in the way of start-up costs. The same with the Internet sales. If she has a Web site ready to go, we only have to deal with hosting. That won’t cost much. So what if the sales aren’t spectacular? There will be some and at the very least, you can keep a few employees on.”

Nicole sighed. “You’re right.”

“I know. As to the rest of the business, what about selling to restaurants locally? Have you ever looked at that market? Between the cake and the brownies, you should be able to generate some interest.”

Jesse glanced at Claire. “Restaurants? I never thought of that.”

“Me, either,” Nicole admitted.

“I am so much more than a pretty face,” Claire told them. “You need to remember that.”

That made Jesse smile.

Nicole laughed. “Fair enough. We’ll start by finding a kitchen to rent and get the Internet site up and running. I need to call everyone and let them know what’s happened. What time is it?”

Jesse glanced at her watch. “Nearly three.”

“Sid will be getting here soon.” Nicole sighed. “This is going to be hard for all of us.”

Jesse didn’t say anything. While she was pleased that Nicole had finally come around, she resented that her sister would consider the idea of a rented kitchen when Claire mentioned it, but not when she, Jesse, did.

There was a loud crack as another beam fell. Jesse blinked against the smoke and wondered what the fire department would say was the cause. Old wiring maybe. A faulty piece of equipment. The place had been around forever.

“Nicole? Jesse?”

Jesse turned and saw Sid walking toward them. He was dressed all in white, with a clean apron in his hands.

“What the hell?” he asked.

Jesse and Nicole moved toward him.

“No one was inside,” Nicole said. “We’re still not sure how it started. I was going to call, but I don’t have anyone’s number with me.”

Sid stared at the smoldering flames. “I can’t believe it. The whole thing is gone.”

“We’re going to rent a kitchen,” Jesse told him. “It will take a couple of days to get up and running.”

“What?” Sid shook his head. “Right. Yeah, rent a kitchen. That makes sense. Jesus. How does something like this happen?”

They didn’t have any answer. Instead they talked quietly until more employees arrived, then went through everything with them. Jesse huddled in the darkness, cold and exhausted, but not ready to leave. Around four, Matt showed up, carrying containers of coffee.

Jesse hurried toward him, pleased he’d come. “What are you doing here?” she asked, wishing she could throw herself at him. Right now she could use a good holding. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“I guessed you were still here,” he said as he handed out coffee. “I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I came to see if I could help.”

She took the coffee he offered. “Thanks.”

He looked around at the smoldering ruin. “They couldn’t save any of it? That must have been some fire.”

“It was incredible.” Jesse didn’t want to think about all they’d been through. She was exhausted and not feeling up to coping, even though there was so much to do. She sipped the coffee and felt the warmth spread through her.

“Nicole’s insured, isn’t she?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll be able to rebuild, but it’s going to take a while.”

“I know. We’re coming up with a plan now.” She suddenly had to struggle to keep her eyes open. “Sorry. I’m not feeling too perky.”

“A delayed reaction to stress and shock,” he said and took her by the arm. “Come on back to my place. You can shower and get some sleep. I’ll bring you back here later to pick up your car.”

“I should just go back to Paula’s.”

“It’s four in the morning. You’ll wake everyone.”

Oh, right. Good point. “Let me tell Nicole and Claire.”

She spoke with her sisters, then allowed Matt to lead her to his car. It was a sleek Mercedes two-seater that probably cost more than she’d made in the past five years.

“You’ll need a different car,” she mumbled as she put her coffee in the cup holder, then fumbled with the seat belt. “Kids need to be in the back. It’s the front-seat air bag.”

Matt smiled at her. “Interesting subject change. I’ll keep that in mind. You going to be okay for the trip back?”

“Uh-huh. I just need a shower and a chance to rest.”

Normally she would have skipped the shower, but she smelled like smoke. She didn’t need the visceral reminder that her dreams had gone up in flames.

“Maybe not,” she murmured. “If we do the rental kitchen and the Internet sales, I still have a chance.”

“At proving yourself?” he asked as he pulled into the quiet street and headed for his place.

“Uh-huh.” She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. “I gave myself six months to get it right. Did the fire have to be now? Couldn’t it have been a year from now?”

“It’s not personal, Jess. It’s just one of those things.”

“It feels personal. The fire hates me.” She was starting to drift. “Nicole still hates me, but Claire’s making her try out some of my ideas.”

“Your sister doesn’t hate you.”

“Ha! A lot you know. You still hate me, too.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’re mad. I can tell you’re mad. But you’re doing better with Gabe and he matters a lot more than me.”

“Because you love him?”

“He’s my son. I would die for him.”

The car stopped. Jesse opened her eyes to see if they were already at Matt’s place, but they were just stopped at a light. She glanced at him and found him staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re not what I expected.”

“You didn’t expect me at all. I’m a surprise.”

“In more ways than you know.”

JESSE MUST HAVE FALLEN asleep because the next thing she knew, Matt was helping her out of the car. She managed to get through the house and upstairs. He helped her into a huge bedroom she would guess was the master. There was a massive bed and beautiful, custom furniture. At least she guessed it was custom based on how perfectly it fit into the space.

He tugged her hand and led her into what was supposed to be a bathroom, but needed a different word to describe it. There was a fireplace and a flat-screen TV over a jetted tub that could probably fit five. The shower was frameless with plenty of heads and jets and who knew what else.

“You awake enough to manage?” he asked as he set several very fluffy towels onto the marble counter. “I don’t want you drowning in my shower.”

“Me, either.” She eyed the controls. “How do I turn it on?”

He went to a control panel on the wall. “Twenty minutes enough?” he asked.

Shock made her feel more awake. “You have a remote control shower?”