Her expression flattened, her pale skin going almost white. The spare sprinkle of freckles on her cheeks stood out in contrast. “I didn’t have a choice,” she finally said.
“Zach?” someone called before he could push for more. He forced himself to pull back, to let his arm fall to his side, to clench his teeth together so he wouldn’t ask why. Then he deliberately turned his head to the side, blocking her out.
Because he didn’t need to know why. Knowing that she had walked away was more than enough.
Six
“Zach, are you ready?”
Sadie tore her gaze from Zach to look at Jacob Blackstone, who stood about five feet from them. To her embarrassment, she had to blink a moment before her gaze would focus on him. Instead she wanted nothing more than to turn back to Zach and press her lips to his. No matter who was looking.
So close.
But Zach wouldn’t be there waiting. He strode toward his future brother-in-law, not looking back. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Ready for what?” she asked.
“They’ve cleared us to take a preliminary tour inside before the workers go into the parts of the building that were damaged to start cleanup.”
She glanced at Zach’s retreating back. For someone who said he wasn’t letting her out of his sight, he sure was moving away at a fast clip.
“Are you coming?” Jacob asked. Sadie found herself on the receiving end of his inquisitive look.
“Yes, if I may,” she said. Apparently, Zach wasn’t so far away he hadn’t heard that, because his shoulders had straightened, hard.
Jacob led her back to the trailer and got some boots and coveralls in her size. Once she was dressed and had collected her camera, she approached the men again where they stood with two soot-covered figures with clipboards. She steeled herself as Zach turned toward her, but he held out a bright yellow hard hat. “This, too,” he said simply.
Jacob introduced her to the fire inspectors, then they headed for the building entrance. To her surprise, a large group of workmen formed a crowded semicircle near the door. Jacob paused to shake a few hands and speak, but the still, respectful patience of the hundred or so people brought out an emotional response in Sadie.
She wasn’t used to this. She had more experience with the spoiled variety of the human species. But the simple look on their faces told her this place meant something to them. When Jacob gave the word that it was time, they’d put their backs into rebuilding it—paycheck or no.
Stepping back, she got some wide-angle shots of the crowd, then the entrance. As she took her turn stepping through, her chest tightened. To be the first to see the destruction of this place felt significant. And this wasn’t even the worst part of the damage. Her hold on her camera got a little tighter. Hopefully she’d be able to do her subject some justice.
The smell of smoke lingered in the air outside the building, but it hadn’t prepared her for the thickness of it inside. It seemed to immediately dry out her throat and threaten to choke her. She found herself panting, trying to limit the air’s access to her lungs.
The outer rooms were relatively intact except for their blackened walls, but as they traveled deeper, more damage began to appear. Bubbled paint, peeled portions of Sheetrock, black marks following trails that she assumed were electrical wires in the walls.
“Wow,” said a masculine voice near her.
Sadie turned her head to see a big bear of a man staring down the hallway. The hard movement of his Adam’s apple told her just how much seeing this affected him.
The rest of the group that had come in were just ahead, leaving Sadie and the man behind a bit. “What did you do here?” she asked.
There was no doubt he had worked here. Someone didn’t view a building, especially an industrial building, with such emotion if there wasn’t a personal tie.
He turned to her as if he hadn’t realized she was there. He blinked rapidly. She knew the feeling well. Working in Sheldon Hall for the Beddingfield family, she’d learned early on all the tricks to hiding those telltale signs of emotion. Instead of pushing, she waited to see if he was interested in talking to her or wanted to be left alone.
Once under control, he offered a halfhearted smile. “Oh, I’m Bateman, the day shift foreman.”