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"It certainly was," Olivia said fervently "Don’t ever hesitate to contact ," she emphasized

"Me, too," Will chihter’s arm "I feel much better now that my children are here"

"What happened?" Will asked, still a little breathless He glanced from Ben to Mack and back to Ben

"I’ to Charlotte

"I made lunch the way I always do--chicken noodle soup, which was on si when Ben said he sree, so I didn’t worry about it My new cooking ht recipes on how to use zucchini and I was absorbed in that Then all of a sudden Ben thren his book and let out a yell"

"Yes," Ben said, picking up the tale "I saw flaoodness Ben can deal with a crisis because I panicked My first thought was that we needed to put out the fire ourselves, but by then the kitchen drapes were in fla to handle the fire theest mistakes homeowners made

"One look told me it was already more than either of us could deal with," Ben continued, "so I got Charlotte and Harry out of the house and used rateful that Ben had remained calm Toothe," he said "The first action to take is always to get everyone out of the house, then call the fire depart the question to Mack

"The fire departate the cause," he told theet here?" Ben asked, standing close to Charlotte

"Usually within a couple of hours," Mack told them

"What about the Crock-Pot?" Charlotte said suddenly, clutching Ben’s arht’s dinner in it Should we try to find it in this mess?"

"Mom, I think dinner is the least of your problems," Will inserted "I’d assume the Crock-Pot’s a lost cause"

Mack couldn’t re it, but his attention had been focused on putting out the fire

"What can you tellwith the insurance people?" Ben asked, looking at Mack "Will they get in touch with us or will I need to call them?"

"You’ll need to notify them"

"The contact information is inside the house," Ben muttered

"Do you have the same carrier as you do for your car insurance?"

"Yes"

"Then the phone nuton state law required carrying proof of insurance when driving, so either Ben had the insurance card in his wallet or in the car’s glove couess I’ht"

"It’s understandable," Mack said He glanced over his shoulder to be sure he wasn’t needed elsewhere and noticed that Andrew McHale, the fire investigator, had arrived Before he could point him out, Andrew disappeared around the back of the house

"How long will it be before we can go back in the house?" Charlotte asked "I do hope everyone will be gone by five--that’s when Ben likes to watch Judge Judy"

"Mo her o back in the house The kitchen’s going to need a coht be several weeks before the house is livable again"

"We can’t go back in the house?" she asked in confusion "For several weeks? Why not?"

Mack realized that Charlotte hadn’t taken in what Olivia was saying

"The kitchen’s been destroyed," Will said, speaking slowly and clearly

"I know that, dear, but the rest of the house is fine"

"Still, you can’t live there until the dae to the kitchen has been repaired"

"But…" Charlotte turned to Ben as if asking him to plead her case

Mack understood that she was bewildered and uncertain; she didn’t seeravity of what had taken place

"But…where e go?" Charlotte asked helplessly

"Depending on the type of insurance coverage you have, the coht pay for you to stay in a hotel while the repairs are made," Mack explained

"A hotel?" Charlotte shook her head as though the very idea was repugnant to her

"Mom, you can stay with ood idea, Will," Olivia cut in "You’re living at the art gallery That’s no place for Mom and Ben They’ll stay with Jack and me"

The moment Olivia h he’d been summoned The town’s newspaper editor, Jack Griffin also did reporting duty when required; in this case he would have recognized the address Accompanied by a cameraman, Jack headed in their direction, his ever-present raincoat billowing out from his sides as he strode across the lawn