Taren shook his head as he pulled out another dish towel and wiped another dish. “No, from what I saw, I think there must have been a short in the Christmas lights on the tree.”

Her eyebrows pull together in concern. “How do you know that?” She rinsed another dish and handed it to him.

He let out a deep breath as a faraway look came into his eyes. “Well, the concentration of the fire was on the Christmas tree. It was blazing and the fire was spreading from there. If it had been from the fireplace or if an ember came from the fire and landed on the carpet,...