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"Now, Kieran." She waits until I look at her. "I hope you believe in it as much for me as you do for yourself. Because I don't think you do." Absentmindedly, she pulls the zipper of my jacket up higher. "You deserve good things to happen to you. And you deserve them as much as I."

Emotions burn in the back of my throat. I make a noncommittal sound and drop my chin to my chest.

"Don't answer," she whispers, her thumb grazing my cheek.

"Why not?"

"Because you're either going to be too strict with yourself or you're going to downplay your feelings. Sit with it a while."

"Okay."

She reaches for my hand, laces our fingers again, and gives it a squeeze.

"Now, let's see how the cats are doing, shall we?"

Chapter 13

Brooke

“Brooke, oh my god!” Hannah throws her arms around me and hugs me tight. "I'm so sorry.” Even tighter. “I came here as fast as I could."

"Don't worry about it,” I press out and wait for her to loosen her clamp-like embrace so I can breathe again. “You were in town for Thanksgiving with your family. I can't expect you to drop everything at the drop of a hat. Honestly, there wasn’t much you could have done." Okay, now. Breathe, Brooke. "And neither could I. All thanks go to the Kinstead firemen."

"Hooray, firemen." She lets go of me but keeps her hands on my upper arms. "Now to the important matters: where are the animals? Did they run away?" Her eyes dart past me to the shelter, anxiety making her voice jump an octave.

"The animals are okay. Do you think if they were in danger, I’d stand here all relaxed?" I shake my head with a grin and link my arm with hers. "I brought them to a cabin at my parents' place this morning. They’re a little anxious, but not too bad."

"This morning?" She pales. "Wait. Where did you all spend the night? I assume not in your flat if they had to be evacuated."

"At Kieran's," I explain, barely comprehensible.

The words take a moment to register, then the corners of her mouth twitch. "Who?"

"Kieran," I say more clearly and pinch the bridge of my nose. I know she heard me the first time.

"Brooke," she shouts, louder than I'm comfortable with, and playfully slaps my shoulder. "And you didn't think to tell me? Not even a message? Are you for real? You're spending the night at a TikTok hottie's house, and it’s not the fact you lead with? I’m not mad, but disappointed."

"What in the ever-loving hell is a TikTok hottie?" I stare at her, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

"Wait. You don't know?" Her eyes widen. And so does her grin. I’m surprised it’s even possible without splitting her face in two. "Oh my god, girl, you're in for a treat. But it can wait. I'll show you later.” She takes a deep breath. “Back to the animals."

"Right. So, he offered his guest rooms for the night. Or maybe I should say his living room, because all the girls hung out on his couch. We set up Daisy’s stuff in there too, and I shared a guest room with the cats. Morticia and Gomez were set up in the hallway. It was a bit cramped, but it worked out. My parents only had the barn available yesterday, so I had to improvise."

"Right." Hannah grimaces and absentmindedly rubs her upper arms. "Which is way too cold at night this time of year."

"Exactly what I was saying," I point out and nod vigorously. "But Micah was nice enough to move into the main house and free up his cabin for us as long as the shelter"—I motion vaguely at the building—"is out of commission. So, I moved in there with the animals and can stay until we can return safely."

"And we don't know how long that will take yet, right?" Hannah crosses her arms in front of her chest and inspects the building. "I mean, it looks fine. So, hopefully soon."

Obviously, the windows are dirty and there is some black residue on the facade, but inside? A bit of a smoke smell is about it. The wind was in our favor. We got lucky with the fall-out.

"Right. Hopefully, we’ll know later today," I reply with a nod and stare at the smoke-stained façade.

Malina’s car comes to a stop a few meters away in front of us, and she waves at us through her halfway open window.

“Hey, girls." She closes the window and climbs out of her car. Despite the serious situation we’re facing, there's a wide smile on her round face. Her black-brown curls bounce as she makes her way over to us in her thick brown winter coat.

"It's so good to see you, too." It might not be a conventional landlady-tenant way to say ‘hi’, but I still greet her with a hug.