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SARA
A shrill soundcaught my attention as I drifted in and out of sleep. A beeping. No, a ringing. I turned over and snuggled up against the warm bare skin of Theo’s chest. But the sound wouldn’t go away.
“Theo.” I tapped him on his shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“I think your phone is ringing.”
He groaned and rolled over to the nightstand and grabbed it.
“I missed it. The station,” he said, dialing them back.
I looked at the clock. 3:17 a.m. Way too early—or late, as it happens—for me to be awake.
I put a pillow over my head and waited for the interruption to end so I could get back to sleep.
Theo had kept me up late. After a little nap, we’d showered and fell into each other’s arms, kissing, touching, and working ourselves up so much that we’d had to make love again.
I never mentioned hearing him say “I love you,” and he hadn’t said it again. But just knowing it was there, bolstering us, made my heart melt.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Theo’s tone was irate. I moved the pillow off me and sat up now, curious.
“Yeah, well hold him there. I’ll be in soon.”
Uh oh.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when Theo ended the call. He dragged his hand through his hair and cracked his neck from side to side.
“One of the new deputies, Ryan, was off duty tonight. Hung out at O’Reilly’s, then got behind the wheel and crashed his car into another at the stoplight on Oak. Miller just brought him in for DUI.”
“Oof.”
“Yeah.” He shook his head, like a disappointed father. “I’m gonna kill him.”
“Talk about a bad decision.”
“No shit. It’s dangerous, immature, not to mention, it’s pulling me out of bed with my woman. He’s about to be in a whole world of pain.”
I chuckled, but then stopped myself.
“Wait, was anyone hurt?”
“Nah, but the reason I want to go in is because the guy whose car he hit is Dane, the new fire marshal. Poor guy’s only been in town a couple weeks. Warm fucking welcome.”
“Oh god.”
“Yeah, I feel bad, so I want to go make sure everything is handled by the book. And give Ryan an earful.”
He kissed me and then got up to dress.
“Duty calls, Sheriff. And sleep calls for me.” I sank back against the bed, stretching out my still-nude body. I didn’t miss how Theo’s eyes traced over me.
“I like that I wore you out. You deserve all the sleep.” He leaned down to kiss me again, and fondle my breasts for good measure.
“Are you going to come back here?”
“I’ll probably just start my day early. Maybe run home to change real quick after I talk to the guys. Do you want me to pick you up for work?”
“No, I’m off tomorrow. Today. Whatever.”
“I don’t want you to be left alone.”
“I’ll be okay. When it hits a reasonable time of morning, I’ll head over to hang out with Ellie. She needs some help with inventory anyway.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, of course. Go. I’ll be good here. And I’ll text you when I head out.” He looked at me for a moment, but I couldn’t read his expression. And I was too tired to try. So I kissed him again and closed my eyes. I heard him buckling his belt and putting his boots on, then felt his hand tuck my hair behind my ear.
“I’ll see you later, babe.”
“Be safe.”
“I will.”
The door clicked closed and his footsteps receded.
* * *
My sleepy haze was interrupted again with another shrill sound. This time, a beep. High pitched. Loud. I was comfortable in my bed, and although I was missing Theo’s body next to mine, I luxuriated in the soft pillows and the feather duvet that I was wrapped up in.
So when the beeping continued, my first thought was one of annoyance. What dared to interrupt my sleep again?
I opened one eye and noted it was still dark. It couldn’t have been too much later, but when I reached a hand out and smoothed it on the bed sheet, Theo’s side of the bed was stark cold.
The beeping continued, and my consciousness grew. The smoke detector.
I bolted upright and just as I had that realization, an acrid smell reached my nose.
Smoke.
I jumped out of bed and pulled on an oversized T-shirt I had resting on a chair in the corner. My eyes adjusted to the dark, and I made my way to the door. While I could smell the smoke, it didn’t seem close. The wood floor beneath my bare feet was cold to the touch.
I tapped the doorknob and was relieved to find it cool, so I turned it, throwing the door open wide and looking out in the hall to see if I could figure out what was happening. My phone. Shit.
I ran back and grabbed my phone from the nightstand, then bolted out to the hall, where to my horror, the window at the back of the house was lit up with an orange glow. That window overlooked my entire back yard—my garden. I ran down the stairs, dialing 9-1-1, but as I reached the downstairs hall, the smoke hit me.
It was covering the top half of the hall, and everywhere I looked was a cloudy mess. I needed to get out, but I couldn’t leave Raven.
I bent over to breathe in the clear air and look for her. The emergency dispatcher spoke, but between the roar of the fire outside and the smoke alarm, I could barely hear.
“There’s a fire! I need help!” I gave my address and hoped that she got it right, because I couldn’t hear her to confirm it.
“Raven! Pssp pssp pssp!” I called her, over and over again. The farther back I got, the more smoke swirled around me. I tried to stay low, practically tripping over myself. As I reached the kitchen door, I realized the back deck was engulfed in flames and it was close to overtaking the back of the house. I had no choice now. I had to get out.
I turned around and fell to my knees, coughing up a lung as I crawled down the hallway to the front door. As I passed the bathroom, Raven shot out and jumped on me. I grabbed her, a sob reaching my throat as I held her tight to me.
I was delirious, holding Raven and crawling one-handed, slowly like the hall was filled with molasses. The smoke did something to make my head fuzzy. I couldn’t think. I needed fresh air. I just needed to make it to the door. I thought about how mad Theo was going to be that something happened to me.
I thought about Theo, and how he loved me. How I loved him back but I didn’t get to say it yet.
With a triumphant push, I finally reached the front door. I turned the lock, then the knob, and pushed it open, falling forward in the process. Raven jumped out of my arms, and bolted over the threshold. I heard a distant meowing now, along with the beeping of the smoke detector.
Drag yourself out.
I tried. I made it halfway through the door. The air outside was cool and fresh, but I was so dizzy, my muscles felt so weak. I couldn’t move anymore.
I thought of Theo again. His crinkle-eyed smile I loved so much. I just wanted to see it one more time. Just one more time.
