AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“About as well as could be expected, but I need to head out. Are you all set? You have everything you need?” Digging my hands in my pocket, every fiber in my being screams at me to not leave her, but she’s not alone. She’s with our parents, and they may be upset with us, but I’m sure they won’t let anything happen to her either.
“I didn’t think you’d be leaving so soon.” She frowns and comes over to hug me. I rest my chin on her head before trailing kisses along her jaw and neck. I nibble on her earlobe, which earns me a giggle.
“You need to settle in and should probably spend some time with your mother, alright? I have a shift starting at four.”
“I’ll miss you, daddy.” My heart sinks a bit in my chest.
“I’ll miss you, too, baby, but I’ll stop by the shelter after my shift tomorrow.” I lift her chin and give her a lingering kiss. She tastes so good on my lips that I have to force myself to pull away so that I can leave.
11
Too Close for Comfort
Sara
Traffic slows and then stops, and I strain my neck trying to see what’s going on up ahead. I pick up my phone to call the volunteers who are no doubt waiting for me to unlock the door at the shelter and jump when it rings in my hand. It’s Sam and I can’t keep from smiling when I see his name on the screen.
“Good morning. I miss you,” I tell him.
“Good morning, baby. Are you on your way to the shelter?”
“Yeah, I’m stuck in traffic. I don’t know what’s going on but…” He breaks in on me mid-sentence.
“I need you to listen. I’m here at the shelter. We’ve been here since about five this morning. Everything’s fine. There was a fire at the warehouse on the lot next door,” he explains, and I hear the sense of urgency in his voice.
I swallow hard to try to dislodge the lump in my throat and look down at my hands, which have begun shaking uncontrollably.
“Baby? Are you there?” he asks me.
“Yes, um, I’m here.” I try to wrap my head around what he’s telling me. “Was this the guy?”
“We don’t know. It’s too early to tell anything. I don’t want you to worry, but I don’t want to take any chances either. We can talk when you get here, but maybe you should start thinking about finding somewhere else to place these dogs temporarily just to be on the safe side.”
I try to clear my head, but it’s hard to have a rational thought with this fire being so close. What if it was the shelter? Would the old shoddy plumbing hold up so the sprinkler system could do its job? I grow more impatient the longer I sit in this traffic jam, and I hope that by the time I reach him, Sam will have some answers for me.
The cars ahead of me finally begin moving forward, and I can see the fire trucks that have blocked my lane of traffic. A police officer is directing us, and it’s finally our turn to go. I pass the fire truck, pull into the shelter lot, and slam on my brakes as I try to digest the information that my eyes are sending to my brain. The warehouse next door, which was easily three times the size of the shelter, is now a charred concrete skeleton blowing smoke from the hollow space where the roof used to be. If it had been the shelter, there would have been nothing left but a pile of ash.
Sam sees me and begins walking toward the shelter, so I pull into my parking spot and get out to meet him. I wrap my arms around him. His face is streaked black by a combination of soot and sweat, and my nose is assaulted by the heavy smoke smell emanating from his overalls.
“You’re gonna get dirty,” he tells me but I don’t want him to let me go, so he holds me for a moment despite his protest.
My volunteers begin arriving as the fire truck moves off the road, and traffic flows freely again and I open the door to let them in. Sam and I stay outside. I don’t want them overhearing us and panicking.
“They won’t have many details about the fire for a few days. The Fire Marshall has initiated an investigation, but with a building this massive, it’s gonna take some time for them to sift through the ashes,” Sam tells me, holding my hand and staring hard at me.
“So, you haven’t heard anything from the guy? He hasn’t reached out to you?”
“No, nothing like that but I think it’s best that we assume that it was him and take action to make sure that you, these kids, and those animals are protected. I want you to close up as early as possible today and no one is to be here after dark, ever,” There’s a steely determination in him, so I merely nod. “Have you given any thought to moving the dogs out?”
I sigh and cover my face with my hands in frustration. “I have a friend who runs a shelter about two hours from here. I can call her and see if she has room to take them temporarily. I can send food and supplies with them so it shouldn’t be a problem as long as she has the space.”
“Good. Get a hold of her now and if she’s willing to take them, we can load them up and transport them this afternoon.” I can sense that he’s already mentally making a list of what needs to be done before this day ends.
“That quickly?”
“Yes, little girl. Today,” he confirms. “I have to finish up over there. I’ll stop back in a bit to check on you.”
Looking at me with concern etched on his handsome features, he pulls me for a kiss and tells me, “Everything’s gonna be fine. I promise.”
