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Liza’s name lit up his phone again—ringing noisily.
“It’s her isn’t it?” Abigail asked softly.
“Yeah, I’m not sure why she’s calling.” He tried to sound casual, but the fact that Liza had called two times in a row peaked his curiosity. But he could sense the delicate nature of the conversation and wanted to stay focused. He silenced Liza’s call, hoping she would get the message.
Reaching across the table, he took Abigail’s fingers in his. She let him. “You know how I feel about you… and the rescue. I want you both to be a part of my life. But what doyouwant?”
Sighing, she tugged her hand away. “I don’t know. I think I need more time to decide.”
Miller nodded slowly as a churning sensation began in his chest. He desperately wanted to say something to convince her, but it seemed like she already knew what she wanted and it didn’t include Miller. They sat staring at their smoothies in heavy silence.
Miller’s phone buzzed again, startling him. This time, Captain Tate’s name appeared. “I should probably take this.”
“I have to get going anyway.” Abigail's mouth formed a thin smile as she pushed her chair back. Miller watched her walk out of the coffee shop as he held the phone up to his ear.
“Hello.”
“Miller, I just heard about the fire. I’m on my way. Are you okay?”
“What? What fire?”
“At the rescue.”
Grabbing his keys, Miller took off. “I’m not there. I was in town, but I’m heading there now.”
“I’ll meet you there,” Captain Tate replied.
Miller pressed the gas pedal, willing his truck to go faster. He tried calling Liza, but now she didn’t answer. Jumbled thoughts raced through his head.Liza. Oliver and Everette. The dogs. Snowdrop.
A drive that should have taken twenty minutes, took him ten. As he pulled up to the rescue, he saw smoke and a firetruck. Firemen were pacing as a hose was unraveled.
Jumping out of his truck, he raced up to a fireman. “There were people here. Are they okay? I need to get the dogs out.”
The fireman studied him for a moment.“Are you the owner?”
“Yes, I’m Miller Brooks. I need to get the dogs out.” Miller pushed past him to get closer to the back entrance where the play yards were. As he rounded the corner, he spotted Snowdrop, Ajax, Hunter, and the others running back and forth along the fence of the smaller play yard. Their tails were wagging. They appeared fine. Then he saw Liza. She was standing in the far back corner of the large play yard with her arms around Oliver and Everette. He rushed over to them.
“Are you guys okay? What happened?”
Liza took a step toward him and put her arms around his neck. He hugged her tight. With her head nestled into his chest she spoke through tears. “I’m so sorry.”
Miller’s head was spinning. After a moment, he held onto her shoulders and pushed back so he could see her face. She was upset, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Then he looked over at Oliver and Everette. “You guys okay?”
Everett had her arm over Oliver’s shoulder. They both nodded. Miller counted all the dogs. “Where’s Randall?”
“The vet came… he took him. Randall… was having trouble breathing.” Liza let out a sob. Miller wrapped his arms around her and she relaxed against him. He felt her tears soaking into his shirt.
“Mr. Brooks?” A fireman with a weathered face and broad shoulders approached. Captain Tate strode alongside him.
“I’m Bill Lowe, fire chief. We’ve cleared the building. We got nine dogs out. Is that all of them?”
“Yes.” Miller nodded.
“I want to brief you on the situation. The local vet, Dr. Scott, was called immediately when we were told the fire was at the rescue. When we arrived on the scene, this young woman,” he gestured toward Liza, “was holding a small dog in distress. Dr. Scott rushed the dog to the clinic while his team performed medical assessments on all the others. They appeared to be uninjured. We’re still working to find the cause of the fire. The damage was contained to the back half of the building. I’ll update you when we know more.”
“Thank you.” Miller rubbed his forehead as he watched the fire chief walk away.
“Mom!” Miller turned and saw Oliver running toward a tall blonde woman in a business suit.
