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Liza followed after him. “Mrs. Jones, thanks for coming. Yes, everyone’s fine." After a minute, Liza hugged Oliver and then Everette. The woman, who appeared to be their mom, led the kids to a black Escalade.
After watching them walk away, Liza covered her face in her hands.
Miller wanted to wrap her in another hug, but at that moment Captain Tate put a hand on his shoulder. They both surveyed the smoking building. An area of the metal siding was charred black and a small hole appeared a few feet below the roof.
Captain Tate finally spoke. “We have a guest room downstairs. It’s all yours for as long as you need. Dr. Scott called and said that he has temporary kennels set up for the dogs. Why don’t we start transporting them? There’s nothing you can do here right now.”
A daze engulfed Miller. He had used money his grandparents left him and his own savings to build the rescue. His mom had chipped in as well. Together, they had taken the better part of a year finding the perfect piece of land, getting permits approved, and contracting a builder. Then it took another year to actually furnish the building and get the rescue up and running. A few hours ago, it was standing. Now, it would all be torn down.
Captain Tate put his arm around Miller. Liza was walking toward the parking lot.
“I’ll be right back,” Miller told the captain as he ran to catch up with Liza.
“Hey,” he said, but Liza kept walking. “Hey, stop for a minute. Are you okay?”
She kept her eyes glued to the gravel. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.” She looked up, but only to stare out into the distance.
Miller reached out for her hand. Feeling her trembling fingers, he pulled her close and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “It’s okay, I’m just glad no one was hurt.”
“Randall’s hurt." Liza sniffled and choked back sobs. “And the rescue… it’s…” she mumbled incoherently. Miller stroked her hair, squeezing her tighter.
“Dr. Scott is taking care of him. And the rescue…” Miller didn’t know how to finish that sentence. It wasn’t going to be okay, but taking away Liza’s fear was more pressing than answers. “It’s okay,” he whispered and lightly kissed her head. After he realized what he’d done, he stiffened.
Liza peered up at him. There was a question mixed in the sadness of her eyes. Not sure what to make of the moment, Miller tried to delicately ask, “What happened?”
Stepping back, Liza crossed her arms over her stomach. “After you left, we finished giving Murphy a bath. Everette took the cutest before and after photos of her. But in the photoshoot frenzy, her phone died.” She took in a breath and began pacing in front of him—clearly trying to remember every detail.
“She was distraught until she remembered she packed a charger in her purse. She wanted to film a TikTok video with Willow’s before and after transformation. I told her she could just use my phone, but she wanted to use hers so it would be on her account. I don’t know…” Liza rubbed her forehead.
“So I told them while we waited for her phone to charge, we could take one of the dogs for a walk. Snowdrop looked a little sad with you gone, so we decided to take him. We walked along the trail. I showed them the creek where I got my concussion. Oliver dropped Snowdrop’s leash, and it took us a good ten minutes to finally get him back. They were having a great time chasing each other. We were only gone for forty-five minutes. I don’t understand…” Liza cupped her cheeks in her hands.
“Did you notice the fire right away?” Miller asked.
Liza blew out a breath. “When we came back, I heard the fire alarm going off. As I walked in a little further, I smelled burning. I told the kids to stay by the front office while I checked it out. I got toward the last row of kennels and I noticed smoke coming from the storage room. When I got closer, I saw flames near the wall. I ran and told the kids to take Snowdrop outside. Then, I grabbed the dogs by their collars two at a time and brought them to the kids. They took them to the play yard. By the time I got to Randall, he was just lying in his kennel.” Tears started streaming down Liza’s face.
Miller moved closer and wrapped her in another hug. “Liza, you saved them.” She buried her face into his chest.
“Miller.” Captain Tate’s voice pricked his ears. “We should get going. Dr. Scott’s waiting.”
Miller was hesitant to leave her, but she looked exhausted. “You should go home and try to get some sleep.”
Liza nodded and headed toward the parking lot. Seeing her walk away made his chest ache. She’d been through so much. He wanted to make her mac and cheese and tuck her in, make sure she was taken care of.
“Which dogs do you want me to take?” Captain Tate’s question slammed him back to reality. He had to make sure the dogs were safe. He had to pick up the pieces of his scorched life.
The next morning, Miller sat on the floor of the Tate’s guest room. He attempted to stretch his sore muscles. A knock sounded and he hollered, “Come in.”
Captain Tate appeared in the doorway. “Simone wanted me to tell you she made fresh cinnamon rolls. Oh, and here’s some clothes she picked up for you.” He handed him a Target bag. Peeking inside, he smiled seeing black-and-gray sweatpants along with some t-shirts. Captain Tate and his wife, Simone, had become his second family over the last few years. Clearly, Simone knew him well.
“Thank you,” Miller said, overwhelmed by their continued kindness.
“It was all her. For some reason, she didn’t think we had the same style.” Captain Tate huffed. Then, he straightened. “This morning, we should head to the rescue. The fire chief is going to meet us to assess the damage and see what’s salvageable.”
Miller nodded. “I’m just gonna change and then I’ll be ready.”
The captain sent him a scowl.
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the wind suit you lent me… It’s very comfortable. I just… don’t want to ruin it.”
