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“Is everything okay? Is something wrong with the wrap?” Margie asked.
Emma shook her head and stood. “No, it looks great. I’m just not hungry anymore.”
“Okay, dear, I’ll get this boxed up for you.”
After Margie had returned with a plastic bag, Lisa walked Emma to the door. “Want me to go with you? We can just do margaritas at your place.”
“No, you stay, have fun. I’ll call you later.”
Emma scrambled to her car, hoping no one would try to make her stay. The thought of trying to have fun with Chad and his girlfriend nearby made her stomach turn.
Once inside the car and away from prying eyes, she shifted it into drive. As she did so, the tension within her began to unravel. With every mile she put between herself and Chad, she could feel her racing heartbeat returning to its normal rhythm.
Arriving home, she grabbed her bag and walked inside, eager to spend the afternoon watching movies and cuddling with Riley rather than pretending to be in a good mood. She looked over at his dog bed in the corner, hoping to see him snoozing, but it was empty.
“Riley? Where are you?” Emma walked into the kitchen, putting her wrap in the fridge.
She searched the bathroom, then the bedroom, checking in the closet and under the bed.
“Where are you hiding, boy?”
A sinking feeling clawed at her chest, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down her neck. The house was unusually quiet. As she stepped back into the living room, her gaze was drawn to a sliver of sunlight sneaking in from the open back door.
How in the world...
Her mind raced back to earlier that day: the phone call with Lisa, the slightly stubborn door handle, her distraction. She remembered thinking she’d fix it later.
Every second felt heavier as the realization crashed over her.
The previous summer, she’d read an article about a dog that had bolted from his home, frightened by fireworks, and had been lost for weeks. The image of the distressed dog, ribs showing, with once bright eyes now dull and fearful, was seared into her memory.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of Riley, her sweet, lovable boy, alone and terrified, lost among the deafening blasts of fireworks.
No. No. This can’t be happening.
She called out for him while running onto the porch, hoping he hadn’t strayed too far. “Riley! Here, boy! Come here!”
She scanned the beach for any trace of him, even asking the beachgoers if they’d seen a loose golden retriever. But no one had.
With a lump in her throat, she reached for her phone and dialed Kara’s number.
Kara answered on the second ring. “Hey Emma. Charlotte and I just made it to the beach. Are you here somewhere?”
“No, I’m not at the beach.” Emma’s voice shook. “It’s Riley. He got out. I can’t find him anywhere.”
“Okay, he couldn’t have gone far. I’ll start walking toward your cottage and ask anyone if they’ve seen him.”
“Thanks, Kara. I’m heading out to look around the neighborhood.”
Emma grabbed her keys and sprinted out the door. She drove through the familiar streets of town, down winding roads and narrow lanes, stopping everywhere, asking anyone and everyone if they’d seen Riley. She covered the outskirts too, calling out his name into the nearby woods and fields. But it was hopeless.
No one had seen him.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the road, her phone rang. It was Kara. Emma pulled over as her heart raced in tandem with the fading light. “Did you find him? Please say you found him.”
“Sorry, Em. No luck on our end, but it’s not over. Our volunteer team is gonna search around town early in the a.m. I texted our coordinator, and she’s arranging it as we speak.”
Emma broke down in tears, regretting she hadn’t been more careful. “Kara, how could I let this happen? I should’ve shut the back door. He doesn’t have his tag on; it fell off yesterday. And I...I never got him chipped.”
