Page 17 of Housebroke

“Oh, Hazel, how lovely to see you.”

“Hi, Sarah. How are you?”

“I’m great. You know, I saw Ginger and Greg had moved out a while back. Did you buy their house?”

“Uh, no. Someone else did. A... a friend of mine. He’s renovating the place, so I’m staying there with the dogs for a while longer.”

“How convenient for you.” Sarah smoothed her blond hair back with her hand, though it was unnecessary since not a strand was ever out of place. How she managed that in Orlando’s humidity was a feat that Hazel could not fathom. “I’ve noticed him coming and going. He’s quite good-looking.”

“Yes.” She wasn’t about to offer additional information, because that would only invite commentary from Sarah, which would mean extra boiling time in the heat.

“And, would you two be dating?” Sarah asked.

“No, we’re just friends.”

“Still, I mean, he’s so hot, Hazel, and unless he’s moved a wife or girlfriend in with him, I’d say why not go for it, right?”

“I will definitely take that under advisement. You know, the dogs need some water, and wow, is it hot today or what? I have got to go. It was great to see you, Sarah. Talk later.” She pushed the stroller, and the dogs started moving. Grateful to be away from Sarah, she found her second wind and made the stretch back to the house in a hurry. She took the harnesses off all the dogs and lifted Gordon out of the stroller. The dogs all made a mad dash for their water bowl in the backyard, and Hazel headed straight for the guesthouse to grab some ice water, choosing a spot in the shade to dip her legs in the pool.

She sipped her water despite wanting to gulp it down. The clouds had thickened, which had done nothing to lessen the humidity. She was going to enjoy her shower later, but for now, a dip in the pool sounded ideal. Since she’d tossed her swimsuit on under her shorts and tank today, all she had to do was slip them off, which she did, and then she slid right into the cool water of the pool, which refreshed her immediately.

It wasn’t long before Boo joined her in the pool, with the rest of the dogs deciding a nap under the shady palm trees was their preferred option. Boo swam a couple of laps, then got out to join the other dogs for naptime, leaving Hazel alone to float by herself. She closed her eyes and let the water lap over her.

But then she heard a low roaring sound in her ears. Figuring the dogs were barking at one another, she ignored it and continued with her float, tuning out the world. Until a hand grasped her arm and hauled her completely out of the water.

Shocked, she opened her eyes and saw Linc’s angry face.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“Of course I didn’t. My ears were under the water.” But now she heard sirens, and the dogs were whimpering and surrounding her. The skies had turned from ominous to black. Plus, holy crap, that was some thunder.

“There’s a tornado warning. Let’s go.”

She grabbed her clothes and she didn’t even need to call the dogs because they were right on her heels as they ran inside. She was dripping wet, so the cold air chilled her as they made their way into the downstairs bathroom, the only room in the house withno windows. She grabbed a towel and dried her body, threw her sweaty clothes back on—yuck—and then bent down to check on the dogs.

Gordon had curled up on her discarded towel and gone back to sleep—the benefit of being old and hard of hearing. Freddie and Penelope were wrestling, completely oblivious to the impending storm. Boo nervously paced the length of the small room. Lilith was shaking and had peed in the corner of the bathroom.

“Oops. Sorry. Come here, baby girl.” She scooped Lilith up and then grabbed some tissues to lay over Lilith’s accident spot.

“It’s a tile floor,” Linc said. “It’ll be fine.”

Hazel was surprised he wasn’t upset. Instead, he had his phone out and was watching the local weather people give updates about the storm.

Having lived here her entire life, this wasn’t her first time in a bad storm. She’d weathered tornadoes and hurricanes before, knowing that you had no control whatsoever. All you could do was wait it out.

The wind howled, then hail and rain pelted loudly against the windows in the other rooms. Thunder boomed and Lilith trembled in her arms. Hazel stroked her while whispering words of comfort.

And then the power went out, turning the entire room black.

“Fucking great,” Linc mumbled.

Hazel found a spot on the tile floor and leaned against the tub. Penelope and Freddie came over and lay beside her. Boo finally settled and curled up next to Freddie. And Lilith had stopped shaking.As far as she knew, Gordon was still asleep on the towel in the corner.

At least the dogs were calm. Hazel inhaled some deep breaths and let them out.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded in answer to Linc’s question, then realized he couldn’t see her. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

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