Page 98 of That Time I Kissed The Groomsman Grump
My insides heave, a tidal wave of nausea. I yank my wrist free and slam my mouth shut to keep from vomiting. “Is it the house?” I manage to rasp. “Or the clinic?”
Neither answer is good.
“Both,” Ford growls.
Within seconds we’re charging toward the parking lot. A blanket of smoke plumes across the sky on the other side of the lake. Climbing into Ford’s truck, I slip my phone from my pocket. I try calling Natalie. But the phone just rings and rings and rings before going to voicemail.
“Call me.” It’s a grunt. An order. A command. I hate being so blunt with her, but I’m too terrified to be gentle. I’m scared for the animals. For the Swansons. Natalie.
People inside.
“She’s with the bridesmaids,” I mutter. “Has to be.” I’m sure the station wagon was only gone because Beau took it to get those tarps. Or Mrs. Slater’s running an errand. Or…
“Who’re you talking about?”Ford eyes me as he speeds across the bridge. We’re going too fast, but my cousin’s red truck might as well be a vehicle of the fire department. Everyone knows Ford. They trust his business. No one’s going to try to slow him down, let alone stop us.
“Nat,” I blurt. “I think she might be at the clinic.”
“Nah. She’s gotta be with Kasey,” he grumbles. “Nat wouldn’t leave Kase right before the wedding.”
“Yeah.” I heave a breath in and out. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“Anyway, the crew’s already left the station. They’ll get this under control quick.”
I try calling Nat again. Ring. Ring. Ring. This time someone answers. “Hey, Brady.”
“NAT!” I blurt.
“Noooo… This is Olivia. Nat’s phone kept ringing, so I answered it.”
“I need her,” I bark. “NOW!”
“Wow. Hold your horses.” In the background, I hear Olivia call out, “Is Nat in the bathroom?” There’s mumbling on the other end. “Well… does anyone know where she went?” After another stretch of muted voices, Liv comes back to me. “Kasey says she left a while ago. She said she’d be right back. She isn’t back though. Sorry.”
My heart’s in my throat, and I’m gasping for breath, in danger of hyperventilating. What good is it being the stable, steady lighthouse if everything you truly care about is nowhere near the water?
“Brady?” Liv’s voice has gotten quiet, like she’s trying not to let anyone else hear her. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I rush to say. “Tell Kasey I’ll take care of it.”
“Take care of what?”
“Everything…”
ChapterForty-One
NATALIE
Spoiler alert: I didn’t have this. Not even a little bit. I’ve never even held a fire extinguisher before. So when I couldn’t get the stupid thing to work, I ran back into the hall, slamming the door shut behind me. I figured at least that way, there’d be a barrier between the animals and the fire while I called 911. And that’s when I realized my third mistake:
I left my phone back at the inn.
So I rushed back up to the front office and grabbed the landline. I told the dispatcher I was inside Doc Swanson’s clinic and there was a fire in their house. I said I didn’t think the Swansons were home. But I couldn’t be sure about that. Actually, I screamed all this at her.
And that’s when the smoke detectors inside the Swansons’ house began to wail. An earsplitting pulse that made my teeth ache. So I dropped the receiver, leaving it dangling off the desk from a cord. I couldn’t take the thing with me, and I had to get the dogs out.
You have to get the dogs out.
That’s my only goal now. Are the kennels locked? I can’t remember if Brady had to unlock the kennels the other night. Praying I won’t need to find a key, I run back to the dogs, still in my bare feet. I try LuLu’s cage first. She’s the most fragile. My stomach’s in knots, and my throat is throbbing. What if I can’t rescue any of the dogs?
