Page 45 of Puppy Love

It was impossible not to feel reassured by his commands, empowered by his confidence. Whatever else one could say about the man, he knew his fire safety.

Sophie pushed past several people evacuating in the opposite direction, determined to do justice to Harrison’s faith in her ability to rescue his puppy. The back hallway was long, but it was empty, which made searching it easy. There was nowhere for Bubbles to cower and hide, nowhere she could take cover during a mad dash to safety. The door at the end of the hallway was still closed, and the emergency exit alarm untriggered.

“Bubbles!” Sophie called, not expecting an answer but determined to do something anyway. “Come on out, love. The fire’s all gone now. You’re safe.”

No yapping response or puppy whimper met her ears. She spun on her heel, holding her breath as she waited for any kind of whistle from Harrison, but all she could hear was the clamoring fire alarm in the distance.

“Think, Sophie,” she commanded herself. “You’re tiny, you’re terrified, and you’re in a strange place. Where do you go?”

The answer to that question was more difficult to come up with than she would have thought. Tiny and terrified were two things she’d felt more times than she cared to admit, and it hadn’t been uncommon for her to fall asleep in one hospital only to wake up in another halfway across the state.

But she’d never really been alone when it happened. If her sisters or parents hadn’t been hovering anxiously nearby, there had been scores of friendly nurses and doctors, every one armed with a smile and a promise that they’d take care of her, and would she like a warm blanket to help her feel better?

But Bubbles hadn’t had that. She spent her first few months of life isolated and ignored, curled up in a wire cage that offered no protection or comfort. She craved small, dark spaces and warmth. She wanted to feel less alone, if only for a few minutes.

“The ruffled bedroom,” Sophie said aloud. She might not have known all the fire exits in this church, but she did recall once seeing a nursery. A cursory peek inside had revealed several cribs, toy boxes, and play structures to keep the little ones entertained during the service.

It also had a ruffled toddler bed for anyone who needed an impromptu nap. She wasn’t sure what it was about those swaying bits of fabric that appealed to the puppy, but they did. If that was the first place she went in Harrison’s house, there was a good chance she’d do the same thing here.

Sophie found the nursery behind the third door she checked. It was slightly ajar, which made her think she was on the right track—a feeling that intensified at the sound of a light snuffling. As was the case the last time she’d found Bubbles in this situation, she dropped to her stomach and scooted under the bed, lulling the puppy with a conversation that was mostly nonsense.

“There you are, my precious,” she said, wincing at the pitiful image of the Pomeranian curled in on herself in the corner. “You’re pretty fast for such a small thing—has anyone ever told you that? You knew there was danger the second you smelled smoke, and you reacted without even thinking about it. That’s what makes you such a good alert dog, you know. You see a thing that needs to be done, and you do it. No questions, no doubts. I envy that about you.”

“Uh, Soph?” Dawn’s voice came from behind her.

Sophie stuck a hand out from under the bed and waved her sister away. “That’s my sister you hear out there, Bubbles. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll stand exactly where she is and be quiet, so you don’t get even more scared.”

Dawn took the hint. Sophie proceeded to spout more nonsense, mostly about knitting and dog sweaters and some people’s inability to follow the simplest of recipes without burning a church down. Bubbles relaxed a little, but she didn’t show a desire to leave her safe haven.

That didn’t happen until a gruff voice sounded overhead, causing them both to perk up.

“Goddammit, Sophie. What part of two whistles didn’t you understand?”

Strong hands clamped around her ankles and pulled her out from under the bed. She barely had time to register what was happening before Harrison let go.

He didn’t, as expected, drop to his knees next to her to grab Bubbles for himself. Instead, he planted his booted feet firmly on the ground and said, his low voice rumbling. “Be quiet, Bubbles. And get out from under there.”

“You can’t—” Sophie began, but the dog’s gentle whimpering stopped almost immediately.

“Out, Bubbles. I’ve had just about enough of your antics for one day.”

The soft skitter of nails over linoleum sounded from under the bed skirt. Seconds later, the puppy’s small, twitching nose peeked out into the open.

“Come,” he said. “Sit.”

Sophie watched from her perch on the floor as the commands she’d been working so hard to instill in both man and beast worked to perfection. Harrison might sound gruff and rough, but Bubbles knew that voice, took comfort in that voice.

She came. She sat. And she waited, looking expectantly at her owner as though he contained the answers to all the world’s problems.

He paused just long enough to murmur a commendatorygood girlbefore sweeping the puppy into his arms and turning his anxiety on Sophie instead. He’d all but forgotten about Dawn standing in the doorway watching the pair of them, a look of intense curiosity rendering her more silent than usual.

“Is this what we’re training her to do?” Harrison demanded. Fear made his expression harsher than usual, lines of worry pulling his mouth down at the corners. “To run away from me at the first sign of danger?”

Sophie hated to see him like this. Not the bluster, which was only to be expected from a man like this one, but the worry. Thepain. Bubbles had obviously wormed her little way much deeper into his heart than she’d ever thought possible.

“She’s not hurt, Harrison,” she said, her voice gentle. “That’s the most important thing. A little shaken, yes, but none the worse for her adventure.”

“Adventure?” he echoed. “Is that what you’d call this?”