Dan’s hand dropped away from Brooke’s shoulder. She missed his touch before she could caution herself not to. “What now?”
“We wait.” Compassion radiated from Sophie. In her positive voice. In her soft grip. “I don’t know about you, but if I can stay busy in moments like these, it stops the worry from consuming me.”
“Sophie owns the pet store downstairs.” Dan’s small smile offered silent encouragement. “If you want to stay busy, I’m sure she can help.”
“I accept only willing helpers,” Sophie corrected. “As it happens, I have new guests downstairs. They’re also fire evacuees. Several foster families couldn’t take the animals into the shelters with them, so I brought the animals here.”
“How many animals did you take in?” Dan asked.
“Eight last night.” Sophie rubbed her cheek. The visor of her Pampered Pooch baseball cap failed to hide the dark circles under her puffy eyes. “We had to move the cats up here with Iain to make room for the dogs. Then three more dogs arrived before sunrise.”
The pet shop owner looked exhausted, yet she hadn’t stumbled once with Archie and Brooke. She’d jumped in and helped. The same way Brooke had never ignored a call for help from one of the overcrowded animal shelters up north. She tossed the towel in the trash can and faced Sophie. “What can I do?”
“I plan to work on rearranging the storage room in case I need to add more kennels.” Sophie paused in the doorway. “I could use someone to feed and walk the dogs, if you’re up for it.”
Walking meant sidewalks. Shop windows. Six blocks away, the site of the accident loomed. But in what direction? Panic pinched the back of her neck. There had to be something else. Something inside. Brooke pointed at her bloodstained sweatshirt. “I’m not sure this is appropriate dog-walking attire.”
“I’ve got you covered.” Sophie motioned into the hallway as if she was a tour guide. “We have extra Pampered Pooch clothing in the stockroom. Someone usually needs to change during the day.”
“I’m not very good with city streets and directions.” She wasn’t very good with the city. Dread streamed through Brooke, alarm rushed her words. “Are there small dogs that need a bath or exercise in the play yard?”
She bit into her lip. She’d seen a play yard in the back, hadn’t she? Everything had blurred after she’d discovered Archie bloody and limp on the apartment floor. Everything except Dan’s presence.
“Good point.” Sophie poured herself a cup of coffee in Iain’s kitchen. “Laura can walk outside. Yes, there are several small dogs requiring baths and even more who need playtime.”
Brooke exhaled. She could handle this. She’d avoid the shop windows, keep to the back rooms and concentrate on the animals, not her worries.
“I’m going to take Sophie up on her offer.” Brooke held her hand out toward Dan and struggled not to feel awkward. There was nothing to be awkward about. “Thanks for the ride. I’m sure you’d like to get on with your day. Sleep or something.”
“Dan is a machine.” Sophie laughed. “The only person I know who can function on less sleep is Ava, his best friend and former partner.”
Brooke studied Dan. “What happened to Ava?”
Dan took Brooke’s hand and looked into her eyes. “She fell in love.”
“You make it sound like a disease.” Sophie elbowed Dan in the side and glanced at Brooke. “Don’t listen to him.”
Brooke tried not to listen to that hum of awareness inside her. Tried to ignore the feel of his hand wrapped around hers. When had she last held a man’s hand? When had she last wanted to? “You don’t need to wait for me and disrupt your schedule.”
“You’ll need a ride back to my place.” Dan tilted his head and eyed her. A challenge in his green gaze, as if daring her to refuse his help.
She should. She managed just fine on her own. Always had. But Brooke said, “That would be nice.” She turned and followed Sophie onto the fire-escape landing.
Behind her, Dan asked, “How much rearranging in the storage room are you doing, Sophie?”
“I’ve got it handled.” Sophie skipped down several steps, her pace quickening along with her voice.
“Where’s Brad?” Dan persisted.
“Working a case.” Sophie opened the back door into the kennel area and eyed him. “Before you ask, Erin and Troy have the morning off after staying late last night. I’ve got this figured out.”
“Show me what we’re moving, Sophie.” Dan motioned the women inside.
“Rearranging my storage room is not on your list today, Dan.” Inside the back room, Sophie spun around and set her hands on her hips. “I know you have a list of your own things to do like you always do.”
“I could be wide-open, all day,” Dan countered.
His gaze bounced away from Sophie and Brooke. He had a list and driving Archie here hadn’t been on it.
“Not a chance.” Sophie narrowed her eyes. “You can’t fool me. We’re both overcommitters who really need to work on saying no.”
“Okay. I have a full schedule,” Dan admitted. “But I can give you a hand rearranging the storage area, too. Besides it’ll go faster with two of us.”
“I’m not asking.” Sophie sorted through a drawer of purple shirts and handed one to Brooke. “You already help me out so much that you should be put on payroll.”
“I don’t want your money, Sophie.” Dan held out his arms. “Now, are we going to stand here and waste more time arguing or just get to work?”
“We’re getting to work.” Sophie shut the drawer with more force than required. “And I’m going to figure out how to pay you back.”
“It’s really not necessary,” Dan said.
That had been the same answer he’d given to Brooke after she’d wanted to pay for the groceries. Brooke looked at Sophie. “Does he always help out without being asked?”
“Always,” Sophie said. “He’s the most reliable person I’ve ever known. Once he’s given his word, he doesn’t break it.”
He kept his commitments. That was something to admire. But he had limits. He’d told Brooke that Luna couldn’t use his perfectly good backyard. He’d doubted Archie would survive the drive to the pet store. That she’d seen in his shadowed gaze. And he hadn’t introduced Brooke to his son yesterday. She’d watched the pair return from school, stroll through the backyard and disappear inside their house. Their laughter had lingered in the afternoon breeze long after the back door had closed.
His heart might have limits. Brooke’s did, too.
She stepped into the bathroom to change into the Pampered Pooch shirt and retrace those boundaries around herself. Reminding herself that she preferred to be fine over heartbroken.
DAN JOINED SOPHIE and Brooke on their tour of the pet store and mentally rearranged his schedule, building an hour at the pet store into his timeline. Iain would care for the cat. Archie was one of the lucky ones. As for Brooke, who would care for her?
The wildfires had displaced so many families, changed lives and taken lives. He wanted to be with his dad, helping as much as he could. But he had Ben, and his son came first. For now, he’d assist the rescues inside Sophie’s store and figure out later how to do more for the victims of the fires.
“This is the new calm, quiet area. Several of the rescues