A Sheltering Love. Terri Reed

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СКАЧАТЬ but if you do, don’t bring it home. Wherever your home ends up being.”

      Nick plopped down in the middle of the makeshift dog bed and rested his head on his paws.

      “Look at the size of your paws.” She shook her head. “You’re going to be a big one, aren’t you? Just like your namesake.”

      The image of the tall, dark man sitting on his gleaming motorcycle made her flush again. He was the stuff dreams were made of. A modern-day knight coming to the rescue. But she didn’t need to be rescued. She could take care of herself.

      What was his story? Where would he end up?

      There was something compelling about his dark eyes. She’d seen pain and intelligence, rage and mischief there. The way he’d smiled at her when he’d said his name was enough to make any woman’s knees weak. The man was too handsome. But not in a pretty boy way or even a GQ way. The angle of his nose, the jut of his whiskered chin and the planes of his cheeks could have been sculpted by a master’s hand.

      She gave a wry laugh. Well, he had been, you dolt. God had done a nice job on Mister Nick. On the outside to be sure, but on the inside…?

      A man who stepped in when he saw trouble was a rarity indeed. A man who carried a Bible with him out in the open even rarer. Was he a man after God’s own heart?

      She’d never know. He was long gone now, just a wonderful memory of a guy on a bike who’d offered his help and wanted nothing in return. Definitely a rarity.

      A man like Nick would be hard to resist. Good thing she wouldn’t face that temptation again.

      With a quick glance to make sure the puppy still slept, Claire headed for her office—a small room located in the front of the house. It was an ideal spot to work and still be able to keep an eye on the main area of The Zone.

      The bedrooms were all upstairs and she’d taken the largest of the five bedrooms at the far end of the hall. Gwen’s room was at the top of the stairs while the other three rooms were in various degrees of readiness for taking on more teens. Not that Gwen was a teen any longer. She was a college student now with a part-time job—a far cry from the strung-out, skinny orphan Claire and Aunt Denise had first brought home.

      Having Gwen come into their lives solidified Claire’s desire to start a shelter. She’d decided to open it here in Pineridge because no such facility existed in the area.

      But there would be soon.

      Claire sat at her desk and rummaged through files and notes. There was still so much to do before she could officially open. More government hoops to jump through, the community to convince and teens to build trust with.

      And a puppy to care for. She compiled a list of needs for Nick. Just in case she was unsuccessful in finding his owners, she wanted to be prepared. Then she went to work on her plans for The Zone.

      The clock ticked by another hour.

      The hairs on the back of her neck raised and chills raced down her spine. Something wasn’t right.

      The loud shrill of three fire alarms pierced the quiet. Heart pounding with dread, she jumped from the chair and raced into the living room. A gray haze hung in the air, stinging her eyes and burning her lungs.

      Fire!

      “Nick!”

      She raced toward the kitchen. Smoke billowed from beneath the crack in the back door and through the open window over the sink, filling the room with frightening quickness. She heard the puppy whimper, but she couldn’t tell from where.

      She dropped to her knees like she’d been told to do in elementary school. She crawled across the floor toward the kitchen. The heavy smoke swirled around, making it difficult to see.

      The puppy’s blanket was empty. She crawled out of the kitchen. “Nick!” she called again, taking in smoke. She winced as her lungs spasmed. In the laundry room she found the puppy huddled in a corner, its little body shaking.

      “Here, boy.” Claire scooped the pup up and cuddled him close.

      Claire crawled toward the front of the house while holding Nick in one hand. She breathed in. Coughed. Her lungs burned. She caught her hand on the leg of a chair and went down on her elbow, her knees scraping on the floor. Nick yelped as she tried to catch herself with the hand that held him.

      The smoke became dense, more intense. The front door seemed a mile away. Somewhere in the closet under the stairs was a fire extinguisher. She’d get Nick out, come back for the extinguisher and put out the fire.

      She crawled forward again, laboring to breathe. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The puppy whimpered.

      “It’ll be okay, Nick. Dear Lord, please let us be okay.”

      She coughed, her breaths coming in short, shallow gasps. Her stomach rolled. She paused, waiting for the dizziness to pass. It didn’t. She forced herself to continue on despite the effects of the smoke. Her survival instinct pushed her, urged her to keep crawling away from the source of the smoke.

      Her wrist gave out, forcing her weight down hard on her elbow, sending pain up her arm. Her head fell forward to smack against the hardwood floor. Spots of light popped in front of her eyes.

      She couldn’t stop, she had to keep going.

      Where was the man in black leather when she needed him?

      Flames shot from the back of the house.

      Nick’s heart slammed against his ribs as he stopped his bike at the bottom of the cement stairs leading to the front door. He set the kickstand and jumped off his bike. He rushed up the porch steps and burst through the front door.

      Smoke billowed around him, stinging his eyes. His gaze zeroed in on Blondie crawling toward the door with the puppy clutched to her chest with one hand, while she balanced with the other hand.

      She lifted her head, her eyes wide. The puppy squirmed out of her grasp and ran past Nick’s legs and down the steps.

      Nick scooped up Blondie and carried her to the front yard where he gently laid her down on the grass. She opened her mouth to say something but coughed instead. He rolled her to her side as she spit out black soot between taking in gulps of air.

      Relief surged through Nick. He’d finally given in to the urgent, nagging feeling that he should turn back. And a good thing, too. He patted her shoulder, offering her comfort as his heartbeat began to slow.

      “You came back,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

      “Yeah,” he acknowledged.

      “The puppy?” she rasped, her eyes widening as she sat up and was momentarily gripped with another bout of coughing.

      “He ran out. I’m sure he’s fine.”

      She raised her gaze to her home. “My building.”

      The disappointment and hurt in her voice burned in his gut. This shouldn’t have happened. He knew who was to blame. His fingers curled into a fist. He’d make sure they paid.

      Seeing СКАЧАТЬ