Lissa Manley - Hometown Fireman

A cold wind ruffled her hair, causing a shiver to run around her neck. “Realistically, I can’t keep all the dogs I plan on saving.”

“You think you’ll be able to let them go?” he asked as he walked up the gravel pathway that led to the front door.

“I’ve thought a lot about that, and I know it will be hard.” Agony, actually; dogs had always offered her unconditional love, and there was no question she’d get overly attached. That was just how she was. “But ultimately saving them is more important than how difficult it will be for me to let them go to good homes.”

His reply was precluded when the front door opened and a woman dressed in flattering jeans and a bright red boatneck sweater stepped out onto the porch. She was tall and slender, and her unstreaked auburn hair was styled in a smooth chin-length bob that accentuated her fine features.

Undoubtedly, this was Drew’s mom, though she looked so youthful Ally wondered if she’d had Drew in her teens.

She waved as she arrived at the top of the wooden stairs. “Ally, you poor thing.” Her face was pressed into an expression full of what Ally imagined as motherly concern, though that was just a guess; motherly concern had been in short supply in Ally’s life. Nonexistent, actually.

“Mom,” Drew said, “as you’ve figured out, this is Ally York.” He turned to Ally. “Ally, this is my mom, Grace Sellers.”

Without hesitation, Mrs. Sellers stepped closer, and for just a second, Ally was afraid she was going to hug her. She reflexively stiffened and pulled back a bit.

But as it turned out, Mrs. Sellers simply took Ally’s free hand in hers and squeezed it warmly, resting soft, kind eyes on Ally. “Oh, I’m so glad you and your pups are okay!” She patted Ally’s hand. “Welcome.”

Thrown a bit off stride by the effusive welcome, Ally said, “Thank you, Mrs. Sellers.”

She pulled away. “Oh, pshaw. Please call me Grace, or I’ll feel old.” She looked down at the dogs, moving forward a bit to pet them. “Well, look at these two darling dogs....”

Drew put out a stiff hand to hold her back. “Watch out, Mom. The black one isn’t friendly.”

“Actually, he’s friendly with women,” Ally said.

Grace, obviously used to being around dogs, slowly reached out a hand for Rex to sniff. His eyes bright and soft, Rex sniffed away, and after a few seconds, Grace ran a hand over his smooth black head. “Oh, what a good boy you are.”

Rex’s long tail started wagging as his butt wiggled in delight, and a moment later he was rubbing against Grace’s legs, looking for attention.

Drew snorted. “Well, I’ll be.” He stood with his hands on his hips, watching the formidable Rex try to get his head under Grace’s hand for more petting. “He tried to bite me.”

Ally smiled and then turned a sympathetic eye on Drew. “You’re the wrong gender.”

Drew nodded. “Ah, yes.”

Grace turned to Ally with questioning eyes.

“As I told Drew, I’m pretty sure a man abused him before Rex was rescued from a meth house.” Trusting a male ever again would be hard for Rex now. Maybe impossible. Ally understood that with everything in her. She had an ironclad no-dating rule; no way would she ever trust a man with her heart.

“Oh, the poor thing,” Grace said before she turned to pet Sadie, who had been patiently waiting for her share of attention. Sadie turned big brown eyes up to Grace and let her scratch behind her floppy ears. “And aren’t you just the sweetest dog ever! I’m sure you’ll be a great mama.”

Ally looked at Drew.

He lifted one broad shoulder. “Told you she likes dogs.”

Obviously he’d been straight with her about Grace being a dog person who could deal with Rex and an expectant Sadie. Even so, Ally had to make sure Grace was okay with the imposition. “Mrs....uh, Grace, I have to be sure you’re all right with us staying here.”

Grace straightened. “Of course I am. I’m not sure if Drew told you, but our house burned down when he was little, and I know too well how devastating it can be.” She smiled at the dogs. “Besides, it will be great to have some dogs around again. Lately I’ve really been missing Duke, our last dog.”

A lump formed in Ally’s throat and her eyes burned. Kindness always made her weepy. She didn’t trust her voice, so all she did was nod shakily.

Grace pressed a hand to Ally’s arm. “You’ve been through a lot today. Why don’t you come in and have a snack, and then maybe you’d like to take a rest while I get dinner on the table. The slow cooker’s been running all day, so I’ve got plenty.” She turned and headed into the house. “You must be exhausted.”

Mentally more than physically. Another home lost was just about more than Ally could deal with. Nothing new there. She should be good at this kind of situation by now. But she wasn’t, and never would be. She feared the legacy of her nomadic childhood in foster care would never go away.

Drew stepped aside and gestured toward the door his mom held open, waiting with a gentle smile for Ally to step into the house. Ally froze, the reality of the situation hitting her all over again. She wanted nothing more than to bolt, run away, plant her head firmly in the sand on the beach and never come up for air....

Drew gazed intently at her for a few seconds, his head canted to the side. “Ally?”

“I’m coming,” she said, forcing herself to move, even though she would never, ever get used to walking into a stranger’s house for who knew how long.

Because in the end, she was just arriving at one more home that wasn’t hers and never would be.

Chapter Two

At Mom’s request, Drew rounded up the dog supplies in the basement while Ally took the dogs out back to do their business. Luckily, he’d been right and there was some leftover dry dog food down there, along with a few toys, blankets and a huge dog bed. Plenty of stuff to get through the next several days.

Pleading understandable tiredness, Ally said no to the offered snack, and while Mom settled her and the dogs in the guest room, Drew waited in the kitchen as the smell of whatever was in the slow cooker on the counter tantalized him. His stomach rumbled, and he found himself wishing he’d planned on staying for dinner.

Before he left, though, he was sure his mom was going to want to get details of what had happened at Ally’s house. He hadn’t gone into the particulars when he’d called her from the truck out of consideration for Ally, who’d been sitting right next to him.

Who could blame his mom, really, for her inevitable curiosity? It wasn’t every day a fire victim showed up as an impromptu houseguest with two dogs in tow.

Drew gazed out the big picture window over the sink that looked into the large backyard and patio he and Dad had built a few years ago. Given it was April, the sun had set, so Drew stared at nothing but the silhouettes of trees against a star-studded sky for a while, thinking about the air of sadness he’d sensed in Ally. Or was it aloofness? Shyness? Hard to tell.

Just about the time he came back to the kitchen after rustling around in the garage freezer for some cookies his mom had “hidden” there, Mom returned.

“My, that girl’s been through a lot,” she said, shaking her head. “I think she was asleep before the door closed.”

He nibbled on the edge of a frozen chocolate chip cookie. “Yeah, the whole thing is just sad.”

Mom went to the cupboard and pulled out plates and set them on the tile counter. “What happened?”

“Ally told me Rex started barking, and she found the kitchen on fire. Ran out and called 911. I got the call on my pager when I was still quite a ways out of town. By the time I was driving by, the fire had already done its damage, so the chief had me check on Ally. She looked pretty stressed out.”