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“Did you know Cal had a support animal?” I asked as we walked to her car, which was parked on Broad Street by Cal’s house.
She shook her head. “She doesn’t wear a vest or anything. Plus, a service animal wouldn’t bolt from her human.”
“Poppy sounded certain.”
“Support animal or not, we better start looking before it gets dark.”
Chapter thirteen
Cal
I reached Centennial Parkas night settled like a thick blanket. The town’s fireworks display would begin soon, and once it started, I had even less chance of finding Skye. I shouted her name, but my voice was so hoarse, it barely carried. I whistled and waited. Nothing.
Damn fireworks. I knew better than to have her outside during the show, but I didn’t count on someone setting off bottle rockets in their backyard before dusk. My grip on the leash was too loose, my attention too focused on Rowan. At the first pop, Skye shot through the party toward our house, then past it onto Broad Street. I’d lost sight of her almost immediately, but like an idiot, had kept running in the direction she originally went. She easily could have circled back home by now. I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted Chris to check. I considered calling Theo to help me look, but I worried it might give him a panic attack. Aiden would no doubt leave his family’s picnic to help. My relationship with the O’Malley clan was strained enough without ruining the big family 4thof July gathering.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Chris
Mom is staying at your house in case she goes there. Whole street looking. We’ll find her
I thanked him and did a quick lap around the empty park. I’d hoped she’d go somewhere she loved, but it was time to accept that Skye could be miles away. A firework exploded on the other side of Peace Falls, where most of the town had gathered in the high school stadium to watch the show. Damn it. Skye must be scared out of her mind.
I walked back to Main, thinking I should check some of the back roads that intersected the larger street. A red sedan pulled to the curb, and Rowan called my name from the passenger seat.
“Lauren and I figured we could cover more ground with a car,” she said. “Any suggestion where we should look?”
I shook my head. “There’s no point until after the show ends. She’s hiding now. Even if she heard us calling, she won’t come out. She’s terrified of loud noises.”
“Like thunder?” Rowan asked.
I nodded.
“Where does she usually hide during storms?” Rowan asked.
“In my house.”
She let out a huff. “I meant where in the house. If she always goes to the same place, she might try to find somewhere similar.”
This entire conversation felt like a waste of time, but with the colors still bursting overhead, I figured it couldn’t hurt. “She hides in the half bath if we’re downstairs, my closet if we’re upstairs.”
“Do those rooms have anything in common?”
As soon as she asked, I felt like an idiot for not making the connection before. “They don’t have windows.”
“So, maybe a shed or detached garage, especially one without windows?”
Here I’d been looking for Skye in open parks when her instinct would have been to go somewhere small and dark. I sent Chris another text.
Ask everyone to check their sheds and outbuildings
Chris
Already looked. Not there
“Chris says they looked.”
“On our street,” Rowan said, climbing from the car. “Do you bring Skye to the park often?”
