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“I do. I went the same route we normally walk, but I didn’t check any outbuildings along the way.”
“Do you go down Broad, then Church, and then onto Main?”
I nodded.
Rowan stuck her head through the passenger window and said something. She stepped closer to me on the sidewalk while Lauren did a U-turn in the deserted street and drove toward Church. Another cluster of fireworks exploded, each boom louder than the last.
I gripped my hair and pulled. This was not happening. Skye would have been terrified at home. The thought of her alone and scared in an unfamiliar place made me want to punch a wall. Or myself. This was all my fucking fault. I hoped Skye hadn’t run toward the high school. Not only would she be closer to the noise, she could easily get hit by a car when everyone left after the show.
Rowan laid a gentle hand on my arm and pulled until I released the death grip on my hair. “Easy there, Big Guy.”
I curled my fingers around hers and held on. Her hand was soft, warm, and fit perfectly in mine.
“Lauren is starting back at Broad Street,” Rowan said, giving my hand a squeeze. “We’ll look from this end of your route. We’ll find her.”
“We have to.”
Rowan nodded. “Poppy mentioned Skye is a service animal.”
If the situation weren’t so serious, I’d have laughed. “Poppy must have Skye confused with another dog. Mine failed obedience school twice.”
“Sorry, support animal. I’m afraid I don’t know the difference.”
“Ah,” I said, as we started the long walk back. I waited for her to let go of my hand and was relieved when she didn’t. “Are you sure you’re ok to walk?”
Rowan nodded. “Honestly, walking doesn’t hurt that much. Sitting is the worst. Stairs second. I’m slow though, so if you want to run ahead and check places in the middle of the route, that’s fine too.”
“No, slower is better. We don’t want to miss anything. We should search the alley. There really isn’t anywhere she could hide on Main Street.”
We walked to the alley behind the store fronts and looked everywhere a dog might hide. Rowan shouted for Skye, her voice sounding hoarse like mine. She’d clearly been searching as long as I had. We walked in silence, broken only by one of us calling Skye. We looked behind every dumpster and peered into every window well. I told myself I needed to hold Rowan’s hand, so she didn’t fall in the dim alley and hurt herself more. The longer we walked, the more I worried we’d never find Skye. The more I worried, the tighter I held Rowan’s hand.
“What Poppy said is kind of true,” I said after a few blocks. “Theo gets panic attacks. If Skye is nearby, she helps calm him down.”
“Let me see if I’ve got this right. Your dog is Theo’s support animal?”
“Yeah. He should really have his own, but he refuses.”
“Why if it would help him?”
I blew out a breath. “That’s a whole other conversation, and honestly, not one I want to have.”
“Oh,” she said, in a quiet voice. “I’m sorry. Forget I asked.”
She shrank into herself like she had in the kitchen after I stopped her from coming near me. When I saw her reaction, it’d taken every ounce of self-control I had not to reach for her.
“Hey,” I said, stopping in the middle of the alley. “I’m the one who started this conversation, just like I’m the one who kissed you the other day. It’s my fault things got awkward, not yours.”
She nodded and started walking again, but her hand didn’t feel as firm in mine, and her voice sounded timid the next time she called Skye. When we came to the end of the alley at the parking lot behind Church Street Brews, she stopped with a jolt. “Did you check the playhouse at the park? The one by the playground equipment. It’s been there since we were kids.”
I knew exactly the playhouse she meant. And though I’d called Skye’s name in the park, I hadn’t thought to check the playhouse.
“Go,” she said, dropping my hand and shoving me.
“I’m not leaving you in an alley by yourself.”
“I lived in DC years without getting mugged or murdered. Lauren is probably right around the corner. Now, go!”
I grabbed her elbow and led her to a portion of sidewalk below a streetlamp on Church Street. “Don’t move until Lauren gets here,” I said, taking off at a sprint. “If you fall, you’ll undo all the work we’ve done.”
