The dogs all felt it when alarm jolted through Liam. He stiffened and gasped. “Oh no,” he moaned softly.

  * * *

  Sabrina had told Chason not to feel bad about the dogs escaping. Of course she said that. What else could she say? But she didn’t really mean it, and he was out driving around anyway, trying to find them. And now her home, which seemed so overly stuffed with canines when the full pack was in residence, felt vacant and lonely. She paced, looking hopefully out the big window that gave her a view of the street.

  She called Teme and explained what had happened.

  Teme was shocked. “All three of them? Even Luna?”

  “I know. It makes no sense.”

  “You and Luna have a special relationship,” Teme observed.

  “I know,” Sabrina repeated. “But she’s been with Riggs longer. I just don’t understand why they would run away.”

  “Riggs was living on the street,” Teme reminded her. “He was caught up in that sweep animal control executed after that man was attacked, though it turned out the guy was a felon with outstanding warrants for, are you ready? Assault on a police officer.”

  “Fine,” Sabrina replied faintly. “So are you thinking they might be downtown? Living on the streets?”

  “I can ask ACO to keep a lookout,” Teme volunteered.

  Sabrina briefed Teme on everything she’d done to try to locate the dogs, but it wasn’t much—what could she do? “I didn’t even update their chips,” Sabrina lamented. “I was going to, but I’ve been so busy with the new job…” She trailed off.

  “We’ll find them,” Teme vowed.

  When they hung up, Sabrina resumed her pacing. Where were her dogs?

  * * *

  “What time’s your flight?” Liam asked.

  Brad looked at his wristwatch. “I got another half an hour or so before I need to call a car.” He cocked his head at his brother, picking up on something. “Everything okay?”

  “Come here,” Liam replied curtly.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “I want to show you something,” Liam explained, gesturing toward the screen on his laptop. His voice was cold, and Brad frowned curiously before coming over to look over Liam’s shoulder.

  “Recognize these dogs?” Liam challenged. Brad gave him a blank look. They were looking at photographs of Riggs and Luna, and then there was another of Archie by himself.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s a web version of putting missing dog posters on phone poles. Those are my dogs. Someone’s looking for them.”

  “Oh. Huh,” Brad replied, processing.

  Liam pointed at the screen. “Not ‘huh,’ Brad. Look at this photo, where Archie’s all shaved. See how the woman’s cropped out, all you can see is her arm? Recognize the arm? Because I sure as hell do. I took this photograph. She says to email Ms. Sam, but that’s Sabrina. Sabrina is the person looking for these dogs.”

  Brad’s mouth dropped open. He gazed at Liam, not understanding.

  Liam’s return expression was hard and unforgiving. “You lied to me, Brad, the same way you lied to her about me being dead. You told me she couldn’t take the dogs. But this says they’re her dogs. So she did take them! She took them and they got away, and now they’re here and she’s looking for them.”

  Brad shook his head. “No! I didn’t lie to you, Liam. I swear she said she couldn’t take the dogs. Sabrina was my first impulse. When you had your accident, I told her she needed to take care of the dogs, and she told me she couldn’t. She said she quit her waitressing job and couldn’t afford to move and that her sister had like fourteen cats or something, and it was impossible. You know Luna’s attitude about cats. It never would have worked.”

  “Then how do you explain this, Brad?”

  “I don’t know! When I saw her on her date, I told her that Luna was on death row at the shelter.” Liam gasped, and Brad held up a hand. “I didn’t see any point in telling you that part because Luna’s alive, right here, okay? But Sabrina didn’t say anything about adopting Luna or having the other two dogs. She just acted all embarrassed because she was out with some guy.”

  “You got a bad habit of hiding the truth from people, Brad,” Liam grated harshly, “and it’s come back to bite you in the ass. You lied about what really happened with Mom and Dad. You told me they were coming back.”

  “I know, brother. I just wanted to protect you from hurt.”

  “Okay, but it’s time to stop doing that!” Liam nearly shouted.

  The dogs stirred uneasily.

  “You’re right,” Brad agreed mournfully. “I know I screwed up everything. I’m sorry, Liam. I can see how it just made things worse.”

  After a long silence, Liam turned back to his laptop. “When did you see her?”

  “I don’t know, late summer.”

  Liam pursed his lips.

  “Liam, I swear to you, I did not lie. She absolutely told me she couldn’t keep the dogs.”

  Liam gazed into his brother’s eyes. “I believe you, Brad.”

  The long silence between them felt healing to them both. Then Brad sighed. “So I guess the question is, what are you going to do now?”

  41

  Liam glared at Brad. “I’m going to figure out how to fix this mess you’ve made, is what I’m going to do.”

  Brad’s shoulders slumped. “I know it’s a mess. They told me to say goodbye to you, Liam, that you wouldn’t be alive when I got back. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and I didn’t feel like I had a choice. They told me at the shelter they would give the dogs to a good home, but they didn’t say it would be with Sabrina. I mean, I was doing my best at the time.”

  Liam considered this. He stood and embraced his brother. “I didn’t think about how hard it was. I’m sorry. Whatever happened with the dogs, it’s not your fault. I believe you.”

  Brad hastily wiped his eyes as Liam released him and tapped the screen with a fingernail. “There’s an email address.”

  “What are you going to do?” Brad asked softly.

  “Well, what you’re going to do,” Liam responded, “is to get in an Uber, go to the airport, and fly back to Germany, and what I’m going to do is send Sabrina an email.”

  Brad stared at him, and a sardonic grin spread across his face. “Send her an email. It’s going to be like, ‘Hi, I have the dogs and, P.S., I’m not dead.’”

  Liam’s expression was blank for a moment. “Okay, you’re right,” he agreed slowly. “I guess I don’t want to do that via email. I wouldn’t do it with a phone message, either.”

  “Needs to be in person,” Brad agreed.

  “Well,” Liam speculated, “I think Sabrina’s too suspicious. If a stranger, out of the blue, sends an email and says he’s got the dogs, she’s not going to say, ‘Well, bring ’em on over.’ She’ll see right away that that’s not a good idea. She doesn’t want anyone to know where she lives.”

  “Plus she would recognize your email,” Brad added.

  “True. Well, I’ve got a couple of old ones I’ve never used with her before. I’ll send her an email from there, and I’ll tell her the dogs are in the backyard and she should come over and get them while I’m not home. That way, she’ll feel like she doesn’t even have to talk to a stranger. She just opens the gate and the dogs will come out. That’s what I’ll tell her.”

  “There’s really no good way to do this, is there, Liam?” Brad asked.

  Liam shook his head. “No.” He looked at Brad. “Well, it’s my problem. I’ll figure it out. I think that’s what I’m going to do, though. It feels the safest. Once she’s got the gate open, I’ll walk out and say hi.”

  “I wish I could be here for that,” Brad observed with a grin.

  “Do you think she married this guy, the one she was seeing?” Liam asked anxiously.

  “I don’t know, Liam. How would I know something like that? That would be awfully quick, though. Don’t women want to be engaged for at least a year, draw out the agony?”

  The day after Brad left, the house was still filled with his presence, but there was an emptiness to the place, and the dogs could tell he was gone and, potentially, not coming back. That’s what people did. They left, and they either came back or they didn’t. It wasn’t up to the dogs to determine what they were going to do.

  After a breakfast and some time spent rolling on the floor with Liam, the dogs were put out into the backyard. Archie was relaxed now. He understood Face wasn’t here. Liam was here. The pack was here. This was home. Luna was still tense, but Archie had settled comfortably into this new life. People were wondrous beings who kept changing everything, and Archie had decided the best thing a dog could do was go along with all of it.

  Liam showered and cleaned himself up as best he could, and then he paced in the living room. The sweep hand on his watch crept around and around so slowly, it almost made him sick to look at. “Hey. I’m Liam, nice to meet you,” he said at one point, sticking out his hand as if talking to a ghost. He imagined this person, this man, the new man, coming with Sabrina. That’s what had kept him awake last night. Of course she wouldn’t come by herself. She would bring her boyfriend, or her fiancé, or husband, or whoever the hell he was, and Liam would have to just grin and take it.

  When he heard the wheels on his newly paved driveway, he ran to the window and sucked in his breath. As she stepped out of the car, Sabrina swept her hair back with one hand, and it was the same gesture that had captivated him the very first time he ever caught sight of her.

  She was alone.

  For a moment, all he could do was watch as she shut the car door and glanced speculatively up at the house. She turned her head and looked at the side gate, hesitating. When she walked to that gate, the dogs caught her scent and began barking frantically. Luna was leaping so high she nearly cleared the fence. She was so excited that when the gate opened, she barreled right into Sabrina.

  “Oh, dogs,” Sabrina murmured. Luna was trying to climb up, and so Sabrina lifted the Jack Russell and held the little dog like an infant. Luna, whimpering, licked Sabrina’s face. Archie ran to some bushes and raised his leg in celebration. Riggs wagged his stub and pressed up against Sabrina’s legs and closed his eyes when she reached down with her free hand to stroke his fur.

  The pack was together, and now the people were together. Riggs had done what he was meant to do.

  “Okay. All right, guys. Are you ready for a car ride?” Sabrina sang. The dogs were frenzied at these words. Luna would not stop kissing her face. “All right, Luna. That’s enough. That’s enough,” Sabrina laughed. “Oh, I’m so relieved.” Sabrina heard the front door of the house open and glanced up with raised eyebrows, ready to greet whoever it was, and then her face fell in shock.

  Liam came down the steps, holding his hands up as if surrendering to the authorities. “Sabrina, I don’t know what you heard, but I’ve been in a coma. I mean, I couldn’t … I’m so sorry.”

  Liam stopped several feet away, searching her face with his eyes. All he saw there was an expression approaching horror. He didn’t know what to say or what she could be feeling. Was she even glad to see him? He swallowed, hesitating. He wanted nothing more than to close the distance between the two of them, but he had a sense that perhaps that was the wrong thing to do. Sabrina’s mouth finally closed. She gently put Luna on the ground.

  “Oh my God, Liam,” she whispered. When she ran to him, Liam spread his arms and folded her against his chest, his eyes shut. Sabrina sobbed into his shoulder, and the dogs circled at their feet, feeling the strong emotions, glancing at each other nervously, unable to process what was happening. “Liam. Liam. I thought you were—” Sabrina couldn’t even say it.

  Liam nodded. “I know. They told you I was dead.”

  Sabrina pulled back to gaze into his eyes. “Well, no, what they said was you were going to die. And then I … saw something. I thought you were dead. And your brother…”

  Liam nodded. “Brad just left. For what it’s worth, he knows how badly he screwed up. I think he feels really awful about what happened. But, well, you know Brad, he’s really protective of me. I think if he had his way, he would keep me locked up like Rapunzel or something.”

  “Rapunzel,” Sabrina repeated, dazed.

  Liam correctly read her expression. “I guess this is a shock.”

  Sabrina wiped her eyes and hastily nodded.

  “Okay, why don’t we slow it down, give you a chance to get used to everything. Come on, I want to show you the house.”

  The dogs led the people through the front door.

  Sabrina looked around. “What is this place?”

  “It’s the home I told you about. When I bought it, it was just being framed in, but it’s finished now. While I was in the hospital, Brad had the crew do it all just the way I asked. Come see the kitchen.”

  Sabrina numbly followed him into the kitchen and glanced around. Her eyes were glassy. He wasn’t sure she was seeing what he was trying to show her.

  “These are the cabinets you said you wanted,” he boasted. “Remember? You picked them out.”

  She turned her astounded eyes on him. “I feel as if I’m dreaming, Liam. None of this feels real.”

  “It’s real, I promise.” He held her for a long moment and felt her respond, squeezing him back, and hope flooded through him. “Okay. I’ll show you the rest of the house. I think you’re going to like it.”

  In one of the bedrooms upstairs, the walls were painted with a rainbow. It was, however, bereft of any furniture. Sabrina took it all in, still looking dazed.

  “I’ve been calling this one the nursery,” Liam advised.

  She turned her gaze on him and blinked, not getting it.

  Liam took a breath. He was rushing it, but he couldn’t wait any longer. “I don’t remember anything about my coma, but I do remember waking up in the hospital and being told I was supposed to die. Kind of puts things in perspective. What’s really important.”

  The dogs all sat as if on command, their eyes on Liam.

  “Sabrina, the night of my accident, I had a question on my mind. Something I wanted to ask you. Well, less a question, I suppose, than maybe a proposal. It had to do with this.”

  He reached into his pocket, dug around, and pulled out the small box. She stared at it numbly. He opened it and the sparkle leaped to her eyes. “Say yes to me now, Sabrina, and I promise we’ll be together forever.”

  Liam sucked in a breath. If the other guy was a factor, she would tell him now, and his life might be jolted off course once more.

  Sabrina was crying again, but as she embraced Liam, Riggs could feel no sadness in her. “Of course. God, I’ve missed you, Liam. Of course I’ll marry you.”

  Luna and Riggs exchanged glances, and Riggs wondered if the Jack Russell understood what was happening. Archie didn’t, that was clear from the way he yawned and then dropped to his belly, tense with all the emotions, but bored with the lack of activity.

  Riggs was content. They were all together, his humans and his dog pack. This was how it should be.

  Epilogue

  MICHELOB

  Michelob’s actual name was Ozzy. His bloodlines suggested terrier with spaniel with something else, and his brown eyes were serene when they held a human’s. He couldn’t exactly remember how he wound up living without his people—he didn’t really realize he was being left behind when his family departed in their multiple cars, leaving him at the Chatfield Reservoir, and then when he tried to cross C-470, a nice woman pulled over and invited him for a car ride, and he went willingly. The woman took him to a neighborhood with houses fairly close together and hit the brakes sharply when he barked at a dog chasing a ball. “Is this where you live?” the woman asked, opening the door.

  What Michelob remembered much more clearly than that first day was living on the streets of Denver, drawn by food and people smells, though his family of David and Janice and their many wonderful children weren’t among those his nose could find.

  The bad man with the pipe broke Michelob’s tibia. At animal induction, Mrs. Kepler was almost immeasurably sad. “We won’t be able to help this one,” she mourned.

  There were other organizations in Denver that could take and heal wounded pets, all of them unfortunately full, but Teme set about sending a broadcast email anyway, while Mr. Reed gave the dog something for pain.

  “Got a read on the chip,” Mr. Reed announced triumphantly a little while later.

  Within a few hours, a Chevy Suburban wheeled into the parking lot with a screech, and the doors popped open like it was an FBI raid. David and Janice and several of their grown children burst in the door and they were crying, and Teme and Mrs. Kepler and even Mr. Reed teared up when the limping dog was led out and everyone screamed, “Ozzy!” and Michelob sobbed, licking his people, relieved to at last be rescued.

  Later, after his surgery, after he was fully recovered, Michelob, now fully back to being Ozzy, might take a moment to remember his other dog friends and life on the street, but for the most part, the whole sad incident was forgotten.

  CORONA

  So many bully breeds found their way into the system that Teme was pessimistic that they’d ever find Corona a home, but Corona’s eyes had an odd, almost sad expression in them that was compelling. Corona’s life started in a small, abandoned automobile with no wheels and no doors, surrounded by a large litter of white puppies, all of whom found their own way to their own fates. A street dog, the only things Corona craved were the kindness of a human hand, a sense of home, and a person to protect her and love her.

  Her view of the dog fair was that it was nice to be outside, even restrained to a small cage, and when a family trooped by the smallest member, a female child, halted, fixated by Corona’s deep, mournful eyes.