“Oh, God.” Rain raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.
Joe rarely seemed surprised by anything, but he gaped at Vicki. “Jesus.”
Vicki turned to Libby. “I’ve got to go to her. Are you good to drive?”
Libby nodded. “I’ll follow you.”
Vicki went to her locker, grabbed her clothes, and, not bothering to change, hurried out to her vehicle, her thoughts running in a loop.
Austin couldn’t be dead—or badly burned or hurt. He was the love of Lexi’s life. He was Eric’s best friend. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t be.
With Libby close behind her, Vicki drove as fast as she could through traffic, crossing the main highway only after some kind person let them through. She floored it down First Street, smoke making the air hazy, a wall of angry gray stretching to the sky just to the west of town.
She parked in the back and, not bothering to knock, stepped with Libby through the Inn’s private entrance into the kitchen. “Lexi?”
Lexi looked up at Vicki through haunted blue eyes, her face pinched by fear, Emily playing with blocks on the floor beside her. “Still nothing. They don’t have a helicopter to check on him. They’re trying to find a helo to rescue the people trapped at Naomi’s camp.”
God in heaven. Were the kids trapped, too?
Fear filled her belly—for the children, for Naomi and Chaska, for Eric, who would blame himself for anything that happened to any of them.
She sat, took Lexi’s hand. “I’ll call Eric. I’ll ask him to—”
Lexi shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks, her hand holding tightly to Vicki’s. “There’s nothing he can do. No one can get back there except by air. I’ve already called Dispatch twice. They’ll call me if there’s news.”
Vicki knew this had to be unbearable for Lexi. If Eric were missing in a fire…
God, she couldn’t even think about that.
But they couldn’t stay here.
Vicki knew Lexi didn’t want to leave, but she didn’t have a choice. “It’s not safe here, Lexi. I’ll leave my car here. We can take your vehicle down to the fairgrounds and wait for news there. Your dad, Kendra, Emily—we’ll all go together.”
She looked up, met Bob’s gaze, defied him to disagree.
Kenzie couldn’t letherself panic. She had twenty dogs to evacuate, plus Gizmo and Gabby. She didn’t have time to fall apart.
Megs won’t let Harrison take unnecessary risks.
Harrison had been toned out with the Team to rescue people trapped at a camp—that’s all he’d told her—and that meant he was headed straighttowardthe fire.
He was always the first one to volunteer for tough rescues. Kenzie loved him for it—but it also scared the shit out of her.
Be safe!
The office phone rang—again. Kenzie ignored it, let it go to voicemail. She didn’t have time to talk right now. She had recorded a message for her clients explaining that she was evacuating their dogs to the Boulder County Fairgrounds and that she would update them as the situation unfolded.
She put the dogs in their crates. “Come on, Loki. We’re going for a little drive.”
The Jack Russell terrier whined, no doubt able to sense her fear.
Behind her, the door opened.
She turned to see Chip and Charles.
“Need help?” Charles asked.
Kenzie let out a breath of relief. “Oh, God, do I ever.”