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Her leaf-colored eyes widened. “Oh, no. I couldn’t impose.”
“Trust me, you wouldn’t be imposing. Mom, in particular, would love having you around.” Now that Dad had moved into the apartment above the garage, she’d undoubtedly like having someone else in the house to talk to.
“Would they love having my dogs underfoot?” Ally asked with a lift of her eyebrows. “I can’t just desert them. And I should tell you that Sadie here is going to be a mama soon.”
“She’s pregnant?”
“Yep. The shelter thought she had a few more weeks to go.”
He paused.
“If that makes a difference, I totally understand.”
“No, it’s fine,” he replied. “Mom and Dad have always had dogs up until three months ago, when their German shepherd, Duke, died. And my mom has a soft spot for animals. So I’m sure they won’t mind. In fact, I think all of Duke’s stuff is still in the basement.”
Ally studied him. “Why are you being so nice to me? You don’t even know me.”
He shrugged. “When I was a kid, our house burned down, and I remember how traumatic it was for the whole family.”
She cast her eyes to the smoldering house and garage, shaking her head. She froze for a couple of seconds, and some of the light faded from her eyes. Gradually a sense of what looked like inevitability seemed to envelop her like a gray cloud. Clearly, she felt as if her life had crumbled before her eyes, and honestly he couldn’t blame her for thinking that. Fire struck a blow no one should have to endure.
Suddenly, Drew had the urge to wrap an arm around her for comfort. But he didn’t; he was sure ol’ Rex and his teeth would think that kind of gesture was a really bad idea. And the dog would be right. Drew barely knew this woman, and after he dropped her at Mom and Dad’s, he and Ally would only see each other in passing. He had no business offering her any more than a roof over her head, and a part of him wondered why the urge to comfort her had even crossed his mind. He wasn’t usually one to establish quick connections.
After a long, silent moment, Ally straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath and finally spoke. “Well, I’ll agree on the condition that the arrangement would be only temporary.”
He held up his hands. “Fine.”
“Good.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What do you plan on doing in the long run?”
She sucked in a large breath. “Maybe I’ll...move to a hotel or something.”
He liked her determination. But with the talk of her rent-free situation, he got the impression her bravado, while understandable, was false. Not to mention that she wasn’t being realistic about finding somewhere else to stay, given that she was bringing two big dogs with her, one expecting puppies any day now.
He nodded. “Unfortunately, there are only two lodging possibilities in Moonlight Cove, and as far as I know, neither one of them allows dogs.”
“Oh.”
Another idea occurred to him. “Listen, my dad owns a real estate company and has tons of connections around here. I’m sure he could help find an inexpensive rental for you.”
“I don’t have the money for all the deposits necessary, and until I get work, I can’t afford any kind of rent, either.”
“No savings?”
“Nope.”
Man, she was really in a bind....
“I’ll figure something out.” She gave him a brittle smile. “I always do.”
Again, her determination impressed him. “Okay, I hear you loud and clear.” He paused, his gaze on the smoldering house. “Any clue as to what caused the fire?”
She shook her head. “I had the dogs out for a walk. We came back inside, and I was getting to work making more flyers for the housecleaning business I’m setting up.”
“This is in addition to the dog rescue?”
“Gotta find a way to pay the bills.”
Good point. “Do you have any clients yet?”
“Not yet, but I just posted an online ad yesterday, so hopefully something will come from that.”
Sounded like a good plan. “I know just about everyone in town, so I could probably rustle up some prospects.”
“That’d be great.” She smoothed her wind-tossed hair behind her ear. “Anyway, Rex here started barking, and when I came out to the kitchen to investigate, there were flames shooting from the wall behind the stove.”
“Wiring maybe? That house was built a long time ago.”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I take it you hightailed it out of there fast?”
“I went straight for the door, then called 911 on my cell when I got outside. I didn’t even think to grab my keys.”
“Good thing Rex was on top of things.”
“No kidding.” Her lips trembled. “I hadn’t even unpacked everything yet.” She laughed without humor. “Guess now I won’t have to.”
Sadie whined, and Ally gave Drew a lopsided smile as she gestured to the dog. “This one is turning out to be quite sympathetic.” Crouching down, she put her arms around the dog’s furry neck and hugged her close. “Thanks, girl. But don’t worry. Everything’s going to be just fine. I promise you won’t be homeless again.”
Drew’s throat went tight. Ally was clearly a compassionate soul, and he couldn’t help but admire that trait. Once again, her plight had him wanting to come to her rescue, fix everything and present it to her all wrapped in a neat and tidy bow.
Guess he’d need to get ahold of himself and his crazy need to help out Ally and her dogs more than he’d already planned to. Because if things worked out and he was chosen to take the slot he’d interviewed for earlier today at the Atherton Fire Academy, he’d be long gone from Moonlight Cove in just a few weeks.
And once he realized his dream of becoming a full-time firefighter, and eventually a paramedic, he wasn’t planning on looking back. For anything or anyone.
* * *
Homeless.
The word roiled around in Ally’s head like a river of toxic waste as Drew pulled up to his mom’s Victorian-style home situated a few blocks from Moonlight Cove Beach. He’d called her as soon as they’d left the scene of the fire, and she’d readily agreed to have Ally and the dogs stay with her. Pregnant Sadie and all.
Ally hated imposing, but what other choice did she have, knowing no one, and having such limited funds at the moment? Working minimum-wage retail and waitressing jobs in Seattle since high school had barely supported her, and she’d always just scraped by living paycheck to paycheck. Saving money hadn’t been an option. Hopefully, that would change as soon as she had her housecleaning business up and running, but without the benefit of no rent, things would get dicey.
Ally’s stomach clenched. How could this disaster have happened, just when she’d thought she’d finally found a good place to put down roots after so long without them?
Ever since Sue had described Moonlight Cove to Ally when they’d been in foster care together, Ally had wanted to move here. The town had seemed to embody everything she’d ever wanted in life but never had—a close-knit community and small-town values—all topped off with an idyllic, peaceful life that had been absent from her life for as long as she could remember.
She’d been dreaming of living here forever.
When she’d heard from a friend that the Washington Coast area around Moonlight Cove was in dire need of dog rescue organizations, she’d thought her castle in the sky had become a wonderful reality. Especially when Sue offered Ally her uncle’s house rent-free when she’d heard about Ally’s aspirations to start a dog rescue here.
For once in Ally’s life, things seemed to be going her way. Ha. Now her dream had turned into a nightmare.
She cast her gaze through the back window of Drew’s truck, making sure Rex and Sadie were okay in the canopied bed. Both dogs were looking out the closed back window, happily watching the scenery go by in typical dog fashion.
“They okay back there?” Drew asked as he put the truck in Park.
She looked over at him, not for the first time admiring his strong chin, prominent brow and close-cropped, wavy dark brown hair. Very good-looking in an outdoorsy, why-don’t-I-cut-you-some-wood kind of way. “Yeah, they both do all right in cars, although Rex usually wants to sit in the front seat of my sedan.” Or, rather, the sedan she used to have.
He turned off the ignition. “I’m so sorry about all this.”
“Thanks” was all she could say. She hadn’t been able to afford renter’s insurance, so she only hoped some of her stuff would be salvageable. Not that she had much...but still. For the first time in a very long time, what was hers was hers.
Now it was all gone.
As she climbed out of the car, she fought panic; if her years in foster care had taught her anything, though, it was to try to find the good in almost any situation. To that end she thanked God that she and Rex and Sadie had escaped from the house safely.
Drew came around the truck. “Is it okay to let the dogs out?”
“Go ahead and open up, but let me get their leashes on just in case. They don’t know their way around here, and I’d probably have a meltdown if one of them ran off.” Even though she had lots of experience dealing with all kinds of setbacks, the fire was a doozy of a stumbling block to the life she’d planned on building here. A girl could only handle so much stress in one day.
Drew opened the liftgate and the two dogs greeted her with wagging tails. As soon as Drew moved closer to Ally, Rex froze, his teeth bared, and rumbled a low, threatening growl.
“Don’t worry, buddy,” Drew said, backing up, his hands raised. “I’m not the enemy.”
Ally hooked the nylon leash to Rex’s collar. “Please be patient with him. He’s had a rough go.”
“What’s his story?”
Rex hopped out of the truck and stood patiently as Ally hooked Sadie’s leash on her. “Someone called the police to report that a dog had been tied up on a stake in a yard for weeks on end at a suspected meth house in my neighborhood in Seattle. He’d been without water for a while and was really underweight. They seized him from the owner and took him to the county animal shelter. I sprang him and brought him with me when I moved here.” She’d fed him plenty, and he’d put back on most of the weight he’d lost.
Sadie jumped out, her fluffy tail doing its perpetual wag. Honestly, she was one of the sweetest dogs Ally had ever met, so full of trust, so optimistic, despite what she’d been through.
“And what about Sadie?” Drew said.
“She was a stray Animal Control picked up—I think she was probably lost when someone was here for the weekend.” From what Sue had told her, Ally knew that Moonlight Cove saw a lot of weekend visitors this time of year. “No one claimed her, so I got her out of the pound and brought her home.”
Ally moved away from the truck so Drew could close the liftgate.
“So do you plan on keeping them?” he asked, backing up a step, clearly keeping his distance from Rex.
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.
