by Debbie Mason
Something ran across the dark path ahead of them and cut through the woods. It was black and bigger than a rat. Miller took off, ripping the leash from Liam’s hand. “Miller!” he yelled, panicked. All he needed to do now was lose the dog. He chased after Miller, calling out to him as he ran. Up ahead he heard Miller yelping, and then he came running back to Liam with his tail between his legs. Liam knelt on the snow-covered ground to check over the trembling dog. “Something gave you a fright, didn’t it, boy? You’re okay.” He gave the retriever a rubdown before rising to his feet.
A few minutes later, they reached the stone cottage in the woods. Colored lights from the Christmas tree twinkled in the front window, the welcoming smell of wood smoke in the air. Liam had barely gotten the front door open when Miller bounded past him, galloping up the stairs. It was like he had Mia radar.
Sophie’s eyes went wide when she saw the dog. He hadn’t told her he was going to get Miller, just that he had a plan to cheer up their daughter. “Liam—”
She didn’t get anything else out because Miller had jumped into bed with Mia. Liam heard a hiss, and then Simon was flying at Miller. The dog yapped, batting at the cat with their daughter lying in the middle of the fight. Liam launched himself across the room and onto the bed. “Miller, down,” he said, shielding his daughter with his body. He pushed on Miller’s chest at the same time he raised his arm to block Simon’s flying leap. Both the dog and cat fell off the bed. Mia looked at Liam and started to cry.
“I didn’t mean to hurt—” As Liam attempted to defend himself, both the cat and dog made dramatic whining sounds from the floor. Mia sobbed harder, and Liam got to his feet. He’d messed up again.
Sophie rushed over to the bed and took Mia into her arms. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy was just protecting you. Miller and Simon are”—she craned her neck to look over the side of the bed—“um, they’ll be fine.” Both animals looked up at Liam and gave themselves a shake then jumped back onto the bed. “All right, you two, if you want to be with Mia, you have to learn to share her,” Sophie said sternly, looking from Simon to Miller then asked Mia, “Do you want them to stay?”
She gave her mother a watery smile and nodded. When the animals lay on either side of her, Mia put an arm around each of their necks. Sophie tucked the covers under Mia’s chin and gave the animals another stern look, wagging her finger at them. “Behave, or you’re out of here.” Miller whined, and Simon gave what could only be described as a haughty twitch of his ears.
Sophie turned off the light and followed Liam out of the room. He glanced at her as she closed the door. “Looks like I can’t do anything right tonight.”
“Don’t say—” She broke off with a smile and nodded behind him. He turned. Mia, wearing her Frozen nightgown, was standing in the doorway. She crooked her finger at him. He went down on one knee, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a butterfly kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he said, stroking her hair. “I’m sorry I made you sad. I thought staying here for the weekend would be fun. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, okay? I checked out the pond. We’ll go skating.”
She rewarded him with a wide smile, nodded, and went back to her bed. Neither Miller nor Simon yelped or hissed when she climbed over them to get under the covers. They settled in beside her.
“How did Simon get here?” Liam asked as they headed downstairs.
“I have no idea. Not long before you arrived with Miller, I heard scratching at the bedroom window.”
Liam had a fairly good idea who’d darted past them on the path now. “Poor Miller, I think Simon terrified him.”
Sophie laughed. “Miller outweighs him by a hundred pounds.”
“I outweigh Mia by at least a hundred and fifty pounds, and she terrifies me.”
“She does not.” Sophie joined him on the couch in front of the fire. “You’re wonderful with her, and she adores you. Stop beating yourself up over tonight. It was a sweet gesture. She’s just weirdly attached to this place. It doesn’t help that she’s convinced she has a chance to win. Nonna isn’t helping matters. I explained to her about the rules, but every time we go over to her place, she insists on taking out the ticket and the two of them do another novena.”
“Do you think it would help if we started looking for a place of our own?”
“I don’t want you to rush into something just because—”
He lightly pressed a finger to her lips. “Stop. You know I want to be with you and Mia. Going back and forth between my dad’s place and the apartment might be confusing her. Once she feels more settled, maybe she’ll start talking…and, ah, stop waving and smiling at imaginary people.”
She stiffened. “It’s not uncommon for children to have imaginary friends, Liam.”
“Yeah, I know that, babe. But you have to admit...” He took in the defensive jut of her chin. He had to switch gears if he didn’t want to ruin his plans for the night completely. “You know what? Why don’t we just forget about everything and enjoy our weekend together?”
She drew her feet up on the couch and snuggled against him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “Good idea. We won’t have a lot of time alone together once all the wedding craziness begins.”
He stroked her hair. “Bethany still driving you nuts?”
Sophie nodded. “She calls at least five times a day with something else she wants to change or add. It’s like talking to a wall. She won’t listen to reason. I actually had to call Michael yesterday and explain that it’s too late to make more changes. I felt kind of bad, but I didn’t know what else to do. I was afraid Dana was going to quit if I didn’t intervene. Michael sounded stressed.”
“No doubt. I don’t know why he…Probably should keep that to myself if I want to get lucky tonight.”
She lifted her arm and moved over him, sitting up to straddle him. “Oh, you’re getting lucky tonight, handsome,” she said with a smile, and undid the top two buttons of his shirt. She pressed her lips to the skin she revealed. “So, are you going to tell me how you charmed all those women out of their hard-earned dollars?”
“You keep moving around like that on my lap and kissing me, this conversation will be over before it starts.”
“Talking’s overrated,” she whispered in his ear, and added another torturous wiggle.
He wrapped an arm around her and rolled her beneath him. Covering her with his body, he gave her a long, passionate kiss before raising himself on his elbows to look down at her beautiful, flushed face. “I’ve got something else that I think will ensure I get really, really lucky tonight, and maybe first thing in the morning too.” He reached under the couch and pulled out the document he’d signed with Mr. Wilcox this afternoon, confirming his vote to keep Greystone and the estate in the family. He handed the paper to Sophie.
She frowned then took it from him to read. She slowly raised her eyes to his. “You’re on Team Greysto—” She couldn’t finish because she was crying. Liam rested his forehead on hers and groaned.
Liam sat on the jump seat across from Marco, feeling pretty good, all things considered. They’d just responded to a call; a Christmas tree had caught fire at the town hall. No one was injured, and apart from being unable to save the tree, there wasn’t any damage to the premises. For Liam, it also marked his third week on the job without a flashback.
“Hazel was a little testy considering we saved the town hall from burning down,” Marco said.
“Probably because her and Paige’s latest attempt to shut down Greystone failed.” Sophie had been fielding visits from health and safety inspectors for the past week. “Last I heard they’ve been reaching out to my cousins, so hopefully that’ll keep them busy, and Sophie won’t have to deal with anything other than the wedding party this week. They start arriving tomorrow.”
“I’ll be glad when this wedding is over. Rosa is practically living at the manor, so she’s hardly working at the deli. Our payroll doubled last month. And Ava and Sophie roped me into c
ooking for the wedding.”
“You and me both. Bethany, her mother, and Maura are already running your sister off her feet. She’ll probably sleep through Christmas.”
“Your cousin should—” Marco broke off when Liam held up a finger and answered his phone.
“Hey, Soph, we were just talking about—”
“D-Daddy.”
Hearing his daughter’s voice for the first time, Liam’s eyes welled up. It took some effort to be able to say, “Mia. Sweetheart, you don’t know how happy I am to hear you say my name—”
“Are you kidding me? She’s talking? Let me hear.” Marco reached across to hit speaker on Liam’s phone.
“Daddy, there’s a fire. I can’t wake Mommy up.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liam felt the darkness closing in around him and pushed it back. He met Fergus’s eyes in the rearview mirror as he put in the call to the station and saw his own fear reflected there. And in Marco’s eyes as his best friend lifted his cell phone to his ear. Liam shut down everything that was going on around him and forced his voice to remain calm and even. “Okay, sweetheart, you hear that? You hear the siren? Daddy’s on his way. Where are you?”
“In my bedroom. Daddy, I’m scared,” she whispered.
“I know you are, but everything’s gonna be all right. Where’s Mommy?”
“Right here, on the floor. She fell. She won’t get up.”
Liam’s jaw clenched so tight he felt it pop. “She will. I’ll take care of her as soon as I get there. Mia, I need you to tell Daddy if you see any fire or is there just smoke?”
“Fire,” she said, her voice small and terrified. “It’s in the living room. There’s smoke too.”
“It’s okay. We’re almost there. I need you to shut the door to your bedroom, sweetheart. Stay on the line with me and do that for Daddy, okay?”
“’Kay.” He heard her moving around, and then the sound of the door shutting.
“Good girl. You should hear the sirens anytime now. Can you hear them?”
“Hurry, Daddy.”
“No one’s picking up at Greystone,” Marco said, his voice tight.
“Fergus is driving as fast as he can. Your uncle Marco is with me too.”
“Hang in there, cara. We’re almost there,” Marco said, holding Liam’s gaze as he tried the manor again.
“Is Mommy on her back or her tummy?”
“Her—” There was a crash, and Mia screamed. “Daddy, Daddy, hurry, hurry!”
“Mia, it’s okay, baby. Come here. Mommy’s got you. Give me the phone. Liam,” Sophie’s voice came over the line. She sounded groggy.
There was so much he wanted to say to her, but now wasn’t the time. “Soph, how bad are you hurt?”
“The smoke detector went off, and I ran to get Mia. It was dark. I tripped and hit my head on the dresser.”
“You’re bleeding, Mommy. There’s blood on you,” Mia whimpered.
“It’s just a little cut. It’s fine. Don’t cry, baby.”
His fingers tightened around the phone.
“Almost there, son. We’re almost there,” Fergus murmured.
“Soph, you were out for a bit, so take your time standing up. But I need to know if you can walk. Hold on to the bed and try to get up.”
He heard movement then. “Good. I’m good. I hear the sirens,” Sophie said.
“You’re gonna see me in about four minutes. Soph, is Dana in the apartment next door?”
“I think so. I’m not sure.”
“Baby, I’ve gotta go. I’m coming to get you.” He wanted to tell her he loved her, that he loved them both, but the words got stuck in his throat. If he said them, it felt like he was saying goodbye.
Sophie sat on the bed and pulled Mia onto her lap. She cupped her daughter’s face, looking into her tear-filled, Gallagher-blue eyes. “I’m so proud of you.” Mia had found her voice, and in all likelihood had saved their lives. “Daddy’s coming. You don’t have to be afraid.” She tried to ignore the sounds outside the door—the hiss and pop of the fire spreading through the apartment. She thought of Mia alone, curled up in the closet of the bedroom they once shared in LA, and held back a sob, holding her tighter. “Mommy’s not going to let anything happen to you. Not this time, baby. I promise.”
“What if Daddy doesn’t come before the fire—”
Sophie glanced at the base of the door, her heart pounding faster at the sight of the faint glow beneath it. The temptation to pick up Mia and make a run for the window in her bedroom all but overwhelmed Sophie. She forced herself to stay where she was. She trusted Liam. There was no one she trusted more. “Nothing will stop your daddy from getting us out. You know that.”
There was the sound of wood splintering at the front of the apartment. She heard men’s voices, heavy footfalls in the hall, and then the door opened and Liam was there. She held back a sob at the sight of him filling the doorway with an ax in his hand, smoke and the yellow glow of the fire behind him.
He rested the ax against the wall and came to them, lifting his visor to kiss them both. His eyes held Sophie’s for a brief moment before he said, “Okay, let’s get you out of here.” He lifted Mia into his arms. Shifting their daughter to his hip, he helped Sophie to her feet, wrapping his other arm around her. “We have to go through to the apartment next door.” There was a low groan from the front of the apartment and it felt as though the whole building heaved. Liam shot a look to his right, and then he lifted Sophie off her feet, running toward the bathroom. He angled them through the doorway then kicked the door shut behind them then did the same to the other door.
There was so much smoke, the flames hissing and licking up the walls, that she shuddered, fighting against panic. Reaching a hand across him to hold Mia’s, she buried her face in Liam’s shoulder. She jolted as he kicked another door shut. When he set her on her feet, she was surprised they were in a bedroom. Colin stood on a ladder outside the window, pulling off the screen. Sophie saw the two men’s eyes meet as Liam passed Mia through the window to his father. Colin hugged Mia tight before handing her to someone below him. As Liam lifted Sophie and turned her back to the window, hands wrapped around her ankles and placed her feet on the rungs of the ladder. Liam held on to her arms to steady her.
“Got her,” his father said.
Liam briefly stroked her cheek and then turned and ran toward the door, throwing it open. He disappeared into the smoke and fire. “No! Liam!” She struggled against his father’s tightening grip as he half dragged her down the ladder.
Hands reached up, and she found herself in Fergus’s arms. As he carried her from the burning building toward the crowd gathered outside Greystone, firefighters raced past them. “They’ve got Dana,” Fergus told her. “She’s going to be okay.”
Sophie’s body sagged against the barrel-chested man with relief. Dana was okay. They were all going to be okay. Fergus set her on her feet beside the back of the ambulance where the paramedics checked Mia over. Kitty and Jasper were at her side.
“Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
“Don’t worry, baby. He’ll be here in a minute.” She saw a flicker of emotion cross Fergus’s face before he turned away and headed for the men readying the hoses.
“Fergus.” She ran to him and tugged on his arm. “What is it? Why isn’t Liam out by now?” she asked when another firefighter jogged toward the ambulance with Dana in his arms.
“It’s Marco, Sophie. Liam—” Fergus broke off when Colin yelled.
“Out, everyone out now! The roof isn’t going to hold for much longer.”
Liam checked the second bedroom. Johnny was lowering Dana out the window. Marco had been right behind Liam. It should have been Marco who had gotten to Dana first, not Johnny. “Johnny, where’s Marco?”
“I thought he was with you.”
“No. Chief, we’ve got a man missing,” Liam informed his father over the radio as he ran back through the bathroom to Sophie’s apartment. He grabbed h
is ax from the floor of Mia’s bedroom and headed for the front of the apartment. The roof wasn’t going to hold much longer, and if Liam’s suspicions were correct, a portion had already fallen. As he moved past the kitchen, he saw that he’d been right. He carefully worked his way to the far side of what had once been the living room. Part of the roof had collapsed. Somewhere underneath the burning beams and debris, he knew he’d find his best friend. “Marco,” Liam repeatedly called out as he shoved the plywood and tiles out of the way.
“Liam.”
He quickly moved to where he heard Marco’s muffled voice and pushed aside a chair, sheetrock, and two-by-fours to reveal a hole in the floor to the level beneath them. His best friend lay on the dirt floor with a wooden beam across his lower legs. Several of their fellow firefighters raced into the apartment. “Don’t come any farther!” Liam yelled. “It won’t hold your weight.”
“Out, everyone out now! The roof’s not going to hold for much longer,” his father’s urgent command came over the radio.
Marco looked up at him. “Do as he says—get the hell out of here.”
Liam stretched out on the floor and carefully dropped his ax a few feet from Marco. “No man left behind,” Liam reminded his best friend, and lowered himself into the hole, jumping to land on his feet. Overhead, he heard what sounded like a freight train. Liam grabbed the end of the beam and lifted it off Marco’s legs to toss it aside. He’d barely gotten his friend to the far corner of the storage room before the rest of the roof collapsed above them.
When the building stopped shaking and the dirt and smoke and debris settled around them, Liam tried his radio. All he got was static. He started searching for the weakest point, a way to get out. He heard a cat meowing and squinted. A small section of the brick wall had collapsed. Simon was there, showing him the way out.
