Man's Best Friend (The Dogmothers #5) - Roxanne St. Claire Page 0,7

fine,” she said. “Your parents and grandparents got out safely.”

“And Taddy?”

“Yes, they got the dog,” Aunt Annie assured her. “The house is only partially damaged.”

Gloriana House? Dad died saving Evie’s family home? Declan felt himself taking steps backward, dropping his pack and the sleeping bag, trying—and failing—to process the world coming down around his shoulders.

“Why…why didn’t you come and…” His voice trailed off. He knew why. Because he’d picked the most secluded, secret spot on the mountain where no one could find them.

“Liam and Shane drove all over the campground, son, as soon as we heard around four in the morning. But they couldn’t find you.”

He closed his eyes, imagining his cousins looking for him last night. Then, he shook off the thought and forced his brain to work like a firefighter’s. “Are they still at the site, doing S&O?” No way that salvage and overhaul would be done by eight on a fire that started in the middle of the night. “I need to—”

“You’re not going there,” Daniel said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

“How did it start?”

“No idea yet. It was contained quickly, though.”

Not quickly enough. “But what happened?” How could his father, a skilled and vigilant firefighter, not walk out the way he’d walked in?

“All we know is a second-floor overhang collapsed on him, and he…” Daniel swallowed. “They haven’t even started the investigation, son.”

“Anyone else?” Declan asked, his voice tight.

“George Rainey, his partner, managed to…” He heaved a sigh. “He got out in time.”

But Dad didn’t?

How was this possible? Declan closed his eyes, seeing flashes of white behind his lids as he bent over and let out a silent scream.

No. Not possible. Not Dad. Not Joe Mahoney. Not his hero, his mentor, his whole world. His father.

“Oh, Dec. I’m so sorry.” Evie draped over him, but her body felt heavy and hot, and he couldn’t bear the weight of her grief on top of his.

He eased her off, standing straight, digging deep for reason and sense and the ingrained responsibility that his father had carved into his heart. If he was broken, what about the rest of his family?

“Where’s Mom?” he asked on a ragged whisper, looking at the porch where Gramma Finnie stood arm in arm with his cousin Molly.

“She’s inside,” Uncle Daniel said. “Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Waiting for him to come back from the mountains, where he’d been having sex with Evie while his father had been…covering his shift. And dying for him. And saving her family.

On their birthday.

No. This didn’t happen. It didn’t. How? Why?

He turned to Evie, but her face was soaked with tears and red from the same agony whipping through him.

“Dec.” She pressed her hands to her mouth, tears flowing.

“Your family is staying with the Langleys, dear,” Aunt Annie said gently, still holding Evie like she could crumble any second. “Your father’s on his way now to bring you there.”

“Dec,” she whispered again.

He tried to answer, but stared at her, his head buzzing, sobs ready to strangle him.

He dropped his head back and endured the next wave of pain, then turned away, the emptiness that engulfed him so indescribable that he just wanted it to stop. He wanted everything to stop. He wanted to run and be alone in the depths of darkness that he knew would never, ever lift. Away from them. Away from her. Away from everyone.

But he couldn’t run. He had three younger siblings who’d depended on Dad and a mother who’d lived and breathed for her husband.

“Dec, I’m so sorry.” Evie managed to get hold of him and wrap her arms around him, her whole body quaking as she wept. “I’m sorry,” she murmured into his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

But he stood stone-still. He knew what he should do. Hold her. Hug her. They should cry on each other’s shoulders.

Didn’t he just promise her all that?

But nothing in him worked. Everything had shut down, like a plug had been pulled and the power had gone out for good.

She gazed up at him, looking desperate for something he couldn’t give her. Not now. Maybe…not ever.

“I’ll wait for my dad,” she said. “You go. Take care of your mom. Your brothers. Ella.” She broke again when she said his little sister’s name.

All of them…fatherless. They were his job now. His responsibility. Not Evie. His family was all that mattered.

“I’m going into the house,” he said, his voice thick. He didn’t wait for her response, mostly because he knew he couldn’t take it. He couldn’t help her when