He was very ready to return to his bed – and Luke – but the canine obviously had other plans. She stood still, a few feet from the kitchen door, and for some reason Reid’s initial annoyance turned into watchfulness.
“What’s up?” His whisper almost made him laugh. As if she would answer. But somehow she did. She looked up to him and then started walking back towards the guesthouse. Automatically he started following her and then a specific scent reached his nostrils. That smelled like…he looked at the guesthouse and saw a very vague, but definite glow on the ground floor. Reid sprinted back to the scullery, grabbed the fire extinguisher and ran to the house again.
“You stay here,” he ordered the dog. He didn’t need more things to worry about. He quickly grabbed his keys, opened the front door and while yelling Katie’s name, he started to put out the fire. They were lucky. Apparently the fire had just started, because only the couch and the table next to it were badly burned.
A sleepy looking Katie entered the room, but she was fully awake when she saw Reid, the fire extinguisher in his hand and the scorched furniture.
“Oh my God!”
“It’s okay. It’s under control.” Reid opened the door, so fresh air could shoo away the smoke and smell. Before he could turn around, Katie had latched herself onto him, sobbing.
“Thank you, Reid. This could have been…”
“I know,” Reid didn’t even want to think about other outcomes, “but that didn’t happen. You’re safe.”
“What a blessing that you noticed it…”
“Yeah, that was perfect timing,” Reid had to admit, pouring himself and Katie a glass of water.
“Did you just arrive home?”
Reid shook his head. “Nope, I was doing Luke a favor. He had forgotten to take the dog out and because he was so tired, I volunteered. And we were ready to go back in, when she stopped in her tracks and then she started walking back here.”
Katie took a sip of her drink, sank on a chair and shook her head.
“So basically that dog saved my life. And Jacob’s.”
Reid shrugged. “Me putting out the fire had something to do with that too, but yeah…if it wasn’t for her, I might not have noticed. I started to smell the fire when I followed her back here.”
“Now I’m even more thankful that I’m having one of her pups. And between you and me, Reid… if you’re serious about not keeping Gaia, I will take her too. I owe her that.”
Reid just nodded. For some reason that statement didn’t bring the relief he expected. Letting Katie take care of the dog was the perfect solution, so why didn’t it make him happy? Luke and the kids would still have her in their lives. Right?
His brain forced him to smile. “That’s good to know,” he said and then looked at the burned couch.
“Any idea what happened?”
“I’m afraid I know exactly what happened,” Katie looked all shameful, “I had some candles burning on that side table and I forget to blow them out. The even more stupid part of it as that I made a mental note to be careful with them, because the candle holders were flammable.”
“You’re kidding me,” Reid looked genuinely shocked, “Who would invent flammable candle holders? Better yet…who would buy those?”
Katie blushed. “Obviously I did. I found them at some local market. They were made by kids and buying them was supporting some school fund-raising.”
“Well, that’s a very burning support…” Reid rolled his eyes.
“I feel terrible,” Katie was pale again, “Your beautiful guest house…”
“No harm done,” Reid shrugged. “It’s just stuff and it’s all replaceable. I’m glad you and the drool machine are okay.”
That made Katie chuckle and when Reid started to walk to the door, she blocked him and gave him another big hug.
“Thanks, Reid.”
“You’re welcome,” he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Try to get some sleep…”
“I will. You too…”
When Reid stepped out, he immediately noticed the presence, a few feet away from him.
“Reid! Look at that! She’s been waiting for you all this time.”
The doctor frowned. It sure looked that way. Why hadn’t she returned to her puppies? According to Luke that had been her main focus all this time. But Katie was right. She just sat there and when he started to walk towards her, she was back on her four legs and even approached him.
“This is so adorable,” he heard Katie whisper in the doorway and he just lifted his hand to her, not able to think up a good retort. It was adorable. If you liked stuff like loyalty and camaraderie and all that sap. When he walked back to the main house, Gaia joined him, close to his right leg. He wasn’t about to tell anybody – not even Luke – but for some reason it made him feel watched over. Sheltered. Loved.
The moment they entered the scullery together, Gaia walked over to the crate and checked on her kids. The soft squeaking that the little worms made were apparently a good sound, because the dog made herself comfortable, while the pups fell asleep again.
“You did good tonight,” Reid caressed the brown head. It was softer than he’d thought. “Katie is very special to me…so thanks…”
For a moment Gaia looked straight at him, then sighed – don’t mention it – and put her nose between her legs. It made Reid smile. This lady didn’t do drama either. He liked that.
His side of the bed was cooled off and he shivered when he stepped in. He could feel Luke’s warmth, but he didn’t want to wake him up, so he just shivered some more on his own side and pulled the covers closer.
His sacrifice was pointless. Luke turned around, pulled himself close to Reid – ah, so nice! – and then sniffed.
“You smell like you’re been in a fire.”
“Shhh…I was, but it’s all okay. Go back to sleep.”
Yeah. Right. The moment Reid’s words sank in, Luke was awake.
“What happened?”
“Katie had a minor accident,” Reid said in a soothing tone, “The guesthouse needs some repairs, but it’s really no big deal.”
“Nobody is hurt?” Luke began to sound sleepy again.
“Nobody is hurt,” Reid answered, kissing Luke’s temple and enjoying the warmth that now flooded his body.
“Good,” Luke whispered and Reid smiled in the dark. Yeah. Life was good. It could have been pretty bad, but it was good.
“One thing you need to know,” Reid whispered, nestling himself against Luke.
“I love you too,” Luke softly chuckled.
“I’m glad, but that’s not it….” Reid snorted.
“Oh?” Luke lifted his head, so he could look into Reid’s eyes. “What’s up?”
“We’re keeping the dog.”
