Page 82 of Courting Danger

The call ended, and Ocean opened his mouth to demand more details only to snap it shut when Pope scanned the sheet taped to the side of the fridge before once again dialing a number. The clickity clack of nails on tile drew his attention to the dogs, who’d managed to track them down, tails wagging as they nosed at Ocean’s hands, demanding pets. Exhaling, he kneltso he could rub their fur and press his face to the husky’s fluff, inhaling the scent of cedar clinging to it, since Pope had used his own body wash to clean them.

“Sunshine, I need a favor,” Pope said. “Danger got himself banged up at the grocery store. He’s down at the ER getting checked out. Roan is with him, but Ocean and I are out at my place. Normally, we’d have taken off by now, but the boys found a couple dogs this morning, and they’re skittish as hell. Think you and Kermit can get here safely and babysit them?”

At least this pause was short, because Ocean’s patience was seriously frayed.

“Thanks. It sounds like it’s finally easing up some. See ya when you get here.”

This time when he hung up, he placed the receiver back in the cradle and turned to face him. “Get dressed; I’ll tell you everything on the way down. We’ll need to take your jeep, so grab your keys.”

Scrambling, Ocean gave the dogs a final pat before sprinting to his room, socks slipping on the polished wood floor when he tried to stop at the door. He hit the wall instead, fingers scrabbling for the knob, finally able to wrench it open and get inside. He left his sleep pants in a pool on the floor and snatched on a pair of jeans that were too long and loose, not that he took them off when he realized they were Roan’s. He just knelt and cuffed the bottoms before scrambling to the mudroom, where his boots waited in the tray beneath the key rack.

Pope strode in as he was tying his boots, hair pulled back in a hasty ponytail, to yank his boots on too.

“Sunshine and Kermit should be here in a few minutes.”

“Will you drive?” Ocean asked, hand shaking as he offered Pope his keys.

“No problem.”

They were waiting at the mudroom door when Sunshine and Kermit pulled up and parked off to the side of the driveway on the rain-soaked lawn. Pope yanked the door open for them as they rushed up the steps, barely giving them time to get their outwear off before leading them inside to meet the dogs while Ocean remained seated on the bench, thoughts still spiraling in a million different directions.

By the time Pope emerged, Ocean had his head in his hands, shoulders quaking, until Pope’s heavy hand landed on the back of his neck and squeezed, fingers digging into the pressure points, flooding his brain with endorphins that chased some of the haze of worry and fear away. Pope’s voice in his ear, warm breath caressing the side of his neck, helped ease the tension more.

“Let’s just take a moment and settle our nerves before we land ourselves in an ER bed instead of beside Roan in the waiting room,” Pope murmured.

All the while, Pope’s fingers kneaded muscles that had been loose and relaxed before that fucking phone call. Every press of his thumb dragging along the side of his neck made the tension ease more, until Ocean was no longer trembling.

“Good to go?” Pope asked.

Ocean sucked in a long, ragged breath before slowly exhaling.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Okay, let’s get moving,” Pope said with one last squeeze.

Outside, the rain still poured from the heavens, but not nearly as hard as it had when the storm first blew in. The sky was still a deep, pissed off gray, but when Pope started the Jeep and turned the wipers to the highest setting, visibility was clear enough for them to see the rain-soaked road. As Pope maneuvered the vehicle, Ocean adjusted the thermostat to keep the windshield from fogging up.

“So, here’s what I know so far,” Pope said. “Everyone stranded at the grocery store was seated in the back waiting for the storm to blow over when the ceiling began to leak. Then chunks started falling into the aisle, and the manager hurried everyone into the backroom. Roan, Danger, and a few others were assisting people who couldn’t get there on their own when more of the ceiling started crumbling. Danger was carrying the last man, whose mobility scooter couldn’t maneuver past the mess, when he was struck on the head by a piece of debris as they reached the door. Roan and the butcher managed to yank them inside before the roof collapsed, but Danger was knocked out, though he was conscious by the time the EMTs arrived. No one else was hurt, and no one was trapped. Firefighters and EMTs were able to get them all out of the backroom, so everyone is safe. Danger has a gash and a concussion; Roan’s got a sore back from Danger and the old man landing on him when they yanked them into the room. When he came around, Danger was alert enough to explain to the butcher how to manually raise the rolling metal door, which is what allowed them to get help. He had the EMTs give Roan his phone so he’d have the landline number, but he couldn’t call it until they got to the hospital, since the power outage means cell services are still down. Mark headed for the ER with a few folks to sit with Roan and wait for news about Danger. Now you know as much as I do.”

Ocean needed a moment to let the words sink in, and once they had, he was able to stop rubbing the arm of his seat so restlessly and sit still so he wouldn’t distract Pope.

“How does a roof just cave in?” Ocean asked.

“That’s above my paygrade, so any theories I offer would just be assumptions at this point,” Pope explained. “You best believe the city engineer and fire officials will get to the bottom of it, though, and level fines and penalties if they determine itcould have been avoided. Personally, I don’t give a shit how it happened; I’m just relieved that everyone made it out intact.”

“Do you think they’ll let Danger come home tonight?”

Ocean saw his jaw twitch as his lips compressed into a tight, thin line, Pope’s eyes firmly fixed on the road in front of him. “Probably not, since he lost consciousness and kept fading in and out, according to Roan. They’ll likely keep him overnight, in which case they’ll kick our asses out when visiting hours are over and let us take him home sometime tomorrow. We’ll stay at Jokers Wild tonight, and Sunshine and Kermit will remain with the pups until we can take him home. That pair flocked to Kermit the way they did with you and Roan, so no worries there. They know they’re in good hands.”

“What a crazy fuckin’ day.”

“Tell me about it. Feels like a fuckin’ week.”

And yet, aside from a few downed branches and random bits of debris blowing around, none of the homes along the road looked to have sustained any damage. A few folks were going to be retrieving lawn ornaments from random places, but otherwise, the wind and rain hadn’t created as big of a mess as Ocean had expected to see as they approached town.

Silently, they rolled past the street where the grocery store was located, the red lights of firetrucks still flashing around the place. Ocean spotted Pope’s SUV parked across the street from it along with a line of other vehicles. At first glance, nothing appeared wrong with the scene, outside of the emergency vehicles, until Ocean spotted the gaping hole where the roof used to be.

Up the winding hill they rolled, right through a residential area; everything here was drenched and gray but still intact. Pope pulled into an empty spot in the hospital parking lot a half hour after they left home, parked, and scrubbed a hand over his face.