Brady said, “Say no more. We just wanted to check and see how the three of you were doing.” They said their goodbyes and took off. I turned to Laida and said, “Let’s go relax for a while, baby.”
Laida smiled and nodded so I picked her up in a cradle carry. She leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Come on, Rusty!” she called out. Rusty came moseying along.
I laid her back down in the bed and asked, “How are you feeling today?”
She smiled, “Better than yesterday.”
Rusty jumped on the bed and curled up at Laida’s feet. It was his spot the whole time she’d been resting up. She stayed in the hospital for a day and had been home for a couple days. Though, through most of it, she slept.
I just stared at her. I almost lost her. When I thought back to Brady and Ethan walking out of the barn carrying her and Rusty, I got misty-eyed. They weren’t moving. Barely breathing. I thought I’d lost them both.
As if Rusty could sense my emotions, he inched toward me and nudged my hand so he could lay between Laida and me. “You’re a good pup, Rusty.”
Laida cleared her throat and said, “I think he saved me.”
“What makes you say that?” She was finally ready to talk about it. She didn’t want to talk about it at all when she came home.
Laida stared off and spoke softly, “It wasmyfault. I waited too long to lock things down, and then I couldn’t find flashlights anywhere, so I used two candle jars. It was all my fault.” She was tearing up, and it was breaking my heart. “I saw my grandfather’s canvases near the flames, so I grabbed them and ran to the porch before they were destroyed. I yelled for Rusty, but he didn’t come.” Rusty nosed her just then and laid his head on her lap. “I saw a path, so I went back in to get him. Rusty stayed in front of me, despite me trying to cover him. He kept moving back in front of me.”
When she said that, I looked down at Rusty at the spot on his body where the fur was scorched and shorter from the burn. It was just on one side. He stayed in front of her and lost part of his coat because of it. They must’ve been so scared.
“I’m so sorry, Jesse.” Tears streamed down her face, so I wrapped my arms around her to cradle her.
“It’s alright. God, I love you so much.” I just blurted it out.
She sat up and looked at me. “What?”
“Laida, I love you. I’m in love with you. You and this amazing dog are my universe. When I thought I’d lost you both, all I could think about was not being able to tell you that I love you. I love you, Laida Sayavong.” She started crying again. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“No… I… I tried to tell the dispatcher to tell you I love you, but I couldn’t get it out before the smoke became too much.”
“She told the Chief and he told me. She got your message.”
“She did!?”
I smiled at her and said, “She did.”
“I love you so much, firefighter.”
Pulling her back into my arms again, I moved my hand to her face and kissed her. It was different.Thatkiss was forever. “I love you too, herbalist.”
Epilogue
Laida
One year later
It’d been one year since the fire.One yearsince we exchangedI love yous. Jesse spent the year rebuilding the barn even better than before, but with touches of its former glory. It was as beautiful as ever, at least from the outside. He wouldn’t let me see the inside until he was finished. Rusty loved working in the barn with him whenever he was out there. His duties included barking at people driving up the gravel and chasing wild animals away.
Dok Champais thriving. The firehouse had started putting in regular orders for the salves and Jesse said the guys liked to use the dandelion salve as their skin moisturizer under the disguise of “it’s for my girl.”He teased them about it since he’d found different salve tins in desks and lockers, which meant they were using them on themselves.
I’m completely healed up and the burn on my arm where I saved the canvases from a horrible fate has healed to the pointthat you can’t even tell it was there unless you look closely. Rusty’s coat is all back to normal, too.
No one ever made claim to Rusty. There weren’t anyLostorMissing Dogsigns that popped up. It’s like he appeared out of nowhere and he was meant to be ours.
Jesse moved out of his apartment and into the farmhouse with me a few months after the fire. He never left my side, so it only made sense for him to move in. When he wasn’t at work, he was with Rusty and me. I had finally asked him if he would consider the move, and he was all too happy to oblige. One of the first things he did after the fire was make sure there were batteries and flashlights in every corner of the house. He’s a bit averse to candles now, though. I can’t blame him.
The barn doors opened a crack, just wide enough for Jesse to squeeze out. I was standing outside on the porch waiting for a reveal. Jesse walked up to me and asked, “You ready, Laida?”
