They charged straight up the hill, and Elayna trudged ahead, one foot after the next, making her way to the top. The dogs were content to sniff around once they made it to the highest point. Elayna rested her hands on her hips and turned in a circle, nearly losing her breath at the sight.
Hills rippled off in every direction. The city spread out in neat lines to the west and the boardwalk and ocean glittering beyond it. The view of a lifetime.
“Wow,” she breathed, for once feeling envious. It wasn’t the shiny cars and social circles that won her over, it was the freedom and beauty that money could buy. Her house was comfortable, and she’d always been perfectly happy living there. But to live somewhere like this, with wilderness and ocean views right out your back door… She could hardly imagine it.
She gazed out at the boardwalk, remembering a particularly popular dog beach. The thought of walking through the sand with two Great Danes had her laughing out loud. It felt good to laugh surrounded by quiet and hills.
“Hey, boys,” she called. They trotted back to her obediently. “Should we go for a drive?”
Their ears perked up together, but they stayed frozen until she began to walk down the hill. Now that they’d been given a direction, they raced ahead. She admired their long legs and the graceful way they bounded across the landscape.
Spotting a smaller shrub than the rest, she took two sudden steps and hurled her feet over. But in the air she panicked, realizing there were more shrubs beyond that one. Bigger shrubs. Shrubs she was going to face-plant into.
She landed in a half squat, falling to her rear and rolling to the side before she could dive into the next bush. Brushing herself off quickly, she glanced around, making sure no one was watching. But there was only wilderness.
“Ahem.”
She flicked her hair back and continued on her way.
When she got to her car, the dogs were waiting. “Sure, easy for you guys.” She smiled and opened the door, ushering them into the back seat where they squeezed in excitedly.
“You barely fit.” She laughed, careful not to bump them as she closed the door.
They panted and watched, constantly turning their heads and stumbling over each other to look out the opposite windows, which quickly became fogged and streaked by dog noses.
Grateful for the quick route to the beach, Elayna parked and looked back to see her dirty, slobbery car and two ecstatic dogs.
“Eww.” She held their collars as they stumbled out. “We can clean that off later, I guess.”
The wind had picked up, and patchy clouds bunched together, creating a heavy cover that was steadily darkening, threatening rain. But Elayna only planned to stay for a moment, and the dogs were so well behaved. It would be fine.
She walked clumsily forward while holding their collars just in case, although they seemed to be behaving like perfect gentlemen. Finally, she straightened and let go hesitantly, relieved when they continued to trot aside her.
“Good boys,” she said, taking off her sandals as they walked through the sand. She’d managed to stuff one tennis ball in the pocket of her shorts and she pulled it out with some difficulty, holding it up for the dogs to see.
“Play ball?” she asked, noticing the way everyone at the beach watched the horse-sized canines.
“Fetch!” She threw the ball into the waves and the dogs took off together, bumping into each other and splashing through the waves before returning with drenched fur.
Titan dropped the ball at her feet, and she threw it harder this time. She’d been worried at first that there was only one ball and two very big dogs, but it was for nothing. They were sweethearts.
Raindrops started falling, but she stayed a little longer and continued throwing the ball, even as the beach cleared out behind her. But when a sudden gust of wind blew past and thunder rumbled through the sky, she decided to get moving.
The dogs came easily and followed her back to the car. The wind was pushing her hair around her face before changing directions and blowing it back behind her. Another, angrier bout of thunder rumbled in the sky above, and she opened the door.
But the dogs were sniffing the air and refused to get in.
“C’mon!” she called, but they only snorted and shook, spraying her with water and still refusing the offer of a dry car.
Elayna felt a quick moment of panic at the look on Titan’s face when his head popped up from sniffing the ground. It was there in his eyes, and she knew he was going to run. Don’t do it.
“Titan!”
But it was too late, he sprinted off faster than she’d ever seen a dog run. He’d created a monumental space between them a second later, and Shade bolted after.
“No! Come!” Elayna dashed after them in her bare feet, not even taking the time to close her car door. They were keeping to the sidewalk, and she wondered if they were frightened by the storm, maybe looking for shelter.
When they stopped to sniff, she shouted over the wind and increasing rain, wiping the wet hair from her face. But it was useless, they were too far away. They dashed around a building and disappeared.
With a gasp, she ran harder, scuffing her toes on the concrete painfully. But when she reached the building, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Not a person or dog…nothing.
She froze, staring blindly as the rain showered down on her. Her heart pounded, and her mouth hung open. There was nothing but panic inside her. Panic and one question.
Have I really just lost Kayson Blake’s dogs?
Chapter 7
It was one thing to lose a regular person’s dogs, sure. But Kayson Blake? He practically owned the entire city of Santa Barbara.
“Titan! Shade!” Elayna coughed on a few raindrops that had blown down her throat. The wind was ridiculous, changing direction constantly and making her stumble over her own feet. But she couldn’t stop. The dogs had to be close, and she was determined to search until she found them.
A shop door opened as she passed, the employee casting a surprised glance. “Do you need help?” he asked, glancing down the street at the empty town around them. Everyone had retreated from the weather.
“I’m looking for two Great Danes,” she said, yelling over another gust of wind and boom of thunder. “They ran away.”
“I’ll keep an eye out,” the man said, retreating into the store with rain now dripping down his face.
Elayna hurried around the building, coming to a strip of shops in different coastal shades and styles, all facing the pathway and beachfront beyond. The boardwalk. A few tourists were crowded under a café canopy, looking up at the sky hopefully with buckets and shovels in their hands.
But no dogs.
She approached the group, catching the mother’s eye first. “Hi.” She tried to smile but her body had begun to shiver. “Have you seen two huge dogs? They’re Great Danes. They ran away, and I’m trying to find them.”
“I did! I did!” The little girl raised her hand, jumping up and down. “Like, this big?” She held her hand up as high as it would go.
Elayna smiled, hoping they were still close. “Yes, that’s them. Where’d they go?”
“They ran down the sidewalk in the rain, and they looked happy!” She giggled and danced on her toes, mimicking a dog trot.