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I couldn’t settle down. Having to sit and wait for news was the suckiest thing ever. There were so many things that could have gone wrong for my dad. Anything from someone suffering hypothermia to a fatality. What if he never came home? No. I wouldn’t think like that. Despite his aura of calm, Jasper had to be worried about Cindy, and Holly was visibly anxious about Zack.
I was so stressed, I didn’t even freak out when one of Jasper’s dogs wandered up to me and shoved her cold, wet nose into my hand.
Holly went to grab her, but I decided to tough it out. “You keep saying they won’t bite, but they still scare me.”
“She loves having her ears rubbed,” said Jasper. “Look. Like this.” I copied his move, and the giant beast grunted, and then sat at my side, head tilted. “See?” he said. “Gwen likes you.”
Sure enough, when I got up and paced around the lounge, Gwen followed me and implored me for another fuss.
“Don’t push it, doggy,” I murmured, as I stroked her velvet-soft ears. “This is a temporary truce.”
Holly sat on the floor, her arms around the other hound. Lily? She gazed at her brother. “Jas, you’ve tramped through Otaki Forks. What’s it like?”
He shrugged. “Beautiful in the summer. The rivers rise very fast, though. They might have been cut off from their track and unable to find a way around.” He turned to face me. “Your dad is experienced. He’ll have left clear plans, which will make it easier to find them. There’s a good chance he’s waiting at the hut to be rescued.”
“What about the beacon-thing?” Holly asked. “I thought that gave their position.”
“An approximate position. It’s wild up there, Hol. That’s why it’s so popular.”
We didn’t reach for the vodka. There was an unspoken understanding that, if the worst happened, we might need to drive later and shouldn’t be fogged by alcohol. Likewise, none of us wanted to go to bed. Jasper and I cuddled on the sofa, while Holly curled up in an armchair, Tabitha purring on her knees.
“Tell me about your dogs,” I said to Jasper. “Why did you get them?”
His arm was warm around my shoulders, as he tucked me into his side. When he held me like this, I could pretend everything was okay—that we were having a quiet night in together.
He pressed a kiss against my temple. “I was helping a friend clear out his granddad’s garage, and something made a rustling noise at the back. There was a ragged box with two little puppies in it, only a couple of weeks old. They were covered in fleas and starving. Nobody ever saw their mother, and I figured they’d been left for a while. So I took them, bottle-fed them both, and here they are.”
It was hard to imagine either of them as tiny. “That’s a lovely story. What about Tabitha? Where did you get her?”
“She belonged to Zack’s sister. When Marnie died, Tabitha needed a new home and ended up here.” He chuckled. “You have to love how she bosses the dogs around. Tab’s in charge; there’s no doubt about that.”
When my phone rang, a little after ten, I answered it immediately. “Hello.”
Jasper and Holly sat upright, their gazes fixed on me.
“Caitlin. I just heard. I’m so sorry.”
Bruce? I took the phone from my ear and checked the caller ID. Yes, it was him. How would Bruce know about my dad? “What did you hear? Is it on the news?”
“Mum told me.” He made it sound obvious. “What are you doing? Can I help?”
Okay. This conversation took a walk into weird-land. “How did your mum know about it?”
“The real-estate agency is shut too, and she’s sharing another office on Willis Street.” There was a pause. “Are we talking about the same thing?”
Christ. He meant the earthquake closures. That felt like months ago. “No,” I said. “I don’t think we are.”
Across from me, Holly mouthed, “Who is it?”
I held the phone away for a moment. “It’s Bruce.”
“Your ex?” Her eyes were wide.
I nodded and returned to the call. “My dad’s out on a tramp, and he set off his distress beacon. We’re waiting for news, and when you called...”
“Hell. You must be worried sick about him. Let me know when you hear something, okay?”
“I will. I need to go, in case— You know. I don’t want to miss a call.”
“No worries. And Caitlin, I may be able to help on the work front. They’re looking for helpdesk staff at the moment, and I can put your CV forward, if you’d like.”
What? “Bruce, I don’t do support any more. Cake baking is my full time business now.”
“And without a kitchen, how will you do that? Think about it—that’s all I’m asking. But let me know by the end of the week. It’s a more junior position than you had before, but it’ll be a good way back in.”
Back into where? Working on the end of a phone? “Bruce, I have to go.” I disconnected before I said something rude.
“Your ex,” said Jasper. “What did he want?”
“To give me a real job. He always thought baking should only be a hobby.”
Jasper wrinkled his nose. “He sounds like an asshole. You’re not thinking about it, are you?”
Before I could answer, Holly’s phone beeped with a text. “It’s from Zack. He says SAR made it to the hut your dad was aiming for.” She chewed her lip and stared at me over her phone. “Nobody’s there.”