If it was her family, they wouldn’t have knocked. Her heart clenched. Was it bad news?

Her mind rolled back in time to the fire that claimed her father. Fires were infrequent on the island. So when one happened, the news spread like a wave over the town.

That not-so-long-ago evening was so vivid in her mind. She’d gone to her parents’ house. She’d wanted to check in with her mother and see if she’d heard anything about the fire call. When the firefighters hadn’t returned quickly, they all knew it was bad.

Her mother had busied herself in the kitchen making fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Her father’s favorite meal. Hannah, needing something to do, had whipped up a batch of biscuits from scratch.

The biscuits had just come out of the oven when there was a knock at the front door. They’d both stopped and stared at each other. Friends knew to come to the back door.

But there was another knock that seemed to startle them out of their stupor. Her mother had dried her hands on a dish towel and made her way to the living room. Hannah followed as far as the doorway. It gave her a clear vision of the front door.

When her mother had opened the door, there stood then-lieutenant Campbell and the sheriff. Hannah’s heart had sunk as her stomach took a nauseous lurch. It was bad, but at that moment, she hadn’t any idea how bad—how much pain was going to tear through her close-knit family.

Knock-knock.

The sound brought her back to the present. It was then she realized her cheeks were damp. She swiped at them. She had to get it together. That was then. This was different. It had to be.

“Hannah?”

Ethan? She rushed to the door. She swung it open and saw Ethan standing there in his turnouts with his hair mussed up and a smile on his face. He was smiling, but why? And then she noticed Dash was in his arms. The goat was alert and appeared to be fine.

“You saved him.” Tears rushed back to her eyes and she gave up trying to restrain them.

“And his mother.”

“Nikki!” Hannah knew this was the medicine her niece needed. “Hurry!”

Nikki ran to the back door and came to a halt. Her eyes grew round as her gaze landed on Ethan holding Dash.

Then Nikki ran to them. “You saved him.”

Ethan handed Nikki the goat. “He’s been crying for you.”

When Nikki turned to carry the goat into the house, Hannah said, “Outside.”

Her niece didn’t put up an argument. She was too happy to have her beloved goat back. And Hannah was just as happy.

She turned to Ethan, surprised to find him still standing there. She was so relieved to see him. Giving into her emotions, she rushed forward and threw her arms around him. For a second, he didn’t move as though she’d caught him totally off guard. But then his arms circled around her and held her close.