It all happened so fast that it caught both Gia and Ric off guard. One second they were standing beside each other, and the next there was a crowd forming around him.
Gia was shoved out of the way with such force that her foot landed on the edge of the sidewalk. She lost her balance. She flung her hands out to break her fall as she tumbled back.
She’d managed to turn herself midair and land on her hip. The air was knocked from her lungs. It took her a second to collect herself. Limb by limb she made sure everything was still working properly. Thankfully she could move everything.
When she went to stand up, Ric appeared in front of her. He knelt next to her. Concern etched across his handsome face. “Are you all right?”
“I think so. I just lost my balance.” She struggled to get up.
Ric placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. “Maybe you shouldn’t move. I can call for help.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m fine.” She lifted a hand to him to help her up. It was then that she noticed the ugly red scrape on her elbow. “Just a couple of scrapes.”
He took her hand in his. His grip was warm and steady. In no time she was back on her feet and feeling like a total klutz.
Ric lifted her arm and frowned at the oozing scrape and the cut on her palm. “We have to get you looked at.”
She glanced around. A sinking feeling came over her. “Gin?” She continued turning in a circle; with each step her heart sunk lower. “Gin, come here. Gin?”
The puppy was nowhere in sight. How could she have let this happen? All she had to do was hold on to the leash. That was it. And yet she hadn’t managed to do it.
Guilt pummeled down on her. Poor Gin. The little guy had to be so scared after that rush of people. But where could he have gone? She pulled away from Ric. She had to find the puppy.
“Gia, you need medical attention,” Ric said firmly.
“What I need is to find Gin.” When Ric didn’t move, she turned to him. “Please. I can’t go anywhere until we find him. He’s scared and lost.”
To her surprise, Ric didn’t argue with her. He turned and started searching around their immediate vicinity. He walked to the nearby alley, looking behind garbage cans and in discarded boxes. She rushed over to join him. He looked on one side while she searched the other. No sign of the little guy. They retraced their steps to the park. Gin wasn’t there either.
“I’ll alert Marta,” Ric said. “She can get people on social media involved. We’ll find him.”
Gia turned to Ric. “With his leash still attached, he could get hung up on something and not be able to get loose.”
A rush of protective emotions pumped through her veins. She couldn’t think of anything else but finding Gin, not even tending to her cuts and scrapes.
They kept moving—kept calling Gin’s name. There was no sign of him. How could that be?
“Don’t worry,” Ric said. “We’re not giving up. Maybe we should check the beach.”
“I don’t know,” she said. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. “He wouldn’t even know to go there.”
“Actually, we go there almost every morning.”
She blinked away the moisture gathering in her eyes. “You do?” When he nodded, she asked, “How do I not know this?”
“Because we go very early in the morning.”
“While I’m still asleep?”
Ric nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
They race-walked to the beach. Gia called for Gin until her voice was hoarse. He wasn’t here. He wasn’t anywhere they’d looked. And she was starting to wonder if she’d ever see him again.
The thought of never seeing that impish, loving puppy again was her total undoing. The world in front of her blurred. A tsunami of emotions engulfed her. Ric wrapped his arms around her. He held her as grief washed over her, leaving her raw and vulnerable.
She didn’t know how much time passed when she pulled herself together. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to fall apart.”