by Lara Lacombe
Isabel shook her head. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You don’t have a choice,” her brother shot back.
“I’ll go,” Peter injected frantically.
Isabel nodded. “Good. We’ll boost you up. Crawl through, then go to the entrance and get those doors open. Diego and I will free the cattle.”
Diego glared at her. “It should be you, sis.”
“We’re wasting time here.” She leaned forward, cupping her hands to provide a spot for Peter’s foot. After a second, Diego followed suit.
Peter planted his boot in her hands and pushed, launching himself up. She and Diego straightened together, helping to lift Peter so he could reach the window.
The young man shoved his arms and head through the gap. He hung there for an endless second before wiggling the rest of the way through. Once his boots disappeared from view, Isabel turned and grabbed Diego’s shirt.
“Release the cow from the chute. I’m going after the two new moms.”
She didn’t give her brother a chance to respond before stepping into the thick cloud of smoke hanging in the air. Her eyes burned as she squinted to make out her surroundings. The cries of the panicked cows echoed in the barn, making it hard to pinpoint exactly where they were.
Working from memory, she picked a direction and set off, keeping her eyes on the floor in the hope of finding a landmark. She shrugged out of her jacket and tied it around her nose and mouth. It didn’t stop the smoke from coating her mouth with an acrid film, but it was better than nothing.
Whether through sheer luck or divine intervention, she stumbled into the pen holding the cow and her breeched calf. The baby was on her feet now, standing close to her mother’s legs for shelter and comfort.
Isabel knelt and grabbed the calf, pulling it close to her chest. She stood and then snagged the cow’s lead line with her hand. A quick glance around revealed an orange glow to her left—
Flames, she realized with a flash of terror.
She put the fire behind her and set off, hoping she was headed in the right direction.
Every step was a battle. Her throat grew tighter with every heartbeat and her lungs felt raw and ragged, as though she was inhaling ground glass. But she pushed forward, unwilling to let these innocent creatures die a horrible death.
“Isabel!”
Diego’s voice rang out in the din. “Where are you?”
“Coming.” She said it as loudly as she could manage, but her brother obviously hadn’t heard her as he continued to shout her name. After what seemed like an eternity, she saw his boots.
“I’m here,” she said.
She couldn’t see his face, but suddenly the calf was taken from her. Then Diego pulled her forward, pressing her face to a crack in the door. “Breathe,” he commanded.
A trickle of cool air drifted across her forehead in a tantalizing caress. She pulled the fabric away from her nose and inhaled, but it wasn’t enough to clear her lungs.
Diego kept his hand on the back of her head, forcing her to breathe what little fresh air she could get. After a moment, she broke free and turned back. “Why aren’t the doors open yet?”
“I don’t know.” He had to yell now, as the crackles and pops of spreading flames added to the cacophony of sound. “Something’s got to be wrong.”
Suddenly there was a loud smack against the other side of the doors. The muffled sound of voices rose above the din, but she couldn’t make out individual words.
“Someone’s there,” she said, relief stealing over her.
But a quick glance behind them showed a wall of advancing orange. Tongues of flame licked up the walls of the barn, bringing a heat that was quickly becoming unbearable. Isabel jerked as something blindingly hot landed on her head. She rubbed frantically at the spot, dislodging a smoldering ember that had drifted down from the ceiling.
Diego pounded on the door then doubled over as a coughing spasm took hold. Isabel tugged his face over to the crack of air, trying to keep her own breaths shallow. A clawing sense of panic added to the claustrophobic smoke and heat eddying around them. She closed her eyes, summoned up the image of Wyatt’s face in an effort to stay calm. Why, oh why, had she gone to sleep still angry with him?
Her heart beat hard against her ribs, as though trying to leave her behind in a bid to escape the fire. All at once, she realized she’d been worried about all the wrong things. She’d been so focused on saving the ranch, she’d put her relationships at risk. But what was the ranch worth if she didn’t have her family and Wyatt?
“Hold on!”
She heard those words clearly through the door, though they offered little reassurance. Help had definitely arrived. But was it too late?
* * *
It was the clanging of the dinner bell that woke him.
Wyatt sat up in the darkness, rubbing his eyes. He reached for Isabel, only to discover she wasn’t there. Oh, right. After their argument, he’d gone to sleep in the guest bedroom.
His chest ached as he recalled the look on her face as she’d told him she needed more time. She’d seemed simultaneously lost and hurt, and he’d wanted nothing more than to hold her.
But his own heart had been breaking, so he’d respected her wishes and left. If it hadn’t been full dark at the time, he would have saddled Ajax and headed back to Big Bend. But he knew better than to risk his safety to assuage his pride. So he’d climbed into the guest room bed, determined to leave at the first sign of dawn.
He glanced out the window—still dark. Then he heard the voices outside—a chorus of shouts and cries of alarm. One word pierced the residual fog of sleep clouding his mind.
“Fire!”
His body reacted before his mind fully realized what was happening. He scrambled out of bed and yanked on pants, boots and a shirt before racing from the room.
“Isabel?” He knocked on her door, needing to know she was sleeping safely in her room. But when she didn’t answer after a few seconds, he twisted the knob and pushed inside.
Her bed was empty. Was she attending a delivery? Or was something more dangerous going on?
He hit the front porch in record time and the sight that greeted him turned his guts to water.
The calving barn was ablaze, the back half of the building lit up like a Roman candle. The flames were racing to the front of the building, where a group of men were gathered, shouting and jostling each other as they worked on something. A few others were clustered around a heap lying on the ground a few feet away.
A body?
He wasn’t aware of moving, didn’t register the cold against his skin as he sprinted for the barn. His instincts told him Isabel needed him and he wasn’t going to let her down.
The soles of his boots slid on the dirt as he skidded to a stop by the object on the ground. He dropped to his knees next to the small form, his heart in his throat as he reached out with shaking hands.
It wasn’t Isabel—he realized it as soon as he touched the person’s arm. The young man moaned and rolled onto his back, reaching up to clutch his head.
“What happened?” Wyatt said. He had to yell to be heard over the roar of flames.
“They pushed me out the window,” the young man said, wincing as he spoke. “I came around to open the doors, but someone hit me.”
“Who pushed you out the window?” Wyatt said. Please, no...
“Diego and Doc Isabel,” the kid said. “They’re still inside.”
For a second, Wyatt couldn’t hear anything over the rush of blood in his ears. Then a deafening boom split the air. He turned in time to see the back half of the barn collapse, shooting a blizzard of sparks into the night sky.
He tried to scream Isabel’s name, but the lump in his throat blocked the sound. Driven by desperation, he half stumbled, half crawled over to the barn doors. A cluster of ranch han
ds was there, yanking and pulling and yelling as they tried to gain access to the barn.
Wyatt stared in disbelief at the chain wrapped through the handles, sealing the doors so no one could get in or out of the barn.
My God, he thought. This is no accident.
“Move!” commanded a loud voice.
He turned to see Ruben approaching with a pair of bolt cutters. The firelight glinted off his belt buckle as he leaned forward and started cutting the links of the chain.
Wyatt fought the urge to grab the cutters, knowing the other man was moving as quickly as he could under the circumstances. But Isabel was inside, dammit, and he had to get to her!
After what seemed like an eternity, the chain clattered to the ground. The group yanked the doors open and thick black smoke belched into the sky.
A cow shot through the door, a calf hanging half out of her body. Someone grabbed her lead line and led her off to the side, away from the chaos. It was the most surreal thing Wyatt had ever seen, but he didn’t have time to think about it now. The heifer was followed quickly by two more, but he saw no human figures stumbling out of the inferno.
Wyatt fought his way to the front of the scrum, determined to find Isabel. The smoke made his eyes sting and his lungs tightened in protest, but he pressed on, needing to get to her.
“Diego!” He heard the shouts of the other ranch hands, felt a spurt of relief at the fact they’d found his friend. But where was Isabel?
He tripped over something a few feet into the barn. Unable to see, he reached down to feel the obstacle.
It was an arm. Isabel’s arm.
His heart pounded hard as he knelt to gather her up. There were two newborn calves next to her, their still damp hides now covered in ashes and soot.
She stirred as he stood. “The babies,” she gasped out, reaching for the closest one.
“We’ll get them,” he promised. “Don’t worry.” He turned and headed for the exit, yelling for help as he moved.
Three ranch hands were there in a matter of seconds. One of them reached for Isabel, but Wyatt gripped her closer. He wasn’t about to let her go.
“Get the calves,” he yelled, jerking his head back. There was no way of knowing if they were going to survive, but he wanted to be able to tell Isabel they’d at least tried to save them.
Wyatt didn’t stop moving until they were well away from the barn. He carefully laid Isabel on the ground, trying not to jostle her too much.
She was covered in soot and her clothes sported numerous small holes where sparks had burned through. He yanked the jacket away from her neck—she must have tried to tie it around her nose and mouth to block out the smoke. If the stains on her skin were any indication, it hadn’t helped.
“Come on, Izzy,” he said, using the nickname he knew she’d hated. “Wake up and breathe for me.”
Wyatt didn’t want to think about how much damage the smoke had done to her lungs, especially following so close on the heels of her cyanide exposure. The movements of her chest were far too shallow for his liking, but without an oxygen tank, there was nothing he could do for her at this point.
His fingers found the pulse at her wrist and registered the feel of the steady beat there. It eased his mind somewhat to know her heart was still going strong, but he wouldn’t fully relax until she’d been treated at a hospital.
Her eyes fluttered open. Even in the hazy glow of the fire, Wyatt could see they were completely bloodshot. She squinted up at him. “Wyatt?” Her voice was little more than a rasp and his throat ached in sympathy.
“I’m here.” He gripped her hand and leaned over her, placing his face directly above hers so she could see him without effort. “You’re okay. You’re out.”
She swallowed. “Diego?”
“He’s out, too. You’re both going to be okay.” In truth, he had no idea how her brother was doing. But he didn’t want to her to worry. Not now.
Isabel tried to nod. She moved her lips again but Wyatt couldn’t make out what she was trying to say.
“Shh,” he told her. “Just rest.”
She frowned, undeterred.
Knowing she wouldn’t stop until she’d gotten her message across, Wyatt leaned down until his ear was hovering just above her lips.
“The cows.”
He fought the absurd urge to laugh. They were in the middle of an emergency, she was seriously injured, and yet she was still worried about the damn cows?
“I saw three heifers run out of the barn,” he replied. “One was in the middle of giving birth. We pulled two calves out with you.”
She relaxed, a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. “That’s good.”
Indeed it was, because there was no way in hell Wyatt was stepping back into that furnace in search of a wayward animal. He loved nature as much as the next person, but he had his limits.
Isabel was speaking again.
“Save your voice,” he suggested. “Whatever it is, you can tell me later.”
She shook her head, frowning up at him.
“All right,” he said, smoothing the hair back from her face. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry,” she rasped. “I was wrong.”
Her words sliced through him, bringing tears to his eyes. As if he gave a damn about their earlier fight?
“Shh,” he said. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”
“I do,” she choked out. “I love you.”
Wyatt wanted to kiss her, but he was afraid of interrupting her breathing. So he settled for pressing his lips to her forehead instead.
She tasted bitter and smelled like a stale campfire. But she was here and alive and he was never going to let her go again.
“I love you, too,” he said, holding her against his chest. “Never doubt it.”
Chapter 14
Every time Isabel opened her eyes, she saw Wyatt.
He’d stayed with her while they’d waited for medical help to arrive, holding her close as they’d watched the barn burn. He’d jumped into the back of the ambulance with her, bouncing next to her as the EMTs had sped toward the hospital. He’d stood in the corner while the doctors examined her, his blue eyes alert and watchful as they’d checked her for injuries and treated her smoke inhalation.
And now he sat in the chair next to her hospital bed, resting for the first time in hours.
She studied his face for a moment, taking in the lines of fatigue around his eyes and mouth, the soot stains on his clothes and the skin of his arms. He’d been her rock during all of this, and she was never going to take him or their connection for granted again.
Just thinking about her earlier words made her blush with shame. How could she have been so shortsighted? Any other man would have taken her request for space and likely used it as an excuse to walk away. But Wyatt was here, supporting her and watching over her even though she’d pushed him away last night.
The fire had done more than destroy the barn. It had also stripped away her illusions of what was really important in life. She’d been so focused on trying to save the ranch, she’d very nearly thrown away her relationship with Wyatt. And for what? A need to feel like she was right?
She shook her head at the memory of their argument. Her fears about their compatibility had been overpowering at the time. But now that she’d literally been given a new lease on life, she recognized she’d given her worries too much control over her mind. Instead of thinking with a clear head, she’d been making decisions from a place of fear. And the worst part was she hadn’t realized it. Probably wouldn’t have, if not for her near-death experience.
Now, though, the haze was gone and she saw things as they truly were, not the way she’d misinterpreted them through her prism of stress and worry. Everyone she loved was alive. She and Diego were expected to make full recoveries. Even the cows and their calves
were fine. In the end, wasn’t that all that truly mattered?
Wyatt stirred and opened his eyes. When he caught her staring at him, he gave her one of those dazzling smiles that made her heart skip a beat.
“You’re here.”
He raised his arms above his head in a stretch that showed off his broad shoulders and toned stomach. “Told you I’d stay.”
“How did I get so lucky?” she mused aloud.
“I’m glad you think it’s luck,” he replied. “Some women would find my constant presence annoying.”
“They don’t know what they’re missing.” It hurt to talk, but he was worth the pain. There were things she needed to say to him, things that couldn’t wait.
“Are you sure about that?” His expression turned serious now, and he leaned forward. “Earlier, you said you wanted space. Now that I know you’re going to be okay, I’m prepared to let you have it again.”
Isabel shook her head before he finished speaking. The thought of him leaving triggered a wave of unhappiness that threatened to drown her newfound perspective on life. “No,” she said, for emphasis. “Please don’t go.”
But what if he wanted to? What if he was still upset from their argument and he needed to do some thinking of his own? She wasn’t going to force him to stay. If he needed his own time, she was going to have to be okay with that.
“Unless you want to leave,” she amended. “I know I hurt you last night, and I’m sorry. If you need to rethink things where we’re concerned, I’ll understand.”
“Hmm.” The noncommittal sound made her anxiety spike as she anticipated the worst. “I’m more concerned about your feelings on the subject, to be honest with you.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you seem to have had a complete change of heart since last night. I guess I want to make sure it’s real and not a knee-jerk reaction you’re having to almost dying.” There was a hint of vulnerability in his gaze and Isabel realized he was worried she was going to jerk him around and hurt him again once the adrenaline of survival wore off.