Rescuing the Rancher

by Claire McEwen

  She left her engine running and jogged to the front door of the low, modern house. Not a ranch full of livestock, thankfully, but someone’s country retreat. Hammering on the door, she called out, “Fire department. Open up! This is an emergency.”

  Footsteps pounded up close on the other side of the door and a tall, thin man wrenched it open, looking pale and harried. “We’re trying to get out. We’re just packing now.”

  God save us from people and their possessions. Jade refrained from rolling her eyes and kept her voice stern. “There’s no more time to pack, sir. The fire is headed this way. You’re under mandatory evacuation orders. Leave now.”

  The man turned away from Jade, toward the interior of the house, and called, “Honey? Are you ready to go?”

  A dark-haired woman came around the corner, a diaper bag over her shoulder. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Jade. “Oh hello.”

  Jade figured it was time to skip the formalities. “You need to leave. Get your kids, any prescription medicines, your wallets and your car keys and leave. If you have wool blankets, put them in the car. Do not pack any more possessions than that.”

  “Oh no.” The woman’s hand fluttered near her heart. “We didn’t realize it was so serious.”

  This wasn’t going to be a knock-and-run situation. These people were panicking. “How many children do you have, ma’am?”

  “Um...three.”

  Jade pointed to the diaper bag. “One of them is a baby?”

  The man nodded and Jade put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Go get the baby and put it in the car seat. Load up the kids, too. Do not waste time getting anything else except your medicines, wallet and those blankets. Go!”

  Both parents seemed to break out of their panicked daze. They ran off into the house, calling for their kids.

  Walking into their kitchen, Jade opened their cupboards until she found three water bottles. She filled them and brought them out to the driveway, where the couple was loading their children into the SUV. The man pointed to a pile of blankets. “What do I do with these?”

  “Put them on the floor of the front passenger seat.”

  The man took the blankets and got behind the wheel of the SUV. Jade handed him the water bottles. “It’s always good to have some water. Stay hydrated no matter what. You should be fine, but if, by some small chance, you get trapped in fire, get everyone down low on the floor of the car under the blankets.”

  His eyes widened, as if he finally grasped the seriousness of their situation. “Okay. Will do.”

  “The highway is still open, as far as I know. Head south.”

  The man nodded and started the engine.

  The woman was buckling a young boy and girl into their seatbelts in the back seat. The baby, dressed in pink pajamas, was already safely in her car seat. Sensing the tension, the kids were starting to cry. “It’s okay, sweeties,” the mother said, reaching out to give the children hugs.

  Jade reached for the woman’s arm and gently pulled her out of the car. “Focus on safety over comfort,” she said sternly. “You have to get on the road.”

  The woman gave Jade’s hand a fervent squeeze. “Thank you.”

  “Of course.” Jade helped her into the front seat. “Now, stay calm. You’ll be fine. Just drive south and don’t stop for any reason. Do you understand?”

  “Mommy!” The little girl’s voice wailed from the backseat. “Elliott!”

  The woman put a palm to her forehead. “Oh no. The cat! He’s probably under one of the beds.” She moved to get out of the car.

  “No.” Jade put a hand out to stop her. “The smoke is getting worse. Leave now.”

  “We can’t leave our cat.” The woman seemed like she was about to push past Jade to get out of the car, so Jade gently shut the door. “I’ll get the cat,” she told the woman through the open window.

  The woman put her hands together in a prayerful plea. “You’ll save him? He’s a black-and-white cat. A little skittish.”

  “I’ll do everything I can.” What was wrong with these people? Did they have no sense of the danger they were in? Jade leaned down to meet the worried gaze of the man in the driver’s seat. “Time to go,” she said, and he nodded. “I work with State Fire, Shelter Creek office. Contact me there about the cat.”

  “Thank you,” he said, and the woman repeated his words, reaching out the window to touch Jade’s arm as the SUV pulled away.

  Jade watched them until they’d turned onto the road, then ran to her truck to radio Mitch and tell him the last family was leaving. But when she tried the radio, all she got was static.

  Not wanting to think about what that might mean, she ran back into the house and down the hall, shoving open bedroom doors and peeking in closets and under beds. In the master bedroom, she flopped down on her belly, lifted the velvet bed skirt and spotted Elliott, his white-tuxedo chest and paws giving him away as he cowered in the shadows of the far corner. She’d been through this before and knew what to do. Before Elliott could react, Jade propelled herself under the bed, straight toward the startled cat. She got him by the scruff in the same moment his claws slashed her bare arm—a bad day to choose a short-sleeved uniform—but she didn’t let go.

  Wiggling backward, she kept her fingers clamped on the yowling, squirming, clawing cat. As soon as they were out from under the bed, she reached for a white bathrobe left draped on a chair and wrapped Elliott up so he couldn’t attack her anymore. Running out of the house with the bundled-up cat, she climbed into the truck and set him on the passenger-side floor, where he promptly went still, peering out of the robe with wide green eyes.

  “It may not seem like it, but hopefully, I’m saving your life.”

  Elliott shrunk back into his robe as if he understood the danger.

  As Jade screeched out of the driveway, she tried the radio again. Mitch was there, his voice coming in fragments through the static.

  “Carson, where have you been? Return to the staging area. Take—” his voice muffled as if he was speaking to someone else “—take Hart’s Point Road to Circle Bluff. Do you hear me? That way is still open.”

  That way is still open. Which meant that other ways were closed. Jade swallowed hard. “On my way, Mitch.”

  She floored it up the driveway, screeching around the corner onto the road. A few minutes later, a familiar driveway flashed by and Jade slowed, pulling over to the side of the road on instinct, even though there was no one but her on this godforsaken ridge. No one but her and that rancher, Aidan.

  Stopping the truck on the gravel verge, she put it in park and drew a shaky breath. She’d already warned him. She’d done her job. If he was fool enough to try to survive this fire, that was his problem.

  The thing was, Aidan might be dumb as dirt for refusing to evacuate, but he seemed like a good guy. He clearly felt a real responsibility to the animals in his care. He had friends in Shelter Creek, her hometown. Maya and Caleb had come to help him, had begged him to drive with them to safety.

  But he’d refused. So she was under no obligation to go back for him.

  Except, she was here to save lives, not abandon them. He had no way of knowing that the fire had picked up speed. He could leave with her now, and they’d drive out together. Surely he’d come with her once he realized that the situation was dire.

  She glanced down at the cat. “Sorry. Elliott, you were rescued by the world’s biggest fool.” Shoving the truck in Reverse, Jade backed up the road to the cowboy’s driveway, turned in and careened up the deserted lane. She didn’t even bother to stop by the house. He’d be at the barn for sure. Driving down the hill, she spotted his truck and trailer still parked outside and her heart sank. She’d hoped he’d have left already. But of course he hadn’t. He must have some kind of superhero complex or something.

  “You stay there, okay?” The cat was still in the ro
be, staring at her with a dazed expression. All of her crazy driving had probably scared it into some kind of terrified trance. Jumping out of her truck, Jade slammed the door behind her and ran into the barn. “Aidan?”

  The silence was eerie, as if the whole world was preparing for the destruction coming its way. “Aidan, are you here?”

  Jogging past empty stalls, she exited the far doors and saw the irrigated land he’d mentioned earlier, a few acres of bright green oasis in the dry grass. A small group of sheep grazed peacefully in the center. “Aidan?” A dozen black sheep faces popped up to regard her, but there was no other answer.

  She couldn’t stick around any longer. Racing back through the barn to her truck, she grabbed an evacuation notice and a felt pen she kept in her gear bag. She scrawled Get out! Fire near! She stuck the notice onto a rusty nail protruding from the barn door.

  Back in her truck, she flew up the drive and out to the road, her heart thudding in her chest. This had been a bad choice. She hadn’t managed to rescue him, and she’d endangered herself.

  Her wheels screeched and Elliott yowled as she took a turn too fast. Jade bit her lip as she pumped the brakes. She had to put that rancher out of her mind. He’d made his choice, and now she had to focus on getting herself out of here as fast as possible. “Sorry, buddy,” she told the cat. “I’m trying to keep us from getting crispy-fried.” It was gross firefighter humor, but it made her feel tough to say it aloud.

  Jade navigated a few more twists and turns. The trees cleared and through the thick air she could see east, across the hills. The flames were visible now, though still far beyond the valley below, devouring the distant hills with flickering, orange teeth. Through the brown air, she could see a thick wall of smoke above the flames. The wind was gusting hard, jostling her truck like it wanted to push her right off the road.

  Jade’s hands felt numb as they gripped the steering wheel, as if all the blood in them had retreated to fuel her machine-gun heartbeat. She’d been in fires many times, but always with water, equipment and a plan.

  Around the next corner, Jade glanced down toward the valley and spotted a road running north like a thin, gray snake. It had to be the one Mitch had told her to take, but to get to it she’d have to make it down this ridge and then drive toward the flames. A race against time as the dry devil wind urged the fire her way.

  She had to stay calm. Had to somehow still the trembling in her jaw. She was a firefighter. She’d fought wildfires for years now. Why was she so frightened? Jade forced herself to ease off the gas, then carefully braked into the next turn. She knew the answer. Because she was alone out here. No camaraderie to lift her spirits, no team to prove herself to. Just her and someone else’s cat, racing for their lives.

  A deer leaped across the road in front of her truck and Jade slammed on the brakes, gasping as the animal scrambled up the steep bank above her in a panic to get to safety. Elliott gave a strangled moan, like he’d gone from scared to sick.

  “It’s okay, buddy. Things are just getting a little hectic around here. We can handle it, though.” At least she hoped they could.

  Jade focused on the margins of the road, slowing as a few rabbits bounded across. No more deer, though. Farther down the ridge, the road plunged into trees again—oaks, bays and buckeyes tangled together and blocked her view of the fire. Once she emerged from these woods, she’d be at the bottom of the ridge and the road would straighten out. She’d gun it toward the fire, then hang a left and she’d be all set.

  The branches above her truck had been swaying in the wind, but now they began to thrash more wildly, as if a storm was coming in. Maybe the wind was picking up, or maybe it was the approaching fire itself, stirring up the air with its heat, making its own weather. Chewing her lower lip to keep her focus, Jade stayed in the center of the two-lane road, cutting corners, grateful as the road flattened. She was off the ridge, and in moments she’d be in the open.

  But now the wind was even more chaotic, knocking small branches and twigs into the road and onto her truck. A loud crash had Jade slamming on the brakes in a move so instinctive, she was already skidding, already spinning, already stopping, before she’d even registered the danger. A huge branch lay across the road in front of her, still attached to the old oak it belonged to by a few thick, torn splinters.

  For a moment everything was silent except for Jade’s harsh breathing. Even Elliott had nothing to say—in fact his eyes were half-closed now. Jade didn’t blame him. This was bad. Really bad. If she had the luxury, she’d try to shut it out, too.

  Jade got out and ran to survey the situation. The branch was immense, and there was no way around it. She had a chain saw, but even if she had time to cut through it, she’d have to wrap chain around each piece and drag them out of the way with her winch. The fire was too close. She didn’t have time.

  Fear, raw and jagged, cut through the last of her composure. This was it. She was trapped on this ridge. She buried her face in her hands, tears slicking her palms. For an instant, she thought of her parents. Her dad. Her older brothers. All firefighters and cops. Tough as nails. She could almost hear them. Get it together, J. They’d never forgive her if she just fell apart and panicked. She’d never forgive herself.

  She might be trapped but she was a firefighter, from a family of firefighters. So she’d fight.

  Running for the truck, Jade jumped inside and tried the radio again, not surprised when all she heard was static. She turned the truck around and drove back up the ridge, accelerating into each curve. Elliott yowled in protest. “Hey, kitty,” Jade said through clenched teeth. “We’re going to be just fine.” Ha. Not likely. She’d been a fool to check on Aidan again and lose so much time. He’d been a fool, too, for trying to save those sheep. But who knew? If two fools joined forces and got real, real lucky, they just might survive this fire.

  CHAPTER THREE

  AIDAN WAS LOADING the dog crates into the back of his truck when he heard wheels on the gravel drive. He stared in dismay at the small red pickup truck emerging from the smoky brown haze that had filled the air. He recognized the figure behind the wheel. It was Jade, the bossy firefighter from earlier. She’d already stopped by a second time, or someone had, to leave him a note on the barn. Why wasn’t she off fighting the fire by now?

  She stopped so quickly on the gravel, she almost skidded her truck into his. Jumping out, she jogged a couple steps toward him, wisps of black hair escaping her ponytail as the hot, dry wind tugged it loose. “Fire’s coming this way fast.”

  “I figured,” he told her. “I saw the note. Did you leave it for me?”

  She nodded.

  Irritation flared. She’d put herself in danger by coming back here for him. He didn’t need her hanging around making this situation worse. “Why are you still here? You need to stop trying to save people and get out of this area.”

  “Saving people is my job. But I’m trapped.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal but he saw the worry in her eyes. “So are you. Part of an oak tree fell across the road.”

  Trapped. He’d known he was in trouble when he saw the note she’d left on the barn wall, but he’d been holding out hope that he could get his sheep in one place, get the sprinklers set up around them and still get out. Without that hope, the adrenaline that had fueled him seeped away, leaving a grim resolve. He’d do everything he could to save his animals and himself, but there were no guarantees now.

  He could deal with that, for himself. But this firefighter... She might be annoying in her persistence, but she was obviously very dedicated to her job. She didn’t deserve this.

  An awful thought struck. “That family up the road. Mallory and Phil Jones. They have a few kids. Did they get out okay?”

  She nodded. “I think so. They left before me and I didn’t see them on the road. That oak must have fallen after they drove by.”

  That was some relief. At leas
t there were no kids stuck out here. And thank God Nellie had left. But that meant it was just him and this firefighter, and a wildfire heading this way. “Why didn’t you drive out with them?”

  “I was trying to find their cat, Elliott.” She waved her hand toward her truck. “He’s in the cab. Scared stiff, poor guy. I don’t blame him. Do you have any kind of crate I could use for him? I need to get him out of the truck before he gets too hot in there.”

  “Yeah, I have some I use for the barn cats.” He turned to go get one from the storage room in the barn, and she followed him.

  “Won’t you need them?”

  “I imagine my cats are long gone by now. They’re half feral and most likely knew to run from the smell of smoke.” They weren’t pets, but he enjoyed them, talked to them as they lazed in the sun and watched him work. They were a tough, wily bunch. Hopefully they’d find a way to survive the fire.

  “I’m not sure how much time we have to get ready,” Jade said, hefting the plastic travel crate he handed her. “A couple hours if we’re very lucky. It’s probably going to start with some spot fires. If we work on putting those out, we have a chance to stay in control of the situation.”

  Possible outcomes if they didn’t stay in control crowded Aidan’s mind and they weren’t pretty. It was probably best not to think too far ahead. “Let’s just focus on the task at hand. We’ll get Elliott set and then I need to move the rest of my sheep.”

  Back outside, he followed Jade to her truck. She tossed orders over her shoulder. “We’ll put the crate on the driver’s seat. If you stand right behind it, Elliott can’t go up and over. I’ll go around to the passenger side and shoo him your way.”