“Mama?” Tilly looked up at her.
“Is it all right if I take them on to the ranch?” Kasey asked.
“My stuffed animals?” Tilly groaned.
Carlene was trying to wrap her mind around someone taking Tilly away from her when another fireman walked up behind Jace.
“Mama, I want to go away from this place,” Tilly whispered.
“Yes, and thank you, Kasey,” Carlene said.
“We’ll take good care of her and bring her to Prairie Rose as soon as you get there.” Kasey held out her hand toward Tilly.
Tilly kissed her mother on the cheek and hopped down off her lap. “Here’s your phone, Mama. Call me soon as you get there.”
“I will and you did good tonight, baby girl.”
“So did you, Mama. Jasmine is alive. You are a hero.”
Carlene caught Jace’s eye as he stood next to her with all the Dawsons and firemen behind him. “I think these firemen are the heroes,” she said to Tilly, but hoped that he understood how much gratitude she had for him for carrying her away from that burning house. When Tilly and Kasey were out of sight, she shifted her gaze from Jace to the new fireman and asked, “Is it over?”
“It’s out but still smoldering. The bedroom doors were closed and the fire didn’t get back that far but I’d guess there’s smoke damage on whatever is in there. Looks like it started in an electrical outlet and spread to that old tree, then burned through the ceiling into the attic. Those old clothes stored up there fueled it,” he answered.
“Attic?” Carlene’s voice was little more than a squeak.
“Yes, ma’am. Rosalie had stored boxes and boxes full of stuff up there. We’ll keep a watch on things tonight in case it sparks up again,” he said.
“Can we go inside and take out her things?” Lila asked.
He rubbed his chin and shook his head. “I can’t let you in the front part of the house. Too much debris still fallin’ out of the attic.”
“I’ll knock out the bedroom window and make a hole big enough for us to get through,” Jace offered. “One hour, Randy, is all we’ll need. We’ll work fast and be out of here in no time.”
“If there’s a leak in any of those old gas lines, well, you know what could happen with nothin’ more than a spark, so work fast.”
“Couldn’t we just get some of her things?” Lila begged.
“Only if one of us goes in with you and you hurry,” Randy said. “I’m not supposed to let anyone go inside after a fire like this.”
“We’ll be quick, and I’ll help them,” Jace promised.
Carlene’s breath came in short bursts. What-ifs flooded her mind—what if the fire had started at night while they were sleeping? What if there was a tiny leak in the ancient gas lines? What if she lost her precious daughter because of her stubbornness about living in the house when Jace told her it wasn’t safe?
Carlene wasn’t sure when Hope and Henry left but suddenly they were back with a whole box of trash bags and Valerie had taken charge, giving orders to everyone about how to take one bag, go inside, fill it, and then get out as fast as possible.
Carlene looked up to keep the tears at bay. Stars twinkled around the moon as if everything was right on earth. Her world had just fallen apart—again—and all she’d wanted was to give Tilly the security of putting down roots in a small town.
“You stay right here, Carlene. By the time Jody says you can go home, we’ll have everything out of the bedrooms.” Lila gave her another pat on the shoulder.
“I need to help.” She reached for the mask.
Jace’s big hand covered hers. “Not now. Let them take care of it.” Despite the emotional upheaval inside her whole being, his touch made her feel safe and secure.
“Jace?” Her eyes met his.
He kept her hand in his and held it on his thigh. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Jace drove home that evening with a truckload of black bags. He parked in the backyard, crossed his arms over the steering wheel, and laid his head on them. He’d really thought he’d lost both Carlene and Tilly when the call came in to the volunteer fire department. He’d been the first one out of the truck and ordered a rookie to stay with Tilly when he heard that Carlene had gone into the burning house for a kitten. When he ran around the house, the only thing on his mind was saving her. He’d just gone through the back door when he’d heard a crash and realized that she’d fallen..
His chest had been so tight that he could hardly breathe and sweat poured off him under the suit. Then there she was, covered in ashes with a little black-faced kitten poking its head out from the top of her coat.
“I could have lost them,” he muttered. His hands trembled and tears left streaks down his dirty face. “I want to be a father and I want to be with Carlene but I’ll have to go at it easy so I don’t scare her away again.”
He heard a truck pull up beside his but didn’t raise his head until the passenger door opened and his mother crawled in beside him. “Everyone else is right behind me. Nash is going to help you unload while Brody gets all the equipment taken back to the firehouse.”
“Why did you tell them they could stay with me on the ranch, Mama?”
“Because it was the right thing to do. For God’s sake, Jace, what happened all those years ago is in the past and done with. Y’all can at least be friends for Tilly. It’s not like she’s goin’ to live here forever and get in the way of your life. You can ask Tommy Wilson about that house he’s remodeling to rent. It’s out of town but the commute to school wouldn’t be more than five minutes.”
“She was going to tell Tilly about me this weekend. I imagine that’s all shot to hell since the child has been through enough this past week,” Jace said.
She scooted over in the seat far enough to put a hand on each side of his face. “This could be a blessing, son. It will give you a chance to get to know Tilly on a daily basis and better yet a chance for her to get to know you and us. Everything happens for a reason.”
He held her hands for a moment and then let go. “Thank you, Mama. I was so afraid that they’d be hurt.”
“I know, son, but they’re fine. Now, it looks like Nash and Kasey are here,” Valerie said as she crawled out of the truck.
Jace made it to the minivan’s sliding door as it was opening. Tilly had a death grip on Jasmine and looked up at him with more than a little fear in her eyes.
“I need help.”
He grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck and it went limp. “Where’s Carlene?”
“Right here,” she said as she got out of a truck that Lila was driving. “Tilly, are you okay?”
“Yes, Mama.” Tilly ran over to Carlene and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist. “Did you get enough of that stuff in your nose?”
“I did but we both need a shower to get the smoke off us.” She hugged Tilly and kissed the top of her head and then her forehead.
Brody and Nash each grabbed an armload of bags from the back of the truck and carried them to the back porch, then returned for the rest of them. Jace was suddenly more exhausted than he’d ever been after a fire before. His limbs felt like they weighed a ton. Cowboys didn’t let folks see them cry but he was having trouble keeping the tears at bay.
“You and Carlene and Tilly get on inside and get cleaned up,” Valerie said. “I’ll start some laundry and then we’ll have a drink. I think we all need it.”
“Thanks, guys,” Jace said when everything was unloaded.
“No problem. I seem to remember that you took care of my sheep when I had that bout of amnesia, so consider it payback.” Nash smiled. “Speaking from experience here, Jace, sometimes it’s darkest right before dawn.”
Jace nodded. “Ain’t that the gospel truth?”
Kasey hugged Tilly and then Carlene and whispered, “If you need anything at all, call me. I’ll be here in five minutes.”
Lila gave them both a hug and said
, “Granny Hope is on her way over. She wants to help, so let her. And I’ll check on you tomorrow but if you need to talk tonight or wake up with nightmares, call me.”
“Thank you again, both of you, all of you.” Carlene didn’t care who saw the tears running down her face and dropping on her smoke-stained shirt.
One by one the vehicles left and she and Tilly were left standing in the yard with Jace. With the way he affected her just by being close, she didn’t need to live in the same house with him, no matter how big it was, but it was only for a couple of days. Kasey had said something about a rental property not far from town and she could check on that tomorrow.
When she walked through the back door at the ranch, she sure enough hoped that things looked better at dawn the next day because right then she wanted to curl up in a ball under a blanket with Tilly in her arms. The screened-in back porch at Prairie Rose was filled with black bags full of everything from their clothing, to Tilly’s book collection, to stuffed animals. When she passed by them, she had to keep her eyes straight ahead or she would have broken down again and Tilly needed her strength to get through still yet another new place.
She stubbed her toe on a bag right by the door but Jace quickly wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from falling.
With a gasp she tore herself from his arms. “Tilly’s bear. I have to find it, Jace.”
“Okay, then we’ll drag this one in first. I see a stuffed animal paw sticking out the top.” He slid it in the back door.
Carlene dropped to her knees with Tilly right beside her. They dragged out half a dozen items before Tilly brought out a pink bear and hugged it tightly to her chest. “That was scary, Mama.”
Carlene drew Tilly into her lap and rocked her and the bear as Jace stood by and wished that he could offer his daughter that kind of comfort.
“Jasmine?” Tilly craned her neck to look up at Jace.
“She’s fine. See?” He sat down on the floor beside them and put the kitten in her arms. “Do you think maybe we should put her in the pantry while we are going in and out? That way she won’t run out the door and get lost.”
“Yes, please.” Tilly handed her back to Jace. “This is Rella.” She held up her bear. “She smells bad right now but she’ll be better when she’s all cleaned up.”
Jace shook the bear’s paw. “I’m glad to meet you, Rella. I hope you like it here on the ranch.”
Tilly put her ear to the bear’s mouth. “She says to tell you thank you for saving her.”
“She’s very welcome.” Jace rose to his feet with Jasmine in his arms. “I’ll be right back.”
Valerie pushed her way into the kitchen. “I made sure that Kasey’s old room and the one right across the hall are ready for guests. Now, which bagful goes in the washer first?”
“Rella needs washing.” Tilly handed the bear to her.
“Then we’ll do a load of stuffies and then go on to clothing. I laid out some things on your bed, Carlene. And there’s a variety of soaps and shampoos in the upstairs bathroom. Help yourself and holler if y’all need anything else,” Valerie said. “And, Tilly, Miss Rella will be clean and ready for bed in an hour.”
Tilly sniffed the air. “I like this place better already. It doesn’t smell like old ladies and mice.”
“Good.” Valerie smiled. “Jace, show them their rooms.”
“Can I check on Jasmine one time?” Tilly asked.
“Sure you can.” Jace held out his hand to help her up. “I’ll take you to her.”
Valerie shoved as many stuffed animals into the washer as it would hold and started it to running; then she sat down on the floor beside Carlene. “You’ll have to decide when to tell Tilly about all of us, but I can’t wait to get to know her better. I just want you to know that and to know that if you’d told us, things might have been different. Now I suggest that you go on upstairs with them. A hot shower will do you and Tilly both good.”
“Thank you one more time.” Carlene rolled up on her toes and headed into the kitchen. Memories rushed across the room to meet her. Over there by the sink was where she and Jace had been making out when Valerie almost caught them. Carlene had gotten her shirt buttoned but she had to hold her bra behind her back until Valerie left the room. And she’d done lots of homework sitting at the kitchen table with Jace on the other side. Yes, she’d had her feet in his lap but they’d managed to get the work done.
“You done good, Jace,” Tilly said as she came out of the pantry. “Mama, Jasmine is asleep. Jace gave her a pillow and a blanket.”
“That’s great,” Carlene said.
“She’s happy,” Tilly sighed. “Jace, can we really see all of this house? It’s a whole bunch bigger than the one we were livin’ in but if we need to, me and Mama can share a room. Hey, where’s your dog? You said you got a hound dog named Red. Where is he?”
“Whoa, girl!” At least Carlene knew her daughter felt safe if she was already making plans and asking about the dog. “Take a breath.”
“Red is out in the barn where he has a nice soft dog bed to sleep in,” Jace answered. “You’ll probably see him tomorrow. And we have plenty of bedrooms, so you don’t have to share.”
“Wow! Is this a hotel?” Tilly let go of his hand and crossed the room to her mother.
“No, just a big house that needs a little girl and a kitten in it,” Jace answered. “If you ladies will follow me, I’ll show you the way.”
Carlene didn’t need to be shown. She’d been in every room of the house at one time or another and could remember more than she wanted to about each one, but this wasn’t the time to admit that in front of Tilly.
Tilly’s eyes took in everything as they passed through a kitchen as big as their Florida apartment had been and then the huge dining room. “You sure this ain’t a hotel?”
“Positive,” he chuckled. “Hotels don’t let cats in the kitchen.”
“You’re funny, Jace,” Tilly giggled. “This looks like that fancy café where we went with Aunt Bee. Are we really goin’ to stay here?”
“For a couple of days.” Carlene remembered her first impression of the place. Jace had brought her home for Sunday dinner after church one day. She’d lived in big houses provided through her father’s job but nothing ever had the warmth or the feeling of either Aunt Rosalie’s small place or the big house on Prairie Rose.
“And through this archway is the living room. I’ll leave a lamp on tonight in case y’all get hungry and want to find your way to the kitchen,” Jace said.
Tilly’s eyes darted around the big room with two separate seating arrangements—one facing the fireplace and the other the television. Finally, she looked up at Jace and asked, “Are you rich or something? Does dynasty mean ‘rich’?”
“Dynasty?” he asked.
“Mama said you have a dynasty.”
“Oh, she did, did she?” Jace grinned.
“Yep, and she said it was Piddly Rose Ranch.”
“Prairie Rose,” Carlene muttered as a blush turned her cheeks crimson red.
“That’s it,” Tilly said.
“I’m not rich, but I do own a really big ranch.” Jace stopped at the foot of the stairs and motioned for them to go up before him.
When they reached the hallway, he opened the first door he came to. “This one is yours, Tilly. It was Kasey’s room when we were all growing up.”
Tilly grabbed Carlene’s hand and squeezed. “I really like it but where’s Mama goin’ to be?”
“Right across the hallway,” Carlene answered.
“It’s a princess room, Mama. Just like the one in the book,” Tilly whispered. “Can I let Maribel see it, Jace?”
“Anytime, darlin’,” he said.
Carlene gave him a dirty look and he threw up a hand. “Just an endearment.”
“Where’s a deer?” Tilly asked.
“Not a deer, an endearment. It’s a nice word,” Carlene explained. “Let’s go run you a bath so I can tuck you into this
princess bed.”
“Will Rella be dried by then?” Tilly ran a finger down the canopy bed with a pretty pink bedspread.
“If she’s not, I’ll bring her up here and tuck her in with you when she is,” Carlene answered.
“Rella?” Jace whispered close enough to Carlene’s ear that she caught a mixture of smoke with just a touch of beer. It was downright heady and she didn’t need that on top of everything else that night, so she took a step back.
“Cinderella. That’s her bear’s name,” she answered.
“I see.” Jace crossed the hall and opened up her new room. “This okay?”
“Fine.” Carlene glanced inside to see a queen-sized poster bed, a recliner by the window, and a dresser with a double mirror. This was the very room where she and Jace had gotten dressed after taking a bath together. Thank goodness Valerie and Hope hadn’t come home early that day.
“It’s got its own bathroom and a walk-in closet. Mama kept it for the top buyers at the fall cattle sale. You should be comfortable here and you and Tilly can spread out your stuff in the bathroom. I use the one at the end of the hall. I remember some good times in this room and in that bathtub,” he whispered for her ears only.
“We were two crazy kids,” Carlene said.
“Oh. My. Goodness!” Tilly brushed past them and into the bathroom. “Look at the size of this tub, Mama. It’s like a swimmin’ pool.”
“Standard-sized Jacuzzi,” Jace said. “Y’all make yourselves at home. I’m going to grab a quick shower to get the smoke off me. There’s cookies and milk if Tilly wants a night snack. And the bar is open if you want something stronger. I know I sure do.” He glanced toward Carlene. “Treat this place as if it were your home and if you can’t find something, just holler at me.”
As soon as Jace finished his shower, he went straight to his room. Tilly’s giggles drifted across the hallway and then there were low tones of a conversation between her and her mother. He vowed right then that he’d always be there for her and Tilly, and he’d do his damnedest to keep them safe.
Luckiest Cowboy of All--Two full books for the price of one Page 10