by Kat Martin
“Cover his eyes!” Josh yelled over the roar of the fire as he grabbed a couple of towels off the stack next to the tack room door. “He’s afraid of the flames!”
He tossed one of the towels to Tory, who put it over the horse’s eyes and started running with him out of the barn. Josh was leading two of the animals out to safety when she ran back in, heading for another stall. She looped her rope over the head of the little gray mare who was about to foal, covered her eyes, and tugged the mare toward safety.
He led another gelding outside, his worry building. The flames were burning through the rafters, chewing through the roof. Any minute the whole ceiling could come crashing down. “Get out of here, Tory! I’ll get the other horses. You’ve got to get out now!”
There were only two horses left, Sunshine, his palomino mare, and Thor, a big buckskin gelding that was his favorite to ride. Sunshine was in the far back corner, impossible to reach, and time was almost gone. He opened the buckskin’s stall.
Josh took a last glance around, didn’t see Tory, and prayed she’d done what he’d told her. Looping the rope over the buckskin’s head, he covered the horse’s eyes with the towel and ran out of the stall. As he raced for the door, he heard Sunshine’s pitiful neigh, but there wasn’t time to save her. If he went back inside, he’d die.
He looked around for Tory as he burst through the smoke into the cool night air, but he didn’t see her. “Tory!” When she didn’t answer, everything inside him went cold. “Tory!”
If she was inside, the smoke was so thick he’d never find her. A huge chunk of the roof came down, right over Sunshine’s stall. He glanced around, frantic now. Tory was in there. He knew it.
Josh pressed the towel over his mouth and started running back to the barn, raced through the door just as Sunshine came thundering toward him, Tory hanging on to the rope around the mare’s neck.
The mare jerked free and kept running. Josh grabbed Tory, swung her up in his arms, and ran out of the barn—just as the roof came crashing down.
Chapter Eight
Tory sat on the damp grass a safe distance from the burning barn. Two red fire trucks sat next to each other out front, one of them a tanker. Half a dozen firemen in full turnout gear handled the heavy hoses, shooting massive streams of water out of the tanker onto the flames, sending up thick white columns of smoke.
She managed to tear her gaze away from the fire as Josh walked up, his face and torso black with smoke. He was barefoot, wearing only a worn pair of jeans, his chest bare. Even covered in greasy black soot, all those muscles were ridiculously distracting.
When she’d run out of the trailer, she hadn’t had time to put a bra on under her T-shirt. She could still feel the imprint of those hard muscles as he’d carried her at breakneck speed out of the burning building.
Tory shivered. She’d come within seconds of dying. Adrenaline still pumped like a drug through her veins.
“You all right?” Josh asked.
“I’m okay.” Considering she had almost died. “What about the horses?”
“I opened the gate to one of the pastures and they ran right in. They’re fine.”
“What took the fire department so long to get here?”
“Department’s all volunteer.” Too restless to sit down, he paced back and forth as he watched the fire crew at work. With his property going up in flames, she didn’t blame him.
“Plus we’re ten miles from town.” He looked back at the burning structure, most of it collapsed in on itself, occasional red-and-orange tendrils still licking through holes in the blackened wood. Volunteer firemen worked skillfully to knock down the last of the blaze. “Barn’s a total loss, anyway.”
“What do you think happened?”
“No idea.”
“I’m glad none of the horses were hurt.”
He stopped pacing and turned to face her, clamped his hands on his hips. “What the hell were you thinking? I told you to get out of the barn. Dammit, you could have been killed!”
She shrugged. At the time she didn’t feel as if she had any choice. “Sunshine was in there. I couldn’t just leave her.”
“Sunshine is a horse! You’re the mother of a little girl!” He glanced around. “Where is she, anyway? Where’s Ivy?” A thread of worry colored his words.
“I just checked on her again. She was asleep when I spotted the fire. She still is. Once she crashes, she doesn’t wake up till morning.”
Josh ran a hand over his short brown hair. “Next time I tell you to do something, you do it. You understand?”
A memory of Damon slipped into her head and she drew back from him a little. “Or you’ll what?”
Josh gave her a long, assessing look. “Christ, I’d never hit you, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’ve never hit a woman in my life. I don’t plan to start with you.”
He sighed and crouched down next to her on the grass. “What you did in there. It was incredibly brave. You helped me save the horses. Saving Sunshine was stupid, but it was brave.”
Tory’s gaze swung to his. “I’m not stupid, Josh. Don’t ever underestimate me. I saw a chance to save the mare and I took it. You would have done the same thing.”
Some of the tension seeped out of his shoulders. He sighed as he sprawled on the grass beside her. “You’re right, I would have. I’m sorry.” He glanced off, staring at the fire for the longest time, as if watching the flames had sent him someplace into the past.
Those blue eyes finally returned to her, deep and intense. For a second it was hard to breathe.
“I know what it’s like to lose someone,” he said a little gruffly. “I’ve had friends die in battle, soldiers who had wives and kids. Death comes swift and hard, sometimes out of nowhere. You scared me. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
She was surprised at his apology. Damon wouldn’t have done it. A hundred times, she wondered how she could have been duped so badly by a man like him.
Tory sighed. “I probably should have listened to you. I took a dangerous chance. It probably was stupid.”
He stared at her as if he were trying to figure her out. “It was brave,” he said.
The fire chief walked toward them. She couldn’t see him clearly but beneath his helmet, he appeared to be a man in his fifties with a bushy salt-and-pepper mustache.
“Sorry, Josh,” he said. “Not much to save.”
“Barn went up like tinder. All that straw . . .” Josh shook his head. “It’s a miracle we were able to get the horses out.”
The chief’s gaze swung to Tory. “I’m Chief Leland.”
“Tory Ford.” In the cool night air, without a bra, her nipples were standing out against her T-shirt. She’d always had full breasts, which the chief didn’t miss. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why don’t you go on home?” Josh suggested softly. “Get a little sleep? Nothing more you can do here.”
“There’ll be an investigation,” the chief said. “As soon as the fire cools down enough, the arson boys will be out to take a look. Depending on what they find, they may need a statement.”
“She’ll be here tomorrow if they need to talk to her,” Josh said.
Tory’s gaze returned to the fire chief, who was clearly speculating on their relationship. Josh was giving her a chance to escape.
“I think I’ll go in.” She needed to keep an eye on her daughter, but she didn’t want to mention Ivy unless she had to. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She was a few feet away when she heard the fire chief’s voice.
“I don’t think I’ve seen her around,” he said to Josh as she continued toward the trailer.
“She’s my housekeeper,” she heard Josh say. She was fairly sure what the chief was thinking when Josh added, “Not that kind of housekeeper.”
As she neared the porch, Tory glanced back at the dying fire. She wondered what had caused the blaze and felt sorry for Josh. He would have to rebuild, but at least the horses were safe.
She sta
rted up the front porch steps. The adrenaline had bled from her system. Her legs were shaking, her stomach unsteady. Climbing the stairs was suddenly a Herculean task.
She thought again of the fire. It was a terrible accident. A terrible loss for Josh.
But what if it wasn’t an accident? a little voice asked. What if the fire was set on purpose?
Was it possible Damon had found her? In the last weeks they were together, he had changed so much. At the end, he’d become insanely jealous. The man who had beaten her nearly to death wouldn’t think twice about burning down another man’s barn, even if it killed a stable full of the man’s valuable horses.
Tory’s skin prickled as she stepped inside the house. Heading down the hall, she stopped to check on Ivy, but as before, the little girl was deeply asleep. Quietly entering her daughter’s bedroom, she paused to press a kiss on the top of Ivy’s head.
Coming close to death made her appreciate the amazing gift she had been given even more than she had before. It made her even more determined to keep her little girl safe.
It was an accident, she told herself as she walked into her bedroom. There was cleaning solvent in the barn, other flammable liquids, several tons of straw to fuel the flames.
But as she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, Damon’s image appeared, the look of fury on his face when she had left him tied up on the floor.
She was still awake at dawn, more exhausted than when she had gone to bed. Until she knew what had caused the fire, she didn’t expect to get much sleep.
* * *
Josh didn’t bother going to bed. Wanting to make sure the hot spots were all out, the fire crew didn’t leave until after dawn.
When Tory showed up to make breakfast, she brewed a big pot of coffee and carried it and a stack of Styrofoam cups out to the exhausted men. They were more than grateful.
Normally, when she arrived in the mornings, Josh did his best to be outside working. He came in to eat, then went back to work, figuring the less time he spent with her the better.
Tory had been a distraction before last night, but after carrying her out of the barn, he knew the exact fullness of her breasts, the way her nipples tightened into tiny buds in the cool night air. He knew the feel of her delicate curves, the silky texture of her fiery curls against his skin.
He wanted her. He tried to tell himself he’d just been too long without a woman. He tried to convince himself that any woman would do. Then he remembered the way she had run into the burning barn, risking her life to help him save his horses, save the beautiful palomino mare, and he knew it wasn’t the truth.
He wanted Tory Ford, wanted her in his bed until he’d had his fill. He had no idea how long that would be; he just knew he hungered for her sweet little body every time she was near.
It wasn’t going to happen. Tory worked for him. She was raising a child. It hadn’t taken long to figure out she wasn’t the kind of woman who was interested in a one-night stand. Not the kind who would be willing to trade her favors for a raise in salary or an easier job.
Since he wasn’t interested in a relationship beyond the physical, Tory was off-limits. If he wanted sex, he had to find someone else.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to look.
He sighed as he left the house and crossed the yard toward the dead embers of the burned-out barn. The occasional wisp of smoke was all that remained of the blaze that had destroyed the big wooden structure he had spent weeks rebuilding.
He looked up as Noah’s pickup pulled into the yard, slid to a halt, and Cole and Noah jumped out.
“Holy shit!” Noah stalked toward him. Cole remained frozen, staring at the destruction. “What the hell happened?”
“Won’t know till the arson squad comes out,” Josh said.
“You don’t think it could have been set on purpose?” Cole asked.
“We’ll have to see what they find out.”
“Could have been an electrical fire.” Cole tipped up his baseball cap. “Wiring’s pretty old in there.”
“Maybe,” Josh said. “Cleaning supplies, other flammables in the tack room, plenty of straw once the blaze got going.”
“Those arson guys are good,” Noah said. “They’ll figure out what caused it.”
Josh’s gaze went back to the pile of blackened, soggy lumber. “They’ll probably be here this afternoon. Fire is dead out. Ashes should be cool enough by then.”
“Maybe we can round up some help to rebuild,” Noah suggested.
“Maybe.” Linc had a good crew working at Blackland Ranch. Maybe his brother would loan him some of the hands. “We can’t do anything till the arson investigation is complete. In the meantime, we’ve still got fences to mend, and the cow barn isn’t finished. We’re going to need it now. We’d better get going.”
They set off as they usually did, Noah and Cole heading off on the ATVs to work on the fence line. Josh had planned to saddle one of the horses and ride out this morning. A gelding named Irish Whiskey was showing potential as a cutting horse. Good ones were valuable and hard to find. He wanted to do a little more work with the cattle, see if his hunch was right.
Not gonna happen now, not with all the saddles and riding tack destroyed.
This afternoon, he’d drive into town, pick up some replacement gear at the mercantile. All new saddles, bridles, blankets, halters, brushes, lead ropes, and dozens of other necessities weren’t going to come cheap.
It was after lunch when a red van pulled up in front of the burned-out barn, the words ARSON INVESTIGATION printed on the side. Two men got out, walked over and introduced themselves: Bill Wheeler, a big older guy with a shaved head and thick neck, and a good-looking Asian around Josh’s age named Tim Chin.
“We’ll be a while,” Bill said. “We’ll let you know what we find out.”
“Appreciate it.”
“You got insurance?” Wheeler asked.
“Some. Not enough. Worse, I just rebuilt the damn thing.”
A look passed between them. Josh had a hunch they had just crossed off a possible motive.
He didn’t want to leave for town till he knew what had happened so he went to work on the cow barn while the men examined the still-smoldering remains.
It was a couple of hours later that the investigators showed up in the doorway.
“Got a minute?” Tim Chin asked. They were wearing heat-protective gear and heavy firemen’s boots. Tim pulled off his fireproof gloves as he and Josh walked outside to join Bill Wheeler.
“Electrical or flammable liquids?” Josh asked. “I figure it has to be one or the other or a combination of both.”
Chin glanced at Wheeler, then back. “It was arson, Josh. Multiple ignition points. Traces of accelerants. Combined with the straw, that’s the reason it went up so fast.”
Anger and disgust washed through him, making his jaw feel tight.
“You got any idea who might want to burn you out?” Wheeler asked.
“Not a clue.” But he meant to find out.
“No enemies you can think of?” Chin added.
“If I was still in Afghanistan, I’d say I had a whole army of enemies. Here, no. Right off, I can’t think of anyone who’d go to this kind of extreme.”
“Give it some thought,” Wheeler said. “The sheriff’s going to be out here asking the same questions.”
Josh bit back a curse. Sheriff Emmett Howler was a real dickwad. How he had kept the job for twenty-plus years, Josh had no clue. On top of that, he had a major hard-on for anybody with the last name Cain.
Back in his brother’s wild high school days, Linc’s best friend, Beau Reese, and the sheriff’s son, Kyle Howler, had tried to rob a convenience store. Howler had been the arresting officer.
Beau and Kyle, underage at the time, had their records sealed and received light sentences. Linc, at eighteen, had been tried as an adult and sentenced to two years in prison.
With the help of the grandfather of the girl Linc had married,
he was able to turn his life around. Linc and Beau had both become incredibly successful, while the sheriff’s son had ended up addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Howler blamed Linc. The fact that Josh’s last name was Cain wouldn’t be helpful.
Josh waited while the men loaded their equipment back into the van, then watched the van pull away. He was heading for his truck to make the trip into town when he saw Tory hurrying toward him, her fiery curls bobbing up and down.
An unwanted surge of heat settled deep in his groin. “What’s wrong?” he asked, clamping down on his hunger and forcing himself to focus.
“Nothing, I just . . . I wanted to know if the investigators found the cause of the fire.”
He hated to tell her. He didn’t want to scare her, and the notion of a firebug on the loose wasn’t good news. On the other hand, he needed her to be wary, watchful for anything out of the ordinary.
“Turns out the fire was arson. Someone used flammable accelerants in multiple locations. The blaze was started on purpose.”
Her face paled. “Are they . . . are they sure?”
“There wasn’t any doubt.”
“Oh, God.”
“Until they catch whoever did it, you need to be vigilant. I don’t know if it was personal or just some nut who likes to watch things burn, but we need to be on the lookout.”
She nodded. “Yes, yes, of course.” He could tell she was upset. She could have died last night. He wasn’t happy, either.
“I-I need to get back to work. I’ve got something on the stove.” She tried for a smile but it didn’t quite surface. “I’ll keep my eyes open.”
Josh watched her hurry toward his house, his mind going over possible suspects. He and Ramirez hadn’t parted on particularly good terms, but Diego had another job even before he’d quit and he didn’t seem too upset. Josh had fired the teenager who had stolen from him but surely burning down the barn would have been overkill.