by Jane Jamison
She didn’t have any doubt she wanted to scratch her itch, but hadn’t she made the resolution not to do that earlier that morning?
“We would’ve come with you.” Darton had mellowed, even giving her a soft look.
“I figured you three were still busy.” She’d left a few minutes before sundown, skipping dinner in order to see the purple-hued glow of the sunset. “Did you help yourself to a meal yet?” It was all small talk, but at least it was safe talk. If she said what she wanted to say, they’d end up rolling in the grass, tearing each other’s clothes off.
“Yeah. Sort of.” Jax shifted in the saddle. “We kind of picked at the leftovers again.”
Darton’s grin could’ve sold porcupines to a naked man. “Why? Did you miss seeing us all day?”
Hell yes. “Oh? Have been gone all day? I didn’t notice.” She could fling bullshit with the best of them when she had to.
“Uh-huh.”
Had she really expected them to believe her? Of course she’d missed them. She and Melly had spent the day going through the father’s belongings. How many times had she thought she’d heard them and looked up, hoping to see them walking into the room? At Melly’s last count, she’d done it at least ten times. If she had to guess, she would’ve put the true number at double that amount.
“You sit a horse good.”
“Do you really think so, Jax? Although, to be fair, you haven’t seen me ride yet.”
“Yeah, we did. We just now caught up with you.”
Had they been watching her? Or had they accidentally happened upon her? The first option appealed to her. Again, she thrust the idea away. She had to stick to her decision. If personal matters got mixed up, she’d take her eye off the goal of making the ranch a success. She couldn’t afford to have that happen.
“So, now that you’ve had a day to really look around, what do you think?”
“It’s about what we thought it would be.” Ed’s horse pranced until he calmed it down by making reassuring clucking sounds to soothe the antsy animal. “The livestock’s in okay shape, but there are a lot of repairs needed around the place.”
Her earlier optimism started to fade, and it must’ve shown on her face. “So what’s the bottom line? Can we make a go of the place or not?”
“Are you thinking about selling?” asked Jax. “I hope the hell not.”
“I don’t want to, but if I don’t have enough money to turn it around, then I might have to.” The memory of Rick coming on to her gave her a shiver. “Even then, I’d rather sell to someone else.”
“It’s not going to come to that. I swear it won’t.”
“Ed’s right, honey,” added Darton, his expression tight. “We’ll do whatever we have to do to help.”
“Damn straight we will,” added Jax.
They were good men, men who were hard to find in today’s world. Physical attraction was one thing, but they were touching her heart, swelling it with both gratitude and affection. “I can’t ask you to help me for a long time. You have your own ranch, your own lives.”
“And our lives include you.”
She hadn’t wanted to think about what they’d said the night before. Had, in fact, attributed their words to being turned on, to getting caught up in the seduction of her father’s secret room. “You can’t mean that. We don’t know each other.”
“Who cares?”
“What?” She almost laughed at Darton. “Getting to know someone is the foundation of a good relationship.”
“Exactly. Getting to know someone. Not knowing all about them. We know enough from hearing your father talk about you. And from other people passing on what he’d told them.”
“He talked about me?” Her father had barely spoken to her in the last year. Had he really told them about her?
“He sure did. He was really proud of you.”
She stared at Ed as though waiting for him to tell her the punch line to his joke. “He never told me.”
“You know your father. He didn’t go in for the sentimental stuff.”
What Jax said was true. Every time she’d told him she loved him, he’d grown gruff and brushed off her remark. He’d rarely said it back. Still, hearing about her wasn’t the same as knowing her. “Look, guys, if it’s sex you’re after, then just say so.”
“And if it is?” Ed’s brow knitted with his confusion.
“I don’t know.” Didn’t she? If they told her flat-out that they wanted sex, what could she say except no? Even if every part of her wanted to say yes.
“But it isn’t.”
Could she believe Darton? She glanced at Jax and Ed. Did they agree with Darton? Finding anything more to say was too difficult. Her brain had finally checked out, leaving her hunger for them in command.
“How about we head home and talk about this at the house?”
She nodded, more from a way to respond than anything else. “Melly’s out for the night. She met a guy at the funeral.” Why had she told them? Especially now that they seemed so pleased to hear it.
“She works fast.” Jax was quick to amend his statement. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it. Not many people meet someone they want to spend time with at a funeral.”
I did. I found three of them.
Instead, she replied, “You don’t know Melly.”
Darton tugged his horse around, pointing toward the house. “Then we go?”
“We—” She frowned at the plume of smoke trailing into the sky. “Where’s the fire coming from?”
Jax and Ed whirled their mounts around. They exchanged a hard look before putting their heels to their horses’ flanks. Their mounts took off, quickly breaking into a full run.
“What’s going on, Darton?”
His eyes flashed red, but this time it wasn’t the color that tore at her. It was the worry there that almost stilled her heart. “The fire. It’s back at the house.”
Chapter Seven
Before Colby could rush toward the burning barn, Jax grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away. “No, turn me loose.”
“Not on your life.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off the blaze. Darton and Ed fought to yank the barn doors open without getting burned. “The horses.” Why hadn’t she heard their wails and thunderous attempts to get out? Heat whipped at her face and arms, threatening to singe her hair. Pain seared her eyes from the bright inferno.
“We’ll get them.” He shook her hard, hard enough to finally tear her focus away from the fire. Turning her, he gave her a good shove toward the house. Melly stood on the porch, her phone to her ear, her expression fearful and tense. “Go to Melly.”
She struggled and did her best to get free of his strong grasp, but she might as well have been fighting the fire from the middle of the flame for all the good it did. Still, she had to try. “It’s my barn. I have to save the horses.”
The sound of cars skidding into the gravel parking area near the house drew her attention. Men piled out of the three pickups and ran toward the barn. As Darton and Ed began running the horses out of the barn, the other men did their best to halt the animals and put halters on them. Three of the six horses were too frightened to be caught, but the others were led away from the blaze toward a holding paddock far enough away from the barn to keep the horses safe.
“Colby, go.”
“I have to help. It’s my barn.” Why couldn’t he understand? If anyone should fight the fire, it was her.
“Damn it, you can’t help.” He shook her again and bent so his gaze drew hers. “Colby, get the fuck out of the way.”
Stunned at the deep resonance of his tone, she finally did as he’d ordered. Melly met her halfway to the house.
“I tried calling 9-1-1, but I got some guy, not a real operator. He said he’d get some men together. I tried to call a local fire department after I hung from him, but I just kept getting him.”
“Brimstone doesn’t have its own fire department.” She could’ve hoped the town
would’ve changed since she was a kid and developed its own emergency system, but she wasn’t surprised that it didn’t have a fire station. The men who’d come to help were dressed in the usual jeans and shirt attire of cowboys. “Unless they’re part of a volunteer fire department.”
“One without a fire truck?” asked Melly.
“It’s a small town.” She turned to her friend. “Do you know how it caught fire?”
Melly shook her head. “Beats the hell out of me. I just happened to walk past the front window and saw the flames. I’m sorry, Colby, maybe I should’ve tried to get the horses out, but I…” She frowned, heartache written in the lines of her face. “Shit. I didn’t know what to do.”
“You did everything you could.”
Again and again, she watched, her breath held as Jax, Ed, and Darton dashed into the barn, risking their lives for her horses. Again and again, she released her pent-up air when they returned, herding another horse out of the barn. Darton whirled around once more and dashed back into the barn.
“Why is he going back inside?” she whispered. She doubted Melly could’ve heard her. “No, please, don’t.”
The men she barely knew who had come to mean so much to her were doing their best to save her livestock. They were risking their lives. She wanted to shout at them, to tell them to stay away from the fire, to keep safe, but realized it would do no good. They and the other men had jobs to do and wouldn’t stop until they’d saved as many horses as they could.
Although her heart couldn’t have cared less, her brain couldn’t understand how they could run back into the fire then come back without a mark on them. Their clothes were blackened in some places, but their skin seemed unburned. How could three men run into a barn swallowed in flames and not get hurt?
Colby was about to ask the question out loud when a crash cut the words from her mouth. The barn collapsed, the fiery roof falling in and taking the burning walls along with it. Fear clogged her throat as she scanned the men dashing away from danger.
“Oh God. Darton.” Her voice was filled with anguish as she darted toward the barn.
“No. You can’t.”
“I have to help him.” Tears sprang to her eyes as she struggled against Melly.
Then she saw it. She stopped fighting to get free and stared into the flames. Astonishment filled her as she squinted, knowing that what she was seeing had to be an illusion caused by the wild dance of the fire. The broad head lifted, pointing its mouth skyward as it opened wide to show vicious fangs. Its tail looped around its body then whipped out, striking a charred board away. When it turned to face her dead-on, its red eyes blazed at her. Wings unfurled from its body, the span of them doubling then tripling its size. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone, engulfed by the flames.
“Oh, my God. Do you see it?”
“See what?” Melly searched her, glanced at the burning pile of wood and metal then frowned. “The guys? No. I don’t see them.”
“No. Not the guys.” Had she really seen a dragon? But that was crazy. The excitement, the fear had made her see things. She closed her eyes then opened them and scanned the area in front of the burning barn. Where were her men? Had they pushed their luck too much? Had Darton gotten out safely?
Slowly, figures moved toward her. At first, the smoke was too heavy for her to see who the men were. They were only shapes in a blanket of darkness. “Oh God. Where are they?”
“I see them.” Melly’s arm wrapped around her. “They’re okay. And there’s Darton, too.”
“Where?” She gripped the front of her friend’s shirt. “Darton’s with them?”
“Yeah. He looks fine. Just like they do.”
How did she know for sure? Yet she was right.
They’re okay. Because they have to be. If not…
Her mind couldn’t finish the sentence. Panic strangled her and swamped every other emotion.
“Look. Right there. Along with the other men. There they are.”
She followed where Melly pointed and saw them. Although covered with soot, Jax, Darton, and Ed appeared to be unhurt. The need to touch them, to make certain they were safe was almost too much to bear. Yet somehow, she managed to stay where she was while they talked to the other men.
At last, as the barn continued to burn, embers lighting the dusk, the men finished talking and headed over to her. Every step that brought them closer accelerated the pounding of her heart. Relief should’ve slowed her pulse, but until she could feel their skin under her fingertips, she wouldn’t be able to calm down.
She took hold of Darton’s arm as she gripped Ed’s hand. “I can’t believe you ran into a burning building.”
“You wanted the horses saved, didn’t you?” Darton’s soft smile mocked her.
He could mock her as much as he liked. “Not at the expense of your life.” Her gaze softened toward Jax and Ed. “Or yours.”
“We’re fine.” Jax spread out his arms. “You can check if you want to. Go ahead. Frisk away.”
At any other time, she would’ve laughed at his blatant come-on, but this wasn’t any other time. Keeping hold of Darton and Ed, she pulled them along with her to get closer to Jax. Slowly, carefully, as though she were afraid to hurt him, she laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes.
“If anything had happened to any of you, I wouldn’t have survived it.”
Jax tunneled his fingers through her hair. “You don’t have to worry about us. We’re invincible.”
“Especially from fire,” added Darton.
“I don’t understand.” Her gaze fell to Ed’s arm. She wiped away the grime and stared at the unmarked skin before checking out the other men’s arms and faces. “None of you are burned. How can that be?”
“So you’d rather we were crispy?” joked Darton. “Is that it? You like your men well done?”
“You know what I mean. Still, how can it be possible? I saw you run into the barn. I saw the fire surrounding you. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“She’s right.” Melly shoved her phone into her back pocket. “Aside from your clothes, you guys look like you weren’t anywhere near a fire.”
Ed tilted his head to the side. “I guess we’re just lucky.” Before Colby could say anything more, he added, “We’ve got to get after the horses that didn’t wind up in the pen.”
The three of them pivoted, ready to walk away. “Hold up. I’m going with you.” The last thing she wanted to do was to chase after frightened horses, but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t help out now.
“Not a chance. We can handle this. You and Melly go on inside and get some rest.”
She was determined not to let Jax keep her away again. “Melly can go and rest, but I’m coming with you. This is my ranch, and I say what goes and who does what from now on. Got it?”
She wasn’t sure which reaction was stronger from them. The need to tell her to stay home showing in the tenseness of their faces fought with the pride she saw in their eyes. At last, it was the pride that won out.
“Okay. Yeah. You’re the boss.” Jax motioned her back toward the other men who’d gathered together. “Those guys are your neighbors. You can thank them first, and then we’ll head out.”
She nodded, pushing aside the almost overwhelming need to hug them to her and never let them go. Her pulse picked up again, but this time not from fear. She was determined not to let it get the better of her. They had a job to do, and she needed to prove to all of them, but especially to the three men who had come to help her, that she could handle being a ranch owner. She followed him to the group.
Questions whirled as he introduced her to the men who had come to help out. She’d never remember their names, but hopefully, she’d have another chance to learn them.
A large man with a belly to match took her hand. “I’m Charlie Hudson, Miss Colby, and I’m sorry as hell that this happened to you.”
“Thanks. Do any of you know how the fire got started?” Although the skies w
ere cloudy, no storms, much less lightning, had occurred. The men had been with her, so unless Melly had done something to unwittingly set a blaze, she couldn’t think of how it could’ve started.
“Not that I can think of. Unless maybe your friend would know?” His dark eyes shifted to Melly. “Does she smoke?”
“No. And I doubt she was anywhere near the barn. She saw the fire when she happened to look out the window.”
“Well, the fire’s still too hot to go sifting around searching for answers. Still…” He tucked his head, suddenly averting his gaze.
“Still what?”
“From the looks of things, babe, someone set the fire.”
Ed couldn’t be serious, yet, judging from the other men’s expressions, they were thinking the same thing. “You think someone burned my barn down on purpose? Who would do that?”
“I don’t like to talk out of turn, but I can think of one man.”
“Take it easy, Jax. We don’t know that Rick had anything to do with it.”
“Rick? But why would he—” She stopped, suddenly realizing what Rick’s motive might be. “No way. You think he set fire to my barn to cause trouble? Surely, he wouldn’t go that far to get me to sell the ranch.” Yet when her gaze met Darton’s, she had her answer.
“Ed’s right. Let’s not jump to any assumptions.” Charlie stuck out his hand again as though she hadn’t already shaken it. “In the meantime, we’ll help you round up the livestock and get them in the holding pen.”
“I really appreciate your help. Everyone’s help.” She thanked each one personally again, shaking his hand until Darton said it was time to get moving. The horses that had run off had to be found before something else could hurt them.
Most of the men would scour the pasture in their trucks. She and her men would walk the field, slowly, paced apart until all the horses were found. It would be a long night, and her body was already shaking from exhaustion.
I can do this.
I have to do this. This is my home.
The ranch was hers to protect, yet she had to wonder. Was it worth risking lives to keep it?