Page 48 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

“Will do,” Brandon said. “Thank you.”

“Who’d have thought a leaky hot-air balloon helium canister and a faulty old wire would cause this kind of damage?” Sheriff Chris asked.

Brandon pursed his lips. He wanted to tell them, warn them. But until he talked to Alana, he had to keep his mouth shut.

Deputy Ethan shook his hand. “I haven’t forgotten how you saved Kathy off the side of the road when her truck broke down. When you’re ready to fix the barn up, you give me a holler and I’ll come give you hand.”

Brandon smiled, touched by the offer. Harvest Ranch really did have the best people in it. “Very kind.”

The sheriff and deputies headed off, and Brandon breathed a sigh of relief. He had a long night ahead of him.

He and Allie headed inside. She went to the restroom, and he quickly shot off a text to Alana, letting her know what happened, that he couldn’t talk now, and that he was sure Tobias Grant was responsible.

She responded almost immediately with three words: Be there tomorrow.

He sent her his address; then he called Andy, keeping it simple.

“Well, if it isn’t Cowboy,” Andy said. “Calling to quit B.O.T.s already?”

He kept it simple, no explanation needed, no need to say anything that would get him in trouble for sharing top-secret intel—especially to a small-town sheriff. “My barn caught on fire.”

Andy cursed. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No,” Brandon said.

“Is this connected to the fires near Fort Bragg?”

“Probably.”

“Was it Tobias?”

“Yep,” Brandon said.

“I can be there by tomorrow afternoon.”

And that was that. He’d need Andy’s help now if he wanted to catch Grant before someone got hurt. And he frankly didn’t care if Alana was okay with Andy knowing. Andy knew the original case almost as well as he did. He knew the kind of man Grant was. He knew how he worked. And he knew that if he was coming after Brandon now, it wasn’t just to light his barn on fire. The man wanted revenge. He wanted Brandon. He wanted to make him suffer. That was his M.O.

Brandon sat on the stairs and waited for Allie. A moment later, she found him and sat next to him.

“When I came out of the house and saw the barn on fire, and I didn’t know where you were . . .” She choked back a sob and swallowed several times. “It about scared the life out me.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as a warmth suffused him, sweeping from his heart outward. “I’m all right.”

She turned her head to his shoulder and breathed him in, then coughed.

He pulled back, suddenly aware of how smoky he must smell. “Allie, it’s late, and I need to take a shower.”

Glancing up at him, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she grinned. “Well, I wasn’t going to say anything . . .”

He bumped her with his shoulder.

“Do you want me to stay?” she asked. “I can sleep on the couch.”

“No, no. I’m okay. Just a little ripe,” he said, though the offer touched him. She was worried about him. And he was worried about her. But she wasn’t the only person in town with her face. He could tell them apart, but Tobias would be able to. She couldn’t stay here if he was meant to watch her and Jo at the same time.

Nodding, she stood, then bent down to brush a quick kiss across his lips. “See you tomorrow.”

“I’ll stop in at Sticky and Sweet if I can.”

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