Page 37 of Smokin' Situation

Tripp appeared in the doorway a few moments later, throwing a button-up shirt at me and my dusty jean shorts from yesterday.

“Get dressed. We’ve gotta go,” he hollered, yanking his boxer briefs up and settling them on his hips before he thrust his muscular legs inside his jeans.

“What’s going on?” I asked, pushing my arms through the sleeves and rolling them up so they didn’t cover my hands.

“Fire jumped the ridge. We need to get back to the ranch. The ground crew pulled back to town and is trying to get a fire break in along the east side of the river.”

Nodding, I hastily pulled on my shorts, reaching for the socks he held out. He left the room, returning with my boots in his hands, clipping the radio to his belt.

“Gather up anything you want to take with you while I go saddle Seraphina.”

He disappeared, the slam of the screen door echoing down the hallway while I yanked on my boots and rushed back into the living room. I scooped up the contents of my purse, shoving everything back inside and pulling it over my head, cinching the strap tight.

Red paisley caught my eye as I headed toward the door and I reached down, pulling the bandanas from the stack of discarded clothing.

Moving into the kitchen, I hastily opened the cabinets, scanning the meager contents until I found what I was looking for in one of the base cabinets. I put the bandanas in the empty sink, soaking them with bottled water and shoving them into an empty bowl on the counter.

Grabbing a few extra bottles, I balanced them on the top of the bowl and scanned the cabin, hoping it’d stay safe, as well as the rest of the things in the path of the fire.

Tripp was leading Seraphina out of the barn fully saddled when I reached him, running his hand soothingly down the side of her face while he whispered something I couldn’t hear to her.

He looked up, meeting my eyes, his expression tense. “The winds died down, but the smoke looks worse. We need to get out of here.”

The light haze that had hovered over the lake was clouding the area and I couldn’t make out the mountains on the other side anymore. It made my lungs ache as I tried to breathe shallowly, knowing that we’d be needing those bandanas to make it back.

“I found water,” I rushed out, thrusting the bowl in his direction.

“Good girl.”

Tripp took the bottles, stowing them in the saddlebag before he grabbed one bandana, moving behind me and tying it snugly across the bridge of my nose. He took the bowl, crouching down so I could tie his on, running back to the barn once I was done to get his hat before he rejoined me. Holding the stirrup out, he kept it steady while I put my foot inside and swung my leg over the horse’s back. I scooted forward, bracing myself while he wrapped himself around my back, anchoring me to him with one gloved hand onmy stomach before he grasped the reins and led the horse back to the open valley we’d come in yesterday.

My eyes widened when I saw the damage the fire had done overnight, the charred remnants of trees poking through the dense smoke, an eerie glow along the horizon line much closer than the fire we’d left behind yesterday.

“Hold on!” he shouted, voice muffled as he squeezed his thighs, his horse breaking into a steady trot as she headed south.

My pulse raced as we neared the river, but he didn’t cross back over, hugging the edge of the rocky shoreline, but keeping the horse in the grass as she headed back toward the ranch. The smoke was dense, but Seraphina clearly knew where she was going, not slowing as the trees raced by.

“We’re close!” he yelled, pulling the reins to the side, slowing her pace as he guided her into the woods on a trail headed to the east. The air was cleaner under the canopy of the trees, but there was something about the stillness of the woods that kept me on edge. What had once been a forest full of noisy wildlife was silent.

Eventually, the sound of chainsaws and heavy machinery reached us before the horse emerged from the trees. I scanned the tree line, suddenly afraid one would come crashing down on us.

“Hold on!” Tripp shouted, steering her over a fallen log and through a break in the trees.

After spending the last twenty-four hours alone, I sighed in relief as I scanned the hodgepodge grouping of vehicles clustered in the middle of the field, dozens of emergency personnel hard at work along the river’s edge with shovels and various heavy equipment.

Seraphina’s pace slowed as we passed them, and Tripp kept her headed toward a barn I could see in the distance. The familiar sight of my co-worker and friend, Charley, brought tears to my eyes, and I tried not to cry as she took off into a run toward us. Her face was covered with a mask, but I’d recognize that technicolor hair anywhere.

Tripp slowed the horse at the side of the barn, lifting me off and into the open arms of my friend.

“What the fuck, girl? You scared the shit out of us when you disappeared yesterday,” she growled into my hair, but I could tell she was just as relieved to see me as I was. Her fingers deftly untied the knot on my bandana, pulling it off my face before she cupped my cheeks. “You okay?”

Shaking my head, I let the tears fall, hating that I’d made my friends worry.

Tripp’s solid presence appeared behind me, his hand grasping the side of my waist as he kissed the side of my head.

“I’m gonna get Phi watered and see where Marty wants her, sweetheart,” he told me, squeezing briefly before he let go and walked past us, leading the tired Appaloosa behind him.

“Damn, sounds like someone had quite the adventure,sweetheart.Dad told me the new ranch manager took off to rescue a stranded motorist, but I didn’t know it was you until this morning.”

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