Page 83 of A Cowboy's Claim
All five hands went up instantly.
“Exactly. Now tell me where something like this might be found?”
Hailey threw up a hand. “In the fridge.”
“Under a sink,” Lucas shouted at the same time.
Which led to a whole discussion of where the cleaners were kept in their houses and if dangerous cleaning chemicals were safely stored or not.
By the time they broke for lunch, the kids were buzzing with energy. Sydney had promised them CPR practice in the afternoon, which had sparked a mix of excitement and mock horror.
“Do we actually have to get the hearts started on those dummies?” Noah asked.
“We’re more worried about the things little kids usually do. Like sticking things in their mouths,” she replied. “But I will do a demo and let you try so when you take a full first aid course down the road, you’ll be ahead of the game.”
“Nice.”
As the kids dashed off—bathroom breaks, lunch bags consumed, or just to burn off energy in the open gym—Sydney took the opportunity to slip into the washroom herself.
She hadn’t lied about liking kids. If they could just pop into existence at ten years old, she could handle having a horde of them.
We’ll figure it out together when the time is right.
The memory of Declan’s firm commitment actually made her smile for a moment as she checked her watch. They’d been at it for three hours already. She’d give them twenty minutes to burn off steam and then corral them for the next unit.
The quietcrackledidn’t register at first.
The sound came like a whisper—too soft at first to catalogue over the hum of air vents, the slap of sneakers on wood, the laughter.
When she stepped back into the hall, something caught her eye. Smoke. A thin ribbon of it, curling upward from the edge of the stage curtain.
Sydney froze for one heartbeat, then her training kicked in.
“Everyone out!” she yelled, her voice echoing like thunder off the walls. “Fire! Move! Outside now!”
She pointed toward the emergency exit door even as she scanned for the kids and the nearest fire extinguisher.
Noah and Lucas skidded to a halt mid-run, wide-eyed. Grace and Addie jumped at the sharpness in her tone but obeyed without argument. Sydney turned back to spot Hailey as she came tearing out of the bathroom, panic in her eyes.
They all moved toward the emergency exit like wind blowing over tall grass on the prairie.
The alarm triggered by opening the door rang loud and reassuring.
Sydney did a frantic headcount.
“One, two, three, four—where’s Grace? Grace!” Sydney turned back to the hall, even though her gut told her the answer.
“She said something about her phone,” Addie offered. “She left it with her notebook on the stage.”
Dammit. Sydney stood in the open doorway and eyed the rising smoke. Rushing in when she didn’t know which way to go made no sense even though her body screamed at her to get moving to find Grace.
The air smelled of burning plastic and something chemical. As her gaze reached the stage, her stomach dropped. The curtains were ablaze, flames licking up the fabric like hungry tongues. At the base the duffel bags were just visible, burning bright. The mannequins were melting, a pile of what looked like rags draped over them.
She couldn’t see Grace.
“Doctor Sydney!” A shout rose behind her.
She turned for half a second to see Declan’s truck skid into the parking lot. Jinx slipped from the passenger door as Declan jumped down, eyes scanning the scene as he took in the smoke, the children, the fire.
