Page 74 of Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas
“It’s okay,” she crooned, her voice cracking from fear and the smoke as she walked toward the last terrified horse. Adrenaline made her shake as she struggled to hold back a cough. Her words were buried in the crackle and thunder of the flames, and she forced her aching throat to speak louder. “Just follow them outside. You’ll be okay then. Simply go through that door like the others did.” She moved toward his side as he snorted in terror, and she saw his entire body was trembling. “You’re okay.” She reached up to loop the rope around his neck.
As the braided cotton brushed against his wet coat, he exploded into action, charging forward toward the open door. She froze, unable to move. Instead, she watched as the horse ran right at her, his wide, frightened eyes and flared nostrils filling her vision as he thundered past. His powerful shoulder knocked into her, sending her flying back into the wall. She felt weightless for a long moment before she collided headfirst, white stars dotting her vision over the growing wall of flames.
The impact stunned her, and she lay sprawled on the ground, watching with blurry eyes as that final horse galloped through the opening and into the night.
Get up, that commanding voice in her head ordered. She tried to move, but pain overwhelmed her, making her head spin so badly that she didn’t know which direction was up. The roar of the fire filled her ears, but the urgency that had driven her seemed remote now.
She made another attempt to rise and pushed up to her hands and knees, but the pain in her head and the dizziness were too much. The world turned black as she collapsed to the ground.
Seconds or minutes later, consciousness returned, and she felt the heat of the fire and heard the roar as it ate its way through the barn. She managed to peel her eyes partway open, but her limbs wouldn’t obey her commands. She was back in her nightmare again, surrounded by flames and smoke but unable to move, to escape.
A figure moved through the fire toward her, and she watched, fear jolting through her limbs as she recognized the bunker gear, the face shield and mask. He was here. Oh God, he wasreal. Her fingers twitched as she tried to force her unresponsive body to move, to push to her feet and run…but it was too late.
The faceless man was bending over her, flames throwing grotesque shadows behind him. He reached for her, sliding his arms beneath her back and legs.
All she could do was scream silently in her mind.
Chapter 19
Steve yawned as he drove on the empty county road toward home. Glancing at the clock in the dash, he smiled. It was Christmas. The stars looked close enough to pluck out of the sky, and the snow lay in a thick, white blanket on the surrounding fields.
He couldn’t wait to get home, to shower off the smell of smoke from the last call and crawl into bed with Camille. In the morning, the kids would open presents and pretend that they weren’t as excited as when they were five. His life had seemed off-balance for so long, with the problems in their former towns and the moves and the years of sleeping next to that empty pillow. Then he’d run into Camille again, and everything had seemed to right itself after that.
He tilted his head to the side, stretching his neck. The previous call had been frustrating. Even though he’d just been mopping up a garbage fire in the alley behind the gas station, it’d still been a bear. Just when they thought they’d put it out completely, they’d find another hot spot. Having to pick through garbage looking for embers was not his idea of a fun Christmas Eve activity. He’d much rather have been with Camille and the kids in their warm house, the lights from the tree decorating the room as they talked and told stories and hung stockings.
At least he’d have tomorrow with them. He couldn’t wait to see Camille’s reaction to her gift. His smile of anticipation faded as he spotted a red glow in the distance.Fire.His gut clenched as soon as he recognized it, adrenaline rushing through him, making his hands grip the wheel tightly. It had to be very close to the ranch, and all he could picture were Camille and his kids, asleep in their beds. Grabbing his phone, he started to call dispatch when the cell rang in his hand.
It was the house number. His muscles tight with tension, he answered. “What’s wrong?”
“Daddy,” Maya sobbed, and his heart squeezed with dread. “The barn’s on fire!”
As soon as he’d seen the call come in, he’d known that the fire he’d spotted had to be on their property, but her words still hit him like a closed fist. “I’m five minutes away, honey. Have you called dispatch?”
“Will did.”
“Good. Are the horses out?”
“Camille…” She sucked in a quavering breath as her voice broke. “Camille’s getting them out.”
His mind blanked with terror. Camille was inside the burning barn, trying to lead panicked horses to safety? He wasn’t sure what else he said to Maya, how he ended the call. All his focus was on getting home and saving Camille. His foot pressed down on the gas, and the truck flew, juddering around tight turns and fishtailing as he hit the driveway.
Passing the house, he drove right up to the barn, his eyes locked on the horror in front of him. The structure was fully engaged, flames licking the red walls all the way up to the shake roof. The wind blew flaming debris off the roof and sent it dancing toward the trees. In the rows of cultivated evergreens, light flickered, and he knew that the fire had spread. Shoving the pickup door open, he jumped out, charging toward the front of the barn.
“Dad!” Will was suddenly in front of him, blocking the way.
“I need to get her out!” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar of the fire. “Camille’s in there!”
“Dad, you can’t! Not that way!” Will’s eyes were huge in his pale face, and he suddenly looked much younger than he was. “The door’s locked.”
“Locked?” That didn’t make sense. There wasn’t a lock on the outside of the sliding door.
“Padlocked. There’s one on the other door, too.”
Padlocked.The realization that someone had locked Camille inside a burning barn sent cold rage tearing through him.
“Will, the fire’s spreading. Bring the others to the main road. Keep them safe.”
Will gave him a tight-lipped nod. Steve stalked back to the toolbox built into the bed of his truck. He pulled out his heavy-duty bolt cutters and strode to the barn door. Someone was yelling something, but Steve couldn’t make out the words, his head buzzing with the anger that had temporarily masked his terror.
