The heat from the barn was immense and he felt the difference in temperature the farther away he got. At the house, he spotted Melissa being tended to by his mother and he hurried to her. She saw him and horror filled her face, probably at the soot and hay that covered him.
“Miles!” She pushed away the blanket his mother offered her and ran to him, slamming into his sore shoulder. He ignored the pain that shot through his injured arm and pulled his good one around her, thankful she was safe, thankful they both were safe.
A loud crack from behind him caused him to turn to see the barn, now fully engulfed in flames, as it crumbled under the weight and imploded on itself. Paul and the others did their best to fight the blaze—not to save the structure, but to keep the fire from spreading. Miles figured it would be a losing battle to salvage any part of the barn given the gasoline he’d smelled, but their priority had to be to contain it. The barn would be a total loss, but at least he saw that what looked like all of the horses had been rescued.
His father approached him and hugged both him and Melissa tightly. “Are you both okay?”
He nodded and so did she.
“How did this happen? Did you see anything?”
He shook his head, realizing that while he had been distracted kissing Melissa, someone had been watching them and setting a fire that nearly cost her and his family dearly. They’d lost so much with the barn, but at least that could be rebuilt. What concerned him most was what the fire meant. Someone on the ranch had set that fire intentionally.
Someone close by had just tried to kill them.
SIX
Battling the blaze turned out to be an all-night affair. After she and Miles were both checked out by EMTs and given oxygen, Miles joined his brothers and the local volunteer fire department to contain the fire as best he could with his wrenched shoulder. It wasn’t broken but she could see it still hurt him. She wanted to help but all she could do was watch as the flames consumed the barn until the fire was finally extinguished for good.
She and the rest of the family did their best to keep the men fighting the blaze well provisioned with fresh water to drink or coffee and snacks. She overheard Paul telling Miles that he agreed with his assessment of the fire as a deliberate act of arson. He’d found the gas can and the charred remains of the ladder, and determined that was where the fire had started. The loft had been the target and the fire had been intentionally set.
Melissa shuddered as she listened to that conversation. She noticed the way Miles’s shoulders tensed and his jaw hammered. This had been another attempt on her life and this one had come close to succeeding. Too close.
Miles rubbed his face and gave a loud sigh before turning back to his brother. She could see his mind working, trying to figure out all the angles. He was probably plotting out their departure from the ranch, figuring out where they could go from here. She didn’t want to go. Despite this attempt, she felt safer here than anywhere they’d been since she’d left the home she’d shared with her mother.
Maybe she just felt safer with Miles than with any other marshal.
She had to confess she’d gotten closer to him than she’d planned on. She knew there was no future for them. But as she recalled that kiss they’d shared in the loft and how right it had felt being in his arms, she knew that she didn’t want to be anywhere else. If she was the only one involved, maybe she’d try to see what they could work out between them. But she had her son to think about, too. She couldn’t risk both of their hearts and happiness on a feeling, no matter how strong it was growing.
“We have to look at who was here on the ranch at the time of the fire,” Miles stated and Paul gave him a knowing look.
“You’re thinking about the ranch hands, aren’t you? They’re just kids, Miles. What reason would any one of them have for wanting to hurt you or Melissa?”
“I don’t know.” He glanced her way and she saw the same question in his expression. It did seem unlikely that high schoolers from Courtland County, Texas, had any connection to Maxwell Shearer. Did that mean someone else had sneaked onto the ranch? That one of Shearer’s men had found her? She gulped hard at that possibility. None of the options were good.
Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. She needed to get away from all this talk about killers and arsonists and trying to figure out who was coming after her. All she wanted was normalcy for herself and for Dylan. Thankfully, he was sleeping in Kellyanne’s room, blissfully unaware of the turmoil of their current situation.
She folded her arms and headed for the house. She didn’t look at him but she felt Miles’s eyes on her as she walked inside. She had to do something, anything, to get her mind off the topic they were discussing. He was the expert. Let him figure it out. She needed a breather from it, from all the running and hiding and attacks. She just simply couldn’t take it anymore.
The empty kitchen stared at her. She pulled the mop from the cabinet and began mopping the floor. Just something to keep her hands and mind occupied.
Kellyanne entered and watched her, before walking over to her and putting her arms around her. She tried to push her away, but Kellyanne refused and clung tighter. Melissa didn’t want this. She didn’t want to fall apart in front of this family that had been too good to her. She didn’t want to be weak. She had to remain strong for Dylan’s sake, but she couldn’t, she just couldn’t handle it any longer.
She dropped the mop as the tears flowed through her and she cried on Kellyanne’s shoulder.
After her tears were gone, she sat down at the table and put her hands over her face. Kellyanne remained close by, pouring them each a cup of coffee from the pot that she’d made fresh and also shared with the men still working outside.
Melissa sipped from her mug but she wasn’t really able to taste it. She was drained, exhausted from all the hustle and fuss. She wanted to crawl into bed and never wake up until this thing was taken care of.
Kellyanne reached over and took her hand. “My brother will make certain nothing happens to you,” she told Melissa. “You and Dylan, you make him happy. I’ve never seen him so happy since he’s been here with the two of you.”
Her words only brought more tears, because she knew Kellyanne’s reassurance was only the result of a lie, a secret that they’d just been too good at keeping and an act they’d been too good at pretending was real. She longed to tell Kellyanne the truth. That Miles’s apparent devotion to her was nothing more than his devotion to his job and that her dependency on him was a necessity for the safety of her and her child. Maybe there was an attraction between them, but that was all it was and all it could ever be.
She didn’t know how Miles could keep such secrets from the people who loved him. When this was all over, when she was gone, he would have to answer uncomfortable questions. She had no doubt he would cover up her disappearance with more secrets and untruths. And it broke her heart to think this family would never know just how much their care and support had meant to her and Dylan, and how much she’d grown to love this ranch.
Melissa set down her coffee mug and gripped Kellyanne’s hand. “If something happens to me—”
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Kellyanne said, cutting her off. “Miles will protect you and my brothers will find the person who is doing this.”
She shook her head. “If something does happen, if I have to leave here, I want you to do me a favor and tell your parents and everyone else how thankful I am for all of you, for allowing us to come here and for treating my son and me like family.”
Kellyanne squeezed her hand. “You are family.”
“I’m not really.”
“You are now. It doesn’t matter how long you and Miles have known one another. You’re married now, which makes you a part of this family.”
“But if we weren’t married...”
Kellyanne withdrew her hand and gave her a worried look. “Som
ething is wrong, isn’t it? Is there trouble in the marriage already?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Melissa, this person who is after you...is it an old boyfriend? Are you considering going back to him? That would devastate Miles.”
“No, Kellyanne. I promise it’s not that. It’s just—it’s just...” She stood up, realizing she couldn’t say anything more. “I should go check on Dylan and make sure all this commotion hasn’t woken him up. I don’t want him to be frightened.” She hurried from the room and up the stairs, opening and closing the bedroom door behind her. The fact that she was running from Kellyanne to hide in her bedroom wasn’t lost on Melissa.
Dylan was still asleep on the bed. Nothing woke that kid when he was sleeping, and she was thankful again for such a sound sleeper. It was a small thing, but it did make all of this easier. She sat with him, trying to come to some kind of resolution in her mind. She knew getting too close to Miles was a mistake, but she couldn’t seem to resist.
She glanced out the window and up into the beautiful sky as morning dawned and found herself praying that God would sort all of this out for her. Was He listening? She didn’t feel His hand in all of this, guiding them through it, but He’d sent Miles to her and Dylan, hadn’t He? And what would they have done without him? She was certain their outlooks would have been much grimmer with another marshal.
A knock on the door drew her attention away from her prayers. The door opened and Miles poked his head inside. He was covered in dirt and soot, but he’d never looked more handsome to her. “Are you ready to head back to the cabin?”
She nodded and he walked to the bed and picked up Dylan, shuffling him to his uninjured shoulder, then carried him downstairs to the car and buckled him into his car seat. Once they were on the way, he glanced at her. “My sister is worried you’re thinking about leaving me for whoever this guy is that’s after you.”
She wasn’t surprised by Kellyanne’s overreaction to their conversation, but she was surprised Kellyanne had brought it up to him after the night they’d had. “What else is your family supposed to do but presume the worst when we’re constantly keeping secrets from them?” It came out much harsher than she’d intended, but she was tired and frustrated and ready to be free of all the lies.
He sighed and turned his eyes back to the road. “People who know you and trust you shouldn’t automatically presume the worst about you.”
“I guess that’s the problem then, isn’t it? They don’t know me. And they never will. No one will ever know me, the real me, again, will they? I’ll spend my life looking over my shoulder and waiting for the next shoe to drop, never letting anyone close while constantly lying to everyone I’ll ever meet.”
She hated the way she sounded, so cynical and so unforgiving, but she was feeling sorry for herself. She wanted more out of life than to constantly be living a lie. She wanted to love and trust someone again, but she doubted that would ever happen. The feelings Miles had stirred up in her for love and romance would never lead to anything, with him or with anyone else, because she would always have secrets and no relationship could ever survive based on such lies.
He carried Dylan into the bedroom and placed him on the bed. Melissa pulled off his shoes then covered him up. She stroked his hair as the tears threatened to flow again. This was not the life she wanted for her son and she still didn’t know what—or if—she would tell him about this when he was older.
Why, Mama. Why didn’t you ever tell me?
She walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. Miles had cleaned up while she was in with Dylan feeling sorry for herself. He handed her a cup of hot tea and she took it from him and sipped it.
He sat beside her and stroked her hair. “Are you okay?” he asked, and she wasn’t sure how to answer.
“I don’t know. I’m tired of all of this.” She stood and walked to the fireplace. “I don’t know how you can live this way—lying all the time, constantly facing danger.”
He sidled up behind her and put his arms around her. Despite her misgivings, she didn’t protest. She wanted to be in his arms, wanted him to reassure her that everything was going to be okay even if she knew in her heart that it wasn’t.
“We will find the mole and we’ll stop Shearer. I promise I won’t leave you until I know for certain you and Dylan are safe.” He’d meant that to be reassuring, she thought to herself, but it only served to remind her that he would be leaving her. She and Dylan would have a new identity and they would have to hide out for the rest of their lives. Miles wouldn’t be joining them. She’d never see him again. She moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.
She only knew one thing for certain.
She didn’t want to go.
* * *
After cleaning up and getting a few hours of much-needed sleep, Miles joined Paul and Josh by the new bunkhouse. He hated having to do this, and Josh especially didn’t like it, but they needed to speak with Luke and the other hands about the fire. He wasn’t trying to be accusatory, especially since his brother had told him about other arsons in the area, but he had to make certain none of these kids had been involved and, if they had, he’d need to know if they were working for Shearer or his men.
Josh quickly made introductions. In addition to Luke, whom he’d already met, three other boys lived in the bunkhouse and did chores around the Silver Star—Gavin Myers, Roy Thompson, and Cory Mayfair. Miles had seen them all last night helping to extinguish the fire, but there hadn’t been time for introductions then.
Each of them looked hesitant and worried as Paul got right to the point of their visit.
“We believe the fire was intentionally set.”
Miles watched their expressions when Paul dropped that bit of news. They all seemed to react appropriately, with shock and surprise and concern.
“By who?” Cory asked.
“We don’t know, so we’re questioning everyone we know was on the ranch at the time when the fire began.”
Roy, who was sitting on the top mattress of a set of bunk beds, addressed his fellow bunkmates. “They think one of us is responsible for the fire.”
“That’s not true—why would they think that?” Luke jumped to his feet in what felt like an effort to defend Miles and Josh and Paul, but Roy quickly leaped off the top bunk and faced him down.
“Because they believe we’re criminals, that’s why.”
“That’s not true. I don’t want to believe any one of you are responsible for this,” Josh stated. “But we have to ask the questions. Now, where were each of you at the time of the fire?”
Gavin finally spoke up. “We were here, Sheriff. All four of us were here together when we heard the shouting about the fire. That’s when we ran out to help.”
Miles glanced at each one of them and they all nodded, except Roy, who continued to sulk. “Is that true?” Miles demanded of Roy.
He glanced at Miles, and at first Miles thought the younger man was going to give him another smart-aleck remark. But he didn’t. He sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s right. We were all here.”
“I’ll want to speak to you all individually,” Josh stated. “I’ll take your statements down at the sheriff’s office.” They walked out of the bunkhouse and Josh stopped to look at Miles as the boys climbed into his truck and Paul headed into the house.
“Do you believe them?” Miles asked him.
“I have no reason not to. Gavin especially isn’t known to lie and I can’t believe he would lie to protect someone else. But I’ll question them all in depth and if their stories don’t match up, we’ll know.”
He’d believed the boys, too. Their answers had sounded honest, and their shock when they’d learned the fire had been deliberately set had seemed sincere. He recognized himself in Roy Thompson, because of his in
tensity and anger. The boy struck Miles as a hothead, but he had no reason to want to harm Miles or Melissa, or the Avery family in general, by burning down the barn. Not that Miles knew of, at least.
But if none of the ranch hands were responsible for the fire, and no one in his family was, either, they were back to the drawing board when it came to identifying the culprit.
Josh stopped before he climbed into his truck and turned back to Miles. “This isn’t the first case of arson we’ve had in the county recently.”
Miles nodded. “Paul mentioned that to me. Have you had any leads on those?”
Josh shook his head. “No. So far, we don’t have any leads. I’m just happy everyone got out safely.”
Miles watched him leave, then turned and looked at the remnants of the barn. It was a total wreck and would need to be rebuilt. Paul had mentioned an arsonist in the area, so that made sense as a reason that had nothing to do with the Shearer case, but it struck him as odd that it had just so happened the fire was set while Melissa was inside the barn.
Someone had tried to kill them, again, and Miles still had no idea who or if their location had been compromised.
* * *
The weather turned sunny and mild that afternoon so the men decided to clean up the barn area as best they could, and Miles jumped in to help. Melissa gathered Dylan and a few toys the Averys had found for him to play with and joined everyone outside. Dylan took off running, his little body bursting with energy. She was glad the weather was mild so he could be outside and run off some of that restlessness.
Diane and Kellyanne gathered some boxes and started making up treat bags for the Christmas banquet and Melissa quickly offered her help. She desperately needed the distraction. Miles had assured her that they had found no evidence that Shearer or his men had located them. Other barns in the area had also been set on fire, and Josh suspected a local arsonist was also responsible for last night’s incident. But none of that calmed the restless anxiousness that filled her. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before the next attack—one that definitely would be aimed at her.
Texas Holiday Hideout Page 8
