River on Fire (River's End #5)

by Leanne Davis

  “Oh, no, even the cabins...” Allison pointed upriver. The upper half of resort cabins had burned, as they were closest to the swath of burnt sagebrush, and not the green fields of alfalfa. The fire followed the river, burrowing below the cabins and ruining all the lovely stairs and walkways. “So much was lost…”

  “So much was spared…”

  Hailey turned towards Kate’s quiet statement. Kate bravely squared her shoulders, still gripping her sobbing stepdaughter. She met Hailey’s eyes, Allison’s, Erin’s and finally, Kailynn’s. “All of our lives were spared. Our homes can be rebuilt. We know AJ, Jack, Ian, and Shane are safe and accounted for.”

  Joey wasn’t mentioned. No one had heard from him in hours.

  “Look.”

  They all got out of the van and looked towards where Erin was pointing. Up on the road towards where Shane and Allison’s house once stood, were four male figures. They were just standing there against the backdrop of gloom and doom.

  Erin cried out. “It’s Jack, Ian, Shane… and thank God. Joey.”

  Hailey’s heart nearly stopped and started. She hadn’t realized how consuming her stark fear for his safety had become. But there they were, up on the road, surveying their land and all of the destruction, the Rydell brothers.

  Tears flowed in everyone’s eyes again as they stared up at them with long sighs of relief. Hailey fell to her knees and then on her hands as she rocked herself, her shuddering tears blinding her as she embraced her joy. The loss, all the losses, mainly other people’s but also her own. Life was so unfair and hard and random and chaotic. She’d never seen so much devastation as she did today. Cami caught her attention. She was crying hysterically after losing the only memories she had of her dead mother. Charlie was staring around, looking disoriented and confused. His lips trembled and his hollow, empty eyes regarded all the male figures that he’d looked up to all of his life. The ones who were supposed to protect him, and keep him safe… and stop his home from burning to the ground.

  Hailey stayed on all fours as she released her wracking sobs. She was crying for Brent, Brianna, and Jacob and the home she lost.

  It all seemed to converge into one huge expulsion that she had no idea was coming. The homes… the lives that were ruined… the pointlessness of it all… the horror… and finally, the relief she felt in knowing that Joey Rydell was still alive.

  A pair of hands landed on her shoulders, pulling her up. Strong, capable, grown up hands. She turned and found Joey, who held her as she pushed her upper body against his chest. She let her tears fall as he held her tightly, his lips brushing over her hair. He was talking to her gently, in soft whispers. She lifted her face and observed the area around her. Everywhere she saw couples embracing, crying, and clutching each other. The sheer mass of them made her react even harder. There was so much pain and so much loss. How could anyone not be crying in the face of such a disaster? Overwhelmed. Grief-stricken. And numb.

  She reached up, her hands touching Joey’s soot-blackened face, leaving streaks of smudge on her hands and a finger swirl on his skin. “I was so afraid when no one heard from you. No one knew where you were exactly. We had no way to check on you.”

  He leaned his face to the side, into the cradle of her hands. “I know. I tried to get word to you guys, but once you left Pattinson, I couldn’t find anyone who knew where you guys were.”

  “Are you okay?” she whispered with audible shock and concern.

  “Yes. I survived. Just tired, and in dire need of sleep.”

  Suddenly, fresh sobs made her shudder as she looked out again at the smoking ruins of the structures that once stood. “What about the horses? What happened to the animals?”

  “They herded them into the orchard. They had to cut open one end of the fencing when this last push of fire came through. It happened so fast… I heard there was wildlife, mainly deer, that were running together in pairs down the road. When AJ cut the fencing to let them in the green orchards, he said they came right past him. So close, he could have reached out and touched their hides. He even petted them, almost.”

  “None of the animals were lost?” Lifting her face off his, Hailey’s voice rang with excitement.

  “No. We were luckier than some with all of our livestock.”

  Hailey exhaled a deep breath of relief. “Were you guys up there assessing the damage?”

  Joey nodded slowly, his gaze fastening onto hers. He was almost begging for her sympathy and understanding. Her heart was brimming full of it. “Outbuildings. The house. Shane’s, AJ’s, and the list goes on.”

  “I’m so sorry, Joey. I know that doesn’t help anything but I am.” Her voice shook and his hands clutched her closer to him as the emotional apology touched him. He nodded. “Actually, it helps having you here. I’m not alone. Usually, I’m alone… and up there…”

  She touched his cheek. “Up there? What?”

  “Up there, Jack said some things, things I’ve never heard him say. He talked about giving up. Said he’d had enough. Couldn’t work this place anymore. Said it was cursed and it ruined our family’s livelihood. The thing is… none of us argued with him and then we saw you guys and came directly here. So…”

  “Hey, Joey!”

  They both whipped around at hearing the shout. It was Sully, the man who had driven Joey there. He released Hailey, and an expression of regret appeared on his face. “I need to see what’s going on,” Joey said.

  He turned and approached Sully and Hailey watched him. Something seemed so changed in his facial expression. Despite all the soot and only the whites of his eyes visible, the tension around his mouth and eyes was nearly tangible. His eyes lifted to Jack and Erin, who were currently embracing, and talking quietly to each other. Jack had already embraced Charlie for several long moments and spoken to him, one on one, about the situation. Charlie was hanging his head, and Hailey wondered what Jack filled the poor child’s head with.

  But Hailey couldn’t ignore the niggling sensation that Joey didn’t look right. More. There had to be something more. More than just this fire and the destruction that loomed before them. Her stomach tightened to painful contractions and her knees almost buckled. She inched closer to Joey, feeling confident that something very big and very sad must have been relayed to Sully by one of the northern command centers with a CB radio. It had to be legitimate information.

  She touched Joey’s arm from behind. He groped around until he found her hand and clutched it tightly, without ever turning or halting his conversation. She heard him finally say, “Okay, I’ll tell him. Thanks, Sully.”

  He turned, and his eyes were glistening with tears. Shaking his head, he dropped her hand and went looking for Jack. The odd, tense way he walked alarmed Hailey. He was like a magnet around the other family members, who also seemed drawn to him. Ian straightened up, and Shane frowned as he took Allison’s hand and stepped closer to where Joey saw Jack and Erin.

  What?

  The exclamation needed to be answered. She wanted to scream out to the world, What happened? What more was lost? What could it be?

  Jack’s body instantly stiffened. He pushed Erin to the side as he turned towards his brother. “Is it Ben?”

  Hailey had nearly forgotten that they never located Jack’s older son. But Joey shook his head no. “Ben’s been accounted for.”

  There was a collective release of held breaths and muttered exclamations of prayers.

  Joey shook his head, his eyes glimmering with something more. Something sad. He took in a deep breath and said softly as if to ease the blow, “The thing is… they found a truck. It had… casualties.”

  “How many? All of them?” Jack asked softly.

  Joey shuddered, shutting his eyes and whispering, “Two of them didn’t get out in time. I’m afraid that one of them was… Marcy.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  AN AUDIBLE GASP WAS repeated throughout the already grieving group. Joey stepped forward and placed his hand on Jack’s arm. Shriek
s and cries from Allison and Kailynn filled the air as Kate’s face turned stony pale. AJ jogged up from one of the fields after spotting them. Cami fell against her father in convulsing sobs, screaming, “NO! Daddy, no.”

  The brothers all looked around at each other, their eyes still red and wet but there were no words, only silence.

  Jack gasped, “Ben? Does he know?”

  “Yes. I think he knows.”

  Jack pushed Joey off him and turned towards Erin. He was completely unseeing. He made no eye contact with anyone else. “Stay with Charlie. I have to go find my son…”

  Erin nodded, fresh tears filling her already red, swollen eyes. She gripped Charlie’s arm in her hand as they all watched Jack turn away and stomp across the driveway. As he got into his truck and roared out of the driveway, the entire valley continued smoldering and smoking. It was a scene befitting the horror and tragedy of indeterminable amounts for all of them.

  Joey turned and grabbed Hailey, hugging her in a needy, fierce embrace, tucking his head where her neck and shoulder joined. His breathing was ragged as his hands clutched and twisted the shirt on her back. His lungs rattled like someone suffering from tuberculosis. His throat was raw and hoarse from inhaling smoke and shedding tears.

  What now? Hailey wondered as she glanced around at all of the fire victims surrounding her. What would they do now? She was trying to be rational and thinking literally of this particular moment. What should they do while the entire ranch continued to smoke and smolder? The scorched remains of the buildings were such ugly reminders of the catastrophe.

  Joey pulled back from Hailey and said, “I gave Shane my house. It didn’t burn and I don’t need it like they do. He’s got a little kid. AJ and Kate plan to stay with Jack and Erin, that is, they were right up until this happened. Marcy…” His entire body shuddered. “Was found dead. I’m going to stay in Erin’s trailer. I need to…” He shrugged, and the listlessness he felt manifested in his sagging shoulders. Shower. Eat. Sleep. Grieve. But Hailey understood; nothing mattered so much anymore. Everything normal seemed so mundane and insipid. It seemed almost sacrilegious for them to return to their previous comforts, especially considering the staggering extent of misfortune that most were suffering from.

  “You should at least get some water. Clean up. Take a break. You’ve been going without a rest for days. It’s okay to admit you’re human, like everyone else. Take a break now, Joey.” He nodded at her words, although his expression was tight and unforgiving.

  “Okay, I’ll take a break.” Letting her go, he consulted briefly with Ian. “I’m going home to change clothes, I’ll be back up in an hour or so. Then we can…”

  What? Clean up? Find Jack?

  Ian nodded. “Take as much time you need. Everything that’s left will still be here. It’s going to be a long haul, Jo.” Ian’s ominous, yet true words were such an understatement.

  Joey and Hailey went to his house where he collected some clean clothes before retreating to a trailer with a small deck leading up to it. Hailey learned that was where Erin used to live, when she first arrived at the ranch. Hailey was quiet as she followed him. Shutting the door to the trailer, they had to turn on a light because of the odd haze caused by the looming smoke. The drapes were closed inside and a layer of dust became airborne when they opened them, as it had been previously unoccupied. It was clean but quite old, Hailey noticed at first glance. Joey set his stuff down on the table and an eerie quiet filled the air. There was so much to say and so many feelings to explore, yet, their shared inability to start a conversation seemed to be choking both of them. It was too much to sort out, much less, fully grasp. He leaned forward, using his knuckles to hold his weight up as he pressed on the table. Hanging his head, he simply stood there as if he were transfixed by the tabletop.

  Hailey pressed a hand to her chest as she tried to banish the image of what must have happened to Ben’s wife, Marcy, the pretty blond who worked the front counter. Now… Hailey couldn’t even formulate the thought or its associated images. Burned alive. And now dead. Her charred remains were discovered inside a burnt out truck. How could that have happened?

  “How did she get so tragically caught in the fire? Everyone had evacuated, I thought…”

  Joey’s back flexed as he inhaled a deep breath. “They left whatever party they were at and drove the opposite direction that everyone else took. The fire appeared out of nowhere. It turned and then switched again, like some kind of freak tornado around them, and all of the flames just trapped them…” His voice trailed off.

  “Marcy was really…?”

  Joey nodded, still staring down. He whispered and his voice twisted with the gruesome reality. “Yes. She was. Probably died of smoke inhalation before the flames got to her. I don’t know… how Ben will live with this? Or Jack? He was already saying things about this place ruining us, and cursing us… What if he’s right? His wife, our parents, and Ben’s wife. Buildings burning to the ground that have never been touched by another fire in more than a hundred years because of the green fields we planted around everything. Our luck is so terrible, it does seem this place is cursed.”

  Hailey had no words. No pretty platitudes, not that Joey was ready to hear any. She let him talk, and her soft silence was, she hoped, supportive. Squeezing her eyelids shut against the barrage of tears, she tried to keep the ghastly images at bay. Joey sucked in a deep breath and straightened up. “I need to shower.”

  He didn’t turn towards her. The magnitude of his grief was almost too overwhelming. There were no words of consolation. All they could do was reach out and touch each other.

  She reached her hand out, but only grasped the air. She didn’t step forward, feeling so incapacitated by all the shock and grief, she didn’t know how to react. But Joey still wore the fire on his skin. The cruel fire that mercilessly destroyed his home, his history, his family, and even took with it a family member. How could she not reach out to him?

  Coming up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his back, tightening her body behind his. He jerked in surprise, then both of his hands engaged hers, which were wrapped around his middle. His clothing reeked and almost suffocated her with the rancid fumes of smoke. It singed her nose, passing through her nose hairs and plunging deep into her sinuses. It made her throat instantly dry and her eyes felt gritty, more than they already were from inhaling the smoke and crying endless tears. The useless tears she shed that helped no one. And changed nothing. They brought nothing back. But what else could she do?

  Her mouth touched his and her tears flowed again as a near groan escaped her. He hesitated at the sounds of her grief and his eyes sought hers in an almost desperate need for connection. And support. And love. And life.

  Wrapping his hands around each of her biceps in a gentle but firm hold, he brought her forward in a jerky, unexpected move. His open, wet mouth crushed hers. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and their kiss felt as deep as the hole in their hearts. In a matter of seconds, the powerful emotions that were flowing through both of them became confusing and overwhelming, to the point of causing anxiety. All of their former emotions changed from grief and mourning to a conflagration of heat so all-consuming, it felt like they had just entered the center of the wildfire. He turned, lifting her and setting her down on the small table. His head leaned closer towards her mouth. Her legs split open and he stepped between them, moving closer into a snug, tight, almost painful position against her now pulsating center. Wet and swollen with need, she allowed his hands to rip her shirt off, and push her bra out of the way, not even bothering to unhook it. His hands were rough and harsh as they grabbed her nipples and pulled, twisted, and tugged on them. She cried out at the intense feelings that were happening so fast and acutely. A bolt of passion stemmed from his touch on her breasts and ran clear into her center and her core.

  Suddenly tearing his mouth from hers, he moved to her neck, sucking, licking, and nearly biting her as he slid dow
nwards and placed his hands on her waist, working the waistband of the jean shorts she wore to take them off. She moaned, tilting towards him, letting her head fall back as her hands gripped his head, and entangling her fingers through his smooth hair. She pressed harder against him and he took her pebbled nipple in his mouth. It wasn’t enough. Harder. Sharper. Feeling overwhelmed, she only wanted more. All of it. Those feelings. His touch. His lips. His tongue. His teeth. His hands. His body.

  Sucking and licking, his teeth gently held her nipple between them while his tongue twirled and whirled. She moaned and pushed him against her chest while his hands worked harder to get her shorts off. He had to temporarily release her and her butt scooched and twisted before he could get the clothing off her. His hand slipped right down into her panties, probing his fingertips inside her hot, wet folds. She cried out at his touch and her entire body jolted before a long scream came out of her mouth. His hand was inside her, pushing hard and deep as his mouth returned to her breast.

  She groped around, finding his belt, and with shaking hands, undid it. Her clumsy slowness frustrated her. She had no patience for what she wanted. She felt the belt finally release and grasped for the snap of his dirty, soot-and ash-covered pants, which she also undid. Peeling them off him, she finally managed to pull him free of them with her hand. She nearly shouted her triumph. Pulling him forward, she deftly placed the tip of him to where it barely touched her opening. She had to move her underwear, which she was still wearing, out of the way. Joey grabbed her under her armpits with a tender gentleness that showed his concern for her, but she hastily slid him all the way inside her. They both moaned as their mouths found each other again. Tongues and lips echoed his strokes as he shoved into her wetness as frantically as their mouths moved. It was fast and furious and rough. She clutched him tightly, begging, “Harder, Joey. More. Oh, God, do it some more.”

  Her mind was reeling with pleasure. She wasn’t aware of her limbs, her words or what she was doing. Colors splashed and swirled behind her eyes as her body clenched around him tighter and harder. She had to wrap her arms around his neck just to stay upright as his body slammed into hers impatiently, seeking redemption over and over again as they both lost themselves in the hammering, mind-numbing, pleasure-seeking, and nearly dizzying power of his body penetrating hers. The speed and pressure were heightened by the slickness that soothed what would otherwise have been a body-splitting jackhammer. She came with such a rush of surprise, she screamed out loud and held on to Joey as his body finally heaved his last stroke into hers. He crushed her to his chest while his other hand pushed on her butt, positioning her body to receive all of his cum.