by Jane Graves
Shannon tossed her phone aside and gripped the steering wheel. An overwhelming anxiety began to build up inside her, waking up every fear she had that something terrible was going to happen, that she would fail, that the animals she was responsible for wouldn’t make it out alive. Then she heard Luke’s voice inside her head.
The more stressed out you get, the less effective you are. Take it easy, and things will turn out fine.
She took a deep, calming breath and prayed that he was right.
Luke was still an hour and a half outside of Rainbow Valley when he realized something ahead was terribly wrong. At first he thought the billows of gray near the horizon must be clouds, only to realize there was a faint orange glow beneath them.
He clicked off his CD player and turned on the radio. A wildfire had been spotted early that morning north of Hardison County. The deadly combination of dry brush and strong winds had escalated the blaze so quickly that five counties to the southeast had already received evacuation orders. Danforth County was one of them, and Rainbow Valley was dead center in the middle of it.
Luke grabbed his phone, his heart beating wildly. He dialed Shannon’s number. It rang three times, and then he lost the call. He tried again and got nothing. He tried Freddie Jo and the same thing happened. He had no idea if the cell towers were overloaded with people making calls, or whether only emergency calls were being allowed through.
Shannon had to be evacuating the animals. To where, he didn’t know. All he knew was how worried she had to be at that moment. He hit the gas and crept his truck up to eighty. Anything to get back to Rainbow Valley as fast as he could, because he knew she would do whatever was necessary to get those animals out of there or die trying.
He just wanted to make damned sure it didn’t come to that.
On their second trip to the shelter, Shannon and Angela worked their way up to the bigger dogs. They loaded as many of them as they could into Angela’s SUV and the stock trailer. As they headed back to the vineyard, Shannon watched the horizon in her rearview mirror and listened to the radio. The wind was fierce, fanning the flames, and the weatherman said the fire was now moving fifteen miles an hour. Shannon did the math and knew they had to hurry.
On their third trip, they got the rest of the dogs out. When they arrived back at the vineyard, Shannon told Angela to leave her SUV there and ride with her for the last trip to the shelter since the only animals left were the horses, the llamas, and Daisy the donkey. One more trip, and they were done. But as they headed back to the shelter, Shannon could actually see flames on the horizon.
“It’s getting close,” she told Angela. “Once we’re there, we’ll need to hurry. But stay calm. The horses will read your mood, and if you’re too shook up, they might not get into the trailer. Okay?”
Angela nodded.
“And if we have to come back for any reason after that, you’re staying at the vineyard.”
“You know I’m eighteen, right?”
“Yes, and I also know your father would kill me if anything happened to you.”
When they got to the shelter, they grabbed lead ropes from the barn and put the llamas into the trailer. They were going back for the horses when it struck Shannon that one was missing.
“Manny,” she said. “Where’s Manny?”
She scanned the pasture anxiously, all too aware of the dark gray clouds of smoke that were moving closer.
“I don’t see him anywhere,” Angela said. “He must have gone into the trees.”
“I’ll have to go find him. Can you get everybody else loaded up?”
“No problem.”
Shannon raced into the barn, dumped some grain into a bucket, and ran into the pasture in the direction of the trees. She could see flames towering in the distant treetops, chewing up the landscape so fast it wasn’t going to be long before they overtook the shelter.
When she reached the trees, she forced herself to walk quietly down the overgrown path when she really felt like running, but the last thing she wanted to do was chase Manny away. Slinging branches right and left, she made her way down the craggy path, trying to stay calm. She shook the bucket. She called his name in a singsong voice. She tried everything that had always worked before to lure him in, but it wasn’t working now.
If only Luke were here…
Finally she saw Manny on the path ahead. She kept moving toward him, shaking the bucket softly. He stood there and watched her without moving, and she felt a ray of hope that maybe he wouldn’t run. But the smoke was telling him something was wrong, and in his world, when something was wrong, humans were to blame. As she moved closer, his tail switched nervously, the whites of his eyes reflecting his anxiety. Shannon inched closer to him again. Time was running out. If she couldn’t get him now…
She lunged for his halter. He threw his head back at the last second, whirled around, and disappeared down the overgrown path.
Shannon had the most sickening feeling that she’d reached the moment of decision. Manny was too scared to let her touch him. The fire was creeping closer with every second that passed. Angela was with the other horses, waiting to evacuate, soon to be threatened by that fire if she didn’t get them out of there.
She had no choice. She had to leave him.
Shannon backed away one shaky step, then two. Tears filled her eyes, and soon Manny’s dappled coat in the distance became nothing more than a gray blotch. Unable to take it another second, she wheeled around and raced back toward the barn, inhaling wisps of smoke with every breath, tears streaking across her temples. She whipped low-hanging branches aside as she ran, her lungs stinging with the effort. She burst through the trees and ran across the pasture. When she reached the gate, she propped it open with the bucket. Angela had loaded the other animals into the trailer and stood waiting.
“Get in the truck,” Shannon said.
“Where’s Manny?”
“I couldn’t catch him. He was too scared.”
“But we have to get him.”
“We can’t.”
“I’ll try,” she said. “Maybe I can—”
“No! We have to go.”
“But we can’t leave him!”
“I’m leaving the gate open so at least he won’t be trapped in the pasture. Once I get you and the other horses to safety, I’ll go back and try again.”
“But there’s no time! Did you see how close the fire’s getting?”
“Yes. I saw.”
“If we don’t get him now—”
“If I don’t get you back to the vineyard, I’ll have your father all over me, and for good reason. Now, get in the truck!”
Finally Angela circled around and got into the passenger seat. Shannon leaped into the driver’s seat and swung the truck and trailer onto the highway, clasping the wheel so tightly her hands ached. She knew she was driving too fast, so she forced herself to ease off the gas pedal. If she drove into a ditch, nobody was going to make it out alive.
As they approached the cutoff to Rainbow Valley, they passed a state trooper pulling to the shoulder on the other side of the road.
“What’s he doing?” Shannon asked.
Angela looked into her rearview mirror. “I don’t know.” Seconds passed. “Wait a minute. He’s turning his car sideways in the road.”
For a few moments, Shannon didn’t realize the full impact of what that meant, and when she did, a wave of despair washed over her.
“Oh, God,” she said. “He’s closing the road.”
Angela gasped. “He can’t do that! You won’t be able to get back up there!”
“I’ll talk to him when I go back. I’ll get him to let me up there.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“I’ll find a way,” Shannon said, swallowing tears. “I’ll find a way.”
Angela sat back and closed her eyes, her hand at her throat. Neither one of them spoke, because they both knew the truth. Shannon wasn’t getting back up that road. And there was no other way
to get to the shelter except through the burning forest. The helplessness she felt in that moment overwhelmed her, wrapping around her heart and squeezing so hard she could barely breathe.
She thought about Manny, who’d suffered so much already and trusted no one but Luke. She thought about Luke, who had the same walls around his own heart. They’d been kindred spirits who recognized each other, but in the end, they’d shut out everyone else, keeping only to themselves, staying in that prison they’d been forced to live in through no fault of their own.
And now both of them were lost to her forever.
A truck was approaching from the other direction. Clearly the driver didn’t know he wasn’t going to get far. As he drew closer, he suddenly slowed down, hitting his horn as she zoomed past. Shannon hit her brakes, too, and looked in her rearview mirror. And when she realized who the driver was, she couldn’t believe it.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “It’s Luke!”
He made a U-turn and came back. Shannon steered the truck and trailer to the side of the road and he pulled up beside her. She got out of the truck, and the moment she met his eyes, every terrible word they’d spoken to each other disappeared from her mind. They started toward each other, but only a few seconds passed before she was running into his arms.
“You’re here,” she said. “You came back…oh, Luke…”
He pulled away and took her by the shoulders. “Shannon? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Manny,” she said. “He’s the only animal left at the shelter. He didn’t come to the barn with the other horses, so I went after him. But when I found him, he was scared, and he wouldn’t let me grab him. He went deeper into the trees, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I had Angela. I had the other horses. I had to get them out of there. I had to leave Manny behind.” Tears filled her eyes. “Luke, oh God…he’s going to die up there!”
“Did you leave the gate open?”
“Yes, but he was nowhere near it. If the smoke gets too thick, he won’t be able to see which way to go. And if he breathes too much of it—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go back and get him.”
“You can’t,” Angela said.
Luke whipped around. “What?”
“As we were coming back, a state trooper was setting up a roadblock. They’ve closed Highway twenty-eight northbound.”
Luke muttered a curse. Then a look of determination came over his face. “I’m going, anyway. I’ll find a way around the roadblock.”
“No,” Shannon said. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you going up there.”
“But Manny—”
“No!”
“You love those animals, Shannon. None of them are going to die if I have anything to say about it.”
“But I love you more!”
He brushed her hair away and took her face in his hands. “I love you, too, sweetheart. That’s why I won’t take any chances.”
I love you, too.
Those words rang inside Shannon’s head, the words she’d wanted so desperately to hear from him, but now it meant she was even more afraid because he would take chances. He would be even more likely to risk his own life to save Manny because he knew how devastated she’d be if anything happened to him.
“Where have you been taking the animals?” Luke asked.
“To the vineyard,” Shannon said. She turned to Angela. “Can you drive these horses back there? It’s a big trailer.”
“Sure. I’ve been driving trucks and trailers around the vineyard since I was fourteen.”
“Good girl.” Shannon tossed her the keys. “I’m going with Luke.”
“No!” Luke said. “I want both of you out of here!”
“You’re going to need my help,” Shannon said. And I can make sure you don’t risk your life.
“No. You go with Angela.” Luke turned and went back to his truck. Shannon took off after him. He climbed inside, but before he could click the locks shut, she scrambled into the passenger seat.
“Shannon! No!”
“Yes. I’m going with you. It’ll be easier to catch him if there are two of us.”
“Get out of the truck.”
“No! There’s no time to waste!”
“Shannon—”
“Let’s go!”
Luke started the engine, hating like hell for Shannon to be anywhere near that fire. But if he tried to physically remove her from his truck, he’d be in for a battle there was no time to fight.
They drove in silence. In the distance, smoke billowed over trees. Luke only prayed the fire wasn’t as close as it looked. But he didn’t care how dangerous it was. He’d be damned if he was going to sit there and do nothing while Shannon’s worst nightmare came to life.
He steered his truck around a bend, and up ahead he saw the state trooper’s car turned sideways in the road. His hope had been that the shoulder of the road in that spot would be wide enough that he could just drive around it. But closer now, he saw deep drainage ditches on either side of the highway. If he managed to skate around that police car without landing in the ditch, it would be a miracle.
He brought his truck to a halt about ten yards away, the engine still running. As soon as the state trooper saw them, he pointed madly toward the fire and then waved them away.
“He’s telling us to turn around,” Shannon said. “What now?”
“I’ll use my secret weapon,” Luke said.
“Secret weapon?”
He faced her, his voice intense. “Listen to me. I know I’ve told you to play nice with big, authoritative men who aren’t doing what you want them to. But this guy’s a cop. He can’t hurt you like that other guy could. So now’s the time to march right over there, get in his face, and tell him we’re going up that highway no matter what he says and to move his damned car out of the way!”
True to form, Shannon turned to look at the trooper’s car, her eyes narrowing with the determination of a prizefighter heading into the ring.
“You’re just the woman who can do it,” Luke said. “Now, get out there and make him sorry he ever messed with you!”
Shannon yanked open the door of the truck, climbed out, and slammed it behind her. The state trooper started toward her, and she met him halfway. Luke took that opportunity to flick the door locks, fling his truck into drive, and hit the gas.
As he approached the gap between the state trooper’s car and the drainage ditch, it seemed even smaller than it had at a distance. His heart pounding, he squeezed his truck between the two. For a split second, he felt his truck tip precariously, and he was sure he’d swung too wide. The instant he passed the car, he wheeled his truck back to the left, praying his tires were still stuck to the road. When he felt the truck right itself again, he let out a breath of relief.
Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw one very astonished state trooper, but he couldn’t think about that now. Shannon was going to be furious, but he didn’t care about that, either. All he cared about was that she was safe.
A minute later the shelter came into sight. He drove through the front gate and down to the barn. When he didn’t see Manny right away, he leaped out of his truck and grabbed a bandanna. He wet it using the faucet by the stock tank and wrapped it around his nose and mouth. Then he jumped back into his truck. He drove through the gate into the pasture and headed for the heavy stand of trees on the eastern perimeter of the property where Shannon had last seen Manny. When Luke could go no farther, he slammed on his brakes and leaped out.
He considered grabbing a lariat and trying to rope Manny, but his skills were a little rusty, and if he missed once, Manny would never let him near enough to try again. He’d just have to trust that the little horse would let him close enough to get hold of his halter.
But first he had to find him.
Lead rope in hand, he started down the path through the trees, the smell of the fire overwhelming, the smoke growing thicker with every second that passed. He moved quickly, dodging rocks,
slinging tree branches out of his way. The longer he walked, the more dense the brush became.
Finally, through the trees, he caught sight of Manny’s dappled gray coat and felt a surge of hope. As Luke came closer, he took it as a good sign that Manny wasn’t running away.
Luke slowed down so he wouldn’t startle him. He clucked his tongue a few times to get his attention. “Manny! Hey, Manny!”
The horse didn’t turn around, but he didn’t run, either. That was odd. A feeling of apprehension skated across the back of Luke’s neck. He came closer, shoving more branches out of the way, and when he found out why Manny wasn’t moving, his stomach turned over with dread.
Two strands of rusty barbed wire had popped loose from their posts, and they were curled high around Manny’s hind legs. In the position he was in, the more he tried to free himself, the deeper the barbs dug in.
And blood was everywhere.
Chapter 22
Swallowing his apprehension, Luke moved closer to Manny. When he touched him, he thrashed crazily, trying to free himself. Luke knelt down and quickly wrapped his arms around him. “Take it easy,” he said as calmly as he could. “Be still, now. Be still.”
He reached a hand up and scratched the little horse behind his ears. Only seconds passed until he settled down, but it felt like hours to Luke. Holding his halter with one hand, Luke used his other hand to carefully and methodically loosen the stiff barbed wire. But just as he’d start to free one of Manny’s legs, a barb would dig into the other and he would struggle again, causing even more damage.
Damn it! This wasn’t working. If only he had wire cutters. But if he let go of Manny so he could run back to his truck, would he only cut himself worse? The fire was so close now that the wind felt like a blowtorch. Even beneath the canopy of trees, ash swirled in the air, and breathing was a chore. No. He couldn’t go back now. No time.
