I was so thankful to have him home in one piece.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“And after Iowa…” Austin smiled as he watched my face intently. His fingers walked down my stomach. “Kentucky.”
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh, and he lifted an eyebrow.
“Hmm, Kentucky seems a little sensitive. I’m dying to know how Atlanta feels because Kentucky leads further south, and then over to Texas—”
I couldn’t help it and I laughed.
“Ah ha! You couldn’t do it!”
“No, I couldn’t,” I said, still giggling.
He was perched on an elbow lying beside me and he leaned down to kiss me. “Mm, I’d retrace that racing schedule any day.”
“And I’ll let you, but I guess I can’t bet that I won’t laugh next time.”
“Nah, you should keep betting me.”
“Because you get special favors out of it when I lose.”
“Hey, whether it’s you giving me a massage or the other way around, it’s still win-win, baby.”
He pulled me close to him and kissed me deeply. It was evenings like this that made my life complete, and after long hours working in the barn and a great dinner with his family, a movie alone with Austin was the perfect ending to a fabulous day. Now we were just lounging on his bed, getting ready to settle in for the night.
“I was thinking that tomorrow we should go for a hike to the north quarter of the ranch. If you want we can even ride it.”
I raised an eyebrow and pushed him onto the pillow, laying my body over half of his. “You’d go riding with me?” I inquired. “What’s in it for you?”
“Co-ed naked picnic?”
I laughed and then set my chin on his chest. “Too funny.”
“Is that a no?”
“That’s a maybe since there are plenty of trees over there.”
“Oh you think that will give us privacy?” he teased.
“Maybe not,” I agreed. “There are low lying Ponderosas and shrubs over there, though.”
“Oh, listen to you,” he chuckled. “You’re considering this, aren’t you?”
“I consider a lot of things with you,” I smiled.
He ran his hand through my hair and nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
I laid my face against him and slid my hand across his chest. I loved the feel of his skin, and when he kissed the top of my head I smiled.
“But tomorrow you’re gonna help me decide where you want our house to go. I think I’ve got an idea, but I want to make sure it’s okay with you.”
I moved quickly to my elbows. “House?”
He slowly nodded with a smile. “I bought ten acres from my parents and I’m going to build a house on it. I’m hoping you’ll like it better than living in the guesthouse.”
My jaw dropped. Austin was building a house on the edge of his parents’ ranch?
“Are you serious?” I whispered.
He sat up a little ways and nodded again. “Dead serious. I mean you have a lot of work ahead of you, honey. Choosing a design, decorating it, making the half-mile trek to work every day—”
I jumped on him with a squeal and kissed him madly. Were my dreams honestly coming true that quickly?
“I take it that’s a yes?” he smiled under my lips.
“I love you so much, Austin. That’s a hell yes.”
He pulled me close as my love for him and my gratitude melted into a great big pool of eternal bliss. I had the best job and the man of my dreams… I couldn’t be any happier.
“Tomorrow we can go out there and look at some house plans. As soon as we agree on something, we’ll get it going right away. The paperwork is done for the land and—”
Suddenly there was an array of shouts and screams outside, both human and equine. We’d heard an occasional whinny, which was normal, but it all at once turned into an orchestra of panic. Something definitely wasn’t right.
Austin and I both jumped up from the bed. In just his boxers he ran to the sliding glass door and stepped outside, hanging a left for the side of the house. I was throwing on my pants when he rushed back inside and said, “The stables are on fire!”
My blood ran cold and I didn’t move for a second. I saw him stepping into his jeans as fast as he could and it brought me back to reality.
The horses.
“Oh no,” I exhaled. I threw on my shirt as Austin grabbed his from the floor.
“You stay here at the house, Nova,” he said as he threw on a pair of work boots.
“No, I—”
“Stay in the house!” he yelled at me. I watched him run out the back door again and that’s when panic seized me.
The horses.
My boots were at the sliding glass door and I raced to get them. I fell trying to pull them on but quickly slipped into them before jumping up from the ground. When I got to the side of the house I stopped dead in my tracks. The front side of the arena was in flames and there were people running all around.
I ran towards the chaos, realizing that there were men hurrying through the stables, unlatching the gates so the horses could run free to the pastures. Marlo and Sam were both sitting bareback on two mares, herding the horses towards the fields if they came their way. I could hear men’s voices shouting from inside the barn as my heart was pounding through every inch of me.
“Nova!” Marlo shouted. “Help Jack count the horses!” She pointed to the backside of the building so I took off running. I wanted to ask where Austin was, but for some reason I knew.
He was inside the stables.
Jack and Clara were at the fences near Field One, corralling the scared horses to safety. Two more came rushing out of the barn but there was no way I could even stop them. I yelled and flailed my arms but only Bench Rider pivoted away from me and ran through the open gate. Rolls Royce made a beeline for the hills on the other side of me.
Another three came screaming out of the barn but two went left and one went right, none of them making it to the confines of Field One.
I didn’t know what to do.
“They’re fine,” Jack said, rushing up to me as he gasped for air. “As long as they’re out of the barn.”
“How many are still inside?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered, shaking his head. Another horse came tearing out of the barn doors and Clara had to get out of the way so she wasn’t trampled.
“I’m going to hop on a horse and hope he can guide the strays back to the field. Keep names in your head for who comes out.”
I nodded, unable to speak. He ran into Field One but I had no idea if he’d even be able to catch a horse and calm it down enough to mount it.
It was dark on the backside of the barn but I could recognize a few of the equines frantically running scared within the fence. It dawned on me that I couldn’t see mine anywhere.
“Clara, have you seen Wild?” I cried. I ran to her at the same time and she shook her head regretfully.
“I haven’t, sweetie. But that doesn’t mean anything. The horses were being let loose as soon as someone could get to them. He could be running somewhere, but I don’t know.”
The sound of sirens came closer and I bit my lip. I felt so helpless.
I raced to the barn doors to see who was inside. I could see Dave releasing another horse and it came barreling past me.
“Where’s Austin?” I shouted.
I think I scared him with my presence and he mechanically unlatched another stall. I released the horse closest to me and jumped across the aisle to do the next one. I could see flames on the other end of the building but I couldn’t tell where they were coming from or where they were going.
“He must be in the other aisle!” Dave finally answered, and he took off running.
I think my heart stopped. I could see the fear in his eyes before he left.
I automatically followed after him, but a loud cracking sound that came from the front of the building made me slow. A section of the b
arn came crashing down and a wave of heat blew over me. I stumbled backwards onto my butt and covered my face, even though there wasn’t any immediate danger that I could see.
I jumped up and headed for Wild’s stall. His quarters were in the front half of the barn where the fire was spreading to, and I just knew that’s where Austin was.
“Dad!” I heard from the middle of the stables.
“Austin, there’s no time!” Dave shouted.
I swallowed my fear and followed the voices. There were horses still screaming and my face was so hot I couldn’t feel the tears pouring down it.
There were still horses inside and Austin was trying to save them.
The entire front portion of the barn was now on fire, including both offices. I ran down the aisle past them, feeling the heat ripple over my skin. When I made it to the second row I saw Austin, scrambling on the ground toward another stall. He was coughing as smoke billowed out from the stall that was now in flames next to him.
I tried to scream for him but I couldn’t. Smoke got caught in my throat and I choked. I saw Dave hosing himself down with water as he ran with it down the aisle to spray Austin. Then he started spraying into a stall that hadn’t been opened yet, and as Austin opened it, Need For Speed came charging out of it, flames having burned his flesh.
I didn’t have time to think about it as I continued opening stalls and releasing horses. Thankfully Gene was at the back of the arena to corral them outside.
I heard Austin shout my name as I unlatched another stall.
“Get out of here!” he yelled.
He waved me away just as another section of wood fell down barely five feet from him. Red lights were now flashing from outside as he unlatched another stall. An unfamiliar horse came running by and I pressed myself up against the wall to stay out of her way.
I found my horse’s stall and it was empty! I knew they were releasing the horses that were in the most danger first but why wasn’t Wild in his stall?
“He’s already out!” I heard someone shout. It was Ben and he came running across the exercise arena. He was waving another horse toward Gene but he continued to run until he jumped the wall where I was currently opening the last stall. “Austin already let him out,” he panted. “You gotta get out, Nova. The fire department is here; we’ve done all we can.”
He grabbed me before I could object and shoved me towards the exit. Another crash came from the front of the building and the heat came rushing over our backsides. I skidded to a stop to make sure Austin was coming but I didn’t see him.
“Austin!” I screamed. I saw Dave crawling on the ground with the hose and that’s when I saw him lying there. “Austin!” I screamed again as another horse came charging by us. Ben tried to stop me but he couldn’t. I dropped to the ground before the heat completely bowled me over and started to crawl.
“Nova, get out!” Austin yelled. He was struggling to get up but I couldn’t see clearly with all the smoke.
Ben passed me on the ground and got to them before I could. Flames were engulfing the stalls above us and I could feel the skin on my left shoulder burn with fire. The wall next to me was ablaze and I swatted the heat away from me without caring what it was. All three men were coughing when I saw that Ben had Austin and was dragging him away from the burning stalls.
“Nova!” Austin managed to say as he inhaled more smoke and coughed.
He reached his arm out for me as he tried to get to his feet, but I could tell there was something wrong with his leg. I took his hand as a spray of water hit my face. It was probably supposed to be cold but it felt like bathwater.
Ben threw Austin’s arm over his shoulder and starting helping him towards the exit. Austin didn’t let go of my hand, though, and dragged me along until I was able to stand up and run with them. We didn’t stop until we made it to Field Two. We were met by other voices but I couldn’t see who they were. I remember dropping to the ground on my knees, coughing as I stared into a pair of legs dressed in fire safety gear.
“She’s badly burned,” I heard him say.
She who? I almost asked. I looked around, panicking, wondering who else had been in the building.
“Miss, just hang on a minute, okay? We’ve got paramedics coming around.”
“Nova,” Austin coughed. “Are you okay?” We were both sitting on the ground and he pulled me close to him. “You’re gonna be all right, just relax.”
I had no idea what he was talking about but he was crying.
“Your leg,” I said, trying not to cough.
“It’s broken, but I’m fine. The horse got it. Just stay quiet, okay?”
I didn’t know what was going on until a pair of paramedics knelt next to me. They were cutting fabric and applying something to my shoulder, talking to me and assuring me it was nothing severe. Austin was still holding my other arm but he was shaking his head, murmuring to himself. Dave seemed to be okay—they were giving him oxygen—and Ben was sitting there with him as Marlo and Sam came rushing up to him.
I watched the scene like I was an outsider. It didn’t seem real. Austin was rubbing his face with his other hand, still shaking his head. That’s when something burned the hell out of my shoulder and I glanced over it to see what it was.
A hand blocked my face and turned it away. “It’s fine, Miss,” a gentle voice said. “Nothing to worry about, okay?”
“Nova, don’t look at it,” Austin said.
“Don’t look at what?” I asked.
He studied my face and I could tell he was absolutely devastated. “You got burned, sweetheart. Your shoulder. And your hair.”
My hair?
I shook my good arm free of his hand and reached up to check it but he stopped me.
“Your hair’s fine, babe. You’ll just need a little trim.”
“A what?”
“Would you like me to even it up for now, Miss?” another paramedic asked. He held a pair of scissors in front of me just as Sam came up to us.
“Here, I’ll do it,” she said, and she took the scissors from him. I was apparently allowed to look at my shoulder at that point since no one said anything when I did. It was all wrapped up in wet bandages.
Sam knelt behind me and said, “About six inches got singed off on this side, Nova. I’ll just even the rest of it to match, okay? You’ll have a cute little shoulder length ‘do for now.”
I didn’t even care what she did but I was guessing it probably looked pretty hideous. Heck yes, I wanted it fixed.
“It looks that bad, huh?” I teased Austin.
He looked at me and asked, “What?”
“My hair? It looks so horrible you’re that upset?”
He only stared at me for a few seconds and then he shook his head again. “Your hair will grow back, Nova. You don’t need to worry about it.” He gave me a smile and leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you,” he whispered.
“Hey, I’m gonna have to cut another inch off if you keep moving her,” Sam joked.
He pulled away but continued to hold my hand. When he adjusted the way he was sitting I suddenly remembered his injury.
“Austin, your leg!” I turned to the paramedic and said, “His leg is broken.”
“What?” he asked, coming around to the front of us. He knelt down and looked over Austin’s leg and said, “And you’re just sitting here like a big boy, not making a peep?”
Austin barely laughed. “Doesn’t mean it’s not hurting like hell,” he grimaced.
“No kidding,” the guy said. He called someone over and they decided we were ready to haul to the hospital. When Austin insisted that he and I ride together, no one objected.
Our perfectly wonderful night had been ruined, but I was so thankful that Austin was still by my side.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Well if you’d just let me stay in here, we wouldn’t have this problem, Nurse Patty,” I heard Austin’s voice say.
I had been awake moments ago but had drifted off t
o sleep again. I opened my eyes to see Austin crutching himself into my hospital room, his leg in a cast.
“There’s my beautiful girl,” he smiled. He parked his crutches against the wall and sat himself on the edge of my bed. “Hey, there,” he said, taking my hand. “How you feeling today?”
I slightly nodded. “Fine. Tired, but fine.”
He leaned forward and kissed my head. “Your nurse is a pain in my ass,” he said quietly.
“I heard that,” Patty snapped playfully.
I was getting used to the two of them going back and forth with each other, but even though Patty was a stickler for rules, she’d taken care of me pretty well. I’d received surgery to reconstruct the skin on my shoulder and thankfully my doctors thought that was going to be enough. The damage wasn’t as bad as it first appeared and I was very grateful for that.
“How is everything going at the ranch?” I asked. “Did they find the rest of the horses yet?”
It had been three days since the fire and four horses were still missing.
Austin frowned and shook his head. “Not all of them. The neighbors down the road caught Rolls Royce. Still missing the other three.”
Miraculously not a single horse had died in the fire. Because the men had acted so quickly and got to them as fast as they did, every one of them was spared. A few had burns that were healing—like Need For Speed—and one other had injuries from running into a fence. But not a single one of them suffered something they couldn’t recover from.
“And what is the verdict? Do they really think it was arson?”
Austin nodded somberly. “Yeah, afraid so. We’re the third ranch that’s been hit in the past six months. It’s pretty sick if you ask me. Who would want to hurt innocent animals?”
I shook my head with disappointment. It really was sad and I hoped they caught the person before they hurt anyone else.
“On a brighter note, you get to come home tomorrow,” Austin told me with a smile. “I just talked to Dr. Bennett and he said everything looks great. He also said that the scarring will be barely visible in a few years.”
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