by Mary Leo
Once they started for the house, Jake walked next to his mom while his dad, Henry and Kenzie strode on ahead.
“Aren’t you guys a couple days early?” Jake asked.
“We sure are,” she said. “And from the way you were holding on to Kenzie, we shouldn’t have been in such a hurry to get here.”
Apparently, his mom was a lot more in tune than he’d ever given her credit for.
* * *
BETWEEN TUESDAY EVENING, when Jake’s parents had arrived, and late Saturday afternoon, right before everyone left for Saint Paul’s, Kenzie had seen Jake exactly three times, and each of those three times she’d been sitting across from him at the dinner table with everyone else who happened to show up. They hadn’t had one minute alone since his parents arrived. Between his helping Joel out, all of the ranch work, moving the mares and stallions back and forth...stressing over whether or not they’d coupled...and running her mom back and forth into town whenever Zoe needed her for a last minute decision, Kenzie hadn’t had any downtime.
And neither had Jake. His parents were a few years older than Kenzie’s and couldn’t seem to go anywhere without Jake taking them. Then there was his brother Lucas, who was trying to run their ranch back in Montana on his own, and needed Jake’s counsel at every turn.
So when Kenzie and her sisters walked into their parents’ room to see their mom in a beautiful white gown, standing in front of a full-length mirror looking even more beautiful than Kenzie thought possible, her emotions came pouring out like rain.
“Oh, Mama, you look gorgeous!” Kayla said, her deep blue eyes misting. She wore her wavy long hair pinned up with tiny pink flowers, the exact color as her silky floral dress that enhanced all her curves.
“Just like a fairy princess,” little Emma said, beaming. Her long curly blond hair cascaded down her back, held in place with a white hairband that sported a white silk flower. She looked like a princess in a dress made of yards of sky blue tulle, and dotted with sparkle. Kenzie knew how much Callie loved being Emma’s stepmom, and from the way Emma acted around her, Kenzie knew the feeling was mutual.
“You’re lovely, Mom. Just perfect,” Callie said, eyes glistening with tears, long chestnut hair flowing around her face and shoulders. She wore a lavender blush, loose-fitting sleeveless dress that accentuated her baby bump. She also wore what looked like brand-new cowgirl boots.
Kenzie knew how much Callie loved being pregnant, and how much she was anticipating this child. Even Emma was excited over the baby brother that was on the way.
“It’s not too much? I couldn’t decide on white or cream. I ordered it from All About the Bride in town, and Greta, Zoe and Gloria all thought I should go with white.”
Greta and Gloria owned the shop. Greta worked out front while Gloria did all the fittings and sewing. Her mom couldn’t look any better if she’d been posing for a magazine. The lacy dress draped on her body perfectly. Gloria had once again worked her magic.
“It’s ideal for your skin color, Mom. You look positively beautiful. You’ll take Dad’s breath away,” Coco told her, looking amazing in a gray dress that hit just above her knees. She’d even worn heels, which for Coco was a rarity.
“Oh, Mom,” Kenzie finally said, while giving her mom a warm hug. “You take my breath away.”
Kenzie had put off thinking about this day for as long as she could. Secretly, she thought the whole thing was a waste of time and money. Not that she didn’t think her parents deserved the wedding reception they’d never had, but in the scheme of things, it all had seemed a bit over the top, with the doves, and the harp player from Boise, and her dad hiring last year’s winner of the Lariat Laureate in cowboy poetry to do a reading before Father Beau guided them through their marriage vows.But looking at her mom now, with her daughters and her granddaughter surrounding her with their love, and how beautifully happy and radiant her mom looked, Kenzie decided she’d been all wrong.
This was the absolute perfect way to celebrate forty-five years of an incredible love affair. For the first time in Kenzie’s life, she wondered if she would ever celebrate even one year of partnered bliss, let alone forty-five. So far, if the relationship she and Jake had was any indication of her future, the only anniversary she would be celebrating, would be her marriage to the Grant ranch.
* * *
THE LAST TIME Jake had been inside a church it was for his own wedding to Heather Montgomery. That seemed like an eternity ago. So much had happened since then, and most of it just in the last couple of weeks.
Jake stood at the back, not sure if he could commit to the entire ceremony by taking an actual seat, even though the ceremony was set to begin in less than ten minutes.
Saint Paul’s Catholic Church buzzed with the hushed voices of what had to be the entire populace of Briggs, Idaho. Each pew was filled to capacity, and every man, woman and child seemed eager for the loving couple to appear. A rainbow of pastel-colored flowers adorned the center aisle, the main altar and the two side altars. Twinkling white lights sparkled throughout the church while the scent of incense lingered in the air.
Father Beau, dressed in his best priestly robes, followed by four altar boys carrying large candles, walked out of the side of the sanctuary, stopped, then turned to face the open front doors of the majestic church.
Nothing even came close to this impressive limestone building in Jake’s small town, causing him to think the residents of Briggs had been and apparently still were, based on the large crowd inside the church, a deeply religious, strong and tightly knit community of rugged, like-minded individuals. Kenzie and the Grant family fit right in, and from the looks of guests that populated the church, the townsfolk agreed.
“Jake,” Kenzie said, appearing from nowhere. “Come sit up front with me.”
Then she took his hand, but Jake pulled back.
“I can’t,” he told her. “I’m not sure I can sit through all of it. Besides, this is a day for your family.”
“But you’re part of our family. Always have been. My dad and your dad are like brothers.”
She pulled on his hand again, and once again he resisted. “Kenzie, I’m not coming with you. I can’t sit up front.”
She looked positively stunning. He’d only seen her in a dress one other time and that night they’d shared a moment that had tormented him ever since. If they weren’t going to take that moment to the next level, he would just as soon not be around her.
Besides, being trapped inside a church to celebrate a forty-five-year wedding anniversary, while sitting next to a woman he had strong feelings for, so soon after his own failed marriage, only reminded him of how little he knew about relationships.
“Then I’ll sit in the back with you.”
“You can’t do that. You need to be with your family. It’s important.”
“You’re important,” she told him while staring into his eyes, and suddenly all his fears and apprehensions disappeared and he gently kissed her hand, feeling her smooth skin against his lips.
He was just about to follow her up to the front of the church when organ music began, and everyone turned their attention to the front doorway. At once Henry and Mildred appeared in the hazy light. They seemed to beam with joy as Henry whispered something to Mildred causing her to smile and say something back that caused him to laugh.
Henry wore a black tuxedo, white shirt, a string tie and polished black boots, while Mildred looked more glamorous then he’d ever seen before. Little Emma stood directly in front of them, dropping rose petals from a white basket, as soon as she began moving up the center aisle, smiling at everyone she passed. Mildred and Henry soon followed close behind.
Jake marveled at their love for each other, the same kind his parents had. He’d always assumed he’d find that kind of love in his own life. That it would automatically happen without really doing
much to find it, but now he realized deep, committed love was more elusive than the wind.
As soon as the happy couple was far enough up the aisle, Kenzie once again asked Jake to follow her to the front, and this time he agreed. As they tried to make their way to their seats, Kenzie stopped and slipped her phone out of the small purse she’d had tucked under her arm.
When she read the text message, her hand went up to cover her mouth, as if she was holding back a scream that wanted to escape.
“What’s wrong?” Jake immediately asked, as several men and women began hustling from their seats and rushing out of the doorway that Henry and Mildred had just entered.
“We have to go,” Kenzie said, grabbing his hand, then running for the front door. “Our horse barn is on fire!”
* * *
KENZIE COULD SEE the black smoke staining the evening sky from two miles out from the ranch. Jake was behind the wheel of her pickup. She’d asked him to drive; what was happening was so personal to her, she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Her brother, Carson, followed somewhere behind them, along with Coco and their parents. Zoe had stayed at the church, along with Father Beau to try and keep everyone calm.
“Tell me that Chad didn’t bring the horses in for the night,” Jake asked as he kept his hands firmly on the wheel and his eyes straight ahead. He was tearing down the two-way road going over eighty.
Kenzie could barely speak. Her throat felt tight and her chest ached. “I...I brought them in around noon.”
Jake slammed the steering wheel with his fist, then sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She’d never seen him so angry.
Then within seconds he began to calm down, and reached for her hand. She gladly took it. “No matter what happens,” he began, glancing over at her, “we’re going to get through this together.”
Kenzie nodded, the lump in her throat the size of a baseball.
“Together,” she repeated, as her eyes welled up and he gently squeezed her hand before letting go. He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, passed a slow driver who’d pulled over, and increased his speed to almost ninety.
Kenzie’s nerves were raw as she desperately tried to keep in contact with Chad who had first discovered the fire and called in the fire company. Normally, the local volunteer firefighters could have gotten to the ranch within five or ten minutes, but tonight, every volunteer was at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church attending her parents’ ceremony.
There were so few fires in Briggs that no one actually stayed at the fire station. The only exceptions to the rule were parade days, rodeos and the annual fair. Since none of those events were taking place today, the station was locked up tight with the trucks, hoses and other equipment inside.
As they were about to turn into the long driveway to the Grant ranch, the local fire truck, with sirens blaring and red lights flashing drove up behind them.
“Thank God,” Kenzie said, as Jake eased over to let them by.
Kenzie could see lights from what she assumed was another truck already on the property. The recognition alleviated some of the intense anxiety she felt thinking that no one but young Chad was dealing with the enormity of the blaze.
Jake eased the pickup off the road and drove under the metal arched sign for the Grant Ranch. He followed the speeding fire truck that threw dirt and stones up on Kenzie’s truck. Two stones made contact with the windshield, causing tiny fissures that she knew would soon run the length of the window.
Not that it mattered.
Nothing mattered but the lives of the animals.
When they approached the barn, Kenzie’s insides shook with fear. The barn was now almost completely engulfed in flames. Fire spilled out from under the roof of the back doorway, the colors of the flames a deep orange at the base, to a bright orange at the tips that licked through the roof.
Night had fallen on the Teton Valley, but the fire illuminated the sky and the surrounding area like nothing Kenzie had ever seen before or wanted to see again. Several firefighters, dressed from head to toe in the appropriate gear, now tugged on a thick fire hose attached to the truck. Water was finally beginning to spill onto the roof of the barn making a sizzling sound that gave Kenzie a deep chill.
Sheriff Jet Wilson and his deputy, Hunter Sears, walked out in front of Kenzie’s slow-moving truck. The sheriff held up his hands, ordering them to stop, which Jake obeyed immediately. The deputy came past them to direct a city ambulance that had also driven onto the property.
Kenzie slipped off her heels and pulled on the dark green rubber mud boots she always kept behind the seats. Jake shrugged out of his suit coat, loosened his tie and both he and Kenzie exited the truck at the same time. The roar of the blaze and the sheer volume of voices yelling orders and warnings hit Kenzie in the gut as panic wracked her body. Still, she steeled her emotions and lasered in on her purpose: to sprint for the barn before anyone could stop her, including Jake. All she could think of was the safety of her mares and Jake’s two stallions.
Headlights distracted her resolve for a moment and she quickly looked back at the long line of cars and trucks heading up the drive, stretching up all along the road. She assumed they were guests from the church who’d followed them, with Coco’s red SUV leading the way. A light went on inside the SUV and Kenzie spotted her parents sitting in the backseat, behind Carson. Coco sat behind the wheel trying to interpret Sheriff Wilson’s hand signals telling her to stay back.
Sheriff Wilson and Deputy Sheriff Sears did their best to make sure everyone stopped far enough away from the fire. Kenzie was grateful for that. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt, or to interfere with the fire crew.
Unfortunately, her dad wasn’t part of the group of folks that were stopped. He’d stepped out of the SUV, then snuck past the Sheriff’s watchful eye and was now fast approaching the barn. Carson and Coco had stayed with their mom in the SUV, but apparently their dad had his own ideas.
Kenzie yelled for her dad to come back, but she knew any attempt short of physically restraining him would have no impact. She took off after him, with Jake close on her heels.
“Kenzie, you should go back,” Jake told her as he caught up, grabbing on to her upper arms as he pleaded. “It’s too dangerous. Please go back.”
But Kenzie refused to listen. “And it’s not dangerous for you? Those are my mares in that barn, and your stallions. I intend to do everything in my power to make sure they get out.” She returned his concern with her own. “You said we were going to get through this together. Did you mean that or were they just empty words?”
Jake looked deep into her eyes, and it was the first time she truly saw the real Jake Scott, the man he’d successfully kept hidden under all his brash bravado—a determined cowboy who would stop at nothing to save what he loved.
“I meant it, Kenzie,” he told her still holding on to her arms, then slamming his lips against hers. He pulled away in less than a heartbeat and said, “We’re in this together.”
Then he took her hand in his, and they ran toward the burning barn, with her dad leading the way.
* * *
THE HORRIFYING SCREAMS from the trapped horses sent a shock wave through Jake that pierced his soul. He couldn’t listen to it, couldn’t bear it, and then was turned away from being able to go near the barn by a determined fireman.
In the midst of all the chaos, and the heart-wrenching screams, he saw Henry break away from another fireman and run toward the barn. Without thinking, Jake went all out after Henry. He could hear Kenzie’s voice over the roar of the fire pleading with her dad to come back. Pounding footsteps tried to keep up with Jake, but Jake was no match for whoever was trying to reach him. Pure adrenalin propelled him forward as his own feet barely touched the ground.
Henry couldn’t beat Jake’s speed and resolve. Before Henry could step one foot into th
e barn Jake tackled him, pulling him down then shielding him from getting hurt with the fall. Burning cinders struck Jake’s back and arm, as he pushed Henry to safety, then he quickly rolled in the dirt to put out the burning embers on his body. When he finally stood, he took a peek into the smoldering barn and saw that all the gates were open, except for one, Sweet Girl’s. His stallion, Morning Star stood in front of the gate, as Sweet Girl screamed and kicked at the gate as she rose up on her hind legs.
Jake ran inside, shooed his horse out of the barn and unlatched the gate. Sweet Girl immediately ran out, with Morning Star running along with her. Jake’s throat burned from the acrid smoke. Taking a breath seemed impossible. He covered his face with his arms as the flames jumped all around him, licking at his clothes. He ducked out of their way and ran from the barn just as the roof creaked, then collapsed, the force pushing him violently forward as the ground came rushing up to meet him.
Chapter Ten
The last fire truck drove away around midnight, leaving Jake, Coco and Kenzie to deal with the immediate aftermath. Henry had gone off to the hospital in an ambulance, even though he’d protested to everyone around him. The man couldn’t understand all the fuss. The prognosis was good, minor burns and a sprained wrist, but his doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation. Mildred decided to spend the night at the hospital, along with Carson and Kayla.
Jake had several burns on his back, arms and fingers, but fortunately, nothing he couldn’t handle. All the burns had been treated and now his main concern was the horses.
Coco had spent the majority of her time treating the mares and stallions for minor burns and scrapes. All the horses had come through the fire a little bit worse for wear, but would be fine. Not the same prognosis for Morning Star. Even Sweet Girl only had a few burns on her back and a badly singed tail.
Morning Star, however, was having a rough time. He’d sustained some major burns on his back and his front legs. His mouth was hurting, as well. Plus, he was suffering from smoke inhalation. Jake couldn’t bring himself to leave his side despite Coco telling him many times there was nothing anyone could do but wait.
