“Noah, wake up!” Magnolia shakes me, and I squint when the light blinds me. “Something’s on fire.”
“W-what?” I push myself up into a sitting position, then glance around my room as I try to comprehend what she just said.
“I smelled smoke and looked around to see where it was comin’ from.”
“In the house?” I whip off the covers, then quickly remember I can’t walk. “Can you hand me my crutches?”
She grabs them from the wall. “Outside! It’s close by because the smell is strong. I think it’s coming from the family barn.”
Oh my God. The horses. A wave of panic rolls through me.
“We need to call the fire department.” I grab my boot, then slip on one of my shoes.
“I did already. Also called Landen and Tripp to alert your parents.”
“Okay, good.” I can’t stop thinking about Donut and all of our other horses. They must be so scared.
“Ready?” she asks when I stand with my crutches.
“Yeah—” The house rattles, making me fall back on the bed. I’ve never felt anything like that before. “Holy shit! Was that an explosion?”
Magnolia stumbles before she helps me back up. “Fuck. You okay? Almost felt like an earthquake.”
The fear in her eyes tells me everything I need to know. Something is very wrong.
“We need to go,” I say urgently.
As soon as we get outside, the smell is stronger, but it’s too dark to see exactly where the smoke’s coming from.
She helps me into her car, and as we drive away, I spot Fisher’s truck hidden by some trees.
“What the hell is he doin’ here? Can you check if he’s inside?”
She parks, then quickly looks into his windows. When she hops in, she shakes her head. “It’s empty, but there’s pillows and blankets in the way back.”
“What? He’s sleepin’ out here?” My heart pounds as I fear for his well-being. If he’s not here, then where could he be?
Sirens blast as they speed up the long driveway that leads to the main house. You have to go that route to reach the barn, but I’m not waiting. I need to see what’s going on now.
“Let’s go.” Magnolia slams on the gas, and soon we see the smoke coming from the family barn.
“Oh my God!” I can hardly breathe when I see flames coming through the window.
Magnolia parks next to Landen’s truck, and we both get out. The security lights are on, but I don’t see anyone. They have to be here somewhere, though.
“Landen! Tripp!” I shout.
The smoke is so strong I choke on it as I get closer. I call and text Fisher but get no response.
“Noah, look out.” Magnolia points at the fire trucks, and we move back before they run us over. Three of them arrive with two ambulances.
Tripp appears from the other side of the barn to tell us Landen went inside.
“What, why?” I gasp.
He shrugs. “I told him to wait, but he doesn’t listen to me.”
When my parents and the twins arrive, we huddle together and wait.
The whole scene is chaotic as we watch it unfold. I feel so goddamn helpless not being able to do anything while a barn filled with my horses is on fire. Hearing them squeal and whine have me in a panic.
“Please!” I beg one of the firefighters. “My brother and horses are in there! Can ya get them out?”
“We’ll do our best, miss. Stay back.”
They’re so calm, and I’m bursting into tears. The firefighters actively work on controlling the fire, but it looks like the flames are coming from the loft where extra hay is stored.
Finally, Landen appears through the smoke, dragging a body out.
“Oh my God,” I shriek, grabbing everyone’s attention.
Landen collapses to his knees, coughing. My parents rush over, and I go as fast as my crutches allow.
“Who is that?” I ask.
Landen shakes his head. “Can’t tell.”
“Craig?” Magnolia squeals as she takes a closer look. “His face is covered in blood, but it’s definitely him.”
She looks at me in horror, and given his condition, it doesn’t look good.
“Is he breathing?” I ask.
Magnolia puts her ear above his mouth. “Barely.”
I tell Tripp to get the medic’s attention, and they follow with their supplies.
“What the hell happened?” I ask Landen as they examine Craig.
“I dunno.” He coughs some more. “I went in to let out the horses, but when I saw a body lyin’ on the ground unconscious, I dragged him out.”
“Did you see Fisher in there? His truck is here,” I ask, not even caring how suspect that sounds.
He frowns. “No, but I didn’t go in all the way.”
Momma tells one of the medics to check Landon, and even though he claims to be fine, they do anyway and put an oxygen mask on his face.
“Is he gonna be okay?” I ask one of the medics working on Craig. He has an oxygen mask over his mouth as they work on controlling the bleeding.
“His pulse is weak, but we still have him. We’ll get him stabilized, then do a full examination and CT scan.”
Even though he was an asshole and probably trying to kill my horses, I wouldn’t wish death on him like this.
A moment later, horses barrel out of the barn through a cloud of smoke, bucking and squealing. Wilder and Waylon go after them, then lead them to one of the other pastures away from the flames. I count them as they run around, and my stomach knots when I don’t see mine.
“We’re missin’ one. I don’t see Donut!” I watch the barn doors, but he doesn’t come out.
“I’m sure they’re gonna get him, honey,” Momma says, squeezing my shoulders.
Tears prick the corner of my eyes as I think about how scared he must be. I can’t lose him, too.
“If Landen didn’t get them out, how’d they get loose?” I ask.
“Maybe one of the firefighters managed to,” Tripp suggests.
One of them comes over, and I grab his attention. “There’s a horse missin’. Please, can you go back in and find him?”
“We didn’t let them out, miss. It’s too dangerous to go inside. We’re fightin’ the flames from the top because the beams become weak with that level of heat. I’m afraid they’ll collapse soon.”
I’m not surprised. Barns never survive fires. All that wood is a feeding ground. The best they can do is prevent it from spreading to other buildings.
“Then how…”
The moment the words leave my mouth, Donut gallops out with Fisher on his bare back. Tripp runs toward them and grabs Donut’s harness before he can take off. As soon as he comes to a stop, Fisher rolls off and collapses to the ground.
“Fisher!” I scream.
Tripp kneels beside him as another medic rushes over.
“Sweetheart, give them some room,” Dad says, standing at my side.
My chest’s so tight, I can’t breathe. Why was he in there?
They flip him to his back, check his pulse, and examine his head.
“Tripp, is he okay?” I shout over the chaos.
“I dunno. He’s bleedin’, too.”
Fisher went in there to rescue my horses and didn’t leave until he got Donut.
And now he might not survive because of it.
As the realization hits me, I fall into my dad’s arms and cry into his chest.
“He’s critical. Get the stretcher,” one of the medics directs to the other while they continue examining him.
This can’t be happening. Fisher is unconscious as they secure an oxygen mask over his face.
“Is he gonna be okay?” I ask.
“We’ll know more once we get him to the hospital. He may have head or lung trauma, so they’ll do a full analysis to determine his injuries.”
I watch as they lift him onto the stretcher, then get him into the ambulance. I’m in a daze as I try to process what’s happening.
The love of my life risked his life to save my horses, and now I may never get the chance to tell him how much I love him ever again.
“Someone should go with him so he’s not alone,” I call out.
“I’ll go,” Tripp says, then gets into the back with the medics.
“We need to follow,” I tell Dad.
“We will, sweetheart.”
Both ambulances take off, and I struggle to understand what’s happened.
Dad orders Wilder and Waylon to stick around to watch the horses. I hug Donut as tight as he allows before they take him to the pasture. Dad tells Landen to go home and take it easy. Momma kisses me before returning to the house to update Gramma Grace and Mallory.
Soon, Ayden and the other ranch hands arrive, but Dad tells them to go back home. It’s unsafe for them to be here, and we can’t do anything at this point.
Dad helps me into his truck, and when I look out the back window, it’s surreal to see the damage. We could’ve lost them all, and I’m still shocked we didn’t.
“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart,” Dad reassures as we go down the long driveway.
“I don’t understand why Craig would go this far…” I shake my head, still in disbelief. “He’s already in trouble for the snake, trespassing, and intent to harm charge. Why add to it?”
“He’s lashin’ out, Noah. He’s obviously not happy you reported him. Probably thought he could scare you into droppin’ the charges, and it clearly went too far.”
I shrug. “Well, he deserved it.”
“I agree.”
“But I’m still confused about their head injuries. Are they from the explosion, or was there a fight between them?”
“I’m curious about that, too. Also wonderin’ why Fisher was here before the crack of dawn.” His tone isn’t harsh, but he’s suspicious.
“I guess he was sleepin’ in his truck. He mentioned he was worried Craig would break into my house after he made bail,” I explain.
He nods, and although I can tell he wants to ask more questions, he holds back.
“You should let Jase know,” he suggests.
Another person I’ll have to explain to why Fisher was here.
When I call, his phone goes to voicemail, which isn’t surprising since it’s after three in the morning. I send him a text so he sees it first thing when he wakes up.
As we get close to the hospital, I get a message, but it’s not from Jase.
“Oh my God,” I gasp when I read Landen’s text.
“What is it?”
I look at him in shock. “They found a body.”
