Rocky Mountain Freedom (40 page)

“Simon? He giving you grief?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Cassidy shrugged. “I didn’t think he was Katy’s type.”

A low growl of frustration escaped Gage. “Don’t want to talk about it.”

Okay, that was telling. Cassidy kept a straight face. “No problem.”

“Sorry, that girl gets on my last nerve.” Gage glanced at Cassidy. “So. You’re with both Ashley and Travis?”

Middle of the ball diamond. Awesome place for this discussion. “Yeah.”

The batter missed his swing, and Matt got ready to throw again. Gage nodded slowly. “Cool.”

Now Cassidy knew a little of the sense of unreality Travis had talked about while dealing with his brothers. That was it? Cool?

Cassidy would take it. “Thanks for not freaking out.”

“Hey, I’d hit Ashley any day of the week, and while Travis isn’t my type, he’s a good guy. You’re lucky to have them.” Gage cleared his throat. “And you’re not bad yourself. In a totally hetero-guy-making-a-comment way, if you hear me.”

There was no way to hold back his laugh. “I hear you.”

The ball flew into the sky, and Gage was off, racing toward third base as Cassidy sprinted backward to get a glove on the ball. He stumbled into Travis rushing in from the opposite side, and they crashed to the ground in a tangle.

Travis laughed as he scrambled to his knees and snatched up the ball, whipping it toward home in a futile attempt to stop a run from scoring. “We have to stop meeting like this,” he teased.

He helped Cassidy to his feet and brushed the dust from him, his grin widening as he smacked the dust from Cassidy’s pants. But no matter how good it felt, this wasn’t the place, and Travis should know better.

“Stop it,” Cassidy warned as they pulled apart.

“Can’t keep my hands off you,” Travis admitted with a sheepish wink before returning to his place in the outfield.

Cassidy got the sentiment, but… “Play it cool, T.”

Travis blew a raspberry over his shoulder.

The next inning Cassidy got a hit on his second swing, stopping with dread as he discovered Simon guarding first base.

Simon paced around Cassidy, glancing to see if anyone was nearby before settling in behind him and speaking softly. “Word is going around you like cock.”

Cassidy ignored the rude comment, praying for a hit from his team so he could get the hell away before he was tempted to do something involving fists.

“I don’t get it, though. It’s not like you don’t have a woman. I don’t see why you’d feel the need to stick your dick in a guy as well.”

“Drop it,” Cassidy warned.

“I mean, fucking Ashley wouldn’t be a hardship. I get that part of it.” The guy didn’t know when to quit. “But having to look at Travis—or maybe that’s the secret. Turn him around and close your eyes, and you’re just fucking any hole, right?”

Cassidy’s hands were shaking, but he clung to his control. Planting a fist in the man’s face wouldn’t help make this a community picnic to remember in a good way.

Travis came up to bat, catcalls from the outfield resumed, and Cassidy inched his way to the side, ready to run.

The bastard on first didn’t like to be ignored. He grabbed a hand of Cassidy’s shirt, and as the ball sped toward Travis, Simon stuck his foot between Cassidy’s legs and shoved, sending Cassidy sprawling.

Simon aimed a kick at Cassidy’s legs to stop him from regaining his feet. “Or maybe that’s the other part. Maybe you’re the one on the bottom, the one being fucked, you freak—”

From the outfield a body slammed into Simon, tumbling him to the ground.

“Shut up, asshole.” Gage Jenick had Simon pinned, taking a blow or two before nailing down Simon’s flailing arms. He might have gotten in a swing at Simon’s face in the process. “You want to be a jerk, do it on your own time and somewhere else.”

“You like this faggot?” Simon sneered.

“None of my business what he’s doing or who he’s doing in bed, but yes, I like him. He’s a hard worker and a decent guy, so shut your judgmental trap.”

Simon struggled again, but Gage held him tight.

The rest of the game was on hold as Travis raced over and pulled Cassidy to vertical for the second time that day. “You okay?”

Cassidy nodded as he brushed the dirt off. “A slight misunderstanding.”

“If you say so,” Gage drawled. “Simon here was planning on going somewhere else, isn’t that right?”

Travis glared at Simon who had staggered to his feet, wiping at the blood dripping from his nose. The man looked around, but finding no support, turned and fled the field.

It was uncomfortable and quiet for a moment before Clay shouted from the pitcher’s mound. “You guys done dancing over there?”

Gage winked at Travis and Cassidy before turning to answer. “Hold on to your britches. I’m taking over first base—Simon remembered he’s got an appointment.”

Travis headed back to the batter’s mound while Cassidy and Gage moved into position.

Cassidy offered a hand. “Appreciate what you did.”

Gage shook it firmly. “Yeah, well, I’ve been wanting a reason to punch Simon for a long time, so thank you for the opportunity.”

Cassidy laughed and stepped back into position. “You’re okay.”

“You’re about to lose, but you’re okay as well.”

The crack of the ball flying into the air sent Cassidy racing for second base. Out in the distance, a cloud of smoke rose skyward, and Cassidy slowed to a walk. He was pretty sure he was looking north and if he was…that might be on Coleman land.

Right about then the fire alarm at the downtown station rang, and half the opposition abandoned their positions, racing toward the dugout, cell phones going off.

Cassidy jogged back to join Travis and the rest of the Coleman team. “That fire near your land?”

Travis nodded. “Come on, the game is over anyway. Let’s check with Gage what he’s heard.”

They caught up with Gage near the parking lot. “What’s the word?” Travis called.

Gage shouted over his shoulder. “Not good. Sounds like your place, Travis. Not the trailer, but down by the coulee. Some kids lighting grassfires that got out of control. One of them got scared and called it in. We’re bringing the truck.”

Cassidy’s stomach fell. “The coulee? T, that’s where the—”

“The barn. Ashley’s studio. I know. Come on.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Travis shattered driving laws on the way home, spinning around corners as he took back-road shortcuts.

“She might be in the trailer.” Cassidy clung to the dash as they bounced over washboard gravel.

“Try her cell,” Travis ordered.

Only a moment later Cassidy shook his head. “Still offline.”

“Call Joel. Tell him and Vicki to stop at the trailer and see if she’s sleeping or something. He can let us know.” He wasn’t going to stop to find out. Her studio was the most dangerous place to be at the moment. “And have him warn everyone to leave the main road open for the fire truck.”

Cassidy didn’t answer, just followed directions then hung on tight, his other hand on Travis’s shoulder, squeezing painfully hard. “She’s got to be okay.”

It wasn’t a question, wasn’t quite a comment, but either way Travis couldn’t respond as his throat tightened.

Somewhere behind him there was a line of vehicles as the entire Coleman clan headed north. He had the truck in high gear, tires screaming as he took the back loop to the barn, skidding up to the building with growing horror in his heart.

The ancient structure wasn’t going to last. The billows of grey smoke escaping from the open doors on the second-level hayloft warned there was a whole lot inside the building already on fire and smoldering.

Canvases were tossed haphazardly outside the large barn doors.

“She’s here,” Cassidy snapped, pointing at the pile. “God, she’s trying to get her paintings out.”

“The building could collapse, Cass.” Travis was out of the truck and headed for the barn doors at a dead run. The entire time his mind pulsed with her name. With the urgency to swing her into his arms and keep her safe. Having Cassidy beside him only made it worse in a way. “Don’t take chances,” he ordered.

“Don’t think of stopping me.” Cassidy rushed through the open doors, Travis hard on his heels. “Ashley. Where are you?”

There was no answer to his shout, but plenty of noise. In the back corner of the barn, part of the second story gave way, an avalanche of bales cascading through the opening. They burst when they hit the ground, straw flying up, timbers crackling as flames hungrily licked their way across the tops of the wooden stalls.

Everywhere Travis looked, things were burning. The crates Ashley had stacked to use as storage for her paints glowed with flickers of pink and purple tossed in. Most of her remaining canvases were destroyed, the white sheets she’d used to protect them from the dust edged with black against a background of red.

“Ashley,” Cassidy cried again. He twirled toward Travis, terror in his eyes. “In the loft?”

For a second Travis peered at the half-destroyed roof with sick fear shaking his limbs. Another section teetered on the edge of falling. “She couldn’t be. There are paintings outside.”

Which meant she had to be somewhere close. A waft of smoke blinded him, choking his breath. “Stay low,” he warned Cassidy.

They fell to their knees. Travis snapped a finger to the left. “Check behind the paintings. See if she collapsed. I’ll look in the storage area.”

Cassidy nodded, his face tight with fear. “I love you, T.”

He was gone before Travis could respond.

Travis moved forward, his limbs taking him toward the storage area even as his mind screamed a warning that was where the ATV was parked. An ATV full of fuel with extra jerry cans stacked along the wall.

His eyes watered as he peered back and forth in vain looking for some sign of—

A tangle of blonde hair, nearly hidden by a mass of straw. “Ashley.”

Travis scrambled on all fours to her side, lifting off the heavy timber across her legs to reach her body. He eyed her for a moment, taking in the blood streaking her forehead. If this were a typical situation, he wouldn’t have moved her, but the sounds of destruction around them continued to escalate.

He did the fastest visual check ever for broken limbs. “Ashley, baby. Open your eyes. We need to get out of here.”

She moaned, lashes fluttering, gasping for air as she curled onto her side against him.

He lifted her, pressing her to his chest. “Sorry for hurting you, love.”

Ashley curled her fingers around his neck, a sickening cough racking her. He cupped the back of her head and held her tight to his body then held his breath and raced for the main doors.

The sound of the first jerry can igniting echoed off the roof. It reminded him of the time he’d set off firecrackers in the barn. Loud, frightening, but mostly a warning of the more dangerous results that would follow, in that case when his dad got ahold of him to apply some well-deserved punishment.

There were more explosions to come, and the risks would only increase. He stumbled forward, waiting until he was back in the main area where there was a chance Cassidy would hear him. “I have her. Get out, get out now.”

In the back, a second can caught fire, the sickening sound of all the available oxygen being consumed in a
whoosh
drowned out in the explosion that shot toward the ceiling. Another eardrum-shattering blast was followed by a horrifying creaking noise, and Travis risked a glance upward. Nothing but smoke, but that warning was impossible to ignore…

The ceiling was giving way.

A strong arm circled his shoulder as Cassidy joined them, directing their path through the near-whiteout conditions. The cry of a siren growing louder beckoned them forward. The increased visibility at the door gave Travis the strength to hang on, rushing out and away from the building with his precious burden, Cassidy half holding him up, half being supported.

Shouts rang from the right as the volunteer fire truck pulled in and men leapt out, hoses being pulled. Travis ignored them and kept moving, headed to the ambulance bringing up the rear.

“Come on, Ashley, open those pretty eyes of yours.” Cassidy stroked her forehead, his voice tight from the smoke and fear. “You’re safe, baby. We got you.”

“My paintings.” The words barely audible, wheezed out as she struggled to sit up.

God.
Travis knew the damages were going to break her heart. “Lie still. You have to see the paramedics.”

They were surrounded before she could protest. He and Cassidy had to step back. Had to open his arms and let the medical staff take her.

Something inside him broke.

Watching them pull a mask over her face, her eyes wide and frightened, twisted his guts to raw meat. Travis shoved himself forward to catch hold of her reaching fingers. He held on to his meager control with everything he had left.

Cassidy was there, his body close to Travis’s, his fingers also wrapped around Ashley’s. Grime and ashes were smeared on his face, his blond hair filthy with it. In the distance, water met flames and burst into red-hot steam, the sound rolling around them and echoing in Travis’s ears.