The Rancher (29 page)

through the flames into the section of the

barn he’d last seen movement.

The fire had not reached the center ofthe building and the back wall had not yetbeen  touched,  but  the   smoke  wasbecoming so thick that he didn’t knowhow much longer he would be able to see.

A support timber collapsed behind himand fire lapped at the now fallen beam,effectively blocking the solitary exit.

Cole twisted his head from one directionto the other, looking for the man hesuspected had started the blaze. He found Jeremiah collapsed on the ground, nearpassed out.  He leaned down, crooked hisarms under the man’s armpits, anddragged him toward the unburned sectionof the barn at the back. The smoke was

heavy and Cole was finding it more

difficult to breathe.

“No,” Jeremiah scratched out of his throat, “Leave me alone.  I didn’t mean no harm, please don’t hurt me.”  He patted Cole on the side of his face.

The stale stench of cheap alcohol on theman’s breath was pungent enough for Coleto turn away momentarily. The fool waseither insane or too drunk to realize theywere in serious trouble and unless theyfound another way out, they were bothabout to meet their maker.

“Can you stand?” Cole asked as hepulled one of Jeremiah’s arms over hisshoulder and lifted.

“I said, don’t touch me!” Jeremiahyelled with a slur.  He threw his arms inthe air to free himself and caught anunsuspecting Cole in the chin with his

elbow, sending him sprawling backward into a newly kindled fire start.

A slightly stunned Cole shoved himself away from the burning timbers quickly, but some of the flames had already jumped onto his shirt sleeve.   Cole beat at the flames with his free arm.  The hole in the

garment still smoldered, burning the sensitive flesh beneath it.  Cole grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulled it up over his head, and threw it to the ground where he stomped it, effectively extinguishing the small blaze.

He looked up to see a portion of theroof burning now, dropping pieces of fierywood into the straw laden floor at the

center of the barn.  The barn was gone.  There was nothing more they could do to save it.  He picked up his shirt and shook

it open, laying it atop the small fire that had just started there and stomped it out with his feet.

“I should just let you die,
 
Mr. Carson
 
,”

he  tried  to   scream  at  the  nearly unconscious man who’d fallen back down to the ground, but the burning in his throat from all the smoke strained his voice.
 
Why am I saving him again?
 
he asked himself, knowing full well the answer.

Cole moved to the edge of the room and kicked at the wooden planks making up the barn wall, his muscles had been pushed too far and his strength was failing him. With one last kick, his boot finally broke through the wood.

“Over here,” he heard someone shout from the other side.

“Stand back, Charcoal, we’re coming

through.”

Cole moved away from the hole he’d created.  Within moments Raine and Rafe both busted through the wall, splintering the wood into a gap big enough for them to

escape.   Cole closed his eyes in momentary relief.  Then, worried that the barn may collapse on top of them, he picked up an unconscious Jeremiah, flung his new rival over his shoulders, and stumbled to freedom.

Rafe took the load from his shouldersand carried the man toward the house.

Cole staggered back to the front of thebarn and was glad to see the surroundingfires had been extinguished.  The barn wasthe only structure still burning.

He dropped to the ground and rolledover onto his back, lying flat, trying to

catch his breath and fill his lungs with air instead of smoke. Cole closed his eyes and breathed deeply, instigating a short series of coughs to force their way out.

The cool dirt felt nice against his bare back.

“What in Hell’s name were you thinking?”

Cole opened one eye to Raine looming over him.  He propped himself up onto his elbows and opened the other eye.  His brother reached down for his hand and pulled him to his feet and into a hug.  He gripped him a little tighter than was comfortable before pushing him away.

“Let me see.”

“It’s nothing,” Cole lied, even as his

arm throbbed with searing pain.

Raine inspected Cole’s arm.   “You

should have Rafe take a look at that.”

“It’s nothing,” Cole repeated and he pulled his arm from Raine’s grasp.

It appeared that Clay had told those working the lines to stop their tireless efforts as it was to no avail. Cole looked over the smudged faces of a dozen or so men who had worked so hard to stop the inevitable, all staring dismally at the blazing fire.

“You should find your wife,” Raine said.  “I’ll go grab Rafe, so he can take a look at your arm.” He walked toward the house.

Cole turned around and spotted the man Clay had introduced as Doc Knight.  Thedoc was covered in grime from hisassistance in the line.   He removed his

jacket and picked up his doctorin’ bag

before leading Rafe, who was still carrying Carson, inside the house. Cole had only met the man briefly, between jigs, but was impressed now by his dedication to his profession.

It seemed the bunkhouse had sustained minimal damage and appeared mostly intact, if not for the scorched boardwalk and railings.  Looking around the yard it appeared as though the barn had taken the brunt of the damage.

Cole scanned the dying crowd for Abby. He found her sitting on the steps at the back of the house, elbows on her knees with her clenched fists supporting her chin.  Her faced was smudged and her hair was covered in black soot.

Cole pulled himself up and walked toward her. Her hair was in total disarray

and as he got closer he saw that some of the falling strands had been singed at the end. Another of her dresses sacrificed, she sat silently, staring at the destruction before her, a single tear rolling down her soot stained cheek.

Before Cole could reach her, Rafe walked straight toward him and pulled him into a firm embrace.  “You are a fool

if I ever saw one, Charcoal.”  Rafe pushed him away. “I’m glad you walked out of there or I would have had to come in and

get ya.”

“How’s Carson?”

“Pretty bad.  We’ll know more in the morning.   The doc is with him now.  Speaking of which, let me see that arm.”

Damn Raine.

“It’s nothing.”

“Quit being such a baby and let me have a look,” his older brother taunted.

Rafe turned him toward the light from the lanterns still lit above the dancing platform and pulled his arm up for inspection.  Angry blisters had appeared and the reddened skin still felt like it was

on fire.

“Found it.”  Raine came from around

the front of the house and handed Rafe a jar of salve, but held the roll of stripped cloth until Rafe needed it.

Rafe opened the jar, which smelled of balsam pine, and spread a healthy amount of the sticky poultice over the burned area of Cole’s arm. Then, he took the rolled bandage from Raine and wrapped it over the wound.

Within just a few seconds, the sting of

his burns started to soothe.

“Guess all that training from med school comes in handy, after all,” Raine teased.

When Rafe was left at the altar a few

years back, he left Harvard Medical School to become a Bounty Hunter and between his experience with the Pawnee and Raine’s tutelage with a gun, he’d become the most sought after in the western territories.

“Naw, just something I learned from the Indians,” Rafe countered.

They all laughed.

Cole looked at his brothers and realized, for the first time in a very long time, that his family meant everything to him.  He had been blessed growing up in a house filled with continuous noise and

laughter.  He and his siblings had all been very close and had always been there for each other.  Tonight was no different.  He pulled Rafe into a firm embrace.  Raine joined them.

“Levi and Tag will be upset they missed all the fun.”  Rafe’s white teeth

contrasted starkly with the black smudges covering his lips and face.   Cole and Raine both laughed.  The twins had been fascinated with fire since they were little and had caused more than their fair share of incidents needing water buckets and lines of men to help.

Cole missed having his whole family together.  He’d missed the last Christmas when William had visited from England with his new baby.  He hadn’t wanted to see the disappointment in everyone’s

faces or the pity he’d been sure he’d see.

So, he’d stayed away.

He looked back at the steps.  Abby was

gone.

“Thank you for your help, gentlemen.”  Clay worked his way through everyone who’d labored so hard, shaking each of their hands.  When he reached Cole and his brothers, he extended his hand to Rafe.

“I don’t believe we’ve met, but by the build of you, you must be related to these boys.”

“Rafe Redbourne, sir.” Rafe took his hand with a solid grip.

“Ah,   the   Bounty   Hunter,”   Clay surmised, grasping Rafe’s hand heartily.

Rafe glanced at Cole and Raine with a disconcerted look on his face.

“Levi,” Raine said matter-of-factly.

That was enough.  Rafe relaxed.

“I’m Clay McCallister.  You and Rainehere are both welcome to stay in thebunkhouse if you’d like for as long as youneed.  The fire only just reached the porchand we got it out pretty quick.  There aresome extra bunks in there and Martha

makes a great breakfast.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rafe said and then as an afterthought added, “I’m sorry about the barn.”

“Me, too! Aw, well, everyone is safe and the animals all got out in time.  But, maybe if I have you boys staying around for a while, we can get it rebuilt quickly.” Clay winked at Cole.

Cole found a new appreciation for Clay.  In the midst of so much destruction, he didn’t let them take away his humor

“Clay, have you found any...little black cloths lying around?”  Raine asked.

“Not yet.  It’s too dark outside to see anything now.  We’ll probably find it in the morning.”

“Black cloth?”  Rafe queried.

Clay opened his mouth to begin explaining, but Raine stepped in.

“I’ll tell you all about it little brother.  Come with me.”  Raine put a guiding hand on Rafe’s back and led him toward the

bunkhouse.

They turned around.  “See you in the morning, Charcoal.”   Rafe’s voice was higher than usual and the words were annunciated just so.  When another grin broke through and Raine threw his head back and laughed, Cole suspected that their sudden whimsical mockery had

something to do with the fact that this was, for all intents and purposes, his belated wedding night.  He groaned.

“Goodnight.”  Every muscle in Cole’s body ached. He was exhausted, but his mind would not stop racing.  What would Abby expect of him tonight?

Why am I staying away from her again?

Cole sat down on the step Abby had occupied not minutes before and rested his forearms on his thighs.  He had seen many wonderful and productive marriages in his family—his mother and father, Raine and Sarah, Ethan and Grace. All of his married siblings were happy with their mates and very much in love.  Not to say they hadn’t had their fair share of troubles, heartbreak, and adventure.  But, somehow,

they’d made a life together that rivaled the

best of them.

Cole didn’t want to screw it up.  He feltalive for the first time in a long time and itwas all because of the little spitfire who’dgiven him a new thirst for life. Abby.  Hecouldn’t lose her.  He’d discovered in a

very short time that she was unique.  Special.  And he wanted to do right by her.  He’d been lost for so long and had hurt a lot of people.  He wanted to earn her   trust   and   her   love   before consummating   what   God   already recognized.

Don’t blow it, Redbourne.

“Just how many of you are there?”  Jenna pulled him from his thoughts.  She had appeared out of nowhere, every hair in place and not a smudge on her.

However, the bottom of her dress wasmuddy and a piece of straw protrudedfrom the hem.

“Seven. Why does everyone keepasking that?”

“Because more of you keep showingup.” She laughed and took a step closer tohim.

He looked at the window to the room he

would share with Abby.   A light was burning. Shadows flickered across the curtains.  Abby was already inside.  His pulse quickened.  He told himself it was just a physical response to the events of the day and the thought of lying his tired body down on a nice comfortable bed.

“Goodnight, Miss Jenna.”  He tipped his hat and walked toward the house, Abby   consuming   his   thoughts.   He