Some Cowboys Brave the Flames (Keagans of Copper Creek #10)

Chapter 14

14

Charlie

C harlie’s hands shook. Her ears were ringing, and she’d barely managed to get to a seated position while the newscaster reported on the biggest fire of the season. It was close enough to Copper Creek that the sun had turned red in the sky. Taking one step outside was suffocating, and everything smelled of campfire.

Daniel sat on the edge of his seat, his eyes glued to the screen as well. She glanced at him, then back to the television, hating how much she wanted to ask him about Ash. There were others in the room watching, as well, stirring more tension into the house than she could stand.

She’d been harsh with him the last time they’d spoken, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she found out he never wanted to come by again just so he could avoid her.

Heart sinking, she continued to listen.

“After three days, we now have sources telling us the fire is seventy percent contained. Those in the area were safely evacuated, and there have been no reported casualties.”

Daniel heaved a breath and leaned back in his seat, his hands laced behind his head. They were all visibly shaken. No one had heard from Ash in the last couple of days. That much had been clear when she’d entered the room.

She settled back in her seat as well, the buzzing in her ears slowly dying down. The phone resting on the cushion at her side seemed to scream at her to call him, to message him just so she could confirm he was okay.

Her fingers twitched in her lap while she stared at it.

“Someone should try to call again,” Wade said from the doorway. His gaze swept through the room.

“I’ve already tried five times,” Daniel offered. “It’s going straight to voicemail.”

“They said that there were no casualties,” Charlie said just above a whisper.

Daniel shook his head. “That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been hurt.”

“You don’t think he’s in a hospital somewhere, do you? They would have said it on the news, right?” Charlie asked.

Her brother looked at her, curiosity leaking from his gaze. “I suppose that would make an interesting news story. People are suckers for heroes.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Maybe someone should stop by his apartment,” another family member offered.

Charlie didn’t pay attention to who had said it. She only continued to stare at her phone. Finally, she picked it up as she stood. Shoving it in her back pocket, she said, “I’m going to bed.” She didn’t care that it was barely dusk out. She needed some time alone to think.

That sinking feeling inside, though not as severe, was still present. Until she heard his voice, she wasn’t going to trust that he was okay.

Thoughts of him consumed her as she went through the motions of preparing for bed. Once she slid beneath the sheets, she pulled the phone out again to check for any messages.

Nothing.

She opened the messages app and her thumb hovered over the keyboard. What could she say to him that wouldn’t sound ridiculous?

Charlie let out a disgruntled sound and tossed the phone on the bed beside her. The darkened ceiling blurred above her as those thoughts of Ash consumed her.

His words to her clattered through her mind.

You don’t see it, do you? You can’t begin to understand the way you affect me .

Heat coiled in the pit of her stomach. His words were a caress along her cheek. They’d captured her breath and seized it, not allowing her to take even the smallest breath.

And the worst part is that it will never work between us. I will never be able to make you mine.

His.

Charlie closed her eyes and let out a slow, shuddering breath. She’d thought he was playing games. But the way he’d said those things to her, the way his voice had cracked when he whispered them so close to her face, she’d begun to wonder if she was wrong.

She’d never seen Ash so agitated.

Her heart thrummed, and she curled up on her side to ease the tension that had coiled from her stomach all the way up to her heart. Her body only grew more agitated, more restless. She couldn’t just lay here when she didn’t know if he was okay.

She sat straight up in her bed and threw the covers aside. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and her boots. Perhaps a ride would be enough to ease that spring of tension within her.

The second she emerged from the barn, she paused. Even as the sun crept behind the horizon, she could see the storm clouds moving into the valley. There was no telling how much moisture they’d receive from them, but hopefully it would be enough to give the men like Ash a reprieve from fighting fires this season.

With one boot in the stirrups, she hoisted herself into the saddle and urged Rose into a canter.

Wind whipped at her hair, and she regretted not pulling them into the braids she loved so much. She closed her eyes for brief moments, letting her other senses flood her mind with her surroundings. The sound of the wind through the trees. The crickets chirping in the brush. She could smell the fresh-cut hay in the field at her right and the barest hint of wildflowers that managed to survive year after year.

In this moment she could relax and push off any worry she had for the future. She had to trust that the news reporters would have mentioned if one of the heroes had been injured. She had to believe that Ash was okay, because if she gave up, then she didn’t know how her heart would survive.

Time lost all meaning as she continued to ride. The skies got darker. Her horse grew more antsy, and when the first raindrop pelted her face, she knew it was time to turn around. The small drops splashed against her skin, goosebumps prickling along her arms. The closer she drew to the house, the heavier the rain became.

She couldn’t even be mad. The rain was needed, welcomed, prayed for. Charlie turned her face to the sky and let out a laugh. It was beautiful.

Rose didn’t seem to appreciate the change in weather though. She didn’t even slow down when they reached the barn. Instead, she darted right into the shelter and skidded to a stop once she got out of the rain.

Charlie laughed again, leaning over to pat Rose on the neck. Then she climbed down from the saddle and made quick work of getting Rose brushed down and dried off.

Her hoodie was heavy with moisture and the cold bit into her jeans, making her legs ache. Water no longer dripped down her face, but her hair was as wet as if she’d stepped out of the shower. At least the tension she’d been dealing with had eased up.

If Ash didn’t call anyone by tomorrow, she was going to march over to his place herself and give him a piece of her mind.

She tossed one last look around the barn, lit only by a few dim lights so they could see their way around at night. Her hand trailed against the stalls, then the doorway itself. Charlie waited there for a moment, a memory tugging at the back of her mind.

It had been a rainy night when Ash had kissed her. It had also been a night wrought with tension and heartache.

She heaved a sigh and started jogging toward the house.

A figure stepped out of the shadow of a tree, and she clapped her hands over her mouth to stop from screaming. “Ash?” she hissed. She could barely see his features in the glowing light from the porch a few yards away. “Ash!” Instincts took over and she threw her arms around his shoulders. “I was so worried about you.” She pulled back and frowned at him, tempted to slug him like her brothers might. “We were all worried about you!”

He wore a hoodie, but he hadn’t covered his head. His hands were shoved into his front pockets and the expression on his face was pained.

She peered at him in the dark, her eyes squinting with worry. “What’s wrong?”

Ash shifted, twisting and digging the toe of his shoe into the grass at their feet. “I’m fine,” he murmured.

No, he wasn’t.

Her first thought was that someone had gotten hurt and only he knew about it. Then upon looking at him closer, she disregarded that thought with a shake of her head. Her hand reached out, and she touched his forearm. “What’s wrong?” she tried again.

His eyes darted toward the darkened house. It looked as though her family had gone to bed. Not one light was on.

She glanced there as well, her concern growing. “Should I go get?—”

“No!” he said, sharp and quiet. Then his expression relaxed but only slightly. The rain was still coming down, but it wasn’t a downpour. It had lightened to that nice sort of rain that made her blink when the droplets hit her lashes, but it wasn’t unbearable. It was the kind of rain someone could sing and dance under.

Charlie reached for his arm. “Let’s get out of this rain.” She tugged him toward the side of the house, beneath the roof’s awning. She pressed her back to the building and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. An apology was already forming on her lips for the last conversation they had, but he spoke first.

“I can’t stop thinking about you, Charlie.”

She didn’t think she heard him right. She glanced at him, confusion flooding her senses.

Ash pulled both of his hands out of his hoodie pocket, forming fists at his sides. His voice was low and serious, but it was his eyes that made her grow still. There wasn’t a drop of teasing. All she read there was desire and longing. “I’m in love with you, Charlie.”

She gasped, shaking her head. “No.”

“ No ?” he demanded, his voice hoarse, painful.

“No,” she repeated firmly. “We can’t do this. You said so yourself. Your girlfriend?—”

“She doesn’t exist.”

Her mouth fell open, then she dug her fingers into her hair, letting out a baffled laugh. “You expect me to believe that?”

He opened his mouth, but she held up a hand to stop him.

“No.”

“You keep saying that?—”

“What else am I supposed to say?”

“You’re supposed to listen to me.” His hands reached for her, but she took a step back from him. His jaw tightened, and he shoved his hands into his pocket once more. “I made her up because I didn’t want Liam to set me up. He wouldn’t leave it be.”

Charlie let out a sharp laugh. “Do you hear how that sounds?”

“It’s the truth,” he insisted. “There’s only one person I’m interested in. What was I supposed to say? Gee, thanks, Liam, but I’d much rather date your baby sister.”

She flinched, not liking the sound of that, either. “And the cooking lessons?”

“An excuse,” he said quietly. “I… wanted to spend time with you.”

Her heart burst with his statement, and yet she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around what he was saying. She shook her head, unable to say anything more than she already had. She needed to think about what he’d said—what it would mean for the two of them, and for what it would mean to her brothers. She only got two steps into the rain before he stopped her.

In a movement that flashed by so quickly she barely had a chance to register what was happening, one of his hands had slipped around her waist and the other cradled the back of her head. For one breath-stealing second, their eyes locked as her mouth turned into a smile and she nodded. Then his mouth crushed over hers.

Her legs nearly buckled, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a desperate attempt to keep upright. This kiss wasn’t like their first. That one had been a sweet, gentle caress—a whisper of a promise for her future.

This one was demanding, searing, absolute fire. The two kisses could barely be compared, and yet they were intertwined.

Beginning and end.

They’d come full circle from that kiss six years ago. Here in the rain, she couldn’t help but believe everything he’d said. She got the feeling that if he’d give her access to his phone, his computer, she wouldn’t find any evidence of a girlfriend. His stories had been all too vague.

And then another memory hit her. What he’d said about how he met his girlfriend.

She’s related to a good friend of mine.

Is she from Copper Creek? Charlie had asked.

Yes.

Every question she could remember asking him—his answers could have easily been describing her. And that realization made it that much easier to give in to the desires she’d been fighting since Christmas. To throw caution to the wind and the rain just so she could enjoy this moment in his arms.

Their kiss deepened and a soft moan slipped from Charlie’s lips. Her hands pushed into his hair and she clung to him like he was breath itself.

No, this would not be the end.

This?

This was only the beginning.