Chapter Ten
Ten
Marshall ran as fast as the snow would allow, his body acting on instinct. The old barn was on fire, and if it wasn’t contained, the flames could spread to the main barn, where the animals were kept. He heard Tally shouting for him in the distance. He shot a quick look over his shoulder.
“Stay back,” he barked.
Tally stood behind him, her open coat flapping in the evening wind. “I’ve called the fire department.”
“Good,” he said, his feet still on the move. He couldn’t afford to wait around. “Get all the fire extinguishers from inside the house. I’ll get the ones from the main barn.”
He could also make a quick check on the animals and ensure no sparks had found their way to the other structure. Hay ignited so damn fast.
But he couldn’t mull over worst-case scenarios. He had too much to do. He raced into the main barn and gathered two fire extinguishers, relieved to see no signs of fire. The horses were restless, pawing at the ground, whinnying in distress. He hoped like hell none of them broke out of their stalls.
Plunging back into the snow, he clutched the fire extinguishers and raced toward the old barn. The original structure from back in his childhood.
The thought threatened to steal his focus.
He touched the door and found it cooler than he expected.
A relief. Still, he needed to be careful of creating a back draft when he opened the barn door.
Easing it open, staying well clear to the side, he assessed the interior.
Sparks flew from the fuse box. Fire licked the ground around it, encroaching onto one of the old stalls.
The stall that had once held his childhood horse.
Marshall plunged inside, dropping one extinguisher and arming the other as he closed the distance. He foamed the flames, slowing the spread. The high ceilings kept the smoke at bay for now.
Just as the extinguisher spluttered on empty, the other was thrust into sight.
By Tally.
At some point, she’d joined him, staying silently back. Readying the next container. He took it gratefully from her hands and went to work on the remaining flames. With luck, he should be able to contain it until the fire department arrived and could soak it down to prevent a reignite.
As much as he wanted to tell Tally to leave, he knew she wouldn’t. And he was grateful for her help.
Time felt distorted. As the fire continued to press onward, nothing made sense to him.
He heard a siren sounding behind him, felt Tally’s urgent hands pulling him back, but he didn’t really understand that he needed to step back until one of the firefighters stood in front of him, shouting through his face mask to move away.
His heart was beating wildly, and adrenaline coursed through every muscle in his body.
EMTs checked over both him and Tally, declaring them unharmed, attributing it to how quickly he’d subdued the flames and minimized the smoke. Marshall squeezed Tally’s hand in comfort and quizzed the firefighters.
The general consensus was that the old fuse box had sparked with a surge, but an investigation would confirm that later.
Now, after the fire department had left, as Marshall checked on the horses in the main barn, everything he’d held at bay came flooding over him.
He replayed the scene in his mind. The feeling of hopelessness as he watched the firefighters subdue the flames.
Past and present collided in his mind. His mind still filled with images of the old barn on fire, a symbol of his childhood. His family. Going up in flames.
The gut punch of that chilled him still, reminding him what low reserves he had inside him for more loss.
The barn felt like a last sanctuary of the past. Of what life was like before. Before his mother and sister died. Before alcoholism took hold of him. Before the dark years. And now...his throat constricted. Air seemed impossible to swallow into his lungs.
Tally’s light touch broke his thoughts. She wrapped him in a tight hug. “I’m so very sorry for what happened here.”
The smell of smoke clung to her. Or maybe that was him.
For the first time he noticed the soot on his hands and jeans. “Insurance is there for a reason. It can be repaired.”
But he knew it wouldn’t look the same. Maybe the universe was pushing him to make those changes sooner rather than later.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice. I feel responsible for not catching it sooner. If you’d gotten home even a little later, this could have been very bad.”
He swallowed, his eyes remaining unfocused. Looking at some invisible index of what was and all that was lost. “There’s no way your eyes can be everywhere at once. I should have upgraded the barn sooner.”
He’d been resistant to changing that place. And now it had cost him dearly. Even so, things could have been so much worse. At least no one had been hurt.
If Tally had gone down to the barn alone to battle the flames while he was gone... Even the unfinished thought made his gut clench. He should have had more farm staff on hand. This was his fault on so many levels.
Guilt stung hard and deep.
He wanted a drink.
At least there was no alcohol on the premises to tempt him in this weak moment.
He would just climb into the shower and call this day over.
In fact, showering and sleeping in the vacant bunkhouse was probably the wisest course of action.
He could watch over the horses and ground himself again in the world where he felt most at home.
Tally rested a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
He flinched at her touch, his emotions so damn raw. “I’m fine. I’m relieved that you and the horses made it through unscathed.”
“Because of you.” Her voice was soft, the only other sound the snuffles of horses settling in for the night after the fright.
He wanted to take her, here and now. But after what she’d been through, his need felt selfish. Not to mention his control was shaky.
Marshall’s heavy exhale ricocheted through his very core. The air tasted strange in his mouth. He needed to be useful. “Let me walk you back up to the house so you can get some rest.”
“I don’t want to rest. After the night we’ve had, my heart is in my throat. I want—I need—to be with you.”
She stepped closer, sliding her arms around his neck, leaning flush against him. There was no mistaking her intent and her certainty. His desire for her surged, riding the adrenaline still coursing through him.
With his reserves well below normal and needing to feel her vibrantly alive in his embrace, he couldn’t find the will to tell her no.
Water from the bunkhouse shower rolled down Tally’s body. Marshall stood against her, his cast in a plastic bag, his back taking the brunt of the spray. She could hardly believe all they’d been through together, working to keep the old barn safe until the fire department could arrive.
And they’d succeeded. Working side by side.
Adrenaline poured from her feet as surely as the water sluicing down and off her body. Cedar-planked walls of the bathroom created a warm, humid haven. Somehow, the scent of smoke and fire felt distant in this tiny room.
The immediate worries were past. Marshall had checked the animals over, and they appeared to be unharmed.
But he’d put in a call to his farm veterinarian to look at them in the morning to make sure none had injured themselves in their stress.
Thank goodness the integrity of the old structure had survived.
It would require cleanup and repairs, but the barn was basically intact. It could have been so much worse.
She slid her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to his chest, grateful he was unharmed. The stress in his tight muscles couldn’t be ignored, and she couldn’t blame him.
Her heart was still in her throat. She’d feared for his life as he’d worked to put the fire out. At least the animals had been secure in the main barn. Even after the fire department had arrived, they hadn’t been able to stop Marshall from helping.
And for the first time, she wondered why he didn’t have full-time ranch hands on staff.
She’d noticed over her time working here that day workers came through to assist with feeding, riding and walking.
Family assisted as well while he recovered.
Still, the bunkhouse attached to the barn was empty even though he had the wealth to hire as much help as he chose.
This man was an island. And right now, she could see the weight of the world bearing down on his broad shoulders.
And with everything that made him more honorable, she could only think of how that would make it all the more impossible for him to forgive her once he knew everything.
The knife’s edge of their time together coming to an end cut clean through her.
Making her ache to take everything she could for as long as she could.
In a fluid motion, Marshall exited the shower, retrieving a massive fluffy white towel before slinging a second one around his waist. He wrapped her in the terry cloth, drawing her close to his chest. For a moment, they stayed locked together, still. Pressed against each other.
A deep breath filtered through her nose as her skin touched his. Grabbing her hand, he led her toward the rustic four-poster bed made of sanded logs. He lowered her to the quilt before turning on the gas logs to further warm the main bedroom in the bunkhouse space.
The flames cast an amber glow over him, a reminder of the battle they’d waged together tonight.
The earthy smell of the barn in keeping with the man she’d come to know so well over the past weeks.
She’d learned every inch of him, but still reveled in exploring the hard planes of him.
His body was the kind honed on the land and not in a gym.
She extended a hand to him. “Come join me.”