Chapter Thirteen
The barns were a total loss. There was nothing salvageable.
Fire Chief Watson greeted Puma with a frown. “Sorry about the loss, Puma.”
“Thanks, Pete. Any idea yet how it was started?”
Pete, a stocky man with a solid build, shook his head. “I want to do a thorough investigation first. I should know something soon. Got any cameras set up?”
“Not yet.” That would now move up to the top of Puma’s to-do list.
“It’s a shame a man needs security, but these days it’s run of the mill.”
“Pete, can I talk to you a second?” Sheriff Charley asked.
“Sure,” Pete answered. “I’ll speak to you soon,” he told Puma and walked over to Charley.
Puma went in search of his crew, finding them gathered near the arena. They were all dirty and covered in soot. When he approached the solemn-looking men, Puma felt a catch in his chest.
“How’s Bryar?” Leo asked. “That was pretty brave what she did to save that horse.”
“She’ll be sore, but she’s tough. I just wanted to let y’all know how proud I am of your determination to save the barn.”
Skeeter Thomas stepped forward. “I’m sorry we failed. All that work down the drain.”
“It’s a setback, but it won’t stop us. We’ll rebuild.” Puma chose to omit the detail about Reno’s claim that he owned some of the land. “Did any of you see anything suspicious?”
“We were actually on our way home,” Leo said. “I saw some smoke and called the boys back. Maybe if we’d gotten here sooner…”
Puma patted the man on the shoulder. “This is none of your fault. You all went above and beyond. In fact, take the day off tomorrow. We all need a break.”
After sending the crew home, Puma walked back to the house. The snow had picked up, and the evening was much cooler, but he felt little outside of his anger over the incident. Not only would they not meet his timeline, but this expense would eat into his budget.
He took a quick shower and still beat Bryar to the kitchen.
He hadn’t been to the grocery store in a while because he mainly ate out or what the wives of the crew brought, but he couldn’t make a promise to a woman and not keep it. He rummaged through the refrigerator and found bacon, eggs, milk, shredded cheese, and mushrooms. Inside the pantry, he found bread that was still fresh. He decided to make his old standby—an omelet and toast.
By the time he had the bacon laid out on the griddle, Bryar came sweeping into the kitchen, bringing her sunshine. She looked beautiful, with damp hair hanging around her shoulders. She wore a flannel tied at the waist, showing off a sliver of her flat stomach, and jeans that challenged the seams of his own.
She’d bandaged her hand.
“How’s the wound?” he asked. “I see you found the wrap I left you.”
“It’s okay. It’s not as bad as I thought it was. Dinner already smells delicious,” she peeked past him at the sizzling bacon.
“Sorry, I didn’t have much. I’m not much of the domestic type. I guess I’ll have to hire someone when the rest of the crew gets here. We can't have a bunch of hangary alpha men. We will kill each other.”
“I love breakfast for dinner. Need any help?”
“Want to whip up the eggs in a bowl?”
“Sure.” She headed straight for the cabinet where the bowls were, then he remembered that she’d visited his father frequently. That still threw him for a loop.
“Want a beer?” He flipped the bacon.
“Sure. I’ll grab them.” She went to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles, handing him one.
He took a long swig and watched her. She was carefully cracking eggs.
“Did you find out anything about the fire? How it was started?” she asked.
“I spoke to the fire chief and he said they’ll know more details soon. Leo and the men said they’d been heading out when the fire started.”
“Do you think one of them accidentally started it?”
“The crew is a great, honest group. I’d say that if any of them suspected anything, they would have come forward.”
“I’m sorry. I know it’s a big setback and will impact everything.”
He rubbed his brows to relieve tension. “I believe it’s no coincidence that we had a disagreement with Reno, and now my barns are scrap.” Although he lacked evidence to support his accusation, a sense of suspicion sat heavily in his gut.
“I had the same thought.”
He finished preparing the meal then dished out food onto two plates and carried them to the table. Digging in, he paused to add, “It’s typical of Reno to act like a coward.” He watched her push around the eggs on her plate. “That’s a fork, not a shovel.”
“I feel like this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have drug you into this mess.”
“You didn’t do this, Bryar. Reno hated my father and tried everything he could to buy this property. If Reno didn’t stir up shit for the current issue, he would have found a way. He doesn’t know how to do anything ethically.” He grabbed a slice of bacon off his plate and shoved it into his mouth. He wasn’t as hungry now that they talked about Reno, but he needed to eat. Bryar stared at her plate. She felt the impact of the conversation about the bastard too. “We don’t know how the fire started yet.”
She leaned back into the chair, looking hopeless. “I’ve enabled Lane all his life. I’ve protected him, saved him, and beat up Randall Cremeans when he bullied my brother in elementary school. I feel that I’ve been wearing blinders all these years, pretending my brother had just been at the wrong places at the wrong times. Daddy has done the same. He’s coddled Lane.”
“I did the same for a long time with Pa. He might not be guilty of everything he’s been accused of, but I saw how he treated Ma with my own eyes. He had a drinking problem that turned into a family problem. He pushed her away, everyone away, including me. Looking back, I understand that he had stressors that none of us knew about, but he was a grown man who knew that sitting over at Crazy Shades and drinking himself into oblivion wasn’t going to solve anything, especially his marriage.”
“Maybe we need to be careful throwing stones.” She poked a piece of egg and brought it to her mouth.
“Yeah? Defending my dad again?”
“No, I’m just saying look at what we’ve done to our own marriage. We dropped the ball. We pushed each other away. I believe Storm loved your mother dearly, but sometimes a person just doesn’t know how to fight demons knocking at their door. Daddy and your father were a lot alike in that sense. He also had too much pride for one person. He hurt my mother time and again, and she couldn’t take it anymore. I’m not condoning or defending what she did, but she just wasn’t strong enough to deal with Daddy’s bullshit.” She dropped her fork to the plate with a loud clank.
“The difference in our marriage was that you and I were kids just trying to find our way, while our fathers wanted to destroy what we had to soothe their own anger. We were so young, experiencing such great loss, and neither of us knew how to navigate those emotions.”
“You’re right, but it doesn’t change the outcome.” She looked sad and pushed back from the table. “Thanks for dinner, but I’m no longer hungry. I’ll do the dishes.”
“Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll clean up. I’ll just throw them in the dishwasher. Easy peasy.” His chest tightened. He wanted to go to her, hold her, and assure her that everything would be alright. He should explain that he’d missed her and would do anything to prove that he still cared. But had that ship sailed? Was there any going back? Sometimes, no matter how much love someone had for another, it didn’t mean it would be returned.
“Again, thank you. I’m going to bed.”
Once she left the kitchen, he got up, dumped the remaining food into the trash can, and filled the dishwasher. He worked like a robot. He took the stairs to his bedroom and was disappointed when he found his bed empty. Why had he thought that maybe she would be sleeping with him again? Because he was a foolish man, that’s why.
How had the evening gone so wrong?
Hauling off his clothes, he dropped down onto the bed and closed his eyes, laying his arm over his head. His thoughts were swirling and his body ached. If he found out that Reno was behind the fire, he was going to break the man’s neck like a twig. It was about time someone made the man scared for his life.
If Reno harmed one hair on Bryar’s body, there wasn’t a place Reno could hide that Puma wouldn’t find him. He’d scrape every piece of dirt in the world to find the bastard and break him into pieces. Puma had always been a cool-headed man, but he’d do anything for the people he cared for.
Loved.
He still loved Bryar—his wife.
Looking back, he wasn’t sure how he’d ever walked away from her or how he had stayed away for so long. He didn’t realize how much love he still cared for her until he saw her again. Everything came barreling back like a tsunami. He wasn’t strong enough to deny the emotions. But it was dangerous to play with fire. He could go up in flames just like the barn. He wasn’t sure he could recover again if he had to walk away a second time. He should just put up all his walls and avoid anything messy.
Yet, his promise was soon to be put to a test when he heard, “Puma?” Her voice was so soft that he almost thought he’d imagined it until he looked up and found her standing in the open doorway, her hair hanging around her shoulders like a cloud and in a shirt that was nearly threadbare beyond recognition.
“Hey, that’s my old football jersey. I wondered where it had disappeared.”
She ran her palms down the worn material where the number had long faded. “I’ve kept it safe for you all these years. Now you can have it back, I suppose.” Then she did something that broke every chain in his body. She towed the shirt over her head and tossed it into his chest. He caught the scent of her lingering in the material, but he was too focused on the fact she wasn’t wearing anything underneath that shirt except for a strip of hair between her legs.
He sucked in a breath as his cock hardened like steel. She was more beautiful than he remembered. Exquisite.
Her breasts were full, and her nipples were large and crimson pink. She had a slight belly and some red marks—marks of pregnancy. He remembered how her belly had been full with their child. He thought she’d made the most beautiful pregnant woman. Her hips were fuller, encasing her inner thighs. Her legs were long and toned.
“What are you doing, Bry?” he forced off his lips. He wanted her so bad he could already taste her.
“I’m seducing my husband.”