Chapter 23
23
Hudson
T he stench of smoke hung heavy in the air.
Horses whinnied in terror.
Something made a loud crackling sound somewhere in the distance.
Hudson flared and then wrinkled his nose before suddenly realizing that the smoke he’d experienced in his dreams was, in fact, surrounding him in real life. He leaped up off the bale of straw he’d chosen as his temporary bed and his eyes flew wide as he took in the scene before him.
Golden embers floated like lightning bugs through the air.
A hazy sort of smoke hung around him like someone had turned on a fog machine while he’d slept.
Hudson coughed and dropped down to his hands and knees as he crawled toward the stalls where the horses were being kept. Thank goodness his brother’s horses had been taken back to their ranch. Right now, there were only four animals in the barn—but at this moment, all four of them depended on him for their lives.
A beam from overhead crashed down in front of him, sending embers and sparks into his face. He lifted an arm over his face, scrambling backward. The heat seared his face and singed his hair. If he didn’t get out of there fast, he might not get out of there at all.
The sound of barking jerked his attention onward. He charged forward, this time crouched down so he could dart around the fallen debris.
On his way to the stalls that housed the horses, he yanked off two hand towels from a nearby workbench where he’d been wiping down the saddles. Using the rags to temporarily blind the horses, he pulled them—one in either hand, using the towels as a makeshift lead. The other two horses followed.
Smoke inundated his senses, burning his nose and throat. His eyes wept from the heat, and yet all he could do was think about Rachel. He’d get out of there for her if no one else. She needed him. He wasn’t going to abandon her like he’d been abandoned by so many.
Hudson made it to the edge of the barn and yanked the horses free from the burning inferno behind him. He doubled over, gulping in the cool night air. He’d done it. He’d saved the animals, and he’d gotten out.
A dog’s whimper from behind made his heart sink into his gut. He turned around toward the glowing disaster of the barn. Odin was still inside. Without thinking, he darted back into the flames even as they licked at his skin and took the hair right off his arms. Another piece of the roof collapsed down at his side, making contact with his shoulder, but he pressed onward.
“Odin!” he yelled, bringing his shirt up to cover his nose. Crazy dog! What was he still doing in a burning building anyway? “Odin!”
Another bark to his left, and Hudson swung his attention to the side to find the dog cowering under the very workbench he’d taken the rags from. Burning debris littered the countertop. It wouldn’t be long before the rest of the building came down.
Hudson scooped up the dog into his arms and darted outside. He collapsed to his knees as he put the dog on the ground. Then he rolled onto his back, breathing heavily and staring up at the sky. The heat from the fire still reached him despite being a few yards away. His ears buzzed, and his vision went blurry. Someone would be coming. No one would let the building continue to burn like that.
His eyes closed.
He’d call someone when he woke up. He was just so sleepy.
“Hudson,” a faraway voice hollered. It was sweet and soft. But it was also frantic and ringing. “Hudson, so help me, if you don’t wake up?—”
“Ma’am, his vitals have stabilized. He’ll wake up soon, I assure you.”
“You can’t be certain. You said yourself he had a decent amount of smoke inhalation.”
“That’s correct. However, we’ve treated him for the most severe complications to be on the safe side. He’s on oxygen. We’ve dressed the burn on his shoulder. All we can do is wait.”
The voices trailed off, fading in and out as Hudson fought to open his eyes. It was as if they’d been glued shut. His throat was hot and thick. It took a great deal of effort to swallow. The incessant beeping sound rang in his head with each staccato note.
Hudson groaned.
“Hudson? Can you hear me?” The soft voice was back, followed by a touch on his hand. Small, delicate fingers laced through his and tightened. “Hudson, come back to me,” she whispered. It was familiar.
More than familiar, it was the sound of an angel.
His angel.
Rachel .
Hudson forced his eyes to open only to be blinded by a bright light. He blinked and groaned again.
A quiet gasp at his right drew his attention, and Rachel’s terrified expression hovered over him. Tears streaked her cheeks, and her lashes were clumped together with moisture. Her head snapped up and over to somewhere else in the room. “Will you let the doctor know he’s awake?”
Footsteps shuffled away, and Rachel stared down at him again. She brought the back of his hand to her cheek, then kissed it. “I didn’t know if you were going to be okay.”
He offered her a weak smile, but he couldn’t say anything. If he could, he would have told her that she wasn’t going to get rid of him that easy. Unfortunately, his eyes were too heavy to keep open. Hudson took a deep breath, then coughed. Nope, he definitely wouldn’t be able to speak right away.
Rachel kissed his hand again, and whenever he could muster the strength to glance in her direction, he could see the worry that lined her face. She was okay. They’d be okay. There was no way anyone would allow this crime to go uninvestigated. Someone would be caught. There was evidence of foul play everywhere.
He gave her a smile once more, then closed his eyes. When he woke up again, he’d tell her everything. Starting with how her face in his mind had helped him push through.
Hushed voices broke into his dreams again, but this time he felt more refreshed, and it wasn’t nearly as hard to open his eyes. Hudson chose to keep his eyes closed to see if whatever was being spoken of would be something he needed to hear.
“Are you sure that he doesn’t smoke?” The voice was familiar, and yet he couldn’t place it.
“I’m positive.” It was Liam. What was he doing here? Shoot! Of course Rachel would call his family, but to have them here watching him when he was in a hospital bed? “He doesn’t drink either.”
“We didn’t find any signs of a drinker on the property. But there was an empty pack of cigarettes. What about anyone you have on staff.”
“No.” Rachel’s quiet voice came next. “I haven’t had any hired help on the premises for the last couple of weeks. The only people we had were helping build shelter structures. Other than that, it was just Hudson and his brothers.”
“And no one in your family smokes?”
“It’s like I said, Sheriff, the only vices we’ve dealt with that I know of are the occasional drink. And my siblings are doing their best to kick that habit. Whoever left that box has to be responsible for the fire.”
“Unfortunately,” the sheriff sighed, “one empty box isn’t much to go on. If we found additional evidence from that night the house was broken into, or around the other parts of the property that had been damaged, then I might be able to make a case for it. As of now, there is nothing I can do.”
“That’s a load of bull?—”
“Liam. He’s just doing his job,” Rachel murmured. “I’ll let you know if I find any other evidence around the property.”
“Thank you, Miss Walton. Give my regards to Hudson. Tell him what he did was a brave thing.”
“He’s not a seven-year-old—” Liam snapped but was cut off again, presumably by Rachel. “What about the water?” he demanded. A cool sort of feeling fell over the room, one that even Hudson could feel.
“What about the water?” The sheriff’s voice grew a little louder as if he’d come back into the room. “What water are you talking about?”
“The creek,” Liam amended. “The creek was diverted, and we found an empty box of cigarettes. I would bet my next month’s wages that it’s the same brand as the one you found.”
“There was a cigarette box out there?” Rachel said.
Hudson could hear the betrayal in Rachel’s voice this time. He’d kept it from her. He’d wanted to shield her from it. It had somehow made sense that if he didn’t tell her about the box, then he could pretend it wasn’t as serious as it was—if only when he was spending time with Rachel.
“I’m sorry, Liam. But your brother didn’t turn anything in. I’d have to check to see if it was the same before I could draw any conclusions.
Another growl from Liam was all Hudson heard before one set of footsteps exited the room.
“I’m going to get some coffee,” Liam muttered. “Let me know if he wakes up again.”
For a moment, Hudson didn’t hear anything. Then a pair of warm hands wrapped around his. “You can open your eyes now.”
Hudson did as he was told and found Rachel’s eyes. He couldn’t hold her accusing stare for long—already knowing what she was going to ask him.
“When were you going to tell me about the cigarette box?”
He opened his mouth and only a raspy sound escaped. “I didn’t think…”
“No, you didn’t.” Her tone was sharper this time. “You didn’t think. How could you have found something like that and not tell me? For heaven’s sake, Hudson. I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
“What good would it have done?” he wheezed. “I’m not even sure it was from the same people who set the barn on fire.”
She shook her head with disdain. “You and I both know that the probability is high they have a connection. And yet, you still kept it from me. I can’t believe you would do that.”
This time he met her scowl with one of his own. “I was protecting you.”
“I don’t need protecting.”
He snorted.
Rachel got to her feet, dropping his hand in the process. “Now you’re in a hospital bed with burns and smoke damage in your lungs. You and the horses and Odin almost died, and it’s all my fault.”
“If you believe that,” he said and coughed, “then you’re dumber than I thought you were.”
Her jaw dropped open. “Tell me you didn’t just call me dumb.”
He looked away.
“You want to know why this is my fault? Because I didn’t leave when I had the chance. I didn’t take their threats seriously. I should have walked.”
Hudson’s eyes snapped back to Rachel’s. He couldn’t tell if she was just venting or if there was a deeper meaning to what she was saying. She couldn’t possibly be suggesting that she wanted to give up the sanctuary.
Could she?
Rachel paced at the foot of his bed. “I don’t know where that other cigarette box is, but I’m hoping you were smart enough to put it somewhere safe so the sheriff can compare the two.”
It was in his room. No, he hadn’t been careless enough to put it in his pocket when he’d left the house to sleep out in the barn. But he wasn’t going to give it up that easily. He had his own investigation to conduct.
She let out a sigh and her pacing slowed. “Maybe it’s time to take a step back and accept that I don’t know what I’m doing. This was all new territory to begin with. Perhaps I made a mistake in staying here—in starting this sanctuary without knowing what I would be coming up against.”
“You don’t mean that.”
She shrugged, wrapping her arms around her as she glanced toward him. “It’s for the best, Hudson.”
Wait a minute. That sounded final. Had she already made the decision? How long had he been out? It didn’t feel like more than a day, but he’d been asleep for most of it. “You’re not selling,” he insisted louder this time.
“Not yet. But I have a meeting lined up with a few potential buyers and with the guy who wanted me to run that charity?—”
Hudson slammed his fist down into the mattress, but it made less of an impact with his already weakened state. “You can’t sell. That’d be like running away. You’re not a coward.”
“Maybe I am. How much do you really know me, Hudson?” She looked away. “I have to go. I’ll let Liam know you’re awake.” She moved toward the door, and he called after her.
“Rachel, wait?—”
But she was already gone.