Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“What the fuck?” Wyl leaped up, glanced around the room, then turned to Rod. “Are you all right?”
Rod stood and put the laptop on the coffee table. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He grabbed Wyl’s arms, looking for injury from cut glass.
“I’m okay. Be careful of the glass.”
Rod pointed to the rock. “There is a note tied to the rock.”
“Boots!” Wyl pointed to their boots, still standing by the couch.
Rod grabbed Wyl’s boots and handed them over before sitting and tugging on his own.
The broken glass crunched under their boots as they picked up the rock and untied the note.
“You were warned,” Rod read.
“By whom?” Wyl frowned.
Rod caught movement outside the window. “Shit! I think someone is running toward the road!”
“Shit!” Wyl ran for the front door.
“I’m coming, too!” Rod shouted.
Wyl threw open the door and rushed outside.
A light to the left caught his attention.
The barn blazed with bright yellow fire.
“Fuck!” He shouted. “Call the fire department. I’ll release the horses.
” His boots barely touched the ground as he raced toward the blazing structure.
A sputtering engine faded away in the distance behind him, but he didn’t care. The horses needed rescue.
Rod briefly gazed at the burning structure, then raced inside and called 911. “Sterling Ranch. Our barn is on fire. Hurry!” he yelled into the phone. He let the receiver fall, then ran through the house. The back door hit the outside wall with a bang as he bolted toward the barn.
Wyl tugged open the barn door and found the stables filled with smoke.
Emergency sprinklers sprayed water. The horses snorted and screamed, wild to escape their stalls.
Racing to the north door, Wyl threw it open, then ran to each stall.
He jerked the stall gates open for Cessna, Beauty, and Princess and shooed the horses out the open north door and into the corral.
Rod raced in, threw open the stall gates, and shooed Sarge and Blanket to join the other horses. Smoke poured in through the open south door, carried by the prevailing breeze. He checked the barn interior. No fire inside. “Wyl,” he shouted. “We need a firehose!”
“On the wall by the main doors,” Wyl’s voice was hoarse from the smoke and the shouting. “I’ll open the corral to let the horses into the pasture.”
Rod ran through the smoke to the main doors, tugging his shirt to cover his mouth and nose.
Gasping, he found the fire hose box, yanked the hose entirely out, and twisted the valve knob several times until a powerful jet sprayed from the nozzle.
Fighting against the force of the water, he tugged the water-heavy hose through the open door and aimed the powerful stream at the fire.
Instead of hissing and dying from the water, the fire billowed. Wyl rushed up and shouted above the roar of the fire. “What the fuck? Why isn’t the water putting out the fire?”
“Must be an accelerant,” Rod shouted. His arms were tired from maintaining control of the powerful jet of water. “Whoever did this made sure to stoke the fire with enough fuel to burn the barn.”
“I’ll grab a shovel and throw dirt on the base of the fire,” Wyl shouted. “Spray as high as possible to keep the fire from spreading.”
Rod aimed the stream high, hitting the roof so water flowed down the sides.
Wyl returned with a flat shovel and, finding dirt that wasn’t mud, began heaving shovelfuls at the base of the fire to cover the accelerant and decrease the intensity of the flames.
They worked steadily for twenty minutes until sirens and flashing lights signaled the approach of fire crews.
The fire chief rushed up to them. “Horses out?” He shouted above the noise of the fire and the spraying water.
“Yes,” Wyl shouted as he continued to shovel.
“Men…dirt!” the fire chief shouted at his crew. They grabbed shovels off the fire truck and rushed to assist Wyl.
“Water not doing much good?” the chief shouted.
“Accelerant,” Rod shouted.
“Gotcha.” The chief ran to a couple of his men.
“Foam,” he shouted, and they went to the truck and revved up the engine as the nozzle boom raised enough to aim down at the fire.
Soon, a white stream shot out of the nozzle, blanketing the fire with foam and extinguishing the flames.
A sizzling, smoking, white-foam-covered black mess remained.
Wyl turned off the water to the fire hose.
Rod dropped the heavy hose, his arms weakened and shaky from the strain.
Wyl came to him, and they stood shivering from wet, adrenaline, and shock.
The fire department EMTs rushed over to place blankets around their shoulders and helped them sit up in the back of the ambulance.
“Are you okay, Mr. Sterling?” one of the EMTs asked Rod, lifting his eyelids and shining a beam at his pupils, checking for shock.
“Yes,” Rod answered through chattering teeth as he searched the chaos for Wyl…not realizing he sat beside him.
“Are you okay, Mr. Sterling?” one EMT asked Wyl, going through the same process with him.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Wyl’s teeth chattered too. He tugged the blanket around him and leaned against Rod.
Sheriff Johnson approached the Sterlings. “You two okay?”
Wyl tried to focus on the face, finally recognizing Jack. “We’re fine, Jack. A bit shaken but unharmed.”
“Any idea what happened?”
“A rock with a note tied to it shattered our front window,” Rod said.
“As we read the note, I glanced at the broken window and thought I saw someone running,” Wyl said.
“I raced outside to check, and the fire caught my attention. I remember hearing what sounded like a sputtering engine fading in the distance, but the fire and the horses concerned me more, so I can’t be sure. I ran to the barn, and Rod called 911.”
“Note?” Jack asked.
“It said you were warned,” Rod said.
“It sounds like someone purposely set the fire,” Jack said.
The fire chief stood by. “No doubt about that, Jack. As Rod tried to put out the fire, the water worsened it. Accelerant was involved. My guys used foam to smother everything.”
“Any idea who did this?”
“Probably Shifty Anderson,” Wyl’s teeth chattered. “We lack proof, but nobody else threatened us. I bet money on it.”
“Did the note look like Shifty wrote it?” Jack asked.
Rod thought and shook his head. “Come to think of it, Jack, the language and the printing didn’t look like Shifty. But the sputtering engine Wyl mentioned sounded like Shifty’s old truck.”
“Did you hear the engine too, Rod?” Jack asked.
Rod shook his head. “No. I focused on calling the fire department. We were in panic mode.”
Jack shook his head. “Shifty may be doing the dirty work for someone else. Do you have any enemies?”
“Jack, plenty of folks disagree with our marriage and lifestyle,” Wyl said. “Take your pick.”
The fire chief spoke up. “We turned off the sprinkler system. The inside of the barn is soggy. The fire didn’t reach the interior except for the one exterior wall that burned through at the very bottom.
The inside is still smoky, but with the open doors, it will air out overnight.
We’ll assess the damage to the exterior tomorrow after daylight.
I’ll leave the pumper truck here for a couple of hours to be sure nothing flares up.
You two go on in the house and get changed. We’ve got everything handled out here.”
“Horses, okay?” Jack asked.
“They’re in the pasture,” Wyl said. “We got them out as quickly as we could.”
“You need my guys to find them?”
“No…Felipe and a couple of ranch hands can do that. The horses know the hands, so they’ll be less apprehensive.”
“How about I stop by Felipe’s and let him know?” Jack asked.
“I appreciate that, Jack. Rod and I both need a stiff drink and a hot shower.”
“You guys go on in. I’ll have my guys bring Shifty in for questioning, and I’ll call if anything needs your attention.”
Wyl stood. “Oh…you want to inspect the rock that came through the window?”
“We can’t do much with a rock, but hang onto that note. I won’t mess with it tonight but will want that as evidence.”
“Okay, Jack. Just wanted you to know.” Wyl tugged at Rod’s arm.
“Yeah…thanks, Jack.” Still shivering, Rod stood to follow Wyl.
* * *
Wyl led Rod through the back door into the house, both still wrapped in blankets. “How about a drink?” Wyl asked. In the den, the front door was still open from when Wyl rushed out and found the fire.
“I sure need one. Martini would be nice, but I’ll take a shot of bourbon.” Rod’s tired voice reflected the stress of the evening. The wet clothes still clung to their bodies. They stank of smoke and sweat.
“I sure bet Shifty is the one who threw the rock and set the fire.” Wyl poured a Jack Daniel’s shot for each of them, handing one to Rod.
“He did threaten to get a gun. Maybe he figured a fire would do more damage.” Still trembling, Rod took the shot glass from Wyl and downed the bourbon in one gulp.
“Maybe this wouldn't have happened if you hadn’t gotten so bold with him.” Wyl spat out the words. He knew it was wrong, but anger-fueled stress and waning adrenaline overruled common sense. He glared at his husband.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Rod shot back, still shivering. “The guy threatened us. Did you expect me to sit back and take it?”
“You fucking all but called him a loser and a nobody.” A shiver shook Wyl’s accusation.
“I don’t like your tone, Wylton, and I don’t like your fucking insinuations.”
Wyl hammered his shot glass onto the bar. “I’m not fucking insinuating anything.” He waved his arms in the air, still clinging to the blanket, emphasizing his point. “I’m stating fucking facts.” Wyl reached for the bourbon bottle and poured himself another shot.
“The fucking facts are that I defended my husband, who I thought loved me. But apparently, I’m not even worth another shot of bourbon. What the fuck is your problem?” Rod slammed his shot glass down onto the bar.
“A quarter million dollars’ worth of horses in a burning barn and an out-of-control ex-employee who has an issue with my lifestyle.
THAT’S my fucking problem!” Wyl spat out the words more forcefully than he intended, gulping his shot and slamming his glass onto the bar before reaching for the decanter.
His brain told him to shut up, but his emotions carried him where he should not have gone.
“YOUR lifestyle, is it? So, you’re not in love with me anymore? Is that it?” Rod shouted.
Seeing the hurt in Rod’s eyes, the situation punched Wyl in the chest with such force that it almost pushed him backward.
Rod did not cause his anger and frustration.
Shifty, and possibly a co-conspirator, caused the fire that damaged the barn and threatened their security.
A situation that, given the right circumstances, could have taken his husband from him.
Shifty could have followed through on his promise and shot Rod through the window.
Rod was more hurt and angrier than he had ever seen him, so it might be too late.
Regret tore through his soggy, smoky, exhausted brain.
He set the decanter on the bar and reached for his husband.
“Oh my god… I’m so sorry. Come here, baby. ”
“Don’t you fucking baby me!” Rod jumped back, knocking Wyl’s arms out of the way and putting space between them, his wet blanket falling to the floor.
“You accused me of starting this whole fucking thing and all but said you’re sorry you ever met me.
” Rod’s voice broke, and he fisted the tears away.
“A hug won’t come fucking close to fixing it.
” Rod turned and stumbled out the front door before breaking into a jog and disappearing into the night.
Wyl watched his husband’s retreating figure.
His shoulders slumped as he heard Rod’s coughed-out sob and his boot steps fading into the distance.
He swore he would never see Rod disappear again, but he was gone.
He pounded his chest with his fist to quell the ache.
He pushed Rod away at a time when they needed each other the most. A time when he needed Rod’s strength and courage to soothe his jangled nerves.
The most important person in his life fled from his rage.
Before he went after Rod, he needed to calm down and get his thoughts back in order.
More heated words would open the gaping wound further, and Rod needed time.
Their adrenaline-fueled tempers had caused enough trouble.
Working through their fight would be easier after a few minutes apart, when their heads were clearer. He prayed Rod would forgive him.