Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jack
Icome to with a start, my chest heaving, but I can’t breathe.
There’s a crushing weight pinning me down, and every inhale feels like I’m dragging molten fire into my lungs.
My head is pounding, and my vision blurs as I try to focus.
Something sharp tugs at my leg, insistent and painful. Then I hear a low, guttural growl.
Shit. Is that one of the bulls?
No. No, they wouldn’t growl like that.
What in the hell?
I blink, forcing my eyes to focus through the haze of smoke. The barn is a hellscape. Flames lick the walls, casting everything in an eerie orange glow. Smoke billows thick and black, choking the air, and the heat is unbearable. Panic claws at me, but the growling snaps my attention downward.
Barney. Olivia’s dog is here. His teeth are clamped around the cuff of my jeans, tugging with all his might. He growls again, his small but determined body throwing itself against a wooden beam that’s pinning me down.
This damn dog is trying to rescue me? This can’t be happening.
“Barney?” My voice is barely a croak, and even that burns like fire.
How the hell did he get in here? How did I get in here?
Flashes of memory hit me—leading the last bull out, hearing a crash, then darkness.
I must’ve gotten caught under the debris.
Barney lets go of my jeans and barks, his frantic, high-pitched yelps cutting through the roar of the flames.
Then he’s back at it, ramming his head against the beam, growling as if sheer determination will move it.
“Good boy,” I rasp, though it feels futile.
This dog is every bit of forty pounds, and the beam…it’s probably a lot more.
The beam isn’t budging, and the fire is closing in. My lungs scream for air, and my head spins. The heat is so intense it feels like it’s baking me alive. I cough, the sound tearing through me like broken glass. I’m not getting out of this.
I try moving, but my arms are pinned under me. The beam is too heavy for me to wiggle out from under it. I don’t have enough air or energy. I feel so weak, and there’s definitely something poking into my side; it feels hot and sticky.
I hear voices. Faint at first, distorted by the crackling flames, but unmistakable. Firefighters. Relief surges through me, though it’s quickly tempered by the barn’s ominous groans. The structure is failing, and time is running out.
“Over here!” I try to yell, but it’s barely a whisper.
Barney barks again, his desperate, frantic yelps louder than my voice. It works. The firefighters turn, their movements quick and purposeful as they head toward me.
Through the smoke, they look like aliens, their reflective helmets and masks glinting in the firelight. Relief floods me again, but I can’t let myself hope too much. The barn groans louder, the flames climbing higher.
“Jack!” one of them calls, and recognition jolts through me. Rick, my brother-in-law. His eyes widen as he takes in the scene. “We’ve got you, hang tight!”
He drops to his knees beside me, his gloved hands assessing the beam. “This is bad,” he mutters, but his voice is steady. Another firefighter joins him, and together, they work to lift the beam. Barney backs off, still growling but giving them space.
The beam shifts and white-hot pain explodes through my leg. I bite down on a scream, my vision swimming. “Almost there,” Rick says, his voice calm and reassuring. “Just hold on.”
The weight finally lifts, and they drag me free. The rush of air as I’m pulled upright makes me dizzy, and my legs buckle. Rick and the other firefighter catch me.
“Whoa, take it slow, my guy,” the other firefighter says. “We’re not running a marathon.”
“Can you walk?” Rick asks me.
My legs feel like jelly, and I can’t suck in a full breath. My entire body feels as though it’s been run over multiple times. I close my eyes.
“Yeah,” I groan.
“We’ve got to move!” someone shouts.
The barn creaks again, a sickening sound that spurs us into motion. Barney darts ahead, his small body weaving through the debris and out the door.
The firefighters half-carry and half-drag me toward the exit.
We’ve got to get out of here before the entire thing collapses, and my legs aren’t working correctly or moving fast enough.
Every step is agony, my lungs screaming for clean air.
The roar of the flames fades as we emerge into the open, replaced by the shouts of people and the distant wail of more sirens.
Barney is already outside, leaping into Brynn’s arms. She clutches him tightly, her face streaked with soot and tears. Olivia and John are standing there, too, all three clutching each other.
The moment Brynn sees me, she hands Barney to John and sprints toward me.
“Jack!” Her voice is raw, and before I can react, she throws her arms around my neck, holding on like she’s afraid I’ll vanish. Relief crashes over me, so intense it’s almost overwhelming. Despite the pain, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close.
“You’re okay,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “You’re okay.”
I want to tell her I’m fine, that it’s over now, but the words catch in my throat. Her embrace feels warm, and like I’ve needed this my entire life. I don’t want to let go, even as pain radiates through my chest and leg.
“Brynn,” I manage, my voice hoarse. “I’m okay.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me, her eyes searching mine.
The relief there is almost enough to make me forget the pain.
Almost. It’s a crazy thing to look into someone’s eyes, someone you really don’t know all that well, and see how relieved and happy they are that you’re okay.
I’ve never felt so much love and gratitude radiating out of someone before.
The barn groans behind us, a final, deafening creak before part of the roof collapses. The sound is like a gunshot, and everyone flinches. The fire has been mostly subdued, but the damage is done.
“Is everyone out?” I ask John.
He nods, his eyes not leaving the barn behind me. “All people are accounted for. Looks like all the animals are, too.”
“I’ll call Doc Sutton, have her come over and do a thorough check,” Nick interjects.
“Some of the irrigation stuff was in there. A lot of the feed and the stores of hay we’d need if the drought holds out,” Paulo says. “Our water stores are gone.”
“It’s all just stuff,” John says. “It can all be replaced.”
He turns to walk back toward the house. My heart breaks for him.
That barn, if I remember right, was one of the first on the property.
It was something his grandfather had built, even though it had been reinforced over the years.
A legacy, gone in flames in a matter of minutes because of some asshole.
“Brynn, this wasn’t an accident,” I say to her.
Her eyes narrow as she looks back at me questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“Someone did it. Nick said…” My words are drowned out by the wail of the ambulance’s siren.
Its lights cut through the smoke. Brynn slips an arm around me.
“We’ll figure it out. Right now, you need to get checked out.”
“I’m fine,” I lie.
“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m calling bullshit,” she says as she starts helping me toward the ambulance.
Every step is a struggle, but her presence makes it bearable. Olivia is on the porch, hugging her grandpa’s arm as they stare out at the damage.
“You shouldn’t be focused on me.”
“I absolutely should.”
“The sheriff needs to be called,” I say to Brynn and whoever else will listen.
“That’s a worry for another day,” the paramedic interjects firmly. “Right now, we’re making sure you’re okay.”
“No, Nick said he watched someone throw something into the barn before the fire started. This was arson.”
I feel Brynn tighten beside me.
“That doesn’t make sense. Who would do that?” Brynn asks, her face turning whiter than before.
The paramedic’s eyes meet mine, and he nods.
“Hey, Captain!” he yells out as he waves Rick over. “The arson inspector and the sheriff need to be called.”
Rick’s eyes meet mine, and he nods. “They’re already on their way. Nick just told me as much. We’ll get this figured out. You worry about you.”
I nod, though the guilt gnaws at me. My lungs burn, my body aches, and a pounding headache is starting to take hold, but I’m alive.