Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dakota
“ W hat do you mean he stayed?”
Krissy puts a hand on my arm, because I’m sure she can feel how much I want to punch her brother right now.
“He said he needed to stay behind and save the rest of the cattle. I tried to talk him out of it…”
“You didn’t try hard enough! Fuck, Wyatt, I can’t believe you just left him there!”
“I didn’t have a choice, Dakota! You know how he is once he gets his stubborn-ass head on something!”
We’re drawing a crowd in the middle of the shelter, but I don’t care. Anger like I’ve never felt before is burning through my body. Partly because Wyatt had the audacity to just leave him at the ranch. Most of it is because I did too.
“I need to go.” I fight the urge to run through the crowd and mow down anyone that might be in my way. Every cell in my body screams that I need to get to Chance. I just found him; I’m not going to lose him.
Krissy holds on to my arm tighter, standing in my way. “Hold on there. You’re not going alone, Dakota.”
“I can’t stay here!”
“No one’s asking you to,” Brett, Krissy’s fiancé, says from my side. “We just need a plan before we run into the fire.”
Guilt burns in my chest as I look around the room. I should have gone to the ranch to make sure that he left. To make sure that he was okay. But instead, I was too focused on myself and Addie that I just trusted that he said he was going to meet us here or alluded to it. Mostly just told me what I wanted to hear, but I believed him.
Dammit, I shouldn’t have believed him.
“What was holding him back? Why didn’t you load all the cattle into the trailers that you had?” I ask; trying to will myself to calm down. Just like in the courtroom, I know that getting upset isn’t going to help anything or get me where I want to be.
“They wouldn’t all fit. We only have enough trailers to work the auctions and transport small amounts at a time. There’s never another situation like this where we would need to move all of them. Chance made the decision to put the most valuable stock we have in the trailer and bring them to the Triple Acres Ranch,” Wyatt answers.
“That’s good; Beau will take good care of them.” I start pacing the area in front of me, steepling my hands in front of my lips. “Where do you think he is now?”
“The back corner of his property. He said he was going to take them the farthest away from the flames that he could. There’s a clearing there without any trees along the property line; I’m pretty sure that’s the spot he would have gone.”
“Were the flames really that close?” Brett asks.
We all hold our breath and watch as Wyatt nods his head.
I hold back my tears and resist falling to the cot behind me. Breaking down and crying won’t do me any good, and it certainly won’t save Chance.
We just found our way past all the bullshit; I can’t lose him now. No matter how stubborn and bullheaded he’s being about needing to do all of this alone.
I need to think. There has to be some way that we can get to him without the fire closing in on all of us.
I turn to Wyatt, and pray that he has the answers I need. “Which way is the fire spreading toward the ranch?”
“It’s spreading east. Last I saw, it was a few kilometres out, but the wind was starting to pick up. I don’t know how quickly it moved after that.”
I nod, wracking my brain for anything.
“Is there a creek in the back?” Addie asks. “Somewhere he might have led the animals to that would create a sort of barrier?”
“No, not a creek; that’s on the west side of the property.”
If the fire has a creek and they’re in a clearing, that may have bought him some time, depending on the conditions.
“We need to find someone to help us get the rest of the cattle out of there. Wyatt, do you know of anyone that might have some trailers available? I know everyone’s moving their own stock, but there must be someone that maybe has a smaller herd?”
“It’s possible. I can start making some calls,” he answers.
“How many trailers do we need to get the rest out?” I ask, stopping my pacing.
“At least four.”
“Then start and see who can spare some. Can we use the trailer that you’ve already transported some of them in?”
“We just have the one, but I can get it back from Campbell if I leave now.”
“Give us the number for the neighbour that borders his property line and anyone you think might be free to help. We’ll do the rest,” I order Wyatt, not wanting to waste any more time. “We can’t leave Chance there, especially if the fires are moving as fast as you say they are.”
We have a crowd gathering around us now, concern etched on everyone’s faces.
“What’s going on?” Tess, the owner of the local cafe, asks.
“Chance is stuck at the ranch with some of his herd. We’re trying to see who can help get the animals out,” I reply.
“Chet Thompson’s farm supplies all the dairy to the cafe. I bet he has a trailer. Let me call him,” Tess says excitedly.
“Yes, please! And find out how many he has. We need three more.” I watch as she moves away, taking out her phone and tapping quickly.
“I think I may know someone that has another trailer,” another person says.
“Me, too!” calls someone else.
Krissy and Brett take over, keeping track of how many trailers we are able to pull together, ushering everyone able to help over to one side.
“What do you need me to do?” Addie asks.
I try to calm my thoughts and think rationally about anything else that might need to be organized. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart in my ears, and my body becomes so jittery, and I start to shake out my hands.
“Let me think. Can you gather up some food and water to take with us? I don’t know what state Chance is going to be in when we get there. He likely hasn’t eaten since this morning.”
“On it.” She moves without question, dodging people as she rushes to the table that houses all the food that has been gathered for the evacuees.
My phone dings from my pocket. A new rush of adrenaline courses through me as I pray that it’s Chance.
But it’s not.
Wyatt: Here’s the number for the neighbour that borders Chance on the east side.
A following text comes through with a number that I don’t hesitate to call.
I pray that the call goes through in all the chaos.
I also pray that he’s not someone that Chance regularly pisses off.
I breathe a sigh of relief when the phone starts to ring, which is quickly replaced with fear when it continues to ring. Just as I’m sure it’s about to be disconnected or go to voicemail, a hurried, gruff voice answers the phone.
“Yeah?”
“Is this Kit Matthews?”
“Look, if you’re trying to sell me something, we’ve got a bit of an emergency going on here.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. My name is Dakota Myers and I need your help. More specifically, Chance Declan needs your help.”
A sigh comes through the speaker. “What did the fucker do now?”
“He couldn’t get all of his cattle out before the fire started closing in. We believe he herded them to the southeast corner of his property, which borders yours. We need your help getting him and the animals out.”
A string of swear words sounds next as the phone ruffles and it sounds like he’s moving. “Stubborn-ass fucking cowboy. Never did have his head screwed on straight.”
I relay that we’re working on getting trailers and should have enough to get the animals out safely. “We just need your okay to enter your land and get them.”
“I’ll do you one better, I’ll meet you there. Just make sure the asshole doesn’t do anything else stupid until we get there.”
The line clicks and I look down at the screen of my phone. Only minutes have passed since finding out Chance is likely cornered on his property, but it feels like it’s been hours.
“Dakota! We’ve got it organized! We need to get moving!” Krissy yells.
“I grabbed what I could,” Addie says as she reaches me, her arms laden with bags filled with items. “They also threw in some first aid supplies, just in case. I don’t know how to use all of them, but hopefully we don’t need it.”
We’d better not need it.
“I’ve got my truck ready to go,” Brett says. “I can take the four of us. Everyone else that can help will meet us at the ranch next to Chance’s.”
“How….?”
“Whiskey Falls is a small town, Dakota. We’re family. No one is going to leave Chance behind.” Krissy places her hand on my arm and for the second time tonight, I fight the tears in my eyes.
I might not have grown up here, but it’s easy to see that the town is a family. When it matters the most, they rally together and take care of their own.
I stand up straighter, knowing that I’m also not doing this alone. I have an army full of people that are ready to ride into the fire and get Chance out. We won’t lose him, or any of the animals tonight.
“Let’s go save our cowboy.”