Chapter Twenty-Eight
Anna felt as if a lot of weight had been lifted off her shoulders. When Emily had suggested going for a picnic, she’d been prepared to dismiss it. Then she decided it was a good idea, and she had the perfect place to take Travis.
It was as if they were in another world now.
There was no sound coming from the ranch, and all she could smell was the flowers nearby.
It was fresh, clear, and soothing. Anna leaned against Travis’s chest and fought the urge to close her eyes.
This was the most comfortable she’d been in a long time.
Here, she could forget that she was struggling with getting the ranch back on track, that Edwin was planning on making sure she didn’t have her birthright, or even that her father was dead. She was with her husband, and it was wonderful.
Never did she think this could happen with Travis. Anna hadn’t planned on it, and yet they were leaning into each other, just soaking up the silence. And she didn’t feel uncomfortable about it in the least.
She trailed her feet in the water. Her toes were getting cold, but she didn’t care. It was refreshing after they felt like they were burning in her boots.
“It’s a shame we can’t stay here for longer,” she said, looking up at the branches gently swaying in the trees. “But we have to come back to reality at some point.”
“I know.” Travis sounded sympathetic, as if in agreement. “But at least you have a little place to go when you want to relax. Nobody to bother you, no worries on your shoulders, even if it’s for a little time.”
“And no Edwin.”
“Does he not know this place is here?”
“He does, but he isn’t interested. He would rather be where there are people so he can boast and get drunk.” Anna made a face.
Travis glanced at her.
“About the ranch and how you shouldn’t be running it?”
“And our… arrangement.” Anna winced when she remembered that she hadn’t said anything to Travis about it. “Edwin is aware that our… marriage isn’t real. He’s planning on contesting it.”
Travis arched an eyebrow. “How’s he going to do that? We were married legally. And marriages like ours happen all the time.”
“I don’t know, but he’s going to try and find a way.” Anna kneaded her hands in her lap.
“I’m willing to bet that if he had that stipulation on him, he would’ve found someone to marry in exactly the same arrangement.”
Anna shuddered. “And I pity the poor woman. I know we’re family, but with the way he behaves…”
“I know what you mean.”
They sat in silence for a while longer, and Anna found her mind wandering.
To a future she never imagined for herself.
One where she could be a ranch owner and a wife at the same time, not just one or the other.
She even saw herself running around after children, and the thought didn’t scare her as much as it had before.
Anna had initially thought she would be a terrible mother and wouldn’t know what to do.
Now it was a comforting feeling in her chest.
Maybe it had something to do with Travis.
There was something solid and dependable about him, and Anna wanted to lean on him more than she cared to admit.
She cast him a sidelong glance, admiring his firm profile as he watched the current trickle past their feet.
How his former love had decided he wasn’t worth it, she had no idea.
Even with no money, Anna would choose the man.
She had chosen Travis, in a way. And now it felt like she was truly choosing him.
“Do you regret coming here?” she asked.
He turned an inquisitive gaze to her. “No, why?”
“I know you left your home, people who cared about you, and someone you loved, for a life you didn’t know was going to work out. Do you regret any of it?”
He stared at her for a moment, and then he smiled, which warmed his eyes and lit up his whole face. Anna’s mouth went dry watching the transformation. He reached out and touched her hand.
“I don’t regret it at all. In fact, this is the best decision I ever made.”
“Really?”
“Albeit an unorthodox one, but I stand by it.”
Something warm flared through Anna’s body, and she found herself smiling back. She didn’t think she would ever be happy hearing something like that from Travis.
Then his smile faded, and he tilted his head back to sniff the air.
“Can you smell that?”
“What?”
Anna tilted her head back and began to sniff. Almost immediately, an acrid smell wafted past. Her stomach dropped. She knew what that was.
“Something’s on fire.” She scrambled to her feet, reaching for her shoes. “We’ve got to get back.”
Travis didn’t argue, shoving on his boots.
They left the half-eaten picnic, the blanket flapping gently in the breeze, as they ran back to the ranch.
The smoke was coming from one of the barns.
Anna broke through the trees, stepping on an apple hidden in the grass and twisting her ankle.
She went down with a cry, hitting the ground hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs.
“Anna!” Travis helped her up. “Are you all right?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Anna panted, fighting back the pain in her ankle. “Just go! Find out what’s going on!”
Travis didn’t need to be told twice, although he did look like he didn’t want to leave her. He ran off, and Anna straightened up, trying to put pressure on her ankle. It hurt more than she had originally thought, and she gritted her teeth as she half-ran, half-limped to the house.
Mrs. Mason hurried out, rushing straight to her.
“Anna, dear!” She caught hold of her as Anna staggered. “What happened?”
“I twisted my ankle. It’s nothing.” Anna looked around. “What’s going on? What’s on fire?”
“One of the barns attached to the stables.” Mrs. Mason’s face was pale. “One minute, everything was fine, and the next, there was a loud roaring sound, and it just exploded.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“No, and there were no animals in that particular barn. But Connor is organizing everyone to get the animals out into the paddock.”
Anna wanted to cry. Her day had gone from good to bad within a short space of time, and she felt helpless. This couldn’t be happening. She straightened up and looked around.
“I’ve got to get there. I need to…”
“You don’t need to do anything, Anna.”
“But…” Anna began, but Mrs. Mason cut her off.
“You’re injured, and I’m not about to let you go out there and hurt yourself further. Connor and Travis have got this. You need to focus on yourself.”
“Not when my home is on fire,” Anna protested.
But Mrs. Mason wasn’t having any of it. She steered Anna into the house and forced her to sit at the kitchen table. Anna wanted to get up and run back outside, but the pain in her ankle was too much, and she could barely put any weight on it.
She didn’t have a choice but to do as she was told, even if it was frustrating.
For what felt like hours, Anna sat at the table, occasionally testing her ankle again and again to see if it was any better.
She looked out the window and saw wafts of dark smoke float past. The nasty smell lingered in her nose, making her eyes water.
She wondered if Travis was all right. Fire was unpredictable, and the wounds were nasty.
They stung for so long that it was like the burn was fresh.
Finally, she saw two figures appear on the porch and approach the back door. Anna was up immediately, only to fall back as pain shot through her leg again. Mrs. Mason put a firm hand on her shoulder and kept her sitting as Travis and Connor entered the kitchen.
Both of them looked like a complete mess. They were disheveled and covered in soot and grime. Both of them were red-faced and breathing heavily, and the sleeve of Travis’s shirt was singed up to his elbow. Anna gasped when she saw it.
“What…?”
“I’m not burned, don’t worry.” Travis gave her a lopsided smile. “I’m fine.”
Anna didn’t believe that. Not with how pink his arm looked. It appeared to be hairless as well. Whatever happened to him was minor, and he was incredibly lucky. She wanted to burst into tears, but blinked them back. She needed to focus.
“What’s the damage?” she croaked. “How bad?”
“It’s… not good.” Travis glanced at Connor, who gave him a grim nod. “The animals are out, but several were injured.”
Anna’s stomach dropped.
“We won’t know the extent of it until we get someone to look at them. And the barn is destroyed.”
“The stables are partially destroyed, too,” Connor added. “They’ll need a lot of repairs.”
Anna could feel the words swirling around in her head. She didn’t like the situation they had at all. How were they supposed to bounce back from this when they had an investor in the mix? They wouldn’t be able to do it in time.
“How’s your ankle?” Travis knelt before her.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not,” Mrs. Mason said huffily. “I think she’s sprained it. We’re going to have to get the doctor out to check.”
“We don’t need to do that,” Anna protested weakly. “I can’t…”
She was about to say she couldn’t pay him, but that was too much for her. She was still sobbing into her hands as Travis wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She didn’t know what he was whispering into her ear, but it just made her cry even harder.