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“And after Iowa...” Austin smiled as he watched my face intently. His fingers walked down my bare stomach. “Kentucky.”
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh, and he lifted an eyebrow.
“Hmm, Kentucky seems a little sensitive. I’m dying to know how Atlanta feels because Kentucky leads further south, and then over to Texas—”
I couldn’t help it, and I laughed.
“Ah-ha! You couldn’t do it!”
“No, I couldn’t,” I said, still giggling.
He was perched on an elbow lying beside me, and he leaned down to kiss me. “Mm, I’d retrace that racing schedule any day. Next time, with my tongue.”
“Hmm, I guess I’ll let you. But I can’t bet I won’t laugh next time.”
“Nah, you should keep betting me.”
“Because you get special favors out of it when I lose.”
“Hey, no matter the terms, it’s still win-win, baby.”
He pulled me close and kissed me. It was evenings like this that made my life complete, and after long hours working in the barn and a great dinner with his family, a movie alone with Austin was the perfect ending to a fabulous day. Now we were just lounging on his bed, getting ready to settle in for the night.
“I was thinking tomorrow we should go for a hike to the north quarter of the ranch. If you want, we can even ride it.”
I raised an eyebrow and pushed him onto the pillow, laying my body over half of his. “You’d go riding with me?” I inquired. “What’s in it for you?”
“Co-ed naked picnic?”
I laughed, and then set my chin on his chest. “Too funny.”
“Is that a no?”
“That’s a maybe since there are plenty of trees over there.”
“Oh, you think that will give us privacy?” he teased.
“Maybe not,” I agreed. “There are low lying Ponderosas and shrubs over there, though.”
“Oh, listen to you,” he chuckled. “You’re considering this, aren’t you?”
“I consider a lot of things with you.” I winked.
He ran his fingers through my hair, and nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
I laid my face against him and slid my hand across his chest. I loved the feel of his skin, and when he kissed the top of my head, I sighed with contentment.
“But tomorrow you’re gonna help me decide where you want our house to go,” he said. “I think I’ve got an idea, but I want to make sure it’s okay with you.”
I quickly moved to my elbows. “House?”
A smile slowly spread on his face. “I bought ten acres from my parents, and I’m gonna build a house on it. For you.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” I hissed.
“Dead serious. I mean you have a lot of work ahead of you, honey. Choosing a design, decorating it, making the long half-mile trek to work every day—”
I jumped on him with a squeal and kissed him madly. What the hell was this life I was living? Every bit of it was a fantasy come true!
“I take it that’s a yes?” he smiled under my lips.
“I love you so much, Austin. That’s a hell yes.”
“Tomorrow, we can go out there and look at some house plans. As soon as you decide what you want, we’ll get it going right away. The paperwork is done for the land and—”
Suddenly, there was an array of shouts and screams outside—both human and equine. We’d heard an occasional whinny, which was normal, but now there was an orchestra of panic.
Something definitely wasn’t right.
Austin and I both jumped up from the bed. In just his boxers, he ran to the sliding glass door and stepped outside, hanging a left for the side of the house. I was throwing on my pants when he rushed back inside and said, “The stables are on fire!”
My blood ran cold. I saw him stepping into his jeans as fast as he could, and it brought me back to reality.
The horses.
“Oh, no,” I exhaled. I threw on my shirt as Austin grabbed his from the floor.
“You stay here at the house, Nova,” he said as he yanked on a pair of work boots.
“No, I—”
“Stay in the house!” he yelled at me. I watched him run out the back door again, and that’s when panic seized me.
The horses.
My boots were at the sliding glass door, and I raced to get them. I fell trying to pull them on, but quickly slipped into them before jumping up from the ground. When I got to the side of the house, I stopped dead in my tracks. The front side of the arena was in flames, and people were running in all directions.
I ran toward the chaos, realizing there were men hurrying through the stables, unlatching the gates so the horses could run free to the pastures. Marlo and Sam were both sitting bareback on two mares, herding the horses to the fields if they came their way. Men’s voices were shouting from inside the barn, and my heart started pounding so hard, I felt it in my limbs.
“Nova!” Marlo shouted. “Help Jack count the horses!” She pointed to the backside of the building, so I took off running. I wanted to ask where Austin was, but for some reason I knew.
He was inside the stable.
Jack and Clara were at the fence near Field One, corralling the scared horses to safety. Two more came rushing out of the barn but there was no way I could even stop them. I yelled and flailed my arms, but only Bench Rider pivoted away from me and ran through the open gate. Rolls Royce made a beeline for the hills on the other side of me.
Another three came screaming out of the barn, but two went left and one went right, none of them making it to the confines of Field One.
I didn’t know what to do.
“They’re fine,” Jack said, rushing up to me as he gasped for air. “As long as they’re out of the barn.”
“How many are still inside?”
“I don’t know,” he answered, shaking his head. Another horse came tearing out of the barn doors, and Clara had to get out of the way so she wasn’t trampled.
“I’m going to hop on a horse and hope he can guide the strays back to the field,” Jack said. “Try to keep names in your head for who comes out.”
I nodded, unable to speak. Jack ran into Field One, but I had no idea if he’d even be able to catch a horse and calm it down enough to mount it.
It was dark on the backside of the barn, but I could recognize a few of the equines frantically running scared within the perimeter of the fence. It also dawned on me that I couldn’t see mine anywhere.
“Clara, have you seen Wild?” I cried. I ran to her at the same time, and she shook her head regretfully.
“I haven’t, sweetie. But that doesn’t mean anything. The horses were being let loose as soon as someone got to them. He could be running somewhere, but I don’t know.”
The sound of sirens came closer, and I bit my lip. I felt so helpless.
I raced to the barn doors on the backside. I could only see Dave releasing another horse, and it came barreling past me.
“Where’s Austin?” I shouted.
I think I scared him with my presence, but Dave mechanically unlatched another stall. I released the horse closest to me and jumped across the aisle to do the next one. I could see flames on the other end of the building but couldn’t tell where they were coming from or where they were going.
“He must be in the other aisle!” Dave finally answered, and he took off running.
I think my heart stopped. I had witnessed the fear in his eyes before he left.
Knowing Austin, he was right in the eye of danger.