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I automatically followed Dave, but a loud cracking sound that came from the front of the building made me hesitate. A section of the barn came crashing down, and a wave of heat blew over me. I stumbled backwards onto my ass and covered my face, even though there wasn’t any immediate danger that I could see.
When I could stand, I headed for Wild’s stall. His quarters were in the front half of the barn where the fire was spreading to, and I just knew that’s where Austin was.
“Dad!” I heard from the middle of the stables.
“Austin, there’s no time!” Dave shouted.
I swallowed my fear and followed the voices. My eyes burned with tears, but my face was so hot I couldn’t feel the moisture on my cheeks.
There were horses still screaming. There were still horses inside and Austin was trying to save them.
The entire front portion of the barn was now on fire, including both offices. I ran down the aisle past them, feeling the heat ripple over my skin in waves. When I made it to the second row, I finally saw Austin, scrambling on the ground toward another stall. He was coughing as smoke billowed out from the stall that was now in flames next to him.
I tried to scream for him but I couldn’t. Smoke got caught in my throat, and it made me choke. I saw Dave hosing himself with water as he ran with it down the aisle to douse Austin. Then he started spraying into a stall that was still shut, and as Austin finally got it open, Need for Speed came charging out, flames having already noticeably burned his flesh.
I didn’t have time to think about it as I continued opening stalls and releasing horses. Thankfully, Gene was at the back of the arena to corral them outside.
I heard Austin shout my name as I unlatched another stall. “Get out of here!” he yelled, coughing.
He waved me away just as another section of wood fell, barely five feet from him. Red lights were now flashing from outside while he unlatched another stall. An unfamiliar horse came running by, and I pressed myself up against the wall to stay out of her way.
I found my horse’s stall, but it was empty! I knew they were releasing the horses that were in the most danger first, but why wasn’t Wild in his stall?
“He’s already out!” I heard someone shout. It was Ben, and he came running across the exercise arena. He was waving another horse toward Gene but continued to run until he jumped the wall where I was currently opening the last stall. “Austin already let him out.” He coughed. “You gotta get out, Nova. The fire department is here; we’ve done all we can.”
He grabbed me before I could object, and shoved me towards the exit. Another crash came from the front of the building and the heat came rushing over our backsides. I skidded to a stop to make sure Austin was coming, but I didn’t see him.
“Austin!” I shrieked, coughing. I saw Dave crawling on the ground with the hose, and that’s when I saw him lying there. “Austin!” I screamed again, as smoke invaded my throat and another horse came charging by us. Ben tried to stop me but he couldn’t. I dropped to the ground before the heat completely bowled me over, and started to crawl.
“Nova, get out!” Austin yelled. He was struggling to get up but I couldn’t see clearly with all the smoke.
Ben passed me on the ground and got to them before I could. Flames were engulfing the stalls above us, and I could feel the skin on my left shoulder burn with fire. The wall next to me was ablaze, and I swatted the heat away from me without caring what it was. All three men were coughing when I saw that Ben had Austin and was dragging him away from the burning stalls.
“Nova!” Austin managed to say as he inhaled more smoke and coughed.
He reached his arm out for me as he tried to get to his feet, but I could tell there was something wrong with his leg. I took his hand as a spray of water hit my face. It was probably supposed to be cold but it felt like bathwater.
Ben threw Austin’s arm over his shoulder to help him toward the exit. Austin didn’t let go of my hand, though, and dragged me along until I was able to stand up and run with them. We didn’t stop until we made it to Field Two. We were joined by others, but I couldn’t see who they were. I dropped to the ground on my knees, coughing as I stared at a pair of legs dressed in fire safety gear.
“She’s badly burned,” I heard him say.
She who? I almost asked. I looked around, panicking, wondering who else had been in the building.
“Miss, just hang on a minute, okay? We’ve got paramedics coming around.”
“Nova,” Austin coughed. “Are you okay?” We were both sitting on the ground and he pulled me close to him. “You’re gonna be all right, baby, just relax.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but he was crying.
“Your leg,” I said, trying not to cough.
“It’s broken, but I’m fine. The horse got it. Just stay quiet, okay?”
I didn’t know what was going on until a pair of paramedics knelt next to me. They were cutting fabric and applying something to my shoulder, speaking gently, assuring me it was going to be all right. Austin was still holding my other arm but he was shaking his head, murmuring to himself. Dave seemed to be okay—they were giving him oxygen—and Ben was sitting there with him as Marlo and Sam came rushing to them.
I watched the scene like I was an outsider. It didn’t seem real. Austin was rubbing his face with his other hand, still shaking his head. That’s when something burned the hell out of my shoulder, and I glanced over it to see what it was.
A hand blocked my face and turned it away. “It’s fine, Miss,” a calm voice said. “Nothing to worry about, okay?”
“Nova, don’t look at it,” Austin said.
“Don’t look at what?” I asked.
He studied my face, seeming absolutely devastated. “You got burned, sweetheart. Your shoulder. And your hair.”
My hair?
I shook my good arm free of his hold to reach up and check it, but he stopped me.
“Your hair’s fine, babe. You’ll just need a little trim.”
“A what?”
“We can even it up a bit, ma’am, when things calm down a bit,” another paramedic said. He referred to a pair of scissors, just as Sam joined us.
“Here, I’ll do it,” she said, and she took possession of the scissors. The paramedic objected, something about a weapon and safety, but I was finally able to look at my shoulder while they were busy arguing.
It was all wrapped up in wet bandages.
Sam knelt behind me and said, “About six inches got scorched on this side, Nova. I’ll just even the rest of it to match, okay? You’ll have a cute little shoulder length ‘do for now.”
I didn’t even care what she did, but I was guessing it probably looked pretty hideous. Hell yes, I wanted it fixed.
“It looks that bad, huh?” I teased Austin.
He blinked at me. “What?”
“My hair? It looks so horrible you’re that upset?”
He only stared at me, and then shook his head again. “Your hair will grow back, Nova. You don’t need to worry about it.” He feigned a smile and leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you,” he whispered.
“Hey, I’m gonna have to cut another inch off if you keep moving her,” Sam growled.
He pulled away but continued to hold my hand. When he adjusted the position he was sitting, I suddenly remembered his injury.
“Austin, your leg!” I turned to the paramedic and said, “His leg is broken.”
“What?” the man asked, coming around to the front of us. He knelt next to Austin’s leg and said, “And you’re just sitting here like a big boy, not making a peep?”
Austin barely laughed. “Doesn’t mean it’s not hurting like a bitch,” he grimaced.
“No kidding,” the guy said. He called someone over and they decided we were ready to haul to the hospital. When Austin insisted that he and I ride together, no one objected.
Our perfectly wonderful night had been ruined, but I was so thankful Austin was still by my side.
But I started crying uncontrollably in the ambulance when all my emotions hit me at once.