Certified Cowboy by Rita Herron

Author:Rita Herron [Herron, Rita]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-12-05T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Mom, there’s smoke!” Kenny cried.

A shudder tore through Rachel as she jiggled the door to the walk-in pantry. “I know, baby, I’m trying to get us out, but the door’s jammed.”

Kenny coughed, and she tugged at the doorknob again, jerking with all her might, but it wouldn’t budge. Meanwhile, smoke seeped below the crack in the doorway and was flowing into the storage room. The scent of burning wood and plastic filled the air, the crackle of splintering boards. The fire was growing stronger, traveling toward the pantry.

If she didn’t get them out soon, they might die.

She felt for her cell phone but realized she’d left it on the kitchen counter when she’d stepped inside to unload the box of canned goods. Frantically, she glanced around, searching for a tool to help dislodge the door, or another escape route. A back door? Window? Another connecting room?

None of them.

Fear clawed at her, and she glanced up and spotted a vent. Could she crawl through it?

No, the vent was too small and narrow for her to fit.

Kenny doubled over with a cough, and her own eyes burned from the smoke. Then a crashing sound came from the kitchen. The ceiling? Burning boards?

Dear God, how was she going to save them?

Tears threatened, but she spotted several stacks of dish towels. If they could stay alive until someone spotted the fire, maybe they would be rescued.

She gestured toward the stack of dishcloths. “Kenny, grab those rags and stuff them at the bottom of the door to keep the smoke out!”

Kenny raced to do as she said, and she slammed her weight against the door, pushing it. “Help! Someone help us!” Again, she stepped back, then rammed her shoulder and body against the doorway, this time with such force that pain knifed through her shoulder blade and ripped down her arm. The wood was growing warm, too, heat radiating from the paneled door.

“Mom?” Kenny kept shoving towels in front of the opening, but he was coughing more violently now, and his cheeks were red from the heat. Outside the door, the blaze hissed louder and more wood splintered.

“Stay low,” Rachel ordered, remembering that smoke rose and that the freshest air would be lower.

Frantic, she grabbed a broom and banged the door repeatedly, but to no avail. She spotted a handheld can opener on the counter and grabbed it. Maybe she could use it as a lever to pry open the door.

Kenny started kicking at the door and she beat it with her fists. “Help! Someone help!” Kenny shouted.

Sweat trickled down Rachel’s chest and temple as she jammed the edge of the can opener into the door edge and pushed, but the door still wouldn’t budge. Smoke stung her eyes, and tears caught in her throat. But she couldn’t give up.

She kicked the door again, then grabbed the biggest can she could find and pounded the wood surrounding the doorknob, hoping if she kept it up, the impact might shatter the wood and make a hole big enough to slip her hand through.

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