Rescuing the Rancher--A Clean Romance by Claire McEwen

Author:Claire McEwen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-06-15T18:26:33+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

AIDAN JOGGED AROUND the corner of the barn and skidded to a halt. Everything was burning. The hillside between his house and the barn was on fire. The area around the solar panels and battery shed was burning. Hopefully the space they’d cleared around it was helping to keep the electrical system safe. On the right side of the driveway, the ancient live oak tree was on fire, orange flames shooting up to blend with the orange sky.

The fire was showing its true face now, and it was horrifying and mesmerizing all at once. It filled the foreground and the horizon. It blurred ground and sky. The wind was swirling every which way, and embers were blowing in random directions, igniting spot fires everywhere. It seemed, from where he stood, that they couldn’t possibly hold their own against this monster. Especially when he looked toward the irrigated pasture. Everything between here and there was burning. Plan B was out of the question.

Time to make another plan. But, no matter what, they’d need the animals.

Aidan sprinted into the barn and ran to the back stall where he kept Chip’s crate. He grabbed it and ran to get his dog, slowing to enter the stall carefully. If Chip got out now, Aidan knew he’d never see him again. Chip was cowering in the corner. The roar of the approaching fire must have him spooked. It sure had Aidan spooked. It rang in his ears and pulsed in his veins; he wanted to be rid of it, but it was everywhere.

“Chip, get in your crate.”

Relief flooded him when his good dog obeyed, limping reluctantly into the crate. Aidan latched the door and picked up the unwieldy plastic box. This wasn’t the easiest way to carry his dog, but now that he’d seen the sky and felt the wind he was pretty sure Jade would say that it was time for plan C. The pond. It was probably their only hope. And Chip would be better protected in his crate than if he was out in the open.

He left Chip’s carrier near the barn door and slipped carefully through the tack room door in search of Elliott. Luckily for both of them, the poor cat was still huddled in the back of his carrier. It probably felt like the safest place to be. Aidan closed the carrier door and lifted the crate. Jade had the truck idling in front of the barn. He put Elliott’s carrier in the back of the truck, heaved Chip’s crate in, too, and grabbed the blankets Jade had requested. He threw one over the animal’s crates, tucking the edges underneath in hopes that it wouldn’t blow away. Then he jumped into the cab next to the box of kittens.

Jade started driving right away. “We can’t get to the pasture.”

“I noticed.” Aidan gaped at the alien fiery world that had once been his ranch. His heart was a jackhammer, his blood keeping time in his throat and in his temples.

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