Voiceless by Caroline Wissing

Author:Caroline Wissing
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC043000, JUV039130
ISBN: 9781927068250
Publisher: Thistledown Press
Published: 2012-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

Like always, I left the house a few minutes before midnight, dressed super warmly in my winter coat, my gloves, hat and boots to get across to the stable. Granny used to say we Canadians turned into onions in the winter, with our layers upon layers of clothing.

November had sprung up colder than usual and the sky had decided to decorate by spreading a thin layer of snow across the rutted earth, vanilla frosting on a chocolate cake.

Instead of waiting in the last stall, Graydon met me at the stable door.

“Let’s change it up.”

He took my hand and led me into the hay barn. I climbed to the loft using the wooden ladder that Bobby had built, and Graydon clattered up behind me. He had one of the battery-powered space heaters whirring away, and a camp lantern for light. I shed my gloves into the pockets of my winter jacket and then took that off too. He laid me across a bed that was spread with harvest gold, and when I closed my eyes I smelled a field and saw hay waving hello on summer wind.

The sensation of the prickly hay against my back, coupled with his soft hand under my turtleneck gave me an abrupt jolt of ticklishness and I laughed. He stifled me with a hot kiss. I giggled around his lips and he laughed too.

Graydon’s hands had almost got as far as my jeans’ fly, which was when I planned to stop him because of OTR, and make him a replacement offer he wouldn’t refuse, when I heard a sudden whoosh through the barn board walls that sounded too real to be the passion that pounded in my ears. The noise had panic in it.

I struggled away from Graydon and crawled on my knees to the tiny loft window.

“Hey! What’re you doing?”

Beyond webs of frost on the pane, I caught sight of a faint orange glow. Frozen by sudden indecision, I stared and gaped through the glass, my hot palm cooling against it.

“Oh shit.” Graydon’s voice was like a hypnotist’s finger snap in my ear.

I fumbled for my jacket, pushed my arms into the sleeves, and yanked at Graydon to follow. I charged frontward down the ladder as if it were a flight of stairs, and out the door. In the open, the scent of smoke rode the cold air. I ran around the building until I got a good view of the stable. Smoke danced like a celebration around the roof, an errant flame licking high every now and then.

My eyes watered with cold and alarm.

The horses. I hoped to God they were all outside. But what if one of them got forgotten? Who checked the barn? It hadn’t been me.

I ran to the stable door and straight through, panic making me terrified and fearless at the same time. What if Jett were inside? What would I do without him?

It was hot inside but there were no flames. Only light smoke, swaying and dancing like it forgot it belonged to the inferno on the roof.

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