comforted her. He hadn’t totally given up on her.
Austin made a turn. She inched one eyelid up to see where they were. A sigh escaped her lips. The ranch. Home—but only for a short time. If only it wasn’t.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Austin’s question, his voice as raspy as hers from the smoke, made her open her eyes.
“You heard the doctor. My tests came back normal. No permanent damage. We both needed to get ho—back to the ranch.” The ranch wasn’t her home, would never be.
“My foreman assures me he’s taken care of everything. Max has been with me for a long time and I trust his word. He had to run the ranch while I was with Misty in Missoula.”
“I’m glad you can trust him.” She didn’t know what trust meant anymore, although she could see herself trusting Austin. He was that kind of man.
“Yeah. But obviously there’s someone out there who has a grudge against me. Max told me the fire chief found empty cans of gasoline behind the barn. He thinks whoever set the fire soaked the whole lower backside of the barn so it would burn fast and there would be no way to save it or the animals in it.” He slanted a look toward her. “But you saved them. You shouldn’t have risked it.”
“I promised Misty I would get Candy. Then after that I was going to leave but couldn’t bear hearing the horses in their stalls, trapped. I had to do something.”
“And you could have died.”
“Have I thanked you in the past hour for coming in and getting me?”
“We could trade thank-yous all day. You saved my daughter, and there are no words I could say that would adequately express my gratitude for that.”
As Austin crested the rise near the main house, Hannah straightened and braced herself for the sight before her. The hired hands and fire department had stopped the fire from spreading to the bunkhouse and other structures, but what little remained of the barn lay in a smoldering shambles of burnt timbers and ashes.
“Did they find all the horses? Candy?”
“All but one. A few of the guys are out looking for the last one. And Candy is fine. Max says he let Misty love on her for a while, and the mare calmed right down.”
“How’s Misty taking it?”
“She didn’t say much other than to make sure you were all right. She made me say that several times as thoughshe didn’t believe me the first two times. The last time I called Granny said she was taking a nap, a long one.”
“She’s emotionally exhausted. I’ll go see her right away.”
Austin parked in front of the main house and angled toward her. “And you aren’t exhausted? I know I can’t keep you from checking on Misty, but then go rest, take your own long nap. Granny and I will take care of Misty.”
You come first . Those words rang in her mind yet again. “But you’ve got to have so much to do right now.”
“Which I’ll get done, but I have good people working for me.” He captured her gaze and her hand lying on the seat between them. “Do I have to escort you to your room to make sure you follow my or—suggestion?”
She laughed. “Nice save. No, I’ll pop in and see if Misty is up and check on her, then go take a nap. Okay?”
“Perfect.”
The smile he gave her encompassed his whole face down to the twinkle in his eye that warmed her. She opened the door.
“I’ll be at what’s left of the barn for a while, then I’m going to have to make some calls to house some of my horses until I can get my main barn rebuilt.”
She climbed from the Jeep and mounted the steps to the deck. Caroline threw open the front door before she had a chance to ring the bell. Her smile of welcome matched her grandson’s.
“You should have stayed at the hospital overnight.”
“And gone stir-crazy. No, Caroline. I’m fine. I spent some time on oxygen and they gave me some medication. My lungs feel a whole lot better than they did. Time will heal me.”
“I’ve heard doctors can make the worst patients,
Austin made a turn. She inched one eyelid up to see where they were. A sigh escaped her lips. The ranch. Home—but only for a short time. If only it wasn’t.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Austin’s question, his voice as raspy as hers from the smoke, made her open her eyes.
“You heard the doctor. My tests came back normal. No permanent damage. We both needed to get ho—back to the ranch.” The ranch wasn’t her home, would never be.
“My foreman assures me he’s taken care of everything. Max has been with me for a long time and I trust his word. He had to run the ranch while I was with Misty in Missoula.”
“I’m glad you can trust him.” She didn’t know what trust meant anymore, although she could see herself trusting Austin. He was that kind of man.
“Yeah. But obviously there’s someone out there who has a grudge against me. Max told me the fire chief found empty cans of gasoline behind the barn. He thinks whoever set the fire soaked the whole lower backside of the barn so it would burn fast and there would be no way to save it or the animals in it.” He slanted a look toward her. “But you saved them. You shouldn’t have risked it.”
“I promised Misty I would get Candy. Then after that I was going to leave but couldn’t bear hearing the horses in their stalls, trapped. I had to do something.”
“And you could have died.”
“Have I thanked you in the past hour for coming in and getting me?”
“We could trade thank-yous all day. You saved my daughter, and there are no words I could say that would adequately express my gratitude for that.”
As Austin crested the rise near the main house, Hannah straightened and braced herself for the sight before her. The hired hands and fire department had stopped the fire from spreading to the bunkhouse and other structures, but what little remained of the barn lay in a smoldering shambles of burnt timbers and ashes.
“Did they find all the horses? Candy?”
“All but one. A few of the guys are out looking for the last one. And Candy is fine. Max says he let Misty love on her for a while, and the mare calmed right down.”
“How’s Misty taking it?”
“She didn’t say much other than to make sure you were all right. She made me say that several times as thoughshe didn’t believe me the first two times. The last time I called Granny said she was taking a nap, a long one.”
“She’s emotionally exhausted. I’ll go see her right away.”
Austin parked in front of the main house and angled toward her. “And you aren’t exhausted? I know I can’t keep you from checking on Misty, but then go rest, take your own long nap. Granny and I will take care of Misty.”
You come first . Those words rang in her mind yet again. “But you’ve got to have so much to do right now.”
“Which I’ll get done, but I have good people working for me.” He captured her gaze and her hand lying on the seat between them. “Do I have to escort you to your room to make sure you follow my or—suggestion?”
She laughed. “Nice save. No, I’ll pop in and see if Misty is up and check on her, then go take a nap. Okay?”
“Perfect.”
The smile he gave her encompassed his whole face down to the twinkle in his eye that warmed her. She opened the door.
“I’ll be at what’s left of the barn for a while, then I’m going to have to make some calls to house some of my horses until I can get my main barn rebuilt.”
She climbed from the Jeep and mounted the steps to the deck. Caroline threw open the front door before she had a chance to ring the bell. Her smile of welcome matched her grandson’s.
“You should have stayed at the hospital overnight.”
“And gone stir-crazy. No, Caroline. I’m fine. I spent some time on oxygen and they gave me some medication. My lungs feel a whole lot better than they did. Time will heal me.”
“I’ve heard doctors can make the worst patients,
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