The Cowboy's Girl Next Door: A BWWM Cowboy Romance by Monica Castle

illuminating the night with a horrible glow. Jess tried to hold Claire back, but she was crying now and running so fast he couldn’t overtake her. The horses. He prayed as he ran that Pauline had been able to save the horses.
     
    The men had already started to put out the fire when he arrived, a line of them passing buckets from the well to douse the flames while another group worked to get the firehose attached to the hydrant. He needed to help them, but first, he needed to find Claire.
     
    He searched through the chaos of the scene, finally spotting her with her mother on the road by the corral. She was sobbing in Carmen’s arms, and as he approached, Jess feared the worst had happened, that the mares had been trapped inside.
     
    Those fears were quickly allayed by Carmen. “Pauline got the horses out. They’re over there.” She tilted her head toward Bar None, and Jess could make out the faint outline of the stable manager and the mares in the distance.
     
    Satisfied, he reached out his hand to Claire, rubbing her back, and then taking her into his arms. He stroked her hair and comforted her, murmuring words of love and support. “Your girls are fine, Pauline’s got ‘em and everything’s gonna be OK. I got you, love, I’ve got this and we’re gonna make everything OK.”
     
    They’d stayed that way until Claire’s sobs subsided. She raised her eyes to his, nodded, and whispered, “Yeah. It’s gonna be OK.” She raised herself on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, then went off in the direction of the mares.
     
    Jess went to work on keeping the fire from spreading. The stables were a total loss, but they were able to keep it contained until the fire fighters arrived to handle the serious blaze. It was nearly dawn before the last of it was out, and Jess finally felt that he could check in on Claire and the mares.
     
    He’d offered to board them with his horses, and he found the three of them in a large stall, Claire curled up on a blanket in the hay between the two mares. His green eyes sparkled from his soot-covered face as he took in the sight of the three ladies resting. He went into the house to clean up and get breakfast going.
     

The Final Chapter
    “You’ve got to eat, baby girl. Eat, then rest.” Carmen fussed over Claire, who sat at the table motionless, her eyes fixed on the plate of eggs and bacon before her, fork resting in her hand. She had cancelled her return flight, knowing that she needed to be here for her daughter. Yesterday everything had seemed so perfect and now she watched, helpless, as her beautiful girl withdrew into herself from the shock of the evening’s events.
     
    She sat next to her and placed her hand on Claire’s arm. “You’ll rebuild. Your horses are safe; the vet is coming over soon to have a look at them, but I know they’re right as rain. It’s gonna be OK.”
     
    Claire looked at her mother. “Is it? I should have been there, been closer to them.” She sighed and put the fork on the table. “I’ve been too distracted, too busy with the barn and with…” She paused and swallowed hard before continuing. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this life after all.”
     
    Carmen jerked up straight. “Claire Delia Robinson, I won’t hear this talk from you. What’s a stable when everything else is OK.You’ve never been one to give up so easily; your daddy and I raised you to be tougher than that.”
     
    Claire wiped the tears from her eyes. “I know, Mom. It’s just a lot to process right now, you know?” She picked at her eggs. “And I have given up on things.” She thought about her career in Atlanta and Kyle. “Seems like I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.”
     
    “Those people didn’t appreciate what they had in you, baby. Not that company and especially not that no-account  fool.” She kissed her daughter on the forehead and then went to the kitchen to get a fresh cup of coffee. “You eat and then get some rest. It’ll all be clearer