Chasing Clovers (28 page)

Tears fell from Livy's eyes. "Thank…you…Ben."

They stayed on the sofa, talking some more about Emma, the ranch and all the things they'd done together while Livy had been with them. She made them breakfast―they laughed about her first day's salty pancakes―and lunch. Afterwards she read to them two books Ben had chosen. The sun, disappearing behind the mountains turned the sky black and she brought the children upstairs to tuck them in one last time.

"
Do you really have to go in the morning?" Ben asked, sitting up in his bed. Emily, wanting to sleep with her brother, perched next to him, her blanket snuggled close beside her.

"
I'm afraid so, Ben."

Ben reached under his pillow, pulled out a tiny brown box, and handed it to Livy. "This is so you won't forget about me and Em," he said.

She
took the box from him and placed it in her pocket. "I will never forget you or Emily," she whispered, hugging them both close. "I love you both very much. Don't ever forget that."

Ben smiled up at her, and wiped the tears on his face.
"Can you sing us one of the songs you used to sing to Emma?"

Nudging them over, she crawled in between them on the bed. Ben an
d Emily cuddled into her. She closed her eyes, savoring her last night with them, as she let the familiar tune float past her lips, singing them to sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Boyd crouched behind a bush, hatred leaking from every pore in his body, as he watched the Taylor house. Angel had once again gotten away from him. That bastard Clive interrupted him before he made her his for the second time. The fields were black, and he was sure no one had seen him sneak into the yard.

Careful to hide the light from his cigarette as he took a drag,
He ducked down, covering the orange glow. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the large white house a few yards in front of him. He despised John Taylor. The tall rancher had everything. A fancy house, a lot of money and Angel. His arrogance irritated Boyd. The way John walked and talked, as if he were someone to fear. Ha! Taylor didn't scare him. And after tonight, he'd never have to think about the damn rancher again.

Boyd
's blood boiled as his thoughts went to Angel. The little bitch thinking she could make a home with Taylor and his family. She didn't belong in there with them. She was a whore, a tramp, and he had proved it, taking her once already.

He
remembered the other day when he'd touched her, when he'd almost had her as she wrestled beneath him. Damn, he was so close. Now he'd kill her. He had enough of her games. Anger coursed through his veins, mingling with his sick blood. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a clump of Angel's hair. While she'd been fighting him, some of her hair got tangled in one of his buttons. Later that night, he took pleasure in unwinding the brown wisps.

Bringing the hair up to his nostrils,
he inhaled, smelling her. Then running his tongue along the strands, he placed them in his mouth. His hands clenched at his sides, while he sucked on her hair.

He
laughed.
Tonight I'll finally get my revenge.

All of the windows in the house were black.
Everyone was asleep. Hunkering down, he ran toward the bales of straw beside the tack house. He lifted one and carried the yellow bundle to the back porch, where he set it down quietly. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his matches. Lighting one, he watched through glazed eyes as the stick came to life with an eerie hiss. He threw it on the straw, smiling as it went up in flames and set the back of the house on fire.

He
scrambled onto his horse. Then he laughed as the entire back of the Taylor house was devoured by red and orange flames.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Livy, still in her day
dress, sat up in bed with Ben and Emily asleep beside her. She couldn't breathe. The bedroom was cloudy as a light haze hung in the air from the smoke creeping under the door. Choking on the smoggy air that pushed its way into her lungs, she tried to call the children's names, as she shook their sleeping bodies. Ben was the first to wake up, and she could tell he'd inhaled some of the smoke already. As he tried to cough, his chest sounded tight and pressed.

She
needed to get them out of the house. Fast. She went to Emily and shook her again, but the girl didn't move.
Oh, no!
She laid her head on Emily's chest, she couldn't hear anything. She gave her a little shake. Nothing.
Oh God, please.
She placed her ear to Emily's chest again elated when she heard her heart beating. She picked Emily up, and went to Ben, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and coughing loudly.

"
Come on, Ben," she said, reaching for his hand. She bent and picked him up, her knee almost giving out from the weight as she carried the two to the door. The knob was warm under her palm as she turned it. She opened the door and burst into the hallway.

Coughing, she tried to see through the dense fog in front
of her. Dizzy and gasping, she slumped against the wall.

She could barely breathe!

She held Emily close, snuggling her face tight to her body so she couldn
't inhale anymore of the black smoke. "Ben, put your head into my neck," she said.

Coughing, her eyes burning,
she thrust away from the wall, and made her way down the hall toward the stairs. With every step she took, her knee felt as if it would snap, and her face grew hotter and hotter.

She
couldn't see anything through the thick smoke that made her eyes water. She yelled at Ben to hang onto her neck and fumbled for the railing. She screamed as hot flames shot out, scorching her fingers. In front of her, bright red flames danced and sizzled, as the fire climbed the stairs, roaring at her to get out of the way.

How are we going to get out of here?
Livy's chest tightened, and she hacked, trying to catch her breath.

Her throat gritty as she inhaled another mouthful of soot, coughing, she choked on the black air while she held her breath and ran to her bedroom, c
losing the door behind her. She laid the children on the floor in front of the window. She wedged her fingers under the wooden frame, and opened it, welcoming the fresh night air as it entered the smoke filled room. Emily's face was smeared with ashes, and her eyes were still closed.
Please, God let her be okay. Let us all be okay
.

"
Help!" she screamed her throat sore. She glanced down at the children. If they inhaled anymore smoke, they'd suffocate and die.
Oh God. Please help us. Send someone to help us.
Frantic, she shouted out the window again.

"
Livy," Clive yelled from below. Men were running around the corner and shouting as they threw buckets of water onto the house.

"
We can't get out. The stairs are blocked!"

"
I know. I tried to come up. You're gonna have to drop the kids out the window. I'll catch them."

Livy glanced behind her at the closed doo
r, the smoke easily came through. She knew she had no choice, and without a second thought, she picked up Emily. Kissing her on the forehead, she sat Emily in the window sill. Her little legs dangled down the side of the house.

"
Are you ready?" she called to Clive.

"
I'm ready." Clive held his arms out. "Drop her, Livy."

She
lifted the child out the window, squeezed her eyes shut and let Emily fall from her arms. She couldn't help the scream that came from her lips as she watched the child fall through the air. Livy's heart in her throat, when Clive caught Emily, fell backwards and landed on his behind. Shorty was there to take Emily from him. He ran away from the inferno with the child lying limp in his arms.

"
Okay, Livy, get Ben," Clive yelled up to her.

She
kneeled in front of the little boy. He was wheezing now, and his face was red. She hauled him up. Her knee almost gave out. She bit down on her lip and forged through the pain. Doing the same as before, she anchored her legs to the wall, held Ben while she kissed him on the top of his head, and dropped him, praying Clive would catch him too. Ben fell clumsily into Clive's outstretched arms. Both of them tumbled to the ground. Two men rushed over to pick up Ben then ran toward Shorty who was attending to Emily.

The house shifted sideways and, losing her balance,
she grasped onto the window. The wood crackled and snapped, as the fire ate away at the two story structure.

"
Livy, you have to jump," Clive yelled.

The heat from inside the house radiated through the air as smoke billowed from the window above her. Looking down, her head began to spin. If she jumped, she would have to leave the ranch
―leave Ben and Emily. She had nothing left, and nowhere to go. She swayed, and almost lost her footing. She stared out across the chaos-filled yard. Ben and Emily needed her now.

"
Livy, jump!"

She swung her legs over the windowsill. Her body shaking,
She took a deep breath and jumped. Slamming into Clive, she sent both of them rolling on the grass.

"
Are you okay?" Clive asked, lying next to her.

Her knee was pounding―the pain almost unbearable―and she was sure she had reinjured it. Trying her best to ignore the sharp stinging, she rolled over and coughed.

"
Livy, are you okay?" Clive asked again.

"
I'm fine," she rasped. The ashen taste in her mouth made her spit on the ground. Her sides were sore from hacking, and every breath felt like a hundred tiny needles stabbed her lower back.

"
Here, take a drink." Clive handed her a tin full of cool water.

She
wanted to pour it on her face, as her skin burned. Her hands still shaking, she took a sip of the cold liquid which doused her charred insides, causing her to cough some more. She stared at the house engulfed in bright red flames. Thick black smoke shot high into the sky, and an acrid smell permeated the air.

Ben and Emily! Frantic, she rolled over onto her knees, and cried out as pain
shot up her leg. Pushing up, she forced the sore and aching knee to move as she ran over to the children. The light from the fire cast the whole yard in a red glow while some of the men stood in a line, passing down buckets of water to throw onto the house. Others soaked the grass around the home making sure the flames didn't spread to the other dwellings.

Ben sat on the ground. He was wrapped in a blanket and cough
ing loudly. His cheeks ruddy, and streaked with black soot.

"
Ben, are you okay, honey?"

She
crouched down in front of him.

"
Yes." He took a drink of his water, and coughed into the cup.

She
rubbed his back as she held him to her. "Thank God," she whispered, "I'm going to check on Emily. I'll be right back."

Leaving Ben, she
moved over to his sister a few feet away. Her whole leg throbbed with such intensity she was sure she was going to vomit. She pushed aside the nausea and pain to get to the little girl. Shorty held her on his lap, and was rubbing her back vigorously. Emily whimpered in between loud barking coughs. Livy sat beside her, and when Emily saw her, the girl's arms flailed out. She ripped the girl from Shorty's lap, and cradled the child in her arms.

"
She's coughin' pretty bad," Shorty said.

"
Is she going to be all right?" Livy asked. The thought of losing Emily or Ben was too much to bear. She abandoned her reservations about God and prayed for them both to get better.

"
I hope so. Her throat is a little burned from inhaling all that smoke."

"
What can I do?"

"
She needs to breathe clean air for a while, or at least until she stops wheezing."

Livy snuggled into Emily when
she threw up in the grass. Crying softy and coughing, she pitched forward and vomited again. Livy gave her a drink of water, letting her rinse her mouth.

"
It's okay, Emily," she hummed, rocking the child back and forth. Ben, with the blanket still wrapped around him, came over to sit beside his sister and Livy pulled him closer to her and placed an arm around his shoulders.

A thunderous sound came from the house, and Livy reassured the children that they were far enough away that they weren
't in any danger. They watched as the second floor collapsed and falling hunks of debris shot sparks high, disappearing into the murky sky. Men yelled, dropping their buckets, running in different directions away from the monstrous inferno.

John was sitting by his campfire, thinking about Livy, when he saw a red hue brush the sky. When grey smoke shrouded the red glow, he realized that it was a fire, and it was close to his house. He scaled Midnight's back and leaned over his neck as the horse raced for home.