The Rancher Takes A Bride (18 page)

She had to get away from Travis before his accusations stung more than her pride. She had to get away before they damaged her soul. She had to get away before he broke down her barriers and eased his way into her heart.

Opening the door, she half expected to see Travis; instead the sight that met her eyes sent her heart plunging to her feet.

Smoke billowed like storm clouds from the barn's hayloft, signaling its death and destruction.

"Oh, God! The horses," she cried, dropping her suitcase on the front porch and running for the barn.

"Fire!" she screamed, her voice shrill with panic. "Help, fire!"

The door to the barn was closed, and she could hear the animals screaming in terror. Tears clogged her throat, her heart pounding in tune with her panic. She yanked open the heavy wooden door and a blast of smoke and soot hit her full in the face. She choked and coughed on the vile smell. Gazing into the blaze, her eyes teared from the fumes and heat. The frightened thumping of a horse kicking at his stall spurred her into action.

"Travis?" she called into the hazy barn, praying he wasn't in there. Fear pulsed with each beat of her heart. God, she didn't want to enter this inferno, but the horses were in danger.

Before her panic overwhelmed her, she stepped into the barn. As she lifted the rope latch on the first stall, she tried not to think about the large horses. She tried not to remember their massive hooves, slicing through the air in fear. Through the hazy smoke, she could see the horse's pupils wide with terror and fought to remain calm.

Swinging open the wooden door, Rose stepped back as the horse raced out of the stall, its hooves thundering through the barn and out the main door.

Coughing, she tried to hold the air in her lungs for as long as possible between each searing breath, knowing that with each gulp of air, she breathed more smoke.

Quickly she ran from one stall to the next, releasing the animals. Wood crackled and popped with the flames, the sound eerie and wicked along with the high-pitched wails of the animals. With each breath she drew, her chest felt scorched from the hot air and smoke.

"Travis!" she called over and over again. Rose had never been so scared in all her life. She kept looking for the man who was both her adversary and her protector, to no avail.

She ran to the next horse stall and swung open the door, but the horse shied away from her. Frightened of the animal, she pushed the door in further and called to the horse.

"Come on, gittee up, get going," she sputtered between coughing spasms.

The air was getting worse, and she knew she was quickly running out of time. But the horse just cried in fright and stomped nervously at the ground with his hoof. Taking a deep breath, she reached in and grabbed him by the halter, trying to keep as far away from the animal as possible. The horse shook his head, but she held on tight.

"Come on, please come out," she pleaded. "You don't want to stay in here. I promise."

The horse made a snorting sound and finally took a step toward freedom. As soon as the animal was out of the stall, she let go of the bridle and he took off through the barn and out the door.

She tried to heave a sigh of relief and only choked on wisps of cinders flying through the air. The smoke-filled air shimmered with heat, the temperature climbing as sweat poured down her face. Her skin felt as if it were melting and she wondered when she would begin to burn.

Where was Travis? Why hadn't someone come in to help her? Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest as she stumbled through the haze. For a brief moment she wondered if he were dead, and the thought brought a swift rush of pain. She hated him, yet she cared about him.

"Travis!" she screamed against the roar of the flames. Coughing continuously, she wondered if she would die from lack of air.

He laid his hand on her shoulder and she jumped in fear.

"Travis!" Impulsively she threw her arms around him, her relief at seeing him so great. "Oh, God, Travis!"

"What in the hell are you doing in here?" With both hands he grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a sharp shake.

"The horses and cows. I had to help the animals." With each breath, her lungs felt seared with heat and smoke. Bright orange flames licked the walls seductively, dancing to a destructive beat.

"Get out," Travis shouted, spinning her around and trying to shove her toward the door.

"Not without you!" she commanded.

"Go! I'll get the rest of the animals, and then I'll be right behind you."

They had precious seconds before the ceiling would collapse. "I'm not leaving you."

"Then come on!" he said, running across the barn to stalls she hadn't seen.

Throwing open the doors, he shooed the animals out while she herded them through the thick haze and burning embers toward the open wooden door.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he yelled over the growing roar of the flames.

The loud bawl of a frightened cow and a bawling calf stopped her cold.

Travis turned and looked at her. "Come on, let's go-"

"Not yet." She let go of his hand and ran toward the calf.

"Damn it, Rose, we don't have time."

She ignored him and went to the stall. As soon as she opened the door, the mother cow hurried out of the barn, but the calf stood there frightened, braying.

Rose looked at the little calf and her heart ached. She couldn't leave the baby. She reached in and gave the animal a push on the backside toward the open barn door. Thankfully, the frightened baby ran after its mother and Rose followed.

When she reached Travis's side, the roof over the stall collapsed. Wrapping his hand around her arm, he pulled her toward the main door.

Sweat was pouring off her from the heat of the fire, and her skirt started to smolder. She watched in amazement as the hem caught fire. A cry of fright escaped her as she stopped, bent, and tried to put out the small flame.

Behind them the cracking and popping exploded, and the splintering wood fell to the ground, causing them to sprint for the open door, regardless of her flaming skirt. Rose knew they didn't have time to stop. They were mere seconds from death.

Travis pulled her until they ran through the open wooden door and gasped the fresh air. Only then did he grab the edge of her flaming skirt and rip the material from the waist down, leaving her in her pantaloons. Given the alternative, she didn't mind.

Rose collapsed to the ground, coughing and choking on the fresh air. She gasped and sputtered, trying to get rid of the awful taste the smoke left in her mouth and lungs. Tears streamed from her smoke-irritated eyes.

"Travis, Rose, we didn't know you were in there. I didn't know where you were," Eugenia cried, rushing over to them.

Rose lay back on the ground and gulped fresh air. She glanced over at Travis, who was lying on the ground, watching her closely.

He looked up from the ground at his mother. "I came out of the bunkhouse and saw Rose enter the barn at the same time I saw the smoke. I rushed into the barn after her and to try to get the horses out."

"The animals can be replaced. Thank God you're both safe." Eugenia said as she watched Travis continue coughing. "You need a doctor. I'll get one of the men to ride into town and bring him back."

Eugenia walked away, leaving them lying on the ground in the late evening shadows as the men tried to keep the fire from spreading with a bucket brigade.

Travis stared at Rose, his eyes dark with fury. "What the hell were you thinking, going into a blazing barn? You could have been killed."

She coughed, her lungs burning. "I ... I couldn't leave the animals to die."

"You don't even like horses."

"No, but I didn't want them to die. I was afraid you'd blame this on me, just like you blame everything on me. I wasn't going to be responsible for the deaths of your animals."

"I damn sure would hold you responsible. After all, if you hadn't been holding a séance in my barn, none of this would have happened." He stared at her incredulously. "Did you consider for a moment how much danger you were in? You could have been killed!"

She coughed and raised herself on one elbow to lean over the man she'd been afraid was lying hurt or burning in that barn. The man she'd wanted so desperately to leave, yet, when she'd seen the fire, she couldn't walk away from.

"If you would let me go, I could be holding séances back in my nice little house on Main Street in Fort Worth. Instead I'm stuck here with a man who wouldn't know the truth if it smacked him in the face. And who is ungrateful to boot!" She lay back in the grass, whatever energy she'd mustered spent.

"I'm not ungrateful—but you scared me. You could have died in there." His brown eyes darkened, but this time they weren't quite as hostile. This time they appeared softer, gender. "I don't understand why you stayed."

"I know," she said. "But I couldn't let those animals burn to death. I couldn't stand the thought."

Travis rolled over next to her, until their shoulders were touching. He put his arm across her body, effectively trapping her in his arms. He was so close, she felt pinned beneath him, unable to get away from his steely gaze.

His voice was rough and scratchy. "What kind of con are you playing this time, Rose? Every time I think I know what you're going to do, you choose a different direction. Every time I think I know what you're about, you change or add some new dimension. Tell me, what are you really up to? Why didn't you run?"

His face was mere inches from her, yet there was no softness or gentleness in his features. He still believed she had no morals. He still couldn't think anything but the worst about her.

"Have you ever considered that I might be innocent? Have you ever thought that you could be all wrong about me?"

He was so close, and with his hard body laying beside hers her mind seemed to go blank for just one seductive moment. To think of nothing but the sensations his nearness was evoking. She gazed at his full lips and ran her tongue across her own. God, she wanted him to kiss her. They'd almost died together this evening, and right now all she wanted was to feel his lips against hers, his arms around her, the safety and security of being held in his embrace.

His eyes narrowed, and for a moment she thought he was angry again. "I made up my mind about you the first night we met, and everything you've done has only proven me right, except for tonight. So what kind of con are you playing this time, Rose?"

***

Travis spent the next day resting, taking it easy, thinking. What a fool he was to have gone to the bunkhouse while Rose had been packing in the house. The fire was his own damn fault, and he so much wanted to blame it on his little gypsy. She had given up her opportunity to escape and instead had raced into the burning barn to save his horses. Animals she didn't even like.

Why? What had prompted her to run into a burning barn?

The fire had started when he had gone to the bunkhouse to find Isaiah, to ask the man to talk sense into Rose. The sound of the horses crying in alarm had sent him rushing back just in time to see Rose go into the blazing barn.

The sight of her entering that blazing inferno had terrified him. And even though he wouldn't wish anyone harm, why had seeing Rose in peril given him so much anxiety? He wouldn't want even a liar and a cheat to die that way. But she was, after all, an easy woman, who tricked innocent people out of their money and had probably lain with more men than a body had a right to.

She was a con artist! An actress playing a part. A thief who had stolen his mother's wedding ring. A woman of easy virtue who had managed to send his sexual urges into full gallop. All he needed was the signal, and he'd be all over her like flies at a Fourth of July picnic.

But last night she'd acted highly insulted that he would consider that she was anything less than a lady.

Yes, he wanted Rose in a big way and had resisted the urge until now. But maybe it was time to sample the little con artist. Taste her wares, get the urge out of his system, find the ring and then take her for an extended visit at his brother's boarding house, otherwise known as the county jail.

For once he'd drunk from her nectar, surely this attraction would fade away and die. Surely once he'd experienced her, he could get her out of his mind.

Once he'd had his fill, she would be as forgettable as every other woman he'd ever met. Wouldn't she?

One thing was certain: He was attracted to Rose. He never expected to feel so drawn to her, never meant to think of her as a woman, a woman he couldn't get out of his mind. He wanted her. And for the first time he couldn't help but wonder if that was really such a bad thing.

***

Rose's throat ached the next day, and she knew it was from all the smoke she'd inhaled. She still couldn't believe she'd run into a burning building, after animals she hated and that belonged to a man who hated her. Yet he instilled within her a sense of wholeness and dependability such as she'd never experienced in her short life. Sheltered in the safety of his arms, she felt as though nothing could ever harm her again. It was a feeling she couldn't remember ever experiencing before.