Page 121 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

Until muted daylight cuts into the room and I can slip my hand through the mangled edges and tug at them.

The old nails holding them in place pry away easily, and fresh air rushes in at me, but the oxygen causes the fire to surge at my back.

Sparks and ash land on me, searing through my thin shirt and scalding my skin. I shove my shoulder through the opening, trying to get my chest through but meeting resistance that keeps me partially stuck with the inferno advancing.

Please, God…

This can’t be the way it ends.

Not after everything we’ve been through to get here.

Suddenly, the narrow opening I’ve created gives way, the boards on either side of me collapsing, and I stumble to the hard, icy ground on my hands and knees. My chest heaves, drawing in the cold air, and coughs rattle through me, making me shake so violently that I can’t get my legs under me.

Strong arms wrap around me and drag me off the frozen ground and away from the barn.

My eyes water, and I struggle to catch my breath enough to speak. “Davey?”

Pops squeezes his arm around my waist. “He’s okay. With Camille.”

Blinking away the tears, I search around us through the blowing snow and smoke that continues to pour from the half-gone barn.

Camille kneels with him in front of her only a few feet away, clutching him as close to her as she can with one hand pressed to that same spot at her side that was bothering her earlier.

She stares up at the barn over his head, and I turn back and watch another massive portion of it collapse inward, sending a burst of sparks and flames shooting higher into the snowy sky.

The animals in the paddock on the side scurry even farther away from their former home, cramming themselves into one corner. But at least they’re all safe.

Including Rocky.

Pops helps me move over to Camille and Davey, and I pull Davey up into my arms, gripping him close and running my hands over him to ensure he’s really unharmed.

We almost lost him.

If I had been even one minute later in finding him, that tack room would have become our grave instead of the place that held such an amazing memory with Camille.

Pops helps her to her feet, and I wrap one arm around her and tug her against me as all of us cry and stare at what’s left of the barn in utter shock.

How the hell did this happen?

We’ve never had a fire on the property. At least, not during my lifetime. We’re so careful never to bring anything with a flame into the barn or any other outbuilding, and any machinery that could get hot and spark something is always kept far away from anything flammable.

Davey whimpers, his hot tears a sharp contrast against my neck to the icy-cold flakes hitting me. “I’m sorry.”

He says it over and over again, his sobs becoming more frantic.

I clutch him and Camille tighter. “I already told you, buddy. You’re not in trouble. We were just worried about you.”

Camille pulls her head back from my chest, and her tear-soaked, panic-clouded gaze meets mine. “How did the fire even start?”

That’s a good fucking question.

I share a look with Pops that tells me he’s thinking the same thing I am. “Davey, did you see anything or anyone when you came out to the barn?”

He shakes his head. “No…but I heard something.”

Pops stiffens, inching closer to us. “What did you hear, kiddo?”

Davey drags his face from my neck, his brow furrowing as he tries to explain. “Like a car.”

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