Page 4 of Falling Hard for the Billionaire Cowboy

"The fire's spreading fast, and with this heat..." Sebastian's voice trails off, almost like someone else is calling for him on the other side. "I have to go now, boss. Will you be able to make it?"

"I'm on my way," I say, already moving towards my truck. "Keep everyone safe, you hear me?"

I end the call and jump into the driver's seat, my mind racing. With the heat we've been having and the hay being extra dry, the fire can spread even faster than usual. I press down on the accelerator, the truck roaring to life as I speed out of Russell's ranch.

I'm not sure how I cover so many miles in such a short period. With the distance between each town, it takes me an extra hour to hit the long road leading back to Redstone. As I round a bend, I spot a car by the side of the road in the distance. There is nothing out here for the next two hours, so whoever it is, is probably stranded.

As I get closer, I notice it’s a woman. The wind is whipping her hair across her face, and she’s raising a hand, clearly in need of help. I curse under my breath, torn between my urgency to get back to the ranch and my instinct to help.

At that moment, she tucks her deep auburn hair behind her ear, and our eyes connect. Even from a distance, I can see she is pretty - the prettiest woman I've ever laid eyes on, I'd say.

Not the right place or the right time, I know. But it is a fact I can't help but admit.

I've never seen her in town before, so she must be from out of town. I can't afford to stop, but I can't leave a woman in distress either. As I drive past, I yell out the window, "I'll bring help! Hang tight!"

Cussing under my breath again, I press harder on the accelerator. Now I have yet another reason to get to town as fast as possible.

As soon as I hit the outskirts of town, I spot old John in his beat-up pickup. I pull up alongside him, rolling down my window.

"John! There's a lady stranded about twenty miles back. Can you help her out?"

John's weathered face creases into a smile. "Well, I sure can't leave a lady out there all alone. I'll head out right now."

Relief washes over me. "Thanks, John. I owe you one."

With that taken care of, I speed toward my ranch. As soon as I get close, I can see the thick black smoke in the distance. My throat begins to burn just looking at it.

I park my truck as close enough, but as far away from the fire as possible. Then, I race towards the barns, my side aching from how fast I’m running. As Sebastian had said, one of the barns is burning, and the fire has crossed over to another. It looks like they are managing to control it. And another fire truck is just arriving, too.

Some of the ranch hands who aren't on duty are already there. Like in all small towns – we don't sit back. They’re already pitching in to help, everyone grabbing a hose, a bucket, orsomething along with the firefighters. And I see other guys from neighboring farms here as well.

"Boss!" Sebastian yells, rushing towards me.

"Who got hurt?" I shout back over the noise, trying hard not to cough from the smoke.

"It's Noah, the youngest. One of the posts fell on him." Sebastian replies, his face grim. "We sent him to the hospital already."

I grit my teeth, nodding. "Good. We'll talk later. For now, let's help the rest."

I roll up my sleeves, the fabric rough against my skin, and dive into chaos with the others. The heat from the fire is intense, almost unbearable, but we have no choice but to push through it. Sebastian has also taken control of half of the team to help herd the cows into the barns farther away.

"72, 73…"

"Clear a path, hurry!"

"Water! We need more water over here!" I shout; my voice already hoarse from the smoke.

Sebastian tosses me a hose, and I direct the powerful stream at the base of the flames. The water hisses as it hits the burning hay, creating a cloud of steam that mixes with the thick smoke.

I can feel my body temperature increase, sweat pouring down my face, stinging my eyes, and leaving trails of soot on my skin. My lungs burn with every breath, but I can't stop. The lives of our animals and the livelihood of everyone who works here depend on us getting this fire under control.

As I fight against the flames, I find myself oddly grateful for the humid air that has formed due to the heat. The moisture in the air seems to be working in our favor, making it a little bit harder for the fire to spread.

"Boss! The wind's shifting!" one of the ranch hands calls out.

I look up, noting the change in the smoke's direction. "Everyone, move! We need to contain it from the east side now!"

We scramble to reposition ourselves, dragging hoses and buckets of water to the new frontline of our battle against the blaze. The heat clings to us, our wet clothes sticking to our bodies. But that also seems to be helping us in our fight against the flames.

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