Page 71 of On His Ranch

“Ooh, what was she like?”

“She was sassy and argumentative and looked like Goldilocks with her blonde hair and big, pretty eyes.”

“She sounds nice.”

“Did you hear the part about her bein’ sassy?”

Piper giggled. “Yes, I heard, Daddy.”

“Well, anyway, she wasn’t really a bad girl, all she needed was a strong, firm daddy…”

Chapter 15

Chase had been enjoying some of the best sleep he’d had in years. With Piper snuggled next to him in the crook of his arm, he’d fallen asleep at once—a dreamless rest that felt damn near magical. So deep was his sleep, in fact, that when he was pulled out of it, he thought his alarm must have gone off.

He struggled to open his eyes, fighting against the desire to fall back into slumber, his ears perked.

There it was again, and it was no alarm. It was a scream, sharp and shrill.

Chase lurched up in bed, suddenly as alert as though he’d had a bucket of ice water dumped on him. His hand reached for Piper, but grasped only the sheet. A quick glance showed the bedside empty except for rumpled sheets.

Piper.

He was on his feet in an instant, only managing to find a pair of boxer shorts before he raced toward the scream, his legs pumping so fast that his brain could barely keep up.

What’s happened? Why isn’t she in bed?he wondered as his hand fumbled for the doorknob.Please, God, let her be okay.

He threw the door open, bellowing her name. “Piper? Where are you?”

The only answer was another piercing scream.

He hurried into the hallway, his head swiveling left and right as he tried to discern her exact location. “Piper? Can you hear me?”

His adrenaline was in overdrive. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have shouted. He knew better. Except that all of his training had been in the woods, or concerning dealing with wild animals. Nothing had prepared him for the fear he would feel when someone he loved was threatened.

Where the hell is she?His eyes darted around as he focused on keeping his breathing even. As he paused, wondering which direction to go in, his nose began to twitch. A pungent, familiar scent—one that definitely didn’t belong in this house—filled his nostrils.

Smoke.

His heart stilled, then began slamming like a sledgehammer against his chest.What the fuck? Where is she? Is she okay? Is the house burning?Realizing that whoever set the fire—because every instinct in his body told him this was no accident—might still be in the house, he used every ounce of will power he possessed to get himself under control.God forbid something happens to my little girl. I’ll never be able to forgive myself.

His blood was pumping, his pulse racing triple time as he began to creep down the stairs as quietly as he could. He remembered just in time to step around the weak spot on the third stair, making a mental note to fix it ASAP. With all he had to do around here it had landed solidly on the bottom of his ever growing to-do list, but then again, he’d never factored in needing to move around quietly during a possible home invasion.

His ears were perked, hyper alert for the slightest sound, which was the only reason he heard the moan. He raced in the direction, sound be damned, and burst into the den. It was ablaze with orange-red light of flames, and Piper was in the corner—quite alone, he soon ascertained—crying and pointing.

Once he assured himself that she was safe, he focused on the source of the fire. His chest aching, breathing hard, his eyes strained to focus and make sense of what he was seeing. There was an object near the window, being eaten by the flames, while Piper cowered in the corner.

“Piper! Get out of here!” he demanded. Without checking to see that she obeyed—there really was no time to spare—he raced toward the fire. Once he reached it, his eyes began to water and his nostrils filled with smoke. Thinking as quickly as he could, he snatched down the curtain, pulling with all his might and narrowly dodging the rod that fell along with it. Thankfully, it was a thick, heavy material and with quick action, he was able to smother the flames.

He was still coughing and had not yet begun to examine the source of the fire when the door opened, drawing his attention.

“Chase? What on Earth happened?” Ma demanded.

“No idea, but I sure as hell intend to find out.”

This indeed was not normal circumstances, or he would have apologized for swearing and she would have scolded him. Instead, she rushed over and they began to work together as one to see what the damage was.

“My good curtains, Chase?” his mom sighed loudly.

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