Page 43 of Rip Ryder's Second Chance

“I think I’ve been this way since I saw you again.”

“Keep talking that way and going slow will be off the table.” His tight voice told her they were both being tormented.

“Get those jeans off, cowboy,” she demanded.

He chuckled and pushed off the bed. His wide, callused hands moved to the denim and started to push them down his slender hips when he paused. He turned his head to the left and to the right, sniffing the air.

She lifted herself on her elbows wondering why he stopped the striptease. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you smell that?”

She sat up. “Is the fire still going in the fireplace downstairs?”

“We didn’t have the fireplace on tonight.” He zipped and buttoned his pants. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

She watched him leave the room. The burning smell became stronger.

Sliding off the bed, she bent and picked up his discarded shirt and pulled it on, grasping the open front with one hand. She stepped barefoot through the apartment and stopped at the open doorway that led downstairs to the bar. She saw whisps of smoke. “Rip?”

Taking a step into the hallway, she coughed when she inhaled smoke into her lungs.

Fear made the soft hairs on her body lift. She buttoned the shirt, grateful that it fit her like a dress.

She took the stairs and as she rounded the wall to the kitchen, she saw flames covering one wall and to the part of the ceiling.

“Rip?” she yelled his name, covering her nose and mouth to protect herself from the smoke.

The shadows shifted and she squinted, trying to look through the dense fog of smoke. Her eyes stung. She didn’t see Rip until he was right up on her. The glow of the blaze lit his features. Concern shaded his features. “Go back upstairs, Noelle,” he said roughly.

“We need to put out the fire,” she said.

With each passing second, the flames increased in size.

“It’s too late.” He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her upstairs with him.

The apartment was now filled with smoke.

“Get your shorts on,” Rip demanded as he closed the door.

She wasted no time. She scooped them off the floor, dragged them on and turned to find Rip behind her. “How will we get out of here?”

He had grabbed his cell phone and slipped into his boots. “There’s a back entrance and stairs. You go and don’t stop until you’re safely away from the building.”

“I’m not leaving you. Come with me. You said it’s too late.” The mixture of fear and smoke made it hard to get the words out of her tight throat.

“Too late for downstairs but I need to try and fight it off to save the upstairs. Call 9-1-1.”

“Oh no, Rip. My purse and phone are downstairs.”

“Take mine.” He pressed his cell into her hand. She wrapped her shaking fingers around the device. “Now go.” He pulled her through the room and gave her a gentle push toward the exit door. He was grabbing the fire extinguisher off the wall.

“Rip? Come with me.” But it was too late. He’d already moved toward the hallway and the raging inferno of the blaze and the cracking and popping of wood were loud as the flames ripped through the building.

The smoke billowed in and she quickly pushed open the door and sipped sweet oxygen into her smoke-filled lungs. She had called 9-1-1 before she hit the last rung on the back stairs and prayed Rip made it out safely.

Noelle stood at the edge of the parking lot, watching the orange, blue, and yellow flames dancing across the roof of the bar. Flicking fingers of light twitched toward the dark sky. The bright, hot flames consumed the building and there was still no sign of Rip.

She frantically twisted her hands together, unaware if she’d ever see Rip again and she couldn’t handle the thought.

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