Page 28 of By Your Side

Feet pounding across the ground, I shove the door open. The barn is full of smoke, but the fire seems to be in the loft. Searching as quickly as I can, my eyes burn, and I cover my mouth with my shirt.

The cat isn’t anywhere, but when I do a second peek into the tack room, I see three small kittens huddled in the corner. Grabbing them, I race out of the barn as Owen comes running up.

“Are you fucking crazy! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His voice is wild as he grabs me and hauls me away from the building. “You have a death wish.”

“I couldn’t leave them.” Eyes filling with tears, I show him the kittens I have wrapped in the bottom of my shirt.

He closes his eyes and tilts his chin up to the sky. “It all worked out, but damn, you have no regard for your life.”

I watch as flames eat away at the beautiful old barn. Owen lets out a breath, pulling me into his arms. I adjust my hold on the kittens, resting my head against him. His heart beats hard against my cheek as we watch the barn go up. Despite his anger, his arms are firm around me and I’m glad they are. My legs shake as tears continue to fall.

Sirens sound, the flashing lights filling the yard site as the dogs stick to my side. Owen’s phone rings, so he carefully releases me and paces away before answering.

I don’t know how long it takes, but they get the fire out. The barn is a blackened remnant of what it used to be. Thankfully they caught it before it got to the tractor and all the fuel sitting in the overhang.

I barely notice Raelynn arrive. She talks with the firefighters as I stare at the wreckage before she leads me into the house and takes the kittens from me. She puts them in the bathroom when Nora hisses at them.

Elise is inside, preparing coffee and breakfast.

I’m numb, tears streaming down my face.

The house is silent as we sit there until Owen comes into the house. His expression is thunderous as he looks at me, muttering something before entering the bathroom and coming out with a damp cloth.

He comes over, knocking my hand aside when I reach to take it, wiping my face with a gentleness that surprises me, but when I look up to meet his gaze, the anger has faded into something else. Something I can’t put my finger on.

The fire inspector arrives a couple of hours after the fire is out. I chew on my lower lip as I pace the house until the chief knocks on the door several hours later.

“We were able to identify the cause. There was some rotting hay in the loft. A lot of people don’t realize the hazard of hay in a loft because if it’s wet, it can heat up and catch fire.” He’s empathetic and once he goes over his spiel, he heads out.

Owen scowls, his voice harsh as he scolds me. “I told you to do something about that damn hay.”

Raelynn gently reproaches him, wrapping her arm around me as I head outside, my beautiful barn a charred ruin.

Elise comes and gives me a hug, apologizing for not being able to stay. I nod, unable to tear my eyes away from the wreckage.

Shortly after, Raelynn leaves with a promise that she will return later in the day.

Soon it’s me and Owen left. Sobs burst out of my chest as I drop to the ground and hug Kane, crying into his fur.

He pushes his nose into me, letting me hug him until he goes to inspect the burnt space. Owen reaches down, clasping my hand and helping me up.

Tears still running down my face, I walk into him and hug him hard. “Thank you for Kane and Stella. If it wasn’t for Kane, I might’ve slept right through it and who knows—”

“Don’t.” His voice chokes before he continues, “Don’t go down that road. It all worked out. I should’ve dealt with the hay. I’m glad you’re okay.”

I stay in his arms until his phone rings, stepping away with a small smile. “I don’t think I feel up to working or having activity in the house today.”

Not giving him a chance to respond, I turn on my heel and head into the house.

Instead of sulking around the house, which was my original plan, I drop the kittens off at the shelter before making my way to the lake and renting a paddleboard.

I’m barely on the water for ten minutes when Raelynn and Elise glide up beside me.

“How did you know I was here?” As much as I thought I wanted to be alone, relief floods through me.

They grin. “Small town,” they say in unison, making me laugh for the first time.

We paddle board over the calm water in silence for a bit until I can’t take it. “I need to focus on something other than what happened this morning. Anything.”

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