Riverbend Road. RaeAnne Thayne

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СКАЧАТЬ go.”

      “We’re all getting out of here.” She ripped the wet cloth in half and handed a section to each boy.

      Yeah, she knew the whole adage—taught by the airline industry, anyway—about taking care of yourself before turning your attention to helping others but this case was worth an exception.

      “Caleb, I’m going to pick you up. It’s going to hurt, especially if I bump that broken leg of yours, but I don’t have time to give you first aid.”

      “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. Do what you have to do. We have to get Luke out of here!”

      Her eyes burned from the smoke and her throat felt tight and achy. If she had time to spare, she would have wept at the boy’s quiet courage. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She scooped him up into a fireman’s carry, finally appreciating the efficiency of the hold. He probably weighed close to eighty pounds but adrenaline gave her strength.

      Over the crackles and crashes overhead, she heard him swallow a scream as his ankle bumped against her.

      “Luke, grab hold of my belt buckle, right there in the back. That’s it. Do not let go, no matter what. You hear me?”

      “Yes,” the boy whispered.

      “I can’t carry you both. I wish I could. You ready?”

      “I’m scared,” Luke whimpered through the wet T-shirt wrapped around his mouth.

      So am I, kiddo. She forced a confident smile she was far from feeling. “Stay close to me. We’re tough. We can do this.”

      The pep talk was meant for herself, more than the boys. Flames had finally begun crawling down the side of the barn and it didn’t take long for the fire to slither its way through the old hay and debris scattered through the place.

      She did not want to run through those flames but her dad’s voice seemed to ring again in her ears.

      You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you’ve got.

      Okay, okay. She got it, already.

      She ran toward the door, keeping Caleb on her shoulder with one hand while she wrapped her other around Luke’s neck.

      They were just feet from the door when the younger boy stumbled and went down. She could hear the flames growling louder and knew the dry, rotten barn wood was going to combust any second.

      With no time to spare, she half lifted him with her other arm and dragged them all through the door and into the sunshine while the fire licked and growled at their heels.

CHAPTER TWO

      SHE MADE IT only a few steps out of the burning structure into the blessedly sweet air and blinding sunlight before strong hands reached to take both boys.

      “Careful of Caleb’s leg. I think it’s broken,” she mumbled, not even sure who was helping her and very much afraid she was going to be sick now from a combination of the smoke choking her lungs, the exertion and delayed reaction.

      “We’ve got to move, before the whole thing tumbles down around us.” As her vision adjusted to the shift in light, she saw Cade, his face set and hard, carrying both boys as if they weighed no more than a couple bags of sugar.

      “You coming?” he growled.

      “Right behind you, Chief,” she mumbled, then called on the last of her strength to follow Cade as he rushed away from the structure toward a cluster of emergency vehicles just arriving on scene.

      He headed straight for the ambulance pulling in just behind the first water truck. Before they reached it, a couple of paramedics jumped out and grabbed a gurney out of the back. They were two of the best in the volunteer department, she saw with relief. In seconds, Ed Cutler had Caleb on the stretcher.

      “I didn’t have much time to assess the situation but it looked like he broke his ankle. He jumped out of the hayloft once the fire started,” Wyn explained, keeping a careful eye on Ed’s partner Terri Michaels as she hooked Luke up with an oxygen mask.

      “Thanks. Sit down before you fall over,” the bald EMT ordered her. “Terri, get a mask on Wyn here too.”

      “I’m okay,” she said. “Don’t worry about me. You’ve got enough on your hands with the boys. They come first.”

      “You’re going to let them treat you,” Cade growled. “And then you’re going to explain to me why the hell you thought you could defy a direct order.”

      The paramedics exchanged glances and then pointedly busied themselves with Lucas and Caleb.

      “I had no choice. You can see how quickly that thing flared out of control. When I rolled up, only the loft was engulfed but I knew it was only a matter of time. If I hadn’t gone in, Chief Gallegos would be sending his guys in for body retrieval and we both know it!”

      “Another ten seconds and they would have been looking for three bodies!”

      Though the June afternoon sunshine was warm and the fire put out plenty of heat, Wyn shivered. As her adrenaline spike ebbed, the reality of the situation began to soak in like that water spraying out of the firefighters’ hose.

      In nearly five years of law enforcement, she’d never had such a close call. She and the boys all could have died inside that fiery barn. If she had been thirty seconds later...if she hadn’t been able to move as quickly...if one of those blazing timbers had crashed to the ground.

      No question about it, they had been lucky.

      She swallowed, suddenly light-headed. She didn’t realize she swayed until Cade grabbed her.

      “Sit down,” he ordered harshly, though his hands were gentle as he helped her to the ground. Terri came over with an oxygen mask and a water bottle.

      “Did you call another ambulance for her yet?” Cade asked.

      Terri looked wary at his clipped tone. “No. We’ll check her blood gases first. Could be, we can treat and release at the scene with a few more puffs of oxygen.”

      “I’m perfectly fine,” Wyn answered through the mask, then spoiled the words with a paroxysm of coughing.

      When Wyn finished, Cade’s silver-blue eyes looked as fierce and hard as the Redemption Mountains.

      “If the paramedics don’t ship you to the hospital, take your vehicle and clear out. You’re officially suspended without pay for the next seven days.”

      For a moment, she thought the fire had messed with her hearing. “What? I just saved two lives!”

      “And almost lost your own in the process.”

      She glared at him. “You can’t suspend me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

      “You disobeyed a direct order and your actions could have endangered others.”

      “How?” СКАЧАТЬ