He yanked on her hand. “We have to get out of here, Josie.”
She shook free. “We have to get them out of here.” She slapped Bruiser on his rump and the horse kicked out in a narrow miss, fear evident in his panic-stricken eyes. “Tanner already got Hank and he’s opening up the pasture gates for the cows now. These horses are all that’s left.”
She was as unyielding as the animals she fought to free and Seth knew he would never be able to convince her to go. Not when the animals were in such immediate danger.
“What can I do to help?”
“Open up those panels.” She nudged her head toward the paddock fence rails surrounding them, the threatening fire encroaching steadily just on the other side. “We’re not going to be able to guide them out through the narrow gate, so we’ll just have to let the heat push them that way. I’m praying they still have some survival instincts left, because there’s not much more that we can do.”
Seth jerkily rushed toward the panels. When his hand met the pipe, he recoiled, the smarting pain from the heat the metal retained making him flinch. He tucked his hand back into his shirtsleeve and used the fabric as a barrier while he attempted another grip on the panel. Heaving with all of the strength he could muster, he unlatched the first section of fence, then the second, until half of the paddock paneling was unhooked and laid flat on the ground.
Even with the fencing gone, a barrier remained. Flames taller than Seth pierced skyward in a taunting dance that trapped them within its hellish inferno ring.
“The water trough!” Josie exclaimed. They raced to the hundred-gallon tub that was only three-quarters full. Josie grabbed a nearby grain bucket and passed it off to Seth, then took another up in her hands. Together they scooped pail after pail, dousing the flames until the fire diminished with a simmering hiss.
“Come on, Bruiser!” Josie cried once on the other side of the enclosure, her hoarse voice cracking on the syllables. “Move!”
She doubled at the waist, racked with a guttural sob that left her a crumpled heap in Seth’s arms.
“We have to get out of here, Josie,” he said a second time. This time, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He’d carry her out of danger if he had to.
“They’re not moving!”
“They will,” he assured, but only half believed it. “They’ll get out of harm’s way now that there’s a clear path to take. Trust me.”
Josie just shook her head over and over as they backed away from the paddock and the blazing remnants of the barn that looked like some special effect from an action movie. Seth had never seen such destruction take place in a matter of mere minutes. Whinnies squealed in unison with Josie’s cries, and her sounds were only partially muted as she wept into his shirt.
In no time, the opening they had just created was swallowed up in new flames. Seth sheltered Josie against his chest to keep her from glimpsing the hopeless sight. The wall of opaque fire obscured the desperate horses imprisoned on the other side, but it couldn’t contain their hysterical neighs of despair.
Then, like a promise in the night, a distant siren wail sent a wave of sheer optimism rippling through Seth’s body. Thank God, help had finally arrived.
“The fire department’s here!” He shook Josie, peeling her from his chest where she burrowed.
The back of her hand smeared across her eyes, blinking and unbelieving.
At the same time, Seth’s mother and father rushed out from the farmhouse, both in robes that they cinched tightly around their waists as they ran toward the commotion.
“Is everyone okay?” Mitch’s slack-jawed gape matched his rounded eyes.
“Where’s Tanner?” Donna cried, just as Amy and the boys sprinted up behind her. She hauled her grandsons into her arms to shield them from the devastating display. “Where is he?”
“He’s opening up the gates for the cows,” Josie said, her composure only slightly regained. “But the rescue horses are trapped.”
“Not for long,” Seth assured. A fire truck, followed by an ambulance, slowed in between them and the barn, and the chief jumped down from the first vehicle once it came to a full stop. Seth filled him in on the situation with the horses and the crew got right to work with a synchronicity that could only come from working as a team day in and day out.
Seth knew there was nothing more he could do and that it was best to leave the firefighters to their job, but a helplessness still tugged at the core of his being. His family ranch was being swallowed whole before his very eyes and it was a chilling, stark reality that he was powerless to save it.
Mighty surges of water flooded from fire hoses angled toward the barn, quenching the ailing structure and smothering the angry flames. The chief called out orders and his crew moved quickly to meet the demands. Their presence provided a modicum of control in the midst of utter uncertainty. Popping sounds of igniting beams. Neighing from terrified creatures. The whooshing rush of water that attempted to overpower the persistent flames.
It was all a cacophony of chaos and then, with one eardrum shattering whinny, Bruiser vaulted over the hedge of fire like an Olympic equestrian jumper. Seth had never seen a sight so majestic, so unbridled, and when the four remaining mustangs followed his lead, Seth couldn’t keep from weeping. Tears, hot and insistent, trailed down his cheeks and skated along his jaw.
“Josie, look.”
Bruiser reared on his hind limbs, kicking out his front hooves as he tossed his head wildly like a grand send off before bounding for the open pasture, his herd mates on his heels.
“They’re free,” Josie whimpered at the sight.
For the first time since stepping from one nightmare into another, Seth was able to breathe easy. The same couldn’t be said for Josie. She coughed and hacked, choking on the smoke that enveloped them like a dense, dark vapor. Seth gasped when she suddenly went languid like a rag doll in his arms.
“Help!” he screamed. “Somebody, help!”
A young paramedic bounded across the dirt with his medical bag, hollering for his partner to follow. The second rushed over, pushing a stretcher. Seth stood there gaping as they peeled Josie from his grip and strapped her onto the frame to take her vitals. They rattled off numbers that Seth didn’t know the meaning of and spun the gurney around. As if in a fog, Seth stared blankly when the ambulance doors slammed closed with Josie secured behind them, lights flashing in red, disorienting swirls. The siren kicked on. Dust sputtered out from the vehicle’s tires and Seth remained frozen in place until the ambulance became a distant speck on the two-lane road outside their property.
“Who are they taking away?” Tanner suddenly jammed up behind them on his horse. He swung down from the animal and gathered the reins in his hands. “Who was that?”
“Josie!” Donna’s voice trembled. “They’ve taken Josie. Mitch, go get some clothes on and then get the truck warmed up. Anna, you take the boys back to the main house and phone us if the fire spreads any further. Tanner—are you okay to drive Seth down to the hospital? Your father and I will be right behind you as soon as we’re changed.”
It was apparent that Seth was in no condition to drive himself. He could feel all awareness drain from his face, just a vapid expression coating his despondent features.