Page 22

“Manmade or natural?”

“Manmade.” He moves slowly, clearing a space for me to follow, grumbling the occasional order to avoid a nail or other sharp object. Suddenly, he stops, a low, dark chuckle rumbling through his chest. “There it is.” He points to rustic initials carved into the barn’s wood, probably with a pocket knife based on their crude outline: TE Hayes.

I squeal, pulling out my cell phone and snapping a photo. “TE Hayes. This has to be our ranch hand and resident mapmaker.”

Reese shrugs. “All I know is it’s been here for as long as I can recall. Grandpa pointed it out to me a couple of times, a bitter look on his face, always spitting and saying, ‘Former ranch hand and inveterate thief.’”

“This has to be the structure on the map in the lefthand corner,” I say, voice trembling with excitement. “Grandpa and I brainstormed back and forth what it could be. This is?—”

A great, roaring chaos fills the barn, and Reese and I look up wide-eyed. “Oh, shit!” he manages, wrapping his big body around mine as wood from the rafters slams down on top of us. Dust fills the air, thick and impenetrable, as the rancher exhales on a pained grunt.

“Reese—”

He pushes me forward, and I fall to my knees, crawling along the back of the wall with him close behind. Sunlight poursthrough a hole at the bottom of the wall, and he shoves me towards it, commanding, “Run!”

Around us, splintering and popping thunder, like a house of poker cards crashing to the ground. I scramble through the hole, squeezing and clawing my way before jumping to my feet and sprinting. I only stop and turn once I know the angry swirl of debris can no longer reach me.

My mouth gapes as I take in the scene of the toppled structure, an angry mass of twisted wood.

Where is Reese?

My eyes scan the structure as tense minutes pass without a sign of movement. “Reese!” I scream into the eerie silence that follows the demolition, frantically searching for signs of life. “Reese!” My voice breaks.

I run towards the structure, tears combining with the dust plastered to my face as my heart sinks. I’m a widow within the first twenty-four hours of marriage, my husband’s last thought and action solely for my safety.There’s nothing fake about that.

“Reese!” I wail, desperation and panic coloring my voice as I sink into the tall, yellow grass of the pasture to my knees, too weak to stand.

If only I could kiss him one more time. Tell the burly cowboy how much I’ve wanted him since first laying eyes on him. Confess how his selfless desire to save me fills my heart with what can only be described as love …

I pull out my phone, hands trembling. No signal. Still, I should be able to call emergency services. I read a while back you can do that even without service.

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” A nasally voice answers.

“Oh, thank God. My husband. My husband has been buried beneath an abandoned barn, and he’s not answering me.”

“Wait, let me get this straight. Did you say abandoned barn?”

“Yes. Please hurry. I don’t know where he is, and he isn’t?—”

A big hand clamps down on my shoulder, and I jump out of my skin. Reese stands next to me, covered from head to toe in fine, powdery dust, breathing hard. He rests his other hand on his knee, leaning forward to catch his breath. I see blood oozing through tears in the back of his T-shirt.

“Oh, my God, Reese, are you okay?”

His other hand drops to his other knee, and he looks like he’s about to double over onto the ground.

“Hello, Miss? Are you there?” the voice blares through the phone.

“Yes, but I have to go.”

“Do you still need us to send somebody out to your location?”

“I don’t know. But I found my husband, and he’s alive. I’ll call back if we need your help. Thank you.”

Ending the call, I shove my phone in the back pocket of my long denim skirt, leaning over to search Reese’s face. A big, angry cut on his forehead bleeds as he continues catching his breath, gazing up at me with his gorgeous green eyes. I won’t rest easy until he starts talking again, ready to grab my phone at a moment’s notice.

“Talk about a close one,” he finally says, chuckling and straightening slightly. I grab his big arm, wrapping it around my shoulder to support him.

“How badly are you hurt?”