Page 31

Heart sinking, she continued to listen.

“After three days, we now have sources telling us the fire is seventy percent contained. Those in the area were safely evacuated, and there have been no reported casualties.”

Daniel heaved a breath and leaned back in his seat, his hands laced behind his head. They were all visibly shaken. No one had heard from Ash in the last couple of days. That much had been clear when she’d entered the room.

She settled back in her seat as well, the buzzing in her ears slowly dying down. The phone resting on the cushion at her side seemed to scream at her to call him, to message him just so she could confirm he was okay.

Her fingers twitched in her lap while she stared at it.

“Someone should try to call again,” Wade said from the doorway. His gaze swept through the room.

“I’ve already tried five times,” Daniel offered. “It’s going straight to voicemail.”

“They said that there were no casualties,” Charlie said just above a whisper.

Daniel shook his head. “That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been hurt.”

“You don’t think he’s in a hospital somewhere, do you? They would have said it on the news, right?” Charlie asked.

Her brother looked at her, curiosity leaking from his gaze. “I suppose that would make an interesting news story. People are suckers for heroes.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Maybe someone should stop by his apartment,” another family member offered.

Charlie didn’t pay attention to who had said it. She only continued to stare at her phone. Finally, she picked it up as she stood. Shoving it in her back pocket, she said, “I’m going to bed.” She didn’t care that it was barely dusk out. She needed some time alone to think.

That sinking feeling inside, though not as severe, was still present. Until she heard his voice, she wasn’t going to trust that he was okay.

Thoughts of him consumed her as she went through the motions of preparing for bed. Once she slid beneath the sheets, she pulled the phone out again to check for any messages.

Nothing.

She opened the messages app and her thumb hovered over the keyboard. What could she say to him that wouldn’t sound ridiculous?

Charlie let out a disgruntled sound and tossed the phone on the bed beside her. The darkened ceiling blurred above her as those thoughts of Ash consumed her.

His words to her clattered through her mind.

You don’t see it, do you? You can’t begin to understand the way you affect me.

Heat coiled in the pit of her stomach. His words were a caress along her cheek. They’d captured her breath and seized it, not allowing her to take even the smallest breath.

And the worst part is that it will never work between us. I will never be able to make you mine.

His.

Charlie closed her eyes and let out a slow, shuddering breath. She’d thought he was playing games. But the way he’d said those things to her, the way his voice had cracked when he whispered them so close to her face, she’d begun to wonder if she was wrong.

She’d never seen Ash so agitated.

Her heart thrummed, and she curled up on her side to ease the tension that had coiled from her stomach all the way up to her heart. Her body only grew more agitated, more restless. She couldn’t just lay here when she didn’t know if he was okay.

She sat straight up in her bed and threw the covers aside. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and her boots. Perhaps a ride would be enough to ease that spring of tension within her.

The second she emerged from the barn, she paused. Even as the sun crept behind the horizon, she could see the storm clouds moving into the valley. There was no telling how much moisture they’d receive from them, but hopefully it would be enough to give the men like Ash a reprieve from fighting fires this season.

With one boot in the stirrups, she hoisted herself into the saddle and urged Rose into a canter.