Wyatt: Casanova Club #4 Read online

As we ran up the drive, I spotted the first licks of flame shooting out the barn-loft window and out under the rafters. Sparks shot upward as something heavy fell, probably part of the roof, and the cloud of smoke grew in width and height.

  “Is he inside?” I screamed, hoping Dodge and Boone could hear me.

  Neither of them answered. They kept their heads down, and they ran like their lives depended on it.

  No. Like Wyatt’s life depended on it.

  When we reached the barn, the heat radiating off of it was intolerable. I shielded my face from the blaze and coughed as smoke filled the air around us.

  Dodge and Boone hovered around the barn door, somehow managing to stand so close to the flames, and they cupped their hands to their mouths and called Wyatt’s name.

  There was no answer.

  My stomach rolled over, and my skin went cold. My palms were clammy, and my mouth was dry, and there was a terrible, foul taste in the back of my throat. I tried to stop myself from shaking but failed.

  “Water,” I said. Neither of the ranch hands were listening to me. “We need water!”

  Dodge snapped to action first. He raced to the closest outbuilding and uncoiled a hose from the reel on the side. He cranked the water on and dragged the hose over to spray a dinky line of water onto the flames.

  I swallowed. That wasn’t going to do anything.

  Boone was pulling another hose off the reel on the side of the house. He ran over with it and started spraying the other side. Then he motioned for me to go up to the bunkhouse. “There’s another hose there, Piper! Hurry!”

  I dropped the skirt of my dress and ran for the bunkhouse. As I ran, I prayed that Wyatt was safe. But in my heart, I knew nobody could survive a fire like that. If he was still in the barn…

  My throat threatened to close on me, and my eyes filled with tears, which made it hard to seek out the hose on the side of the bunkhouse. I came around the far side and came to a dead stop.

  There, on the south side of the bunkhouse, was Wyatt. And the Buck brothers. They were on their feet. Laughing.

  Wyatt was on his hands and knees in the dirt. He was covered in soot, and as he lifted one hand to hold it to his ribs, Elias Buck wound back and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending Wyatt to his side on the ground.

  Fury unlike anything I had ever felt roared up inside me.

  “Hey!” I screamed so loudly I could have sworn my voice box came dislodged from my throat.

  My hands were balled into fists at my sides when Elias and Hank turned to face me. The crackling of the fire faded to white noise in the back of my mind as I set all of my attention and focus on the enemy.

  “Step away from him,” I said, holding my chin up as I walked toward them.

  Elias Buck clapped his hands together and grinned. “Oh, goody. The city girl has come to play. Look at that, Brewer.”

  Wyatt had managed to push himself back onto his hands and knees. He lifted his head toward me. I couldn’t see his face, which was hidden in shadow beneath his messy hair, but I could hear the low growl that came out of him. “Don’t come any closer, Piper.”

  I kept on walking.

  There was no way in hell I was going to leave Wyatt to fend for himself. Naturally, I had no idea what sort of help I could offer or how long I could keep them away from him, but I had to try. Wyatt was in rough shape, and he needed help.

  Elias and Buck were still laughing until, suddenly, they weren’t. Their expressions went cold. I paused.

  Then two battle cries broke out behind me, and Dodge and Boone came charging around either side of me to go after the Buck brothers. I picked up my skirt and ran to Wyatt as the four men collided.

  He was trying to push himself up to his knees when I dropped to the ground and slid the remaining couple of feet to his side. I took his face in my hands, brushed his hair away from his eyes, and made him look at me.

  His eyes were red, his lip bloody. There was a gash in his right eyebrow that was leaking blood into his eye, and his skin was black from all the smoke.

  “How long were you in the barn?” I asked.

  “Piper,” he said, his voice hoarse and dry as he grabbed hold of my arms. “I’m all right. I just—”

  “Wyatt,” I said, demanding his attention. “Answer me. How long?”

  “Three minutes. Maybe four.”

  I didn’t let him go. “Do you have a headache?”

  Wyatt’s grip on my arms lessened. “Yes.”

  A pang of fear hit me, but I pushed it down. All my studies in college had helped me learn how to spot a bad case of smoke inhalation, and I knew for a fact that was what killed fifty percent of people in fires. Sometimes, a person could walk away from a fire and drop dead later because of lack of oxygen.

  That was not going to happen to Wyatt. I refused to let it. I forced myself to remain calm and ignored the sounds of the fight happening between the Bucks, Boone, and Dodge. “Have you been coughing?”

  He nodded.

  “Is there any mucus?”

  He nodded again.

  “What color?”

  “Gray.”

  Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

  “Do you have chest pain?”

  “Aside from where those bastards kicked me? No.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief at that one. “Dizziness? Nausea? Trouble breathing?”

  “Dizziness. None of the others.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. “Okay. Okay. You’re going to be fine. I’m going to make sure that you’re fine.”

  I looked around wildly and spotted several good things all at once. There were dozens of headlights parked at the gate entrance. The neighbors were here to help. Boone and Dodge had chased Elias and Buck off, and the two ranchers were running across the field in the direction of their own property, abandoning their truck at the gates. They must have seen the neighbors arrive and knew they wouldn’t escape.

  Boone came running over and reached us seconds before Dodge.

  “You all right, boss?” Boone asked.

  Wyatt nodded.

  I grabbed the front of Boone’s shirt. “Call 9-1-1. Tell them he has smoke inhalation and was exposed to the smoke in a contained area for roughly four minutes. He’s dizzy, has a headache, and is coughing up gray mucus.”

  Boone stared at me blankly.

  I released his shirt and shoved him backward. “Go!”

  Boone scrambled to his feet and ran to the house.

  Dodge was still there. “What can I do? What do you need?”

  “Water,” I said. “He needs water.”

  “On it,” Dodge said, taking off after Boone.

  And then it was just me and Wyatt. His eyes were heavy, and I tapped his cheeks to keep him awake.

  “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “Don’t be. I’ve got you. You’re going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. Unless I get my hands on those two fucking assholes that did this to you. Then they will be anything but fine.”

  Wyatt smiled and chuckled but stopped when it caused him pain. I wrapped my arms around him, and he held me to him.

  “You ruined your dress,” he said hoarsely.

  “I guess you’ll just have to buy me another one.”

  Chapter 23

  Wyatt

  Piper and I returned from the hospital at three in the morning. The doctors had given me the all clear after running a bunch of tests and hooking me up to my own personal oxygen tank for four hours. They put my broken fingers, courtesy of Elias, in splints, wrapped my bruised ribs, stitched the gash in my eyebrow, and then proceeded to give me a half hour scolding for running into the barn.

  And that was where Piper jumped in to add her two cents to the conversation.

  I spent the hours on oxygen being reprimanded, after which I promised each and every one of them that had it happened all over again, I would have done the same thing. The alternative was to let my animals die, and for me, that simply wasn’t an option.

  The doctors
clicked their tongues at that, but Piper smiled, sat down beside my bed, took my hand in hers, and lifted it to press her lips to my knuckles.

  All in all, it hadn’t been too terrible of a time at the hospital. It was nice to be home though.

  Piper had driven us back to the ranch and dragged her feet upstairs to go to bed. I’d helped her out of her ripped lace gown and watched her brush her teeth, and then she’d gone and fallen face first into my bed. I promised her I would join her soon.

  But I couldn’t bring myself to go to sleep. I laid down for a half hour or so, but rest never came, so I got up, got dressed, and headed outside at the crack of dawn to stare at the charred remains of the barn my father built in 1962 after the first fire that claimed the original infrastructure.

  At some point after I left the property last night, the whole roof had collapsed. Apparently, the neighbors had stayed out here until the bitter end. They did their best to put it out, but I knew the barn was done for before we left. Then, according to Boone and Dodge, everyone stood and watched it go up in flames and waited until it burned itself down.

  I’d already received a ton of offers from folks who said they would help me rebuild. Some were new ranchers to the area. Many were from the church. And even more were sons of the men who helped my father rebuild in the sixties. At least I had people who were willing to step up and help.

  I sighed and looked past the blackened wood of the barn and out at the fields where the horses were grazing along with the sheep and goats. For now, they were all going to have to share the field behind the barn and use the loafing sheds to stay out of the weather. I was glad I’d repaired the roof a couple weeks ago.

  All the rage I’d felt last night was gone in the wake of the stress and the new morning. It had been replaced by something else. Something I would have gladly traded for rage. I was frustrated, yes, but all the other emotions swirling inside me were a confusing storm, and I couldn’t put my finger on the thing that got to me the most.

  At least, I couldn’t in regard to the burn. I knew what was getting to me the most. I was running out of time with Piper.

  I sighed and rubbed at my sore ribs. This was going to be a rough week. And then the real hell would start.

  Boots crunching on the dirt road alerted me to the approach of two people. I didn’t have to look to know it was Boone and Dodge who stepped up on either side of me.

  Boone spoke first. “It’s a total rebuild, boss.”

  “I know.”

  Dodge clamped a hand on my shoulder, and I winced. He instantly let his hand fall to his side and muttered a string of apologies. “They sure did a number on you last night, didn’t they?”

  I nodded and nursed my ribs again. “They sure did. But I’m glad the two of you at least got a couple hits in yourself. Makes me feel a bit better about the whole mess.”

  “Hey, you broke Hank’s nose before we showed up,” Dodge said in a tone that reminded me of what a mother said to her child who came in fourth place in a race. You didn’t get first, or second, or third, but you got something. And that was better than nothing.

  I shrugged. “Yeah. Wish I’d knocked some teeth out too.”

  “There’s still time for that.” Boone chuckled.

  I shook my head. “No. No funny business.”

  “To the law then?” Dodge asked, turning to look at me.

  I stared at the barn and then gazed up at the house. “Yes. I’m not interested in letting this stupid feud go any longer.”

  “It’ll get messy,” Boone warned.

  “Real fucking messy,” Dodge echoed.

  Boone shot him a look, but I spoke before he could jump down the other ranch hand’s throat. “I know it will. But this has been a long time coming. It’s about time I set the record straight and follow through with what my father started. I’m not going to let them walk all over us anymore. And the other ranches will stand by us. I’m sure of it.”

  “Of course they will,” Boone said.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m waiting until Piper is gone before I do anything though. All right? Not a word of any of this to her. Understand?”

  “Yes,” they both said in unison.

  Maybe it was for the best that Piper was leaving in a week. She’d be far away from this shit show if things took a bad turn, and for that, I would be grateful.

  The Bucks would resist. They would fight back. And I would have a lot on my hands in the aftermath of the fire.

  If anything, it would at least offer a good distraction from thoughts of her. Her with other men. Other billionaires who probably had a lot more to offer than a lot of grass and hay and horse shit and burnt barns and hospital visits.

  Boone slid his hands into his jean pockets and rocked back on his heels. “You know what the silver lining is in all of this?”

  “Please share,” I said, desperate for some good news.

  “At the end of the year, when Piper comes back here and chooses you, all of this shit will be behind you, and she’ll come back to working with us in a brand-new barn. Hell. Maybe you could buy a horse for her. What do you think?”

  I looked down at my feet. “It’s a nice thought, Boone.”

  “I have a good feeling about the two of you,” Boone said, his voice full of confidence. “I’m serious. She cares a lot about you, man. You should have seen her last night.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “He’s not lying,” Dodge said a little begrudgingly. “She was all fire and fight, and there was no stopping her. And fuck me, I thought she was going to take Elias and Hank on herself. It’s a good thing we heard her screaming bloody murder at them, or we might have been too late.”

  “She would have kicked their asses.” Boone chuckled.

  “In a dress and heels, too,” Dodge added.

  “That sure would have been a story to tell the kids, no?” Boone asked.

  “Enough,” I said.

  They both exchanged a look.

  Boone nudged some gravel in the dirt road with the toe of his boot. “We’re sorry, boss. We just… I don’t know. Wanted to make you feel better. This whole situation stinks.”

  “We can rebuild the barn.” I sighed.

  Boone shook his head. “No. Not the barn. You and Piper.”

  “Oh.”

  “Speaking of which,” Dodge said, bowing his head in the direction of the house.

  I looked up to see Piper coming down the porch steps. She was wearing a pair of sweats, slippers, and an oversized sweater which she pulled tightly around herself as she crossed her arms.

  She came over to us, and Boone and Dodge excused themselves. She stood beside me and stared at the barn silently for a couple of minutes.

  “I’m sorry this happened,” she whispered.

  “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. And barns can always be rebuilt. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt last night.”

  She glanced at me. “The same can’t be said about you, unfortunately.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll heal.”

  She nodded and looked down.

  I turned toward her. “Thank you for coming after me last night, Piper. Things could have gone a lot differently if you weren’t there.”

  She smiled, but there was no joy in it. “I had no choice. I will always be there for you, Wyatt.”

  “That won’t be true in eight more days, will it?”

  Piper flinched and drew her arms tighter around herself. She dropped her head, and I instantly wished I could take the words back. I hadn’t meant them to come out that way. I was bitter about her leaving, but that wasn’t her fault.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, reaching for her.

  She leaned into my touch and let me wrap my arms around her. She and I fit perfectly together. She wrapped her arms around my waist, mindful of my ribs, and I rested my chin on top of her head as we gazed out across the fields as the sun painted them gold with its rising.

  She sniffled and nestled her cheek into my che
st. I stroked her hair.

  I wished time would slow down. I wished it would grant us a few more moments like this one, where we could just be together and know that the other was hurting and mourning the goodbyes we hadn’t even said yet.

  I didn’t know how I would get through it. The bright glow Piper had brought to this place while she was here would disappear again, just like it had when my father died.

  And I was woefully unprepared to handle that.

  Chapter 24

  Piper

  Wyatt had been sleeping for almost six hours.

  I stood in the doorway to the bedroom with a cup of green tea steaming in my hands and watched him for a while. It was peaceful here.

  His room, all white walls and pine furniture and smelling of him, had become a haven of sorts for me over the course of the month, and the idea of not sleeping in it once the week was up hurt to think about.

  But it hurt more to think about not sleeping next to him. March had done a number on me. I was quite sure that I was going to shatter into a million pieces as soon as I stepped foot on the plane on the last day of the month, and from then on, I would never be the same.

  How could I be? Wyatt had changed everything for me.

  His philosophy on life and the way he saw things was beautiful. His country lifestyle and big heart had eased all the aches and pains I still carried from my time with Easton and Joshua, who still held giant pieces of my heart in their hands.

  I wondered what Joshua was doing right now. Painting, perhaps. Or sipping a glass of whiskey with his father at their estate, pondering life and art and their own futures. Maybe they spoke of me in passing. If they did, I was sure the words exchanged would be ones of affection.

  I held my tea tighter and let the warmth seep in through my palms.

  And then there was Easton.

  I hoped many things for Easton. Mostly, I hoped he was happy and that he wasn’t afraid of his future anymore. I hoped he thought of me often, and when he did, it made him smile.

  I lifted my eyes back to Wyatt.

  He was sleeping on his back under his covers, which were pulled down a bit, exposing his bare chest and one hand resting over his stomach. His other hand dangled haphazardly over the side of the bed. I could hear his breathing if I held my own breath, slow and steady and deep. Relaxed. In sleep, his pain could not reach him.