“She’ll be here tomorrow if they need to talk to her,” Josh said.
Tory’s gaze returned to the fire chief, who was clearly speculating on their relationship. Josh was giving her a chance to escape.
“I think I’ll go in.” She needed to keep an eye on her daughter, but she didn’t want to mention Ivy unless she had to. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She was a few feet away when she heard the fire chief’s voice.
“I don’t think I’ve seen her around,” he said to Josh as she continued toward the trailer.
“She’s my housekeeper,” she heard Josh say. She was fairly sure what the chief was thinking when Josh added, “Not that kind of housekeeper.”
As she neared the porch, Tory glanced back at the dying fire. She wondered what had caused the blaze and felt sorry for Josh. He would have to rebuild, but at least the horses were safe.
She started up the front porch steps. The adrenaline had bled from her system. Her legs were shaking, her stomach unsteady. Climbing the stairs was suddenly a Herculean task.
She thought again of the fire. It was a terrible accident. A terrible loss for Josh.
But what if it wasn’t an accident? a little voice asked. What if the fire was set on purpose?
Was it possible Damon had found her? In the last weeks they were together, he had changed so much. At the end, he’d become insanely jealous. The man who had beaten her nearly to death wouldn’t think twice about burning down another man’s barn, even if it killed a stable full of the man’s valuable horses.
Tory’s skin prickled as she stepped inside the house. Heading down the hall, she stopped to check on Ivy, but as before, the little girl was deeply asleep. Quietly entering her daughter’s bedroom, she paused to press a kiss on the top of Ivy’s head.
Coming close to death made her appreciate the amazing gift she had been given even more than she had before. It made her even more determined to keep her little girl safe.
It was an accident, she told herself as she walked into her bedroom. There was cleaning solvent in the barn, other flammable liquids, several tons of straw to fuel the flames.
But as she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, Damon’s image appeared, the look of fury on his face when she had left him tied up on the floor.
She was still awake at dawn, more exhausted than when she had gone to bed. Until she knew what had caused the fire, she didn’t expect to get much sleep.
*
Josh didn’t bother going to bed. Wanting to make sure the hot spots were all out, the fire crew didn’t leave until after dawn.
When Tory showed up to make breakfast, she brewed a big pot of coffee and carried it and a stack of Styrofoam cups out to the exhausted men. They were more than grateful.
Normally, when she arrived in the mornings, Josh did his best to be outside working. He came in to eat, then went back to work, figuring the less time he spent with her the better.
Tory had been a distraction before last night, but after carrying her out of the barn, he knew the exact fullness of her breasts, the way her nipples tightened into tiny buds in the cool night air. He knew the feel of her delicate curves, the silky texture of her fiery curls against his skin.
He wanted her. He tried to tell himself he’d just been too long without a woman. He tried to convince himself that any woman would do. Then he remembered the way she had run into the burning barn, risking her life to help him save his horses, save the beautiful palomino mare, and he knew it wasn’t the truth.
He wanted Tory Ford, wanted her in his bed until he’d had his fill. He had no idea how long that would be; he just knew he hungered for her sweet little body every time she was near.
It wasn’t going to happen. Tory worked for him. She was raising a child. It hadn’t taken long to figure out she wasn’t the kind of woman who was interested in a one-night stand. Not the kind who would be willing to trade her favors for a raise in salary or an easier job.
Since he wasn’t interested in a relationship beyond the physical, Tory was off-limits. If he wanted sex, he had to find someone else.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to look.
He sighed as he left the house and crossed the yard toward the dead embers of the burned-out barn. The occasional wisp of smoke was all that remained of the blaze that had destroyed the big wooden structure he had spent weeks rebuilding.
He looked up as Noah’s pickup pulled into the yard, slid to a halt, and Cole and Noah jumped out.
“Holy shit!” Noah stalked toward him. Cole remained frozen, staring at the destruction. “What the hell happened?”
“Won’t know till the arson squad comes out,” Josh said.
“You don’t think it could have been set on purpose?” Cole asked.
“We’ll have to see what they find out.”
“Could have been an electrical fire.” Cole tipped up his baseball cap. “Wiring’s pretty old in there.”
“Maybe,” Josh said. “Cleaning supplies, other flammables in the tack room, plenty of straw once the blaze got going.”
“Those arson guys are good,” Noah said. “They’ll figure out what caused it.”
Josh’s gaze went back to the pile of blackened, soggy lumber. “They’ll probably be here this afternoon. Fire is dead out. Ashes should be cool enough by then.”
“Maybe we can round up some help to rebuild,” Noah suggested.
“Maybe.” Linc had a good crew working at Blackland Ranch. Maybe his brother would loan him some of the hands. “We can’t do anything till the arson investigation is complete. In the meantime, we’ve still got fences to mend, and the cow barn isn’t finished. We’re going to need it now. We’d better get going.”
They set off as they usually did, Noah and Cole heading off on the ATVs to work on the fence line. Josh had planned to saddle one of the horses and ride out this morning. A gelding named Irish Whiskey was showing potential as a cutting horse. Good ones were valuable and hard to find. He wanted to do a little more work with the cattle, see if his hunch was right.
Not gonna happen now, not with all the saddles and riding tack destroyed.
This afternoon, he’d drive into town, pick up some replacement gear at the mercantile. All new saddles, bridles, blankets, halters, brushes, lead ropes, and dozens of other necessities weren’t going to come cheap.
It was after lunch when a red van pulled up in front of the burned-out barn, the words ARSON INVESTIGATION printed on the side. Two men got out, walked over and introduced themselves: Bill Wheeler, a big older guy with a shaved head and thick neck, and a good-looking Asian around Josh’s age named Tim Chin.
“We’ll be a while,” Bill said. “We’ll let you know what we find out.”
“Appreciate it.”
“You got insurance?” Wheeler asked.
“Some. Not enough. Worse, I just rebuilt the damn thing.”
A look passed between them. Josh had a hunch they had just crossed off a possible motive.
He didn’t want to leave for town till he knew what had happened so he went to work on the cow barn while the men examined the still-smoldering remains.
It was a couple of hours later that the investigators showed up in the doorway.
“Got a minute?” Tim Chin asked. They were wearing heat-protective gear and heavy firemen’s boots. Tim pulled off his fireproof gloves as he and Josh walked outside to join Bill Wheeler.
“Electrical or flammable liquids?” Josh asked. “I figure it has to be one or the other or a combination of both.”
Chin glanced at Wheeler, then back. “It was arson, Josh. Multiple ignition points. Traces of accelerants. Combined with the straw, that’s the reason it went up so fast.”
Anger and disgust washed through him, making his jaw feel tight.
“You got any idea who might want to burn you out?” Wheeler asked.
“Not a clue.” But he meant to find out.
“No enemies you can think of?” Chin added.
“If I was still in Afghanistan, I’d say I had a whole army of enemies. Here, no. Right off, I can’t think of anyone who’d go to this kind of extreme.”