Southern Secrets (Southern 7)

The sound of shattering glass fills the air. Two firemen stand on top of the fire truck, their hoses spraying water toward the roof. Six other firemen beside the blaze try to contain it. The heat from the fire hits my skin, but nothing could make me move from this spot.

I watch in shock from the sidelines with everyone else as the firemen do their best to contain it. I hear yelling going on around them, but I can’t move. I hear car doors slamming, and I know more people are arriving, but I can’t look away.

My eyes fixate on the flames coming out of the window, the doors, and the sides of the walls. Yellow, orange, and red mix, making everything in front of me look hazy. How can this be happening? How the fuck am I going to recover from this? I put my hands on my head now as my eyes sting from the flames.

The sound of crackling starts, and all I can do is watch in horror as the roof suddenly vanishes. My hand flies to my mouth as everything I own goes up in flames.

Chapter 2

Amelia

I look up into the sky and see the black smoke. "Oh my God." I put my hand to my mouth for a minute, turning around in a circle. Or maybe it’s the earth spinning.

The sound of yelling snaps me out of my daydream or nightmare, making me look toward the driveway. The men run to their trucks, the sound of rocks hitting metal as one truck peels out.

"I want someone at each barn." My grandfather walks past me, talking to one of the ranch hands. "I want someone making sure all the horses are okay," he says.

"Grandpa,” I call for him, and he turns around, the worry clear on his face.

"We can take the horses," I say, and he shakes his head.

"Don’t you put any ideas in any of your heads. You do not leave this farm." He points at me, his voice stern like it was when we were younger, and he knew we were going to get into trouble. "And I mean it, Amelia." He turns to walk away.

I wait until he’s far enough away before I turn around and look at Chelsea. If anyone is going to come with me, it would have to be Chelsea. We’ve been stuck at the hip growing up, and if there was trouble, we found it.

"Let’s go," Chelsea says, huffing out, and Willow and Emily both look at her. "You know that us staying here is going to be hell." She looks back at me, and I just nod. "So I’m going. Who is coming with me?"

"Me," I say without missing a beat, and then look back at Emily, who nods at us.

"I have to make sure the kids are alright," Emily says, walking over to my mother and handing her my niece.

My mother looks at my niece and then looks up at me. She shakes her head but then mouths to me, "Be careful."

I nod my head and look back at Willow, who is tapping her index finger on her pants. "He’s not going to like this," she says of Quinn. "He especially said don’t move from here." She looks up at the smoke filling the sky, and this time, it looks thicker than it did before.

I look over at the barn and see them starting to bring out the horses. They take off in every single direction. Some with two riders and some with three but none alone. I see my grandfather race off also.

I turn back to see people packing up the food. Knowing my grandmother, she'll make dinners for everyone and have someone run it over to the men.

Emily runs back to us as we look up again and see the smoke getting thicker and thicker. "Let’s go," I say, and we run to Chelsea’s car.

I get into the front seat and look back to see the tears rolling down Willow’s face. "Is it the barn?" She wipes away the tears, and Emily reaches over and hugs her. "The horses." Willow has been in town for a couple of months, and she’s had a rough start after being left for dead. She started working at one of the rehab barns that Quinn owns and is very close to one of the horses.

"Hope is fine," I say, and the look of relief falls all over her. "It’s the supply barn." I take one more look at Emily and then turn to look out the window.

"Wait, isn’t that …?" she says, and I just nod my head and don't say the words everyone is thinking. Our childhood barn. The barn we grew up at. The barn where all the kids took their first riding lesson. That barn was our second home. If we were having a bad day, chances are we would be at the barn, and within an hour, it would be okay. I wipe the tear from the corner of my eye as I send up a silent prayer that everyone is safe.