Texas Tall (The Tylers of Texas 3)

Tori and Lauren waited next to the emergency vehicles, supporting each other in silence as the firemen hosed down the barn’s wreckage and began clearing it away. The barn was a total loss, but the horses, now rounded up and herded into the paddock, had survived the fire with minor burns and a gash to Tesoro’s shoulder, which would heal. The ranch hands who’d come running to help were safely accounted for, as well as Beau. Only two men were known to be missing—Sky and Will.

With rakes, shovels, crowbars and gloved hands, Beau and the hired men were helping the fire crew lift away the bent roof panels and other debris. The ruined barn looked as if it had been bombed. In some places the charred walls of the barn and the heavy-timbered framework of the stalls were still standing. In other places the rubble was as flat as if crushed by a giant hammer. The work was painstakingly slow. One wrong move could crush or stab a survivor who might be trapped alive beneath the rubble.

Natalie, who’d been re-packing supplies in her SUV, broke away and hurried forward, cell phone in her hand. “I just got a call from the nine-one-one dispatcher,” she said. “That poor little girl who’s married to Ralph Jackson is about to have her baby. Her husband’s gone off somewhere, she’s all alone, and the nearest doctor’s in Lubbock. I’m going over there to see what I can do. If I need more help, I’ll let you know.”

Her eyes met Tori’s in silent understanding. The ambulance and paramedics had arrived with the fire department; but if Will or Sky—or both—were found alive, here was where the more urgent need would be. If Natalie ended up having to deliver a baby, it wouldn’t be the first time.

With a final comment—“Keep me posted”—she sprang into her vehicle, gunned the engine, and roared off toward the distant row of bungalows. Tori turned her gaze back to the grim search of the wreckage. She could feel Lauren, close beside her, trembling. Neither of them spoke. There was nothing to say. They were two strong women preparing themselves for the worst.

One of the firemen gave a shout. “There’s a body under here!”

Tori’s heart dropped. She felt Lauren’s hand creep into hers as more men hurried to pull away the debris. Beau was the first one to recognize the dead man. He spoke in a flat voice.

“He’s got blond hair, and I remember that shirt from this morning. That’s Ralph Jackson.”

Tori’s knees went weak. She braced, willing herself to stand. Beside her, Lauren gasped. “It’s his wife who’s having a baby! We need to let Natalie know.”

Not trusting her voice, Tori found the number on her cell and handed it to Lauren to make the call. This time it hadn’t been Will or Sky the men had found. But the search was far from over.

She averted her eyes as the paramedics lifted away the body and zipped it into a black bag, though a glimpse told her that the man hadn’t been badly burned. She’d barely known him, but the tragedy, and the fear that this was only the beginning, hit hard and deep.

Looking across the yard, Tori could see Erin standing on the porch with Jasper and Bernice. She was staying where she’d been told to stay, but she was straining against the rail, trying to see what was happening. Tori ached to go to her daughter, take her in her arms, and assure her that everything would be all right. But she couldn’t do that yet—not when Erin’s loving, secure world might have already come crashing down in the inferno of the burning barn.

“Quiet!” It was Beau who’d shouted. “Listen—I think I heard something!”

In the silence of straining ears that followed, Tori could hear nothing but Lauren’s breathing and the pounding of her own heart. Maybe Beau had only heard the shift of cooling metal, or the sound of a trapped, injured animal that would need to be put down.

Or a man, terribly burned . . . She forced the thought away.

“Over here!” One of the men pointed toward a spot near the barn’s entrance where the debris was piled high against a standing wall. “Listen, there it is again! Something’s moving!”

Tori, who was farther away, held her breath, but she could hear nothing. She could only wait with Lauren, in an agony of undeniable hope, as each piece of wreckage was carefully lifted away.

Then there was a shout. “They’re here! They’re alive, both of them!”

Tori’s knees buckled. She heard a sob from Lauren as two ghostly-looking men, singed, ragged, and coated with soot and ash, emerged from the rubble. Will was on his feet, stumbling through the debris. Sky, barely conscious, had to be supported between Beau and one of the paramedics.

Will’s smoke-reddened eyes narrowed as he took in the scene around him. “Damn it, don’t just stand there gawking!” he barked, gesturing toward Sky. “Get this man some oxygen!”

He needn’t have spoken. The paramedics were already easing Sky onto a stretcher and clapping an oxygen mask over his face. But Will’s take-charge manner was enough to show Tori that the man she knew so well was back.

Lauren had rushed to be near Sky, staying close as he was carried toward the waiting ambulance. As they loaded him, Tori heard her arguing with the paramedic. The young man was insisting that she couldn’t ride along because they had to take Will, too. But so far, Will showed no sign of wanting to go.

Tori gazed at Will through the clouds of settling ash. Her eyes misted as she thought of how close she’d come to losing him. She checked the impulse to stumble through the debris and fling her arms around his neck. Will had never been big on emotional drama, especially not in front of others. But he had to know how much it meant for her to see him safe.

For a slow beat of time, their gazes held. He cleared his throat. “Tell Erin I’m all right,” he said.

“I’ll tell her.” The calm words masked a storm of emotions Tori had never expected to feel again. Heaven hel

p her, she’d never stopped loving this gruff, stubborn, impossible man. But would love ever be enough to heal the hurt between them?

One paramedic stepped close. “Mr. Tyler, we’re waiting. You need to come with us in the ambulance.”

“The hell I do,” Will growled. “My damned barn just burned down. I can’t leave now.”

“Don’t be stubborn, Will,” Beau said. “You’ve got some nasty burns, and you’ve inhaled a lot of smoke. You need to get checked by a doctor. I’ll keep an eye on things till you get back.”

“For once, do as you’re told,” Tori said. “If you ride with Sky in the ambulance, you can keep an eye on him. I’ll follow in my car with Lauren. After you’ve been checked out, I’ll drive you home.”