Credence

Kaleb lies on his side, holding her and fitting her head under his chin as both of them go back to sleep.

I stand there, watching them. Does she know she screams like that at night?

Does she know he comes in? I’ve never heard her do that.

Of course, she’s not always sleeping alone. Maybe Kaleb only has to come in when she does.

He used to have nightmares when we were little, but he’d wake up.

A smell hits my nose, and I blink, hearing the dogs barking as I inhale. I turn my head toward the hallway, scrunching up my face, the strong scent almost making my eyes water.

I whisper to Kaleb. “Do you smell that?”

It smells like a fire, but we didn’t leave anything burning. Walking out of the room, I head downstairs and glance at the fireplace, making sure it’s out, before heading for the front door. But as I walk, I spot a glow coming through the kitchen window. I narrow my eyes, stopping in my tracks. What the…?

Running through the kitchen, I nearly trip over the dogs rushing at me before I lean over the sink and peer out the window. My stomach rolls.

“Oh, fuck,” I gasp.

“Kaleb!” I shout, whipping around and running for the front door. “Fire in the barn!”

The animals. The barn is right next to the stable. Shit!

I pull on the sweatshirt hanging on the back of the closet and slip into my boots, grabbing my gloves out of my coat pocket.

“Kaleb!” I yell again. “Hurry!”

His footfalls hit heavy from above, and I hear him charge down the stairs, but I don’t wait. Whipping open the front door, I race outside, almost slipping on my ass as I grab the railing and rush down the steps of the deck. The snow crunches under my boots, some falling inside, because we got another six inches today, and I didn’t have a chance to fasten them.

But I don’t care. I stop and look up at the barn, barely able to move for a moment. What the hell? Flames engulf the ridge of the roof, and it’ll be a miracle if the hose isn’t frozen, otherwise we lose everything. How the hell did this start?

Kaleb grabs my collar, and I suck in a breath, meeting his eyes. He scowls and jerks his chin toward the barn, snapping me out of it. I nod.

He runs for the shop, opening the bay doors, and I race for the barn. I run inside, the smoke thick and stifling as I try to catch a breath. Covering my nose and mouth with my arm, I yank out Tiernan’s tires, the chickens inside squawking and flapping their wings. Coughing, I dive back inside and grab a rope, slipping a loop around the cow’s fucking head and dragging her out. I try to get air, but I can’t stop coughing. Everything stings and burns as I struggle to find my way out through the smoke.

A whine echoes from above, and I look up just in time to see a piece of the loft

floor break away, dangle, and fall. I run, the board hitting the animal as I pull her out into the cold night air.

Kaleb pulls the fire hose out of the shop, and I work to move everything as far away from the barn as possible.

“What happened?” Tiernan cries.

I look up, seeing her standing in the snow in her boots but nothing covering her T-shirt and sleep shorts.

I turn to Kaleb, watching him fuck around with the lever, but nothing’s coming out. No water.

“Fuck!” I growl, fisting my hair.

“Go check if it’s frozen!” Tiernan shouts.

I look over to see she’s yelling at Kaleb and pointing to the water tower.

I shake my head. We had a warm day yesterday. It might not be frozen, but there’s no way that’ll help. What are we going to do? Fill buckets and launch them at the flames from down here?

Kaleb goes anyway, dropping the hose, and I’m about to follow, but Tiernan rushes past me, and my heart lodges in my damn throat.

“The horses!” she yells.