Confessing to the Cowboy - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,63

and was not only engulfed in flames but also blocked any entry or exit from Matt’s bedroom.

Despite the roar of the fire and the fact that Matt’s bedroom door was closed, she screamed his name at the top of her voice, and then half collapsed with a coughing spasm. Her eyes burned and began to tear from the black smoke that roiled in the air.

Horror stuttered through her as she realized she couldn’t get to Matt’s room...to Matt himself, unless she could somehow move the blazing sofa from where it sat.

The red-and-yellow flames lighting the room made it look like a rendition of hell. But true hell was knowing that her son was on the other side of the burning barrier.

She was about to attempt to push the sofa to one side when over the din of the fire she heard a shatter of glass from her bedroom and somebody yelling her name.

She raced back to the bedroom to see Cameron at the window. “Come on,” he yelled, urging her out the window.

“I can’t,” she cried. “I can’t get to Matt.” She began to cough again, nearly falling to her knees.

“I’ve got him. Matt’s out here with me. He’s safe, Mary.” Cameron reached a hand through the broken glass. “Come on. You need to get out of there now.”

Trusting that what he’d told her about Matt was true, she grabbed his hand and he helped her out of the window. At the same time she heard the distant sound of sirens. Hopefully they were from an approaching fire truck.

Matt stood shivering in the snow, tears streaming from his eyes. “Mom, Twinkie is still in there,” he said with a sob. “I couldn’t find her in the smoke when the man told me to get out of my window.” His tears falling on his cheeks glistened as if on the verge of turning into ice. “She’s gonna die in there.”

Cameron’s features looked hard and determined in the faint light of the moon and the whisper of smoke that had drifted outside. He handed Mary his car keys. “Go on, the two of you get in my car and turn on the heater before you both get frostbite or worse.”

Matt turned and ran toward Cameron’s car. Mary hesitated. “What are you going to do?” she asked as they hurried around the building.

“I’m going in to get Twinkie.”

Despite Mary’s protests, there was no way Cameron was going to force Matt to live with the fact that cute little Twinkie had fried in his bedroom. The kid would be traumatized for the rest of his life.

Although Mary tried to stop him, clinging to his arm and begging him not to attempt a rescue, Cameron was determined. He raced back to Matt’s room and climbed in through the broken window and hit the floor.

The room was dark except for the faint glow of the greedy fire beneath the closed door. The fire made a hissing noise, as if it were a dark and ominous snake attempting to sneak beneath the door.

The smoke stung his eyes and pressed tight against his lungs. He stayed low to the ground, where the air was still just barely breathable. “Twinkie,” he called.

The heat in the room grew more and more intense and he expected the flames from the burning sofa to jump to the bedroom door at any moment. If that happened he’d have no other choice than to abandon the room and leave the dog behind.

“Twinkie,” he yelled again, grateful to hear men’s voices coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Apparently help had arrived.

At the same time Cameron felt a furry little body run into his head. “Twinkie, thank God.” He grabbed the trembling dog to his chest and then backed up to the open window.

With the dog safely in his arms he exited the building, grateful to see the volunteer fire truck nearby with hoses already in use.

He ran across the snowy landscape to his car. Matt opened the back door, his arms opened to receive his precious dog. “Thank you,” Mary said, her eyes filled with tears.

He nodded. “Just keep the doors locked and the car running so you stay warm. Don’t open the doors for anyone but me and if somebody tries to get in, then drive away and I’ll find you later.”

Mary nodded solemnly, as if she realized what Cameron had already assessed, that this fire could have simply been a diversionary tactic to get Mary and Matt out of the