Savage in a Stetson (Crossroads #4) - Em Petrova Page 0,46
they even returned from auction.
The final wisps of smoke vanished into the air, and Dom shook his head at the ashes that had once been the hay shed and a hell of a supply of hay.
“Damn, that’s gonna hurt the Bellamy.” He tugged off his hat and rubbed at his jaw.
Theo gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “Couldn’t have done it without your help, man. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Shit. I forgot about the hurt cow.”
“I let her back in with the herd. We’ll have to separate her again so the vet can tend to her.”
Theo nodded. “I’ll go with ya. Spike? Max? You got this covered?”
“Yeah, man. The vet’s still here somewhere. Said he’d stick around when he saw the fire, just in case.”
Dom abandoned his post at the scene of the blaze and went in search of his mount. He found the mare grazing on the opposite side of a fence from some other horses, all of them munching without a care in the world.
“Funny how life works. One second everything’s fine and the next, shit’s burning to the ground,” he said to the horse as he approached.
He felt the need to check in on his grandpa, Jada and his restaurant staff to ensure things were okay with all of them. If working on the Bellamy today had shown him anything, it was not to take a single thing for granted.
It was time that he stop beating around bushes and tell Jada how he really felt about her.
* * * * *
“Jada, I need someone to talk to!” Joss’s frantic tone flooded Jada’s ear as she answered the phone.
She reached for the basket of fries and pulled them out of the grease. “What happened?” She spun from the fryer, moving out of the noisy kitchen to talk to her sister.
“There was a fire on the Bellamy! Cort is away at auction with Kaoz and his dad and Sherman.”
“Oh my God! What burned?” Her stomach bottomed out with fear for the beloved ranch that was baby CT’s birthright.
“A hay shed burned to the ground, along with everything in it. I just heard from the vet’s wife. She was in my store having a browse,” Joss said.
“How did she hear the news?” Jada entered her office and closed the door for privacy.
“The vet’s up at the ranch right now. Said without the ranch hands and Dom’s quick reactions, the fire would have spread to other outbuildings.”
Jada blinked. “Dom?” She rushed to her office window and looked across the parking lot. Sure enough, his truck wasn’t in front of Savage’s Barbecue. “Why was Dom on the Bellamy?”
“I told you Cort and the guys are away today at auction, and Theo asked him to spend the day there since they’re shorthanded. Thank God he was!”
In the background, Jada heard the baby fussing and gearing up for a full-blown crying fit.
“Yes, thank God he was there,” Jada echoed.
“I’m sorry, sis. The baby just had one of those diaper explosions, and he hates being dirty. You can’t believe the amount of laundry I do nowadays. If you see Dom, please thank him for me, would you?”
“Of course. Love you, Joss.” She ended the call and stood in the middle of her office, drinking in the news and processing it.
Dom had been in the right place at the right time, and thank goodness he had been.
It also meant that he’d been in the line of danger.
She pictured him fighting that fire on the Bellamy, sleeves rolled back over his thick forearms and concentration creasing his brows.
She looked out the window at Savage’s Barbecue again and saw his truck parked there. She sucked in a sharp gasp and ran out of her office, through the restaurant and outside. She jogged across the road and up to Dom as he climbed out of his truck.
He looked at her, surprise flickering over his handsome face. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. Except the fire! Are you all right?” She glanced over his dusty hat and noted it might have some gray ash coating it too. But his broad shoulders filling out his chambray shirt seemed unharmed, and he didn’t have so much as a singe mark on him.
“I’m fine.” His low voice reminded her of dusk when the moon and the stars all popped out on the dark canvas of sky. It also made her think of him telling her to go with the flow about his grandpa’s engagement party the other night.
“Hey, I have a bone to pick with