the driver didn’t know he wasn’t going to get far. As he drew closer, he suddenly slowed down, hitting his horn as she zoomed past. Shannon hit her brakes, too, and looked in her rearview mirror. And when she realized who the driver was, she couldn’t believe it.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “It’s Luke!”
He made a U-turn and came back. Shannon steered the truck and trailer to the side of the road and he pulled up beside her. She got out of the truck, and the moment she met his eyes, every terrible word they’d spoken to each other disappeared from her mind. They started toward each other, but only a few seconds passed before she was running into his arms.
“You’re here,” she said. “You came back…oh, Luke…”
He pulled away and took her by the shoulders. “Shannon? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Manny,” she said. “He’s the only animal left at the shelter. He didn’t come to the barn with the other horses, so I went after him. But when I found him, he was scared, and he wouldn’t let me grab him. He went deeper into the trees, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I had Angela. I had the other horses. I had to get them out of there. I had to leave Manny behind.” Tears filled her eyes. “Luke, oh God…he’s going to die up there!”
“Did you leave the gate open?”
“Yes, but he was nowhere near it. If the smoke gets too thick, he won’t be able to see which way to go. And if he breathes too much of it—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go back and get him.”
“You can’t,” Angela said.
Luke whipped around. “What?”
“As we were coming back, a state trooper was setting up a roadblock. They’ve closed Highway twenty-eight northbound.”
Luke muttered a curse. Then a look of determination came over his face. “I’m going, anyway. I’ll find a way around the roadblock.”
“No,” Shannon said. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you going up there.”
“But Manny—”
“No!”
“You love those animals, Shannon. None of them are going to die if I have anything to say about it.”
“But I love you more!”
He brushed her hair away and took her face in his hands. “I love you, too, sweetheart. That’s why I won’t take any chances.”
I love you, too.
Those words rang inside Shannon’s head, the words she’d wanted so desperately to hear from him, but now it meant she was even more afraid because he would take chances. He would be even more likely to risk his own life to save Manny because he knew how devastated she’d be if anything happened to him.
“Where have you been taking the animals?” Luke asked.
“To the vineyard,” Shannon said. She turned to Angela. “Can you drive these horses back there? It’s a big trailer.”
“Sure. I’ve been driving trucks and trailers around the vineyard since I was fourteen.”
“Good girl.” Shannon tossed her the keys. “I’m going with Luke.”
“No!” Luke said. “I want both of you out of here!”
“You’re going to need my help,” Shannon said. And I can make sure you don’t risk your life.
“No. You go with Angela.” Luke turned and went back to his truck. Shannon took off after him. He climbed inside, but before he could click the locks shut, she scrambled into the passenger seat.
“Shannon! No!”
“Yes. I’m going with you. It’ll be easier to catch him if there are two of us.”
“Get out of the truck.”
“No! There’s no time to waste!”
“Shannon—”
“Let’s go!”
Luke started the engine, hating like hell for Shannon to be anywhere near that fire. But if he tried to physically remove her from his truck, he’d be in for a battle there was no time to fight.
They drove in silence. In the distance, smoke billowed over trees. Luke only prayed the fire wasn’t as close as it looked. But he didn’t care how dangerous it was. He’d be damned if he was going to sit there and do nothing while Shannon’s worst nightmare came to life.
He steered his truck around a bend, and up ahead he saw the state trooper’s car turned sideways in the road. His hope had been that the shoulder of the road in that spot would be wide enough that he could just drive around it. But closer now, he saw deep drainage ditches on either side of the highway. If he managed to skate around that police car without landing in the ditch, it would be a miracle.
He brought his truck to a halt about ten yards away, the engine still running. As soon