Texas Tall - Janet Dailey Page 0,74

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 help 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.”

Will’s grime-coated features creased in a scowl. “Looks like I’m outgunned,” he muttered. “All right, but this better not take long.” He strode to the ambulance and climbed inside the back without help.

A press van had just pulled up to the barn. Will gave the reporters a contemptuous look before the doors closed behind him and the emergency vehicle, siren wailing, sped off toward the highway.

* * *

Natalie wrapped the baby boy in a clean blanket and placed him in the arms of his sixteen-year-old mother. The birth, thank heaven, had been an easy one. The baby was healthy, and the mother was doing fine. But knowing what she knew, Natalie could hardly go off and leave them alone.

Vonda gazed down at her son as if she couldn’t believe he was real. Her fingertip brushed the small, perfect features, the little nub of a nose, the baby hands with their long fingers and tiny nails.

“He’s a beautiful boy,” Natalie said. “What are you going to name him?”

“Ralph, after his father. We talked about that.” Her eyes welled with emotional tears. “Where’s Ralphie? He’s supposed to be here! Why hasn’t he come home?”

Natalie had to look away. She’d received both messages Lauren had left on her phone—one saying that Will and Sky were alive, the other letting her know that Ralph Jackson had died in the fire. But how could she break the news to this poor girl? Vonda needed to hear it from someone she trusted. She needed her family to support her and soften the blow.

“Since he isn’t here, why don’t I call your parents?” Natalie offered. “They’ll want to know you’re all right, and they’ll want to see their grandchild.”

“No!” Vonda turned against the pillow, clutching her baby. “My folks kicked me out when I got pregnant.