Owen
So fucking tired of this shit happening around here. I heatedly throw a shovel full of burnt debris into the middle of where a barn used to stand not even twelve hours ago. Leaning on the handle of the shovel, I wipe the sweat from my brow, surveying the embers that still smolder around the perimeter.
The pile of debris that I’ve been putting in the middle is damp, making it tougher. Heavier. There lingers in the air a smell like a campfire, but contains a hint of melted plastic and rubber. A putrid smell, not enjoyable to breathe.
Trent is putting up gates in the newest barn to make it a place for the horses for now. While I rest on the top of the shovel, Trent walks this way carrying his own shovel over his shoulder. The weary look on his handsome face and the slump of his shoulders speaks to much more than just exhaustion.
“Hey,” he says, stepping inside the remains of the burnt structure. He bends and picks up a piece of melted plastic. “I guess this is what’s left of a stall mat?” Trent smiles sarcastically and tosses the remains of the molten mat back onto the heap.
“Yep,” I tell him. “This is bullshit, man,” I say, regarding everything around here.
He starts shoveling scoopfuls of steaming garbage from the cinder block perimeter. “It’s a wonder that these blocks didn’t disintegrate from the heat, ya know?”
I go back to removing piles of chaff and tossing it into the middle, along with the rest of it. “I know, I’m sweating as much from the heat as I am from the work.”
Trent stops and looks around. “How in the hell did this even happen?” He holds his gloved hands out, with nothing but black soot covering them. “This is finally it. I thought that to myself when we were sitting on the step. I’m going to lose my shit!”
“We need you around here though,” I tell him, remembering my comatose manner earlier. “If you won’t let me crawl back into my shell, I can’t let you lose your shit.”
“Unless I have a case of diarrhea,” he chuckles insincerely, dropping another shovel of smoldering debris. “And I don’t have that.”
Thinking as I gather some of the remaining loose garbage, I wonder who would do such a thing, scare the animals, possibly maiming them. I’m glad that none of them were hurt, as I remember the last horse and feel sorry for its fear.
Trent throws his shovel on the floor saying almost verbatim what I thought. “Who did this? Damn it! I want an answer!”
“This has cost us so much more than we originally thought,” I tell him, searching his face for any answers, any way to help him calm down. But who am I kidding? I need to calm myself before I can help anyone else.
Taking my own advice, I suck in a few deep breaths tasting the residue of flames on my tongue. Yuck! “Did you hear the fireman earlier tell the police that they believe it’s a case of arson?”
“Yep, sure did. But I’m not sure how to stop this unless we either hire a security detail or get some cameras or both,” he punches the air before him, wanting to take revenge against whoever is responsible. “Damn it! You have no idea how fucking mad I am.”
“I do,” Kelly steps inside the cinder block frame and shakes her head. “What a mess!”
Trent stares at her for a long moment as she sifts through pieces of the rubble. “How can you even relate right now?” He asks her disdainfully. “You have no stake in this ranch. Not like me and Owen do. This is our fucking life! Burnt up in flames!” He raises a hand up into the air, turning away from me as Kelly stands up.
“I’m only empathizing, of course I can’tactuallyknow how to relate to such a loss,” she explains to Trent. “I didn’t mean for anything to hurt you even more than the two of you already are. I don’t like seeing you suffer.”
“Well, that’s all you’re going to see right now!” I shout throwing my shovel into a pile where a wall previously rose from the cinder blocks. My hands are on my hips and I’m trying to refrain from spewing hurtful words at her.
Kelly has a look of shock on her face as I look back at her. “What exactly do you mean by that? Are you trying to hurt me?”
“All I’m trying to say is that we hired you to find out what’s been happening and by whose hand!” My face and stance surely cues her into how I feel at the present moment. My chest is heaving and I feel like a raging bull, wanting to take out whoever stands in my way. “If you had been doing your job, this,” I point to the floor and around the burnt remains, “wouldn’t have ever happened.”
The hurt registers on her face and she shakes her head with her hands covering her mouth. I see the tears well up and spill over onto her cheeks. Suddenly the hurt is overtaken by anger and she yells back, “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t realize that you weren’t having fun right alongside me each and every day!”
Trent turns to face me, piercing me with his dark eyes. “C’mon man, that’s not fair!” He walks to me, pointing a finger to Kelly, who’s full on sobbing right now. “She isn’t responsible no more than we are.”
“But things are now getting dangerous, what with the fire and explosion last night,” I tell Trent, but I glare at her. “It should’ve never gotten this far.”
Hurt and angry, Kelly runs away from us. Honestly, she’s running from me.
“Way to go, man!” Trent tosses his hands up and leaves me standing alone amidst the rubble of the burnt stable.
What I didn’t want to do turns out to be exactly what I did. Pushing the two of them away when I need them most, I kneel to the ground feeling like an ass.
Way to go, indeed.