Chapter Eight
Seth watched helplessly as the EMTs loaded up Rachel and his mom into the ambulance. His stomach rolled with anger and fear. What if his little sis didn’t survive? If she did, what would her life be like after? She was so confident, beautiful, and ready to take on the world. Would this destroy her future, or could she rise above it?
Luckily, there were a couple of their sport utility vehicles not parked in the garage. Caleb, Luke, Mar, Cosette, and Isaac climbed into one while their father and the rest of the family piled into the other. Isaac motioned to Seth. “Let’s go!”
“I can’t leave Breeze.” Where had she gone?
Caleb nodded. The ambulance roared away as the firefighters continued to drench the house with water and cut holes in the roof to relieve the pressure. It was loud and crazy but, somehow, not chaotic as the firefighters worked together. Seth was pretty sure the house was destroyed. That would be another blow to his family, but nothing was as important as Rachel.
He sprinted around the back of the house, searching for Breeze and calling for her and Ridge. Where could they have gone?
The fire seemed to roar behind him like a furious, sizzling beast. He glanced at the house, and the horror of losing it stabbed him. All those memories. Rachel was all that mattered, but it would still gut his mom to lose this house.
Seth asked a couple of firefighters who were around back if they’d seen a blonde woman and boy. Finally, a tough-looking guy with slightly graying hair told him, “I saw a girl and boy run for the trees a bit ago. Didn’t have time to go after them.”
Seth stared into the trees as if they held the answers. Why would Breeze and Ridge take off? Caleb ran around the side of the house. “Seth! Let’s go!”
He was torn. He wanted to chase after Breeze and see what was going on, but he had to go to the hospital. Even though he could literally do nothing but be moral support to his parents and Rachel, he had to go. He hopped into the SUV.
“What happened?” he asked Caleb as they drove off.
“I don’t know.” Caleb shook his head. “I was out back with everybody when it blew.” He lifted his hands. “Honestly bro, I wasn’t messing around with anything explosive.”
Seth pursed his lips. His mind raced with questions as they drove toward the county hospital and waited for news about their sister. Why would Breeze run? Could Ridge have been responsible for the explosion? “Ridge?” he asked Caleb in a low voice.
“Right by my side,” Caleb insisted.
Seth nodded, relieved. Ridge had made mistakes, but Seth felt he was a good kid and didn’t believe Ridge could have caused the explosion.
He tried to think of other explanations of how the house had exploded and why Breeze and Ridge would take off like that. What if she knew who had set the bomb and had gone to confront them? Could Flint Brooks have retaliated for his humiliation from this morning? Would that loser have gone this far? Seth’s stomach and his fists clenched as he rolled the idea around in his head. If it was true, this was all Seth’s fault for making a point, humiliating the man instead of just leaving the money and walking away with Breeze and Ridge.
Nobody seemed in the mood to talk much but as they paced the waiting room, Caleb approached him and muttered, “Where’d Breeze and Ridge disappear to?”
“I don’t know. One of the firefighters said he saw a boy and a girl run for the trees.” He rubbed at his jaw. “I have no clue why they would run away.”
Caleb’s blue eyes mirrored Seth’s confusion. The brothers stared at each other for a few seconds. Seth saw the exact moment Caleb’s brain filled with all the ideas that percolated in his mind. “She thinks Flint did it. She went after him.”
Seth swallowed hard. The thought of innocent, sweet Breeze running back into that den of evil made him sick. He wanted to run and find her, rescue her again, but he couldn’t leave his family, not until they knew about Rachel’s condition. He clenched his fists harder and muttered a prayer for Rachel to be okay and for Breeze and Ridge to be protected. He didn’t like waiting, but didn’t know what else to do but pray.
His mom and dad came in shortly after. They both had red eyes and pale faces, but his dad managed a brave smile. “She’s stable.”
Everybody pushed out breaths of relief. “But?” Joshua asked cautiously.
“The burns are pretty extensive. On the left side of her face, neck, and shoulder. They’re life-flighting her to the burn clinic in Billings. It’s supposed to be one of the best, and it’s close.”
The family took the news in for a second and then exploded with questions and plans of which planes to fly to Billings. Mar offered to find a house close to the hospital to stay in. Jade had a friend there who she said that she’d call to hire people to get them food, clothes, and supplies to the house.
Seth listened to it all, but he could feel Caleb staring at him. He nodded. As one they sidled over to Joshua. Their oldest brother hadn’t always approved of their stunts or “sturdy tricks” as they used to call them, but he was a great guy and would support them in this, Seth was sure.
“Can you leave one of the jets for us?” Seth asked quietly. He knew his dad, Luke, and Joshua all had their jets at the Jackson Hole airport.
Joshua stared at him. “Sure. Why?”
“I’ve got to find Breeze and Ridge.”
His gaze darted around as if he had just realized they weren’t here. Seth didn’t blame his oldest brother from being distracted. It was a large family and a stressful time, and Joshua was obviously focused on Rachel.
“And confront the guy I think did this,” Seth explained.