She nods furiously, releasing a little sob. “I was so scared when the gun fired.”
I embrace her again, my hand at her nape to hold her against me. “Shh. You’re safe now.”
Pushing back from me, she shakes her head. “No. I was afraid for you. You made me go ahead of you. It was you they were firing at as we ran. I was so afraid you’d get shot.”
“But I didn’t.”
Abby seems to sag but then pulls back from me until I’m forced to release her. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
She bolts down the small hallway, and I follow with a sorrowful sigh. I find her in the bathroom, on her knees, retching into the toilet. If her hair were longer, I’d hold it back for her. Instead, I squat and rub her back as she heaves, though nothing comes up.
“I didn’t eat tonight because I was nervous,” she gasps as she falls back onto her ass and leans against the shower wall.
“You have tea?”
Abby presses her hand over her eyes but nods. “Kitchen cabinet to the left of the sink. No kettle, so just heat the water in the microwave.”
Standing, I pull the washcloth off the dowel next to the sink. I run it under cold water, wring it out, and hand it to her. “I’ll make the tea. When you’re able, get your pajamas on and I’ll bring it to you in the bedroom.”
Her smile is weak as she takes the cloth. She can barely look my way.
“Abby,” I say, and those green eyes, wet with more tears, collide with mine. “It’s okay. It’s over, and it’s okay. I promise we’re okay, as long as you promise that was your last attempt to hit Levi like this.”
Her lips flatten, and she nods. “I promise.”
I’m satisfied with the truth in her tone.
In the kitchen, I heat a cup of water in the microwave and am pleased to find peppermint tea in her cupboard. I drop two slices of bread into the toaster, hoping to get something in her stomach.
While waiting for the water to boil, I search for a plate. As I walk by the window over the sink, something flashes and catches my eye.
I twist my neck to look through the lacy curtains, and my stomach bottoms out.
The barn is on fire.
CHAPTER 13
Abby
“Abby!” Kellen roars, his voice filled with panic and terror.
I had been lifting a pair of pajamas from my dresser, but I drop them and fly out of my bedroom.
Kellen almost collides with me as he runs through the living room, throwing the front door open with such force, the glass panes rattle violently when the knob strikes the wall. “The barn’s on fire!”
He disappears out the door, and I follow immediately. As soon as I hit the bottom of the outdoor staircase, I smell smoke. I round the back of the house, and my body goes ice-cold upon seeing the flames shoot through the roof.
“Oh, Jesus,” I moan. Where I get the presence of mind, I don’t now, but I grab my phone out of my side pocket as I run, pausing only to unlock the screen to dial 9-1-1.
I’m giving the dispatcher the address as I reach the doors that Kellen threw open on the south end. I almost go numb upon realizing the entire barn is filled with smoke so thick, I can’t see where he went.
The horses shriek in terror, and I can hear them striking at their stall doors. I shove my phone back in my pocket with the dispatcher still talking and rush inside.
“Kellen!” I scream, just as Foxy, a chestnut Tennessee walking horse that Dr. Schoen rescued a decade ago, flies at me through the smoke. I jump to the side, catching a glimpse of wild, rolling eyes as she gallops away from the stable. God, I hope she stays on the property, but getting her safely into the paddock isn’t first on my mind. It’s finding Kellen and freeing the other three horses.
Flames run up the east wall, burning through the roof where the hay is stored in the loft on that side. It’s pure fuel.
I hook my shirt over my nose, hoping to keep some of the smoke out of my lungs, but it’s so thick, I’m already choking on it.
I can barely see, and my eyes sting. I scream again for Kellen, and he answers, “Over here.”
I spin around… I don’t know where here is, but the kick of a horse against wood echoes through the crackle of fire. I blindly feel my way there rather than trying to locate Kellen.
At Nocturnal’s stall, I lift the latch and pull it open. I can’t see anything but his hulking frame as he jumps nervously side to side. I slide into the stall, slap his haunches, and yell, “Yah! Yah! Go, Noc, go!”