Hayes jogged to retrieve the second one. Soon, we were working in tandem as the firefighters battled the other blaze. We didn’t say a word, but after an hour, by some silent agreement, we turned off the water. The fire department was slowly getting the barn fire under control. Hayes and I moved to my steps and sat, watching them slowly cut back the blaze until only embers remained.
The same man who had asked about the water walked towards us. He’d lost his helmet and jacket, now wearing a white tee streaked with dirt. He jerked his chin at Hayes. “They drag you out of bed?”
“Something like this, you know they have to.”
I pushed to my feet. “Thank you so much.”
He nodded, holding out a hand. “Glad we made it in time. I’m Calder, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Everly.”
His grip and expression were warm. Friendly. But Hayes scowled at the man, only making Calder chuckle. He turned back to me. “It’ll take us a bit to fully suppress the fire.”
“No problem. Do you have any idea what caused it?”
Calder flashed a quick look at Hayes. “Our fire investigator will come out tomorrow and have a look. He’s the one who determines that kind of thing.”
I took a step closer to him, watching every flicker of his expression. “But you have a guess.”
Hayes came to stand next to me. “Just tell us what you know.”
Calder ran a hand over his head. “I smelled gas. You store that out there?”
“No. There was nothing in the barn. Not even old tack.”
A muscle in Hayes’ jaw ticked. “Dad went through it not a week ago. There was no gas inside.”
Calder looked back at his crew, currently stomping out the last dregs of the blaze. “Then I’d guess our investigator will find arson.”
A man on the crew yelled something I couldn’t quite make out, and everyone moved back. The structure let out what almost sounded like a groan. Seconds later, the last of it collapsed to the ground.
Calder winced. “I’m sorry about your barn.”
Tears burned the back of my throat. Not because of the building, but because someone had intentionally done this. Wanted to hurt and destroy. “It needed to be torn down anyway.”
“Not like this, it didn’t,” Hayes growled.
He was right. But I’d learned long ago that life rarely went as planned.
16
Hayes
I couldn’t handle the devastation in Everly’s eyes anymore. The need to give her some sort of comfort clawed at my insides. She looked so damn alone, sitting on those porch steps. She didn’t have anyone. I hadn’t seen a sign of a single soul who was on her team. I couldn’t fathom that. I’d been through hell, but I’d had countless people there to prop me up along the way. Everly had no one.
I sat down next to her and leaned into her a bit, almost bumping her shoulder with mine. She startled as if she’d been in another world. “You don’t have to stay. They’re almost done. I’m fine.”
“What if I want to stay?”
She gave me a look that called bullshit.
I shrugged. “Looks like a good spot to watch the sunrise.” The sun was just peeking out over the horizon, turning the sky a pinkish-purple.
Everly met my gaze dead-on. “What do you want?”
“Wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee. Maybe a donut. I’d like to take a Ferrari for a spin one day. Maybe own a private island in the Caribbean. Have a private jet to take me there.”
There was no flicker of humor on her face. “You know what I mean.”