Darke Heat (14 page)

“Sure. I’m just thankful you’re all right.”

“Me too.”

“When are you and the dogs coming back to the house?”

“I’m not sure. The police want to catch the kidnappers first, so I don’t know. It may be that we can bring the dogs back over to Bryce’s place and continue training from here. I’ll have to let you know.”

“Okay, I’ll head over to the vet’s for now. Just let me know when you’d like me to help move the dogs.”

“Will do. And thanks again for all your help.”

“Sure.”

Next, Paige called Shelby.

“Darke County Veterinary Clinic.”

“Hi, this is Paige.”

“Paige, it’s Shelby. Thank God you’re all right.”

“Thanks for all your help yesterday.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

“I am now. I wanted to let you know that I’ve got Jamie coming over to feed, water, and play with the dogs today, so you can get on with your work.”

“Oh, that would be great. I’ve got a pretty full schedule, so having someone here to work with the dogs would be terrific.”

“Good. Thanks for boarding them while my place is unsafe.”

“No problem. They can stay as long as you need them to.”

“Thanks, I’m hoping to bring them back over to Bryce’s soon.”

“Okay, but don’t let him give Patches any more ice-cream.”

“I think Bryce learned his lesson, even if Patches hasn’t.” They both laughed.

Having made her calls, she now had the whole day to wallow around Bryce’s house. She remembered the house from when they were kids. His mom had always been nice to her. His dad was stern and the local sheriff at the time, while Bryce was enjoying running wild with her brothers.

Those were the good times, before their dad went into the moonshining business with the Slaters, who eventually broke up the partnership when her dad drank more of the profits than was healthy. He got worse after that—became a mean drunk.

But today was a new day, and she was shaking off all the old memories. There was a kind of freedom in having her life threatened. She had a new perspective of what was really important to her. Safety was an illusion. Life was too short not to enjoy everything, like spending her nights with Bryce.

Bryce called several times throughout the day to check up on her. It broke up the boredom. As it got later, she went to fix something for them to have for dinner. The entire time she gave herself little talks to not make too much of the experience. He made it pretty clear that he was not the marrying kind, so she wouldn’t build any images of what could be. Not the new improved Paige.

She heard his truck pull into the drive.

“Paige?” he called from the front door.

“Yeah, I’m in the kitchen trying to see what you will feed me.”

“Hmm, not much,” he said as he entered the kitchen.

“I’d say it looks like frozen pizza is the best you’ve got.”

“There’s beer.”

“Okay, well the pizza is almost done because I was getting hungry.”

“I should have thought of that and picked up some groceries.”

The timer dinged and she reached for the hot pads and pulled out the pan.

Bryce reached into the fridge for two beers and then snagged some paper plates. They enjoyed the meal in silence.

“Did you find out anything new?” she asked.

“Some, but we didn’t find the guys who kidnapped you yet. So you’ll need to stay here another night.”

“Bryce, I need to go home sometime.”

“No, you don’t. You could stay here. Move in.”

“Nope, I’ve got a life planned that doesn’t include living with a man.”

“I’m not going to marry you, Paige.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“But that’s what you want.”

“Bryce, can we once again agree that you don’t know me? Yes, I want to get married someday, but not to you.”

“What do you mean not to me?”

“What I said. You’re a great guy and the sex was everything I hoped it would be, but you’re not the right kind of guy for me.”

“What kind of crap are you talking about?”

“Bryce, I’ve got a type of man in mind and he’s not you. Why are you upset with that? You and I had sex, which was all you wanted, so why are you upset that I’m telling you I don’t want the type of relationship that you want? You should be thrilled to be off the hook.”

“Is this some kind of Cosmo reverse psychology crap?”

“No, this is Paige telling you what I do and don’t want. If you don’t like it, tough.”

He looked at her suspiciously, but she was not going to explain herself. Let him think what he wanted. He would anyway. It kind of hurt to realize that he really didn’t know her at all. “Look, I don’t think we should repeat last night.”

“I’m going to watch some baseball, and then take a shower. If you want to enjoy more of what we shared last night, I’ll be in my room.” He stormed off.

She wasn’t in the mood for his attitude. Why is it he never reacted the way she expected? She went to the guest room and pulled a book from the shelf, deciding to read a mystery. At least when she finished the book, she’d know the outcome.
Her life was a mystery she didn’t think she’d ever solve, and ditto for Bryce. That man was more changeable than the weather in the North Country.

That man was more changeable than the weather in the North Country.

The game was good and went into extra innings, but he found himself listening for what Paige was doing in the other room. Frustrated with the way the day had ended, he turned off the TV.

Bryce took a shower using cold water, thinking it would cool him off. Why was he upset that she didn’t want to marry him? She confused him. He decided to take another shower, letting the cold seep into his skin until gooseflesh puckered his body. Turning off the tap, he reached out to grab a towel to dry himself and smelled burnt popcorn.
What was Paige doing making popcorn? Maybe she couldn’t sleep either.

He quickly toweled dry and grabbed a pair of jeans to slip on. The smell was worse in the hallway. It didn’t smell like popcorn now. It smelled like burning plastic. Why weren’t the fire alarms going off? Damn it!

“Paige, where are you?”

“I’m in the kitchen. I smelled something burning and thought you must have fallen asleep cooking.”

He followed the sound of her voice to the kitchen, which she was just leaving. He could now see flames outside the window. The fire was outside the house and it was real.

“Paige, head for the door. We need to get out of here.”

He saw her move to follow him out when an explosion from the garage brought the kitchen walls as well as the hallway down on top of them.

“Paige, are you okay?” The smoke and dust burned when he tried to breathe.

“Yeah, but it’s getting awful hot in here.”

“We need to see if we can crawl our way over to the door or living room window.”

They were in a tunnel made by the beams crossing over their heads like a teepee with sheet rock on top of them. It was a small tunnel, but at least they were alive.

Paige moved in a crouched position, sliding her body along the floor like a snake. There wasn’t enough room to crawl on hands and knees. The smoke engulfed what was left of the hallway. Any minute now, they’d be caught in a flash-over when everything combusted.

“Bryce, which direction is the nearest exit?” she asked.

The darkness was thick, starting to fill with smoke, and Paige wasn’t familiar with the layout of the house.

“Move to your right and you’re in the living room. Forty-five degrees from where we are is the front door and the front window. If the glass is still in it, I’ll break it out. Either way, we are getting out of here.”

Paige followed his directions. She felt slivers of glass prick her forearm and knew she was in front of the living room window. She felt around for the heavy curtains to use on the window ledge. Bunching them up, she padded the sill so she could use it to protect her hands. She didn’t bother trying to pull the glass out. There wasn’t time. She lifted her head to peer out and saw flames at the corner of the house through the smoke, which started her eyes watering.

“Bryce, we’re at the window. I can see the flames at the corner of the house.

“Okay, can you get out?” His question sounded breathless.

“Yeah, but are you okay?”

“I’ll make it. Get out before the roof comes down.”

“I’ve used the drapes as a pad, so we won’t get too cut up, so make sure you use it. I better see your butt coming through the window right behind me, Bryce!”

Lifting herself up, she climbed out the window, then quickly turned to assist Bryce. The fire illuminated his face. She saw he’d taken the worst of the cave-in from the explosion. There was blood running down his face and arms. Some trickled from his nose. His eyes looked a little dazed, and she thought he might be going into shock.

She reached in and held onto him as he straddled the windowsill and got out. His bare chest was covered in cuts. When he was safely out, she urged him over toward the huge maple in the front yard, and looked at his back. He had pieces of wood stuck in deep. She didn’t dare take them out. Without proper care, she could do more damage. She helped him to sit down gently on the ground.

“Bryce, I hear sirens coming. Hold on for me okay?”

She was wiping off some of the blood and trying to keep him conscious when another explosion brought darkness.

Paige slowly became aware of the sounds around her. The smell of smoke and burnt things made her cough. The screaming of sirens and the muffled voices of people around her, slowly brought back awareness of where she was. As she opened her eyes, she saw a man lean over her, wearing an
EMS
uniform. “Bryce?”

“Hi, there. My name is Mike, and I’m going to give you a special chauffeured ride to the hospital. How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two.” Her voice was scratchy and came out in a whisper.

“Good girl,” he said briskly and then flashed a penlight in her face. She realized he was checking her pupils but at that moment, it was irritating and she wanted to swat at him. Only her arms didn’t seem to want to move.

“We’re going to transport you and your friend in just a second.”

“Bryce? Where’s Bryce? Is he okay?” Her voice was gaining volume and she was twisting around to see him. Then she realized why she couldn’t move her arms. She was strapped down on the gurney for transporting.

“He’s going to be okay, but he needs to get hospitalized, so I need you to let me do my job, and get you both there. Right now my partner, Chris, is securing him before helping me get you in the ambulance beside him.” He smiled warmly, and it took some of the fear out of her. If they could be this friendly then surely Bryce wasn’t in critical danger? The pain in her head was awful, and making her sick.

Mike’s partner came over, and the two of them lifted her stretcher and rolled it over to the ambulance. There were cars everywhere…lights and people, but no house. Before they shut the doors, she glimpsed the burnt shell of Bryce’s home. The big oak that had protected them from the explosion was sheared off. The bottom trunk was all that was still standing.

Men with chain saws were cutting off the limbs from the downed sections. It looked like a war zone. Her headache became so brutal, she had to close her eyes to focus on ignoring the pain. Bryce was in the ambulance, but she hadn’t heard a word from him. Was he unconscious? Mike was working on him and talking to someone on a radio. She needed to know he was okay—tried to hear what was being said, but she kept slipping in and out of consciousness.

She awoke to an annoying beeping and then felt bright light through her eyelids. Her head hurt as if she was recovering from a really bad hangover. She braced herself to open her eyes, and the light was blinding. She knew she was in a hospital by the sounds and the distinct smell of disinfectant.
Where’s Bryce? Is he all right?
The bite of fear motivated her to shake off the lethargy and get some answers.

Sitting upright, she looked around her bed for the call button. She pressed it, and heard a faint corresponding echo of a beep out in the hallway. In minutes, a nurse in her crisp uniform came in with a smile.

“You’re awake. Would you like something to eat?”

“Yes, please. How’s Bryce?” she asked, with what little voice she had left. She realized she was extremely thirsty. The nurse reached over to the bedside table and handed her a Styrofoam cup of ice water with an accompanying straw. Paige took a sip, letting the cold fluid swish around her dry mouth before swallowing, then took another sip. The chilled water felt like heaven going down her parched throat.

“Mr. Prescott made it through surgery in flying colors and is recuperating down the hall. I’m not supposed to give out any information except to family, but since you and he went through the ordeal together, I figured you both would want to know how the other is doing. When he wakes up, may I tell him how you are?”