AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nora laughs. “No way, Shane. I know my morals, and I’m sticking to them.”
And that, right there, is exactly why Nora is so different. I give her another smile. “I see that, Nora Foster. So. Will you let us help you with the hay that I will buy back from you at market price?”
Nora sighs. She looks to where her dad is running the baler.
“Yeah, okay. But only at market price.”
CHAPTER 13
Clint
Once I wrap up with the latest shipment of horses, I head over to Foster Ranch to help with the alfalfa. Shane texted Landon and me earlier, informing the both of us that we would be supporting Nora and her dad to finish up the hay. While I don’t love the plan, I trust that Shane has a good rationale as to why.
Our argument from earlier is sticking in my throat like a bad batch of whisky.
Shane and Landon are both completely taken with Nora. And, I admit, I know the appeal. Watching both of them fuck her last night? I’ve never seen anything hotter.
It took everything in me to stop myself from pushing both of them out of the way and taking her sweet pussy. The noises that she made when Shane was pumping himself in and out of her… It makes me hard just to think of it. I’ll probably be jacking off to that memory for the rest of my life.
You could make it a reality.
I dismiss the thought. Nora isn’t as important as the ranch or my friends. It’s inevitable that she and her dad are going to run that ranch into the ground, and when they do, we’re going to buy it. Plain and simple.
After that happens, there’s no doubt in my mind that Nora is going to hate us. She’ll stop any of this bullshit, and there won’t be any more sex. Better to just keep myself from being involved than to feel the pain of her leaving us high and dry when she does.
The day is almost done; the hay is baled up and covered so the weather tomorrow doesn’t rot it, and we’re all heading back to the Fosters’ barn when something seems wrong. I’m not sure why, but I move faster, my eyes peeled on the distant spot on the horizon where the barn is.
The wind shifts, and I realize what’s wrong. I smell smoke.
I have Storm saddled today, and I kick him into a gallop. Shane follows on Buce, and Landon and Danger pull out ahead, Danger’s tail streaming like a banner as we race for the barn.
We come up over the rise, and my heart sinks.
The top half of the barn is on fire.
I don’t even wait for Storm to stop running. I jump off of his back, hitting the ground at a half run, and sprint toward the barn. “Call the fire department!” I yell to Landon.
He whips out his phone, dialing. Even if they started now, it would take them a solid half-hour to get here. The best we can do is rescue any of the horses and hope it doesn’t spread to the house or the fields.
I throw the barn door open. Smoke is pouring out, and I take my bandana and tie it over my nose and mouth. I can see flames licking at the roof and at the far side of the barn. To my knowledge, the horses are all on this side, which is good.
There’s still hope.
Inside, the horses are screaming. The mare who is still pregnant, Joan, is nearest. I open her stall, and she clops out, her sides heaving with effort. She looks around, mildly confused. I try to shoo her, but she stomps, swirling this way and that. Poor thing is disoriented.
“Storm!” I yell. I’m not sure what I’m expecting, but the stallion makes a sound, calling out to the horses still screaming in the barn. Ears pricked forward, the mare ambles out, heading straight for the barn door.
The gelding follows, and then when I get to Thunder’s stall, my heart sinks. She’s wide eyed, her head on a swivel as she looks between her two foals.
“Come on!” I shout. “We gotta get both of them out!”
She takes a cautious step, but one of the foals is tucked in the back of the stall, shivering. It’s the smaller one, and I’m guessing that it’s just paralyzed by fear.
“Go!” I yell to the mare. She snorts at me, her ears flicking back.
Fucking mares.
I dash in behind her. She aims a kick at me, but I know she won’t get out of this goddamn barn without her babies. I scoop up the foal and then wince as one of the mare’s hooves lands squarely in my back, right over my kidneys. Pain explodes over me, but I can’t take time to feel it. I run past her, the foal in my arms. “Come on! I have the baby!”
