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He arrived at the edge of the property and jumped from his saddle onto the ground. He sprinted toward the front entrance of the house and checked the knob, but it was locked. Pounding his fist against the wood, he hollered, “Hello! Is anyone in there?”
No sound came from within. The wind had now died down to a breeze, and the only thing he could hear was the crackling of wood being consumed by the flames.
“Hello!” he called again.
No answer, so he darted around the back of the house, but there was no way to get in. The strike must have originated from this side of the home. Once again, he charged around to the front, determined to ram his shoulder into the door. If he had to break the whole thing down, he’d do so just to make sure everyone was safe.
Zeke took the steps two at a time and braced himself before running at the door and slamming his shoulder into it.
Pain radiated from his shoulder and down his arm causing his fingers to tingle. Once again, he charged at the door, and this time he hit it in just the wrong place that something popped.
More pain shot through him, making him lose his breath. He gasped, seeing stars. “If anyone is here, you need to come out. There’s a fire—”
“What in heaven’s name are you doing?”
He whirled around and came face-to-face with a woman who looked vaguely familiar. They must have crossed paths at some point in town. Her blue eyes were bright and yet accusatory at the same time. Her hair was pulled away from her face, but it was too dark to tell if it was black or brown.
Zeke held his shoulder, shaking off his surprise. “Do you live here?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Of course I live here.” Her eyes shifted to the house and a sadness filled them. “Or at least I did. Do you mind getting off the porch so that the entire house doesn’t just collapse on you? My son has already called for help. They’ll be here any minute.”
He lurched forward, doing as she said. “Was anyone hurt? That storm—”
“We’re fine. As you can see, the damage was strictly to the house. I’m sorry, who are you?”
Ignoring her question, he nodded to the house. “Do you have an extinguisher? Hose? Something we can use to put this out?”
“Like I said, there’s nothing we can do. They’ll be here soon.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the horse. “Did you ride here? Do you live nearby?”
Zeke shot one more disgruntled look at the house, then shook his head. She was probably right. He moved to shake her hand, then winced as the pain of moving his arm nearly incapacitated him.
Her eyes dipped to where he held his shoulder, then lifted, and once again she set him with a disapproving stare. “You dislocated your shoulder.”
“No, I probably just bruised it.”
She moved toward him, shaking her head. “I’ve dealt with those kinds of injuries before. I know what I’m talking about. Your arm needs to be popped back into place. It’s not going to feel great, but you should get immediate relief—”
“It’s fine,” he grunted as he shied away from her. Who did this woman think she was? “Are you even a doctor?”
Her smile momentarily threw him off guard. “No, but I was an athletic trainer back in Denver for the Broncos. You’d be surprised at the stuff I had to learn.” She inched closer, her gaze still glued to his arm. “I promise it will only be a mild discomfort compared to what you’re currently dealing with.”
Again, he took a step away from her. The slightest movement was enough to set off a chain reaction of sharp pains that set his teeth on edge. Perhaps she made a good point. Whatever she might do couldn’t be worse than what he felt at that moment.
Zeke let out a resigned sigh. “Fine. Make it quick.”
“You’re going to have to stay very still. I need the leverage to move it back into place.”
He was just about to point out that she couldn’t possibly possess the strength to fix his shoulder when he heard a pop at the very same moment a howl escaped his lips.
She stepped back and offered him a patronizing sort of smile. “See? Now isn’t that better?”
Zeke stared down at his shoulder with surprise. In his entire career, he’d never needed something like this to happen. And hopefully he wouldn’t have to worry about it needing to be done ever again.
His arm felt hot and cold all at once, but the one thing that outshined all sensations was the relief this woman had promised. When his gaze flitted up to meet hers, she was smiling at him in a way that made him feel like an utter idiot.
Sirens blared beside them, bringing everything into focus. Zeke jumped back and retrieved his horse, then focused on staying out of the way.
The firemen made quick work of extinguishing the flames, leaving the building smoking. The woman stared forlornly at the building—her home. Zeke wasn’t sure how long she’d been living at this residence, but it couldn’t have been long. Still, this was a loss and one he couldn’t help sympathizing with.
