Jenna's Cowboy (32 page)

“Are you up for that?”

“Yes.” When Chance appeared concerned—and with good reason—Nate said simply, “I can handle it. Jesus worked a miracle at Mrs. Dodd’s. I’m free of the fire problem.” He didn’t know about the other stuff, but that was a big one.

“Hallelujah! There’s a command post at the high school. Check there for an assignment.”

“Will do. Stay safe.”

“You too.”

After Nate drove away, Chance turned around and went east to the next street, taking a left on Hickory. Nate was once again the charge-ahead guy Chance had always known. The kid who intervened when a bully picked on someone smaller. The cowboy who rode into the thickest brush and came out with the orneriest cow. The soldier—and now civilian—who risked his life to save someone else.

Regarding Mrs. Dodd, however, he gathered that Jenna had led the way. He needed to have a serious talk with his little sister about putting herself in jeopardy.

Chance clicked on the walkie-talkie that connected him to his dad and brother. They were helping clear the town too. “Dad, Will, can you hear me?”

“Go ahead, bro.”

“I hear you, son.”

“I just talked to Jenna and Nate on Third. They rescued Mrs. Dodd before I could get to her house. She and Jenna are headed to the ranch. Nate is taking her walker and her cat out there, then he’s coming back in to help.”

“Praise God, they’re all safe.” Dub’s voice cracked over the radio.

“Is Nate okay?” asked Will.

“Yes. He said God worked a miracle. He isn’t any more scared of the fire than the rest of us.”

“Then he’s shaking in his boots,” said Dub. “Gotta go. I see a woman, little girl, and a puppy running down the street. I’ll pick them up.”

“Do you need help?” asked Will.

“No, they’ve spotted me and are waiting. Check with you later.”

Chance laid the walkie-talkie on the seat, thanking God for keeping his family, Nate, Mrs. Dodd, and the unknown woman and little girl free from harm. With the cell phones down, they hadn’t known Jenna’s status and hadn’t had time to look for her until now. They’d been worried about her but trusted her good sense.

He scanned each side of the street, driving as slowly as he dared with the fire only a couple of blocks away. It broke his heart to look behind him and to the west. Part of downtown blazed, but the wind was driving most of the fire into the more residential neighborhoods. He prayed that everyone had gotten out.

Crossing Tenth Street, he relaxed minutely because he was farther north and out of the immediate line of the fire. The three houses on the corner looked empty. He glanced across the street toward the old museum as he drove past. It had been closed for at least ten years. A while back his mom had mentioned the possibility of it reopening, but he didn’t remember her saying anything else about it.

“Wait a minute.” Was that a vehicle behind the building? Stopping, he backed up. A light blue van was parked outside the back door. He pulled over, peering through the smoke. The electricity was off, but he caught a glimmer of a light through the museum window. Flashlight.

Leaving the motor running, he grabbed his own flashlight and ran up the driveway. A young woman dressed in a blue T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes stepped out the door, staggering under the weight of a heavy box. He rushed over and took it. He didn’t recognize her. “Ma’am, you need to evacuate.”

“We have to save the pictures and old records.” She pointed to approximately a dozen boxes already in the van. He spotted a desk computer and monitor in one corner. Right behind the front seat were a pile of clothes, a large suitcase, and a laptop.

“There’s more inside we need to get.” Spinning around, she hurried back into the building. Chance followed. They had fifteen minutes max, and that was cutting it too close for comfort.

“Shut the door. We need to try to keep out the smoke as much as possible.”

Yes
,
ma’am
. She wasn’t exactly bossy but concerned about the building contents. He pulled the door closed. Shining the flashlight ahead of him, he followed her into what appeared to be a conference room. He hadn’t been in the museum since junior high.

“If you’ll work on those boxes, I’ll start on these.” She went into a small room and began pulling books off a shelf, gathering up as many as she could carry.

After setting the heavy-duty flashlight upward on a table and softly illuminating the room, he stacked two of the six boxes on top of each other and picked them up. And earned an admiring glance from the pretty blonde.

Amazing how a man’s mind worked, he mused, carrying the boxes outside. Here he was worrying about a fire that might destroy their whole town, but he still noticed how attractive she was. Light blonde hair, good figure, about five-six. Maybe blue eyes. He couldn’t tell in the dim light. She had to be new in town, or he would have already heard about her. If not seen her himself. Sliding the boxes into her van, he straightened and checked the eerie red glow in the smoke-blackened sky.

She added her pile of books and looked upward. “Do we have more time?”

“Not much.” Hustling back inside, he grabbed two more boxes while she scooped up books. “What are those?”

“Old City Council minutes and who knows what else. This is the records storage room, so they must be important.” They carried that load out and ran back in for the last of the books and boxes. After they put them into the van, Chance gently caught her arm. “We can’t stay any longer.”

She looked wistfully at the door and hesitated. Her face was so expressive that he knew the instant she made up her mind. “All right. I don’t know what else to try to save anyway. I’ll lock the door in case the fire misses it.”

She ran to the door and locked it, then rested her hand on the wall of the museum and bowed her head slightly. She spoke softly and rapidly. The only words he made out were at the end. “In Jesus’ name.”

He assumed she was asking the Lord to save the museum. He added a silent amen to her prayer.

When she rejoined him by the van, he asked, “Do you have a place to go?”

“No. I thought I’d head east until I came to a town.”

Definitely new to the area. Chance shook his head. “You don’t need to. Go to Oak Street and turn right.”

“Three blocks that way?” She pointed to the east.

“Four. Turn right on Oak and head south. The fire missed that part of town. After you cross Main Street, follow the highway. Go fifteen miles to the Callahan Ranch. You can’t miss it. Turn left and follow the dirt road two miles to the ranch house. Tell Mrs. Callahan that Chance sent you and said to take good care of you.”

“And she’ll know who you are?”

He smiled for one of the few times that afternoon. “She’d better. She’s my mom. Now, get movin’.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She ran around to the driver’s side of the van.

Chance started to his truck, turned around, and jogged back up the driveway. “What’s your name?”

“Emily Rose Denny.”

He nodded toward the museum. “Thank you.”

Jogging back to his pickup, he decided her name was as pretty as she was.

26

Jenna and Nate had Mrs. Dodd and Ginger the cat comfortably settled into a recliner when a blue van pulled up in front of the house. “Who’s that?”

Nate looked out the window. “Don’t recognize her.”

Jenna’s mom glanced out on her way to the front door. “Oh! It’s the curator from San Antonio, the one who’s going to revamp our museum. I’d completely forgotten that she was supposed to arrive over the weekend.” She hurried down the sidewalk.

A few minutes later she ushered the young woman inside and introduced her to everyone. Emily was windblown and reeked of smoke like anyone else who’d been in town, but she was attractive. Jenna glanced at her hand. No ring.

Her mom motioned toward one of the couches, and Emily sat down. Sue joined her. “I’m so glad Chance sent you out here.”

Jenna glanced at Nate. He wiggled his eyebrows ever so slightly, making her smile.

“Where did you run into him?”

“I was at the museum, and he saw my van. He stopped to order me to evacuate and helped me rescue the boxes of records and pictures before he sent me out here.” She focused on Jenna’s mom. “We took all the books from the record storage room too. Safer to grab everything than miss something important. I wish we could have gathered up some of the other things, but there wasn’t time.”

They all stared at her, even Mrs. Dodd. Sue blinked and glanced at Ramona, who had come out of the kitchen to meet the new arrival. The housekeeper’s mouth hung open. Jenna’s mom cleared her throat and turned back to Emily. “You stayed in town to save our historical records?”

When nobody else thought of it.
Nobody said anything out loud, but Jenna bet it crossed their minds. Of course, everybody else in town was worried about their families, homes, and businesses. Still . . .

Emily’s cheeks grew pink. “It is what you hired me to do. I kept a close eye on the fire.” Shrugging lightly, she crossed her arms. “I guess I’m a little obsessive about old things. Especially records that tell the history of a place.”

“Bless your heart.” Jenna’s mom leaned over and hugged her. “Thank you.”

Emily’s face turned bright red. “You’re welcome, ma’am. Be sure and thank your son too. I couldn’t have gotten it all by myself.”

“We will.” Sue stood, then looked down at Emily with a frown of renewed concern. “You’re staying in Maybelle’s rental house?”

“Was,” said Mrs. Dodd. “That house was two blocks west of mine. There’s nothing left over there.” She sighed heavily, her expression grim. “Like on my block.” With a hoarse but quiet meow, Ginger stretched up, resting her head against the elderly lady’s neck. Mrs. Dodd gently petted her. “But those are just things. What’s important is right here.” She gave Jenna and Nate a wobbly smile. “Thanks to you two.”

“I thought it probably burned, which is a shame,” said Emily. “It was a lovely little house. It was furnished, so I only brought clothes and personal things with me from San Antonio. They’re in the van.”

“Thank goodness for that. Now, can we fix you something to eat? I’m sure you need something to drink. Or shall I show you to a guest room first?”

“Some iced tea or soda would be nice. My throat is a little raw. But I can get it.” She started to stand up, but Sue waved her hand, motioning for her to stay put.

“You stay right there and rest.” She peered out the front window again. “Dub’s home, and he brought some folks with him. Jenna, would you get Emily’s tea?”

“Sure.” But she doubted her mom heard her. She was already out the door, running to meet her husband. He held her close for a minute before turning to help a woman and little girl from the truck. And a cute brown, floppy-eared puppy. All three of them appeared shaken and tired.

Nate glanced at the dog, then the cat. “This may get interesting. Mrs. Dodd, how does your cat get along with puppies?”

“Ignores ’em.”

“Good. I’ll go see if Dub needs help unloading anything.” Nate went out the front door.

Emily stood and walked over to Jenna. “I don’t expect y’all to wait on me. Point me toward the bathroom. I’ll wash up and help in the kitchen if it’s needed.”

“I like you already. The bathroom is down the hall, first door on the right.” She heard a whimper come from Zach’s old room. “I’ll go that way too. My little guy is waking up.”

I wonder how Ginger gets along with kids?

•• At 6:00, Jenna and Emily Rose took the back roads, circling around to the northeast side of Callahan Crossing. Her mom followed in her SUV. Their goal was to try to enter town from that direction near Grace Community Church. One of the television stations in Abilene had been giving reports on the fire every half hour, so they knew that part of town had been spared.

Their church had plans established to be a shelter during a community crisis. They’d implemented them once five years earlier when an ice storm hit the region during the Christmas holidays and stranded travelers.

Before Dub came out to the ranch earlier, he had talked to Pastor Brad. County Judge Coleman, who was in charge of coordinating the firefighting and evacuation efforts, had given his preliminary approval to open the shelter, contingent on the winds dying way down. They started dropping around 5:00.

Sue, Ramona, and Ollie’s wife, Ethel, had started cooking and baking around 3:00, ever since the first news report revealed how bad things were. So had their neighbors, including Nate’s mom. Fortunately, she’d had the day off and hadn’t been in town. They brought their food to the ranch under the assumption that if anyone could get into town, it would be the Callahans.

Nate and Dub had gone back to town together shortly after her dad brought Jill Harmon and her ten-year-old daughter, Kim, to the ranch. Her husband was a long-haul trucker, currently on a run to Pennsylvania. Somehow, Dub had managed for her to get a message to him via the Red Cross. They didn’t know if their house had survived or not.

Jill was a school bus driver and had run her route north of town after the early dismissal, taking Kim with her. Some parents had picked up their children, so the trip was shorter than usual. The volunteer guarding the road had allowed them back in to return the bus and pick up her car at the bus barn, which was near the high school.