When All My Dreams Come True (42 page)

“I don’t know.”

“Is anyone else in there?”

Beans shook his head.

“I’m going in after the horses.” She jumped to her feet, took a deep breath, and ran into the barn.

“Bobbie! No!”

The desperation in Jace’s voice didn’t stop her from dashing back inside. She ran to the farthest stall. The flames were mere feet away, and the horses reared and banged against the stalls. Bobbie’s eyes and throat burned.

She grabbed a sack, stood with her back toward the flames, and flung the gate open. She waved the sack at the horse as he came out
of the stall, and he ran off toward the door. She prayed he made it out as she moved to the next stall and sent the next horse out toward the door.

The stallion was farthest from the flames but acted the wildest of the three. Bobbie dropped to her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She struggled to her feet, reached for the latch to the gate, and flung it open. The stallion ran right toward her. Bobbie waved the sack in his eyes. He bumped her as he raced away from the flames, throwing her back. She landed hard.

Bobbie rolled to her side. Her chest burned as she fought to get air and found nothing but smoke. She held her sleeve over her nose. The front of the barn was collapsing. She couldn’t find the strength to get up.

She rose to her knees and then to her feet and stumbled toward the door. She started falling and put her hands out. They met a pair of strong arms. Bobbie felt herself being lifted. In a matter of moments, she was breathing in fresh air. She choked and gagged for several minutes. She looked up into Jace’s concerned face staring down at her. He pulled her against him.

“Don’t you ever do something like that again,” he rasped in her ear.

“Where are the others?” Her voice came in a choked whisper.

“Others? You mean Dew and David?”

“And Sonny and Adam.”

Jace looked around. “Dew and David are off checking on some breeding mares for me. I sent Adam to town.”

“And Sonny?”

Jace stood. “I don’t know. He was to stay here and keep an eye on the place.”

He headed toward the still smoldering remains of the bunkhouse. Beans and Bobbie followed. Sonny lay face down several feet from the bunkhouse. Bobbie ran toward him and dropped to her
knees. Jace knelt next to her. Together, they turned him over. Bobbie gasped.

Sonny’s eyes and nose were swollen and blackened. A large piece of wood lay nearby. Jace felt for a pulse.

“He’s alive.” Jace lifted him into his arms and carried him to the buggy. “We’ve got to get everyone to town.”

Bobbie nodded and headed toward what was left of the house to retrieve Annie and the kids. She heard some shouts and turned. Her heart lifted. The town was coming to them. Pete led the way.

As the sun prepared to greet the mountain crests, Jace and Bobbie stood next to Beans near the ruins of the barn. Some men from town were busy wrapping Grant’s body in a blanket. They lifted him into the back of a wagon, then climbed onto the seat and headed the horses toward the bridge. Pete and the doctor had taken Annie, the children, and Sonny into town. Matt and Rebecca Cromwell invited Pete and his family to stay with them as long as necessary. They wanted Bobbie to join them. She shook her head and insisted on staying a while longer, as did the rest of his wranglers. Jace appreciated their support, but his insides were as charred as the remains of his barn and Annie’s house.

Beans gestured toward the departing wagon. “I didn’t mean to kill him, Jace.”

Jace turned and met Beans’s gaze. “I know.” Jace clapped him on the back. “Tell me what happened.”

“I was in the barn getting some eggs. The buzzard ran in with a torch. He told me he just wanted the stallion and he’d leave. Said something about needing a good stud for his new ranch.” He looked at Jace. “My guess is he planned to burn the barn once he got what he wanted.”

“You’re probably right. Tell me about the fight.”

“Weren’t much of a fight. He didn’t seem to have much spunk. Bobbie’s bullet musta weakened him. He swung the torch at me to
keep me back. I smacked him in the jaw when I had the chance. He threw the torch down and came at me. The barn lit up like kindling. I hit him as hard as I could. He fell back an’ almost landed in the fire.” Beans scuffed his boot in the dirt. “I felt I had to help him. So I grabbed him and that’s when I saw the branding iron stuck in his back. I dragged him to the door. I didn’t know he was already dead.”

Jace squeezed his arm. “You did fine.”

“I couldn’t get the door open. I thought I was gonna die. Bobbie saved my life.”

Jace patted his back one more time. He’d heard all he could stand and craved some time alone. He wandered off toward Annie’s house and stepped into the ashes. Some pieces of wood still smoldered. He kicked at them. There was nothing left. Nothing had survived but his own house. He looked up at it and shook his head. The only reason he could figure that Grant didn’t burn it too was that he didn’t have time to get to it. Either that or he wanted a place to live once he took the ranch from him.

Jace walked through what used to be the living room. He heard something crunch under his boot. He looked down and found one of Annie’s porcelain dolls. He grieved for all that had been lost at the hands of an evil and selfish man. Jace and Annie lost their parents. Annie lost her home and belongings, and he lost his ranch.

I’m beaten. An evil man set out to destroy me and won. Why, Lord? Why did this have to happen? What good could possibly come out of this?
He stifled a sigh.
Lord, I’m trying to trust that You have a perfect plan, but I’m struggling with doubts right now
.

He looked around the ranch. Bobbie stood watching him. His heart broke completely. He planned to marry her, to have his children with her. He had dreams of running the ranch and riding over the range with her by his side for the rest of his life. Those dreams were dead—burned up with everything else. He had nothing to offer. He couldn’t ask her to marry a poor man. He dropped his gaze from hers. He’d lost her too.

The sound of a fast-approaching horse jerked him from his thoughts. His heart sank even further at the look of concern on Cade’s face as his horse raced toward him. He stopped at the edge of the ashes. “Annie’s having her baby!”

Jace ran toward the corral, but Cade stopped him. “Take my horse. I’ll get yours and follow.”

Jace jumped onto the saddle and heeled the horse into a gallop. He prayed the whole three miles into town that Annie and her baby were all right. With all the smoke she had inhaled, he feared for them both. This was too soon. She still had a few weeks before the baby was due. Sweat drizzled down his back as he ran into Matt and Rebecca’s house. Silence met him. His fears increased.

He moved to the kitchen and found Matt and Mandy, Matt’s daughter, trying to feed Ben and Sara. The children ran to him. He scooped them in his arms and pressed his face into their hair. They smelled like soap. Where had they gotten the clothes they were wearing? They looked wonderful, as though they had never fought for their very lives earlier.

Jace looked up.

Matt met his gaze and shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything yet.”

Matt motioned to a chair, and Jace sat but waved away the plate Matt offered. His stomach wouldn’t hold it down. He set Ben and Sara on the floor.

“Why don’t you two finish eating before your food gets cold?” They picked at the food. They didn’t look any hungrier than he felt.

A scream from up the stairs set his hair on end. Jace jumped from the chair and ran up the steps. He skidded to a stop when he heard the wail of a newborn, then leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. With both hands over his face, Jace broke down and wept.

   THIRTY-THREE   

J
ace sat in the office of his house waiting for all of his wranglers to arrive. He had managed to avoid Bobbie for two days, even when she came to the Cromwells to visit Annie and the baby. Bobbie finally accepted the pastor and his wife’s invitation to stay with them. Jace stayed by himself on the ranch. Staying alone made eluding her easy, but he wouldn’t be able to avoid her forever. Today, he had to face her—and all his other ranch hands.

He felt better after getting some sleep. Better, but not great. The bitterness was gone. Someday, he’d get to the point where he could forgive Grant. That ability could only come from God. The sense of defeat and failure lingered over him like a dingy gray cloud. He’d been beaten. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d let down his dad. Dad had been proud of this place. He’d taken the small ranch Mr. Hillyer had sold him and built it into something grand. Over the years, he’d added more acreage and increased the herd. In less than two years, Jace let it all slip away.

The sound of voices brought his mind back to what he had to do. He stood as the door opened. Dew allowed Bobbie to enter first, and the rest of the men followed. Jace met Bobbie’s gaze for a moment. Pain and questions lingered in her eyes.

He turned away and looked at Sonny’s face for the first time since
the fire. He had since learned that Sonny didn’t have any idea what had happened that day. Sonny had stepped out of the bunkhouse and something slammed him in the head. He didn’t remember anything else until he awoke to find Doc Barnes stitching up his face.

Jace pulled him into his arms and patted him on the back. “You look terrible,” he said with a grin.

“Well, thank you, Jace. Yer not so pretty yerself.”

Jace clapped him on the back again. He would miss these men. He motioned for them to take a seat and chose a spot against his desk for himself. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.