“The vet’s on the way,” José said. “Where the hell is the fire truck?” About to say more, he apparently got a good look at Matt’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Saint’s missing.”
“Is he badly hurt?”
“I’m worried,” Matt muttered. “He looked like he had some pretty bad burns.”
José clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Well, hell, you know this entire area is fenced. Even if he made it out of the barnyard and into one of the other pastures, it shouldn’t be too hard to find him. He’s got to be here somewhere.”
Still, despite the reassuring words, worry continued to etch lines in Matt’s face.
Rubbing the back of her neck, she turned a slow circle, searching. “There’s no chance a gate could have been left open, right?”
José shot her a look heavy with annoyance. “Anything is possible. Whoever started this fire could have left a gate open. But all the pastures are divided up and fenced.”
Biting back an instinctive retort, Skylar kept her gaze on Matt instead. She wouldn’t allow José to bait her. Whatever his problem was with her, she wanted no part of it.
“Even if someone left a gate open, Saint couldn’t have gone far.” Matt’s voice, weary and husky with worry and exhaustion, made her long to go to him and put her arms around him.
Since there was no way in hell that was going to happen, she clenched her hands into fists instead.
Behind them, there was a loud pop, then the crack of lumber as the barn’s roof collapsed. Fire roared up into the sky, engulfing the remains of the building.
Matt nodded, gesturing toward the blaze. “Even if the fire department shows up now, it’s too late. The barn’s a total loss.”
At least the other buildings appeared to have been spared. One of them, she knew, was his office. Two men stood near that smaller building, continuously spraying it with hoses to make sure the fire didn’t spread.
Matt sighed. “Skylar, you can go back to your trailer. Thanks again for all your help. I’m going out to find Saint.”
“I can help search,” José offered. “But it’s pretty damn dark out there. You know it’ll be easier to find him once the sun comes up.”
“That’s true.” Matt set his jaw. “But he’s hurt and scared and I can’t leave him alone. I want to bring him back so the vet can take a look at his burns. We’ve got a couple more industrial-strength flashlights in the tack room.”
With a nod, José hurried off to retrieve those.
“I’m going to look, too,” Skylar said quietly. “And before you turn me down, think. You know you need all the help you can get.”
Expression shuttered, Matt finally nodded.
José brought the flashlights. Matt took two from José and handed one to Skylar.
“I thought she was going back to her trailer,” José protested, his voice dripping with dislike.
“Look,” Skylar started, clamping down on a flash of anger, “I don’t know what your problem is with me, but’”
Matt squeezed her shoulder in warning. “Easy, now. Both of you. It’s been a rough couple of hours. Arguing isn’t going to solve anything.”
He was right. Just like that, she felt the urge to fight roll off her. José nodded. “Sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” she bit back, managing to soften her tone a little.
Apparently satisfied, Matt nodded. “Skylar, thanks for all your help. You saved several horses.”
Keeping her chin up lest her own exhaustion show, she nodded. “Now we just need to find your stallion. Have you heard from the stable hands?”
“No.” Matt checked his phone. “They know to call me if they locate him. They went in pairs. I sent one group to the north pastures and the other group went south. We probably should search separately.”
“Agreed. I do think we should split up,” José put in, his expression and his tone neutral. “We can cover a lot more ground separately.”
Her heart skipped a beat while Matt considered. If he agreed, searching for the missing horse would be the perfect time to also conduct a search for the hidden ammo.
“Good idea,” Matt finally said. “Skylar, do you want to go alone or with me?”
She pretended to consider. “I think José’s right. We can cover a lot more ground if we go alone.”
“José and I will take west, you go east.”
She nodded, then watched as they vanished into the darkness. Now, while she helped search for the missing horse, she could also take a look around for a potential ammunition-storage site. They knew he’d purchased enough bullets to supply an army. Her job was to find out what he’d done with them.
Despite the mini explosion in the barn, she knew that hadn’t been due to ammunition. According to the reports she’d been given, if a stockpile the size of Matt’s blew, it would have left a crater.
Matt’s devotion to his horses was obvious after this morning. She knew he wouldn’t do anything that might endanger them.
Ergo, he must have an outbuilding on another part of the ranch. No doubt far enough away from the livestock that it would never be a threat.
Hefting the heavy flashlight in one hand, she set out, glancing back over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching her. Flashing lights down the road indicated the arrival of the fire trucks. The still-burning barn illuminated the corral of agitated, frightened horses, the flickering light of the flames an eerie mix with the sour smell of smoke.
The acrid scent seemed to follow her as she set off. At the last moment, she decided to go the same way as Matt. She had a hunch. While she didn’t doubt he was actually searching for his stallion, she knew if she were in Matt’s position and someone had set fire to a barn, her next concern would be to check on the stored ammunition. In case that was his plan, her best bet would be to follow him while continuing to keep an eye out for the missing horse.
* * *
“That Skylar chick surprised me. She was really something,” José mused, falling into step beside Matt.
Matt hid his grin. “Yes, she was. She’s obviously a horse person. Without her, I’m not sure we could have gotten all the horses out.”
“Yeah, we need to have a talk with the stable hands.”
“I agree.” Matt grimaced, the knot that had settled into his gut twisting. “They were so disorganized and in such a panic that they got in each other’s way.”
“You’re also wondering if one of them might have had something to do with starting the fire,” José guessed.
“Exactly. They said they’d already fed the horses. What were they doing feeding so early?”
“True. And why didn’t they smell the smoke?”
Considering, Matt nodded. “Especially since Skylar did.”
“True. Speaking of her...” José glanced back over his shoulder as if to make sure she hadn’t followed. “Do you think she might have had something to do with this?”
“What?” Shocked, Matt stopped, staring at his friend. “Why would you think something like that?”
“To smoke out where the ammo is, of course.”
“But to endanger all those valuable horses...” Matt’s horror-filled voice trailed off.
José shrugged. “Just a thought.”