“I would've woken you up, but it looked like you needed the sleep.”
I nod and stand. The tequila was helpful, but I'm glad to be sober now. “Thanks. I needed this more than I realized.”
“And what was more useful—the tequila or the sleep?”
I rub the back of my head, looking for my cowboy hat. “Both, I think. And the conversation.”
He nods. “I think I needed it too. I gotta say…I'm honestly just so happy to hear you talk about her. I don't want her to fade from my thoughts, and talking about her keeps her alive for me.”
We hug again, and I pull back. “I can't imagine she would ever fade from either of our minds. But thank you for letting me talk about her. I know this is…complicated.”
He shrugs. “The older I get, the more I embrace the complex, and the more I realize that love is never just one thing.”
We part on a wave, and I make my way back toward the ranch. Just as I'm about half a mile out, a call from Joaquin comes in. I hit the Bluetooth button.
“Sorry, Joaquin. Didn't mean to be gone quite so long. Fell asleep on Wyatt’s back porch. I’m almost home.”
“What? No, I’m not calling about that,” he snaps out.
I sit up, the strain in his voice kicking up my heart rate. “What’s going on, Joaquin?”
“The Wills place is on fire.”
21
WARWICK
“What?” I ask, not understanding. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Remember how you were all over us to make sure we were taking care of things in this drought? Well, now we know how important it is. All that dry grass around their place caught fire, and the embers are falling on the buildings. He’s already lost his bunkhouse, and we’re just hoping the stable doesn’t catch fire too.”
Fuck. I wanted to spend the rest of the day drowning in melancholy about the meaning of it all, but that’s not life out in the country.
“Shit, okay. I’m heading that way.” After a few seconds, I remember something that sends a bolt of dread through my stomach. “They’re in that weird unincorporated area, aren’t they?” I say, passing the ranch and turning onto the old county road leading to Charlie’s place.
Joaquin lets out a heavy sigh. “Exactly. The surrounding counties help out where they can, but Blanco County Fire Department is already working that big brushfire out by Hye and can’t spare anyone, and Hays has two medical emergencies to clear before they can get to us. And by then, it’ll be too late.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly. And Charlie doesn’t have a trailer yet, so he needs help getting the horses off the property. I'm bringing over our spare trailer right now, but this is an all-hands situation.”
“I’m thirty seconds behind you, boss.”
“Thanks, Wick.”
Looking beyond the line of trees, I see the thick column of smoke rising into the air. There aren’t any sirens, so I put on the afterburners, racing around miles of winding road, getting there just as our guys arrive with the trailer.
Oh God.
The place looks like a hellscape. The dry grass surrounding the compound is still ablaze, and the buildings, all old wood, have embers raining down on them, driven by the dry winds.
Wills’s guys are out there with bandannas tied around their faces, watering down the structures with garden hoses, only marginally more effective than spitting on the fast-moving fires.
Sparrow, Joaquin, and Colt hop out and race over to the stables. Everyone is pitching in where they can, but the small water hoses aren't making much of a dent. Grabbing a bandanna from my glove box, I tie it on, wondering if they’re about to lose everything.
Just as I’m calculating the possibility of a total loss, the Jennings brothers show up with their store truck and a flatbed trailer bearing an enormous water tank.
Jason and Justin jump out and grab the hose and pump mechanism from the extended cab. Charlie runs up to them, and there's a moment—just a few seconds, really—where he and Justin share a glance.
