Even as small as she is, there’s no way Vienna could squeeze through that window. Which means if I hadn’t gotten here?—
It doesn’t matter right now. Nothing matters except for getting her out of here.
“Vienna!” I shout. Her panicked eyes jump to mine. “Hang on!”
As I race towards her, the cabin makes a terrible, ominous creaking sound.
She screeches in fear. “Caleb! No!”
But I’m not stopping. Not going back. Not now.
I leap across the last few feet between us. Then I yank Vienna into my arms, wrapping her tightly inside the blanket. Lifting her off her feet, I turn tail and haul ass back the way I came.
“Hang onto me,” I shout. “Legs up! Arms around my neck. Just hang on!”
Vienna doesn’t argue. She just clings to me. Her face is buried in my neck, and though I can’t hear them, I can feel her sobs.
Getting back through the flames is the worst of it. I’m worried the blanket won’t be enough. But all I can do is hug Vienna as close to me as possible, trying to protect her body with mine.
And then.
We make it through the door.
Screw the stairs, I leap from the top one into the snow. My knees voice their disapproval, reminding me they’re forty-two and not twenty. But nothing is stopping me.
I just keep running until we’re a good thirty feet from the cabin. Only then do I stop and turn around. The flames are coming through the roof now, and the wood isn’t just creaking, it’s groaning.
It’s going to come down. There’s no doubt. But not with me or Vienna inside it.
Though I’m loath to release her, I need to check Vienna’s condition. So I say, “I need to put you down, okay? I need to see where you’re hurt.”
It takes a few seconds for her to loosen her gripenough for me to put her down. Then I take a step back to inspect her.
She’s covered in soot from head to toe.
Her eyes are red and swollen, and tears streak down her face.
One hand is cut up, likely from breaking the glass. But as I take her injured hand in mine to look at it, I can tell the cuts are all surface.
She’s coughing, which concerns me the most, since I don’t know how much of that shit she inhaled. But at least she was by the open window, so hopefully that helped her a little.
“Vienna.” I frame her face with my hands. “Can you tell me if you’re hurt anywhere I can’t see? Did anything fall on you? How long?—”
Fuck. If I’d only looked out the window earlier, I might have rescued her before it came to this.
“Caleb.” Vienna stares at me. From the twist of her features, I can tell she’s trying to stop crying. But ragged sobs keep escaping and tears keep sliding down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.” She coughs, and it hurts me to hear it. “I’m so sorry.”
“What?” If anyone should be sorry, it’s me. I should have checked on her sooner. Shit, I should have insisted on checking the fireplace regularly. I should have had the damn chimney cleaned before winter came.
“I must have done something wrong with the fire,” she sobs. “I put extra wood on, and—” Another coughing fit shakes her body. “I fell asleep. I should have set an alarm to check on it. But I didn’t think?—”
“No. No, Vienna.” I hug her to me. “No. It’s not your fault.”
“I messed it up. And now your cabin…” Another sob escapes. “Your dad’s retreat?—”
“I don’t care about that.”
“I tried to get out the front,” she adds tearfully. “But the deadbolt was stuck. I probably messed that up, too.”
