Though I couldn’t hear it amid the wind thundering through the cracks in the wooded building and the snow quickly piling on our heads, I felt his laughter rumble through his chest.
“Die? Fromthisstable? Girl, it was built a hundred years ago. Most of the wood is rotted, which is how we find ourselves in this position. The second I let go, I’m going to fling myself under the iron fence to block any potential blow. I’m more worried about your grandpa. Run and tell him to back away.”
“You are a bad liar, Dusty Bennett. He’ll be fine and you know it.”
He groaned as the weight of the roof caused him to shrink down lower. “I can’t hold this much longer, stop being stubborn and get out of here. I promise I’m not going to die. I haven’t got my kiss yet.”
I moved my arms around his waist in an attempt to show strength, when in reality, my arms were shaking like a leaf in the wind.
He sighed. “Alright then, I’m going to release this on three. Get ready to drop and roll under the corral. Make sure you tuck an—“
“Tuck and roll. Got it. You’re shaking.”
His countdown to three was swift and abrupt. On three, in a move of both speed and agility, he tucked me under his side and rolled us both under the narrow section of steel fence, surrounding each corral inside the old stable. The storm around me seemed to rage, snow and wooden fence posts falling and splintering all around us, but I felt nothing but warmth, tucked safely under Dusty’s body. He groaned in my ear as his body tensed several times until all the world around us became still.
“You kids okay?”
At the frantic voice of my grandpa, I opened my eyes which had been frozen shut. It all seemed like a dream. A cold, wet, intense dream. Dusty still hadn’t moved.
“Dusty?” I breathed, under his dead weight on top of me. “Are you okay?”
Footsteps moved closer to us. “Dusty? Son, you alright? Lucy, you okay? Answer me.”
“I’m fine! Dusty. Answer me. Are you okay?”
“I’ve finally got you where I want you and nobody will leave me alone.” Dusty’s words were strained as he whispered them into my ear.
My shoulders relaxed. “We’re okay,” I shouted to my grandpa, who was frantically pulling wood and roofing pieces off our bodies. Dusty had completely blocked my body with his and I had no idea how he was truly faring.
“Are you okay? Tell me the truth.”
“Right as rain.” He nestled closer to my ear. “Almost dying makes a man rethink his priorities.”
“What?! You told me you weren’t going to die.”
He snorted. “How was I supposed to know that? I’ve never had a building fall on me before.”
“Tell me right now, are you hurt?”
“Once Bob removes this beam off my legs I should be fine. I think the fence took most of the blows.”
There was a guttural sigh from Dusty when Grandpa lifted the wood from his legs. Slowly, he crawled off of me and I was immediately hit with a shot of cold wind in the face.
The stable had been reduced to a pile of wood and rubble. The iron fence post which we had crouched under, that had been welded into the concrete floor, was the only thing still standing. I took Dusty’s offered hand and stood on shaky legs.
“You kids okay?” Grandpa pulled us both in a hug until he started coughing.
“We’re good,” Dusty said.
“Did all the animals get out okay?” I asked.
Grandpa pointed toward a dark blob of calves huddling around the hay manger. Jack stood indignantly nearby. “Everybody’s fine. Thanks to you two.”
We all stood in quiet, stunned silence for a moment, staring at the empty space where a moment ago a building had stood. The realization of what had just happened began to settle on each of us.
“You dumb, idiot kids.” Grandpa broke the silence, looking at the mass of rotting wood at our feet. “You could have been paralyzed or worse.” We said nothing, watching him as he dropped his head in his hands, rubbing his face briskly, or wiping away a tear, it was hard to tell. “A few animals lost would be sad, but it’s nothing compared to…” He broke off again.
“With all due respect, sir, I tried to get your granddaughter to leave, but she’s as stubborn as a mule.”
