“Good. Now where’s that makeup bag your mama brought? Let's get you cleaned up. Denton, she's awake now and we need some girl time. Out.” She points to the door with a hand on her hip.
I raise my shoulders and mouth, “Sorry.”
“I’ll be back in an hour,” he promises me.
Charli helps me get up to wash my face and brush my hair. My skin looks so dull and dry. It’s like the fire has shriveled me up into a raisin. I truly am grateful to be alive though.
Luckily most of the horses had been turned out to pasture so only six horses were in the barn when the fire broke out. When I couldn't get Duke out of his stall, I thought I was going to have to leave him to die in that fire. I never would have forgiven myself if he had died. He’s my heart horse in every way possible and I want as much time with him as I can get.
I’m still in shock that Huck did this. I shouldn't be thinking about it right now but enough is enough. It’s time for him to pay for all the hurt he’s caused me and my family.
I’m sitting on the hospital bed while Charli does my makeup when I hear a squeal. I open my eyes to see it’s Sable. We hug and cry and then she helps Charli finish my makeup that I’ve now ruined with my tears. I tell them everything that happened. Charli suggests we give her dad a call to get some advice on what to do from this point forward. He’s a detective and a damn good one.
I go into details of that night only telling him about the fire and how I saw Huck starting it in the barn. He tells us to make a report with the sheriff's office ASAP and they should have him in cuffs by tonight. Let’s see his parents try to get him out of this one.
A few days later,I’m finally discharged from the hospital. I can’t wait to get home and see Trotter and Sutton. Because of Trotter's age he wasn't allowed to see me in the hospital and he’s been asking for Auntie Sor Sor, Sable told me. I tried to FaceTime him but I’ve been in and out of sleep the last few days.The fire took a toll on my body and every time I called Sutton or she called me, one of us was taking a nap.
Denton stayed with me for the rest of my stay in the hospital other than for his doctors’ appointments. He has a nasty burn on his hand from trying to open Dad’s office door. Thank God he got that fire extinguisher or I’m not sure we would have made it out. If his vocal cords don’t heal, I’ll never be able to forgive myself for getting him into this mess. What will he do with his life? I try not to let my mind go there. He seems to be in good spirits about everything so I’ll try and stay positive.
I’m so excited Sable is back at the ranch right now and I guilted her into staying and taking care of her poor sick sister. She’s going to stay in my cabin with me to help me while I’m recovering. I laugh to myself when I think about her and Denton bickering over who’s going to take care of what. They’ve been going at it while I was in the hospital. She’s a little fireball. Whatever man marries her will never live a boring day in his life.
I let Denton drive me home from the hospital since it will probably be pretty chaotic with everyone home at the ranch now. We won’t get much time alone, which I’m kind of disappointed about. While we're driving, he reaches over for my hand. I don't stop him. I look up at him and give him a small smile.
“I’m really happy we're both still here, Sorrel.”
“Me too.” I rub my thumb back and forth across his hand while we drive the rest of the way home in silence.
His voice is still rough and it hurts him to talk. I’ll make him Mama’s tea recipe when we get back to the ranch. It’s kind of like a Starbucks medicine ball with way more honey. She would always make it for us any time we had a sore throat growing up. That makes me wonder if he let his family know he was in the hospital. Did they come visit him while I was asleep?
“Did you tell your family what happened?”
“No, I didn’t want to worry them. My mom would freak out and hop on the first plane here.”
That makes me smile, knowing he has people that care for him.
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I’m sure my mom was a total mess when she got to the hospital.”
Denton chuckles and side eyes me.
Oh gosh, I bet she went psycho on all of the nurses and doctors. I don’t even want to know.
When we pull into the ranch, there’s a deputy’s truck parked in front of the main house. I assume he’s here to talk to both me and Denton. Sable is sitting with the deputy on the porch. When we walk up, it almost feels like we’re interrupting something. I give her a sly smile.
“Hello, I’m Deputy Ryan. Len sent me out to get your statements about the night of the fire.”
I frown and wonder why Len didn't come out with him.
We both shake his hand and take our seats in the rocking chairs while he pulls one over to face us. Sable slinks away taking one more glance at deputy Ryan.
“So, please explain in detail what you remember from that night.”
We both do our best to explain the sequencing of everything that happened. There are some fuzzy parts but I know without a doubt who set the fire.
Deputy Ryan scribbles in a notebook while we recount the night.
“So, you’re saying for a matter of fact, this was Huck Kenzington who started it?”
“Yes, I saw him with the fuel can. Starting it with a lighter and continuing to spread the fuel all over the barn.”
