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Both Logan and Aiden followed her gaze, then jumped when the structure exploded.
Chapter Eighteen
“Gasoline.” Sam took a step forward, coming to an abrupt stop when Logan grabbed her arm.
“Leave it to the professionals.” He loosened his grip but didn’t let go. Instead, he moved his hand down to thread his fingers with hers. She didn’t pull away.
“How much gasoline is there?” Aiden asked, staring as three four-wheelers were engulfed in flames.
“Not much. Most of the extra gasoline is in a metal shed over there.” She pointed toward another barn and the small structure next to it.
As they watched, Jake and Barrel ran to the shed. Unlocking it, they ducked inside, coming out with five-gallon jugs in each of their hands. After setting them down a good distance away, they returned to retrieve four more.
“That should be all of it.” Sam’s attention moved back to the equipment shed, stomach plummeting at the extent of the damage. Her fingers tightened on Logan’s.
Added to losing the barn for a second time, she felt anger swell within her toward whoever set the fire. She whirled around to face Aiden, but he wasn’t there. Looking toward the lodge, she saw him talking to Wyatt and Anson.
“I wonder what Aiden is thinking?”
Logan looked down at her. “I doubt he has much to go on. The fire investigator will have to come out again.”
“I heard there’s a new one. A female from some big city back east. Seems the original investigator took a job in Montana. His last assignment was when our barn burned down the first time.”
“Back east, huh? Wonder what got her out this way?”
She shrugged. “Who knows? You know how city women are.”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “Not really.”
“They all want to meet a cowboy. I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you about the fire.”
“Not me.” He squeezed her hand. “You saw more than me. She can talk to you.”
“You’re not afraid of city women, are you?”
“Me? Not at all. I’m just not interested.” He looked down at their joined hands. “This fake fiancée thing is all I can handle right now.”
A flash of disappointment crossed her face before Sam pulled her hand from his. “I’d better see if I can do anything to help the guests. See you around, Logan.” She dashed off before he could respond.
“Dumb, dumb, dumb.” Sam chanted the words under her breath as she hurried toward the guests. For a few minutes, she’d fooled herself into believing Logan was holding her hand because he wanted to, and not because of the roles they were playing.
What bothered her most was the disappointment she felt at realizing why he’d threaded his fingers through hers. For a few minutes, she almost believed Logan had feelings for her beyond those of a friend.
The notion seemed ridiculous now. At least she figured it out before making a complete fool of herself.
She joined the guests who hadn’t taken the field trip with everyone else. The shock of the fire had worn off, and they were talking among themselves. Sam watched long enough to realize the firefighters had the blaze under control. She raised her voice to grab the guests’ attention.
“I’m going to check the cabins to make sure it’s safe for you to return.”
“They’ll be pretty smoky,” a tall, boney man with a beard and mustache called out.
“Should we move to other cabins?” the woman beside him yelled.
“First, I need to make sure there’s no more danger of the fire restarting. Then I’ll check each cabin. Jake and Virgil will make decisions about moving you back in.” Before anyone else could speak up, Sam jogged away.
She joined Virgil, Jake, Wyatt, Anson, and the fire captain. “What’s the situation with the cabins?”
“We still have to check them out,” the captain answered. “Just one caught fire, but it’s not safe for the guests to enter until we’ve done a complete walk-through. They’ll have to be patient a bit longer.”
