Page 105 of Hometown Hottie

My entire body started shaking. Fear unlike anything I’d ever felt swept through me. I’d put my heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into that place. It was part of me, and if it burned down, I had no idea what I would do.

No! I can’t lose it! It’s not going to be gone.

Panic raced through me and my hands shook so badly that I dropped my phone. My blood drained out of my whole head and not just my cheeks. Frantically looking around for my purse, I almost forgot about the phone until it was dangling right in front of my face.

“What happened, Nova?” Carson asked as I snatched the device from between his fingers, his green eyes burning intensely into mine. “Is it your dad?”

“The bakery is burning.” Those were the only words I could get out before I started running, pushing through the crowd as fast as I could, but they weren’t moving as quickly as I needed them to.

A strong arm wrapped around my shoulders and I glanced up, seeing that Carson had come to my rescue once again. As soon as he did, people suddenly started jumping out of our way like they were feeling the urgency of the situation. When I saw the look on his face, I understood why.

I didn’t know what I looked like right now, but Carson sure looked serious. His jaw was clenched so tight that his teeth were at risk of cracking. His posture was rigid and his eyebrows were mashed together. He looked like a man on a mission.

I was still hurt by him. Still angry. But in that moment, gratitude overwhelmed me. I let him rush me out of there, and I didn’t protest when he ran us to his truck instead of mine. “I’ll drive. Get in.”

Throwing open the door, I practically dove inside and he was behind the steering wheel not a second later. Tension thrummed in the air as he turned over the engine and slammed the truck into reverse. Gunning it out of the parking lot, he put his foot down and got us to the ranch before the fire trucks had even arrived.

Neither of us said a word on our way over, but Carson’s movements were jerky with stress and I couldn’t stop repeating my new mantra in my head. It’s not gone. I’m not going to lose it. It’s not gone.

Dad and Ryan were already there when we raced onto the ranch, and I fell to pieces when I saw the plume of black smoke leaking out of my beloved bakery. Carson hit the brakes, tires skidding to a stop on the gravel. He twisted toward the door and yanked it open before he glanced back at me.

“Stay safe, Nova.” Then he was gone, running to Dad and Ryan who were trying to put out the flames.

Dad tossed him a spare fire extinguisher. I wanted to go help, but shock held me immobile. For what felt like the longest time, I just sat there, staring at the glowing red inferno devouring the place that was my sanctuary.

Numbness spread from the core of my being to my limbs, my extremities, and even my tongue. Dad, Ryan, and Carson each held a fire extinguisher and they were bravely fighting to keep the flames contained, but to me, it felt futile.

This wasn’t some kind of stovetop fire or a candle that had only just engulfed the table underneath it. It was a full-blown structure fire. Flames licked the ceiling inside the building and the smoke rising from it got thicker and thicker.

I hadn’t even climbed out of the car yet, but I could already feel the heat. It was blazing. The kind that could roast a human being like a Thanksgiving turkey but in much less time.

My gaze flicked up and I saw the illumination from the fire lighting up the night sky. This was my worst nightmare come to life and what made it even more terrible was that the three men I loved most in the world were right in the path of that thing.

A loud crash rang out from inside and one of the windows exploded, sending shattered glass flying out in a strangely beautiful, sparkling rain. I shook so hard that I couldn’t breathe. Sobs rolled through me as I finally jumped out to help.

Dad, Ryan, and Carson had fallen back when the explosion had happened. They exchanged glances that said they’d realized what I’d known all along. Fighting this fire with a few extinguishers and a lot of grit wasn’t going to cut it.

The bakery was lost. The best we could do now was to hope the flames didn’t spread.