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the trough to grab a bucket of water. By the time Mark arrived, with Kelly trailing behind from the barn, the flames were doused. Kelly began to back away before Mark even rounded on him.
“You been smoking out here?” Mark demanded of the younger man.
His accusing gaze darted to Britt. “You told him.”
“No, she didn’t tell me a thing.” Mark gave her his own stern glance, then drilled back into Kelly. “You’re the only one who smokes, and that’s the only way I see this fire starting. What if no one had seen it right away? What if it had smoldered and started later when no one was around? We could’ve lost the whole barn and the horses inside.”
Britt had never heard him so angry, and his furious words made her realize how wrong it was of her to not have told Mark right away with so much at stake.
Kelly didn’t look him in the eye as he tried to defend himself. “I’m always careful.”
Mark jabbed a finger toward the blackened metal can. “This is not careful. And hold on…always? You’ve smoked around here before?”
“No.”
Without looking away from Kelly, Mark asked, “Britt?”
She lifted her chin as Kelly’s gaze met hers. “I warned him more than once.”
Casey moved up to stand at her back. “I warned him once myself.”
“Pack your things,” Mark ordered. “I’ll have the front office cut your final check.”
Kelly’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “You’re kidding. It was a little garbage fire.”
“That could’ve burned the whole barn to the ground.”
“Fine, I won’t smoke here anymore.”
“You’ve had your chances, Kelly. You should’ve followed the rules.”
“You can’t fire me for this.” Red-faced anger replaced his surprise. “I’ll sue you for job discrimination.”
“You wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, and you know it. You’ve burnt your bridges, now get the hell out of here.”
Kelly took a step toward Britt, his lips curled in disdain. Casey stepped between them and shoved the guy back. When Mitch moved forward next to Mark, she felt like she had a wall of muscle protecting her.
“Go.”
He pointed his finger at her as he backed up. “Bitch. You’re going to pay for this, just you wait.”
Chapter 21
Joel braced his feet and let Kelly back into him. His hand closed on the back of the guy’s neck.
“What the—”
He squeezed hard but spoke low. “What did you just say?”
Kelly froze.
“You even think about touching her and you won’t make it to tomorrow.” An audible swallow sounded in the quiet. Joel tightened his grip. “Got it?”
The bastard’s head jerked up and down. Joel shoved him away. He watched him scurry off before turning back toward the barn. The protective anger that’d burned through him when he heard Stevens’ threat still surged high—especially considering Brittany’s slim figure and average height was dwarfed by the three large men flanking her.
With her blond hair somewhat confined in a couple of messy shoulder ponytails, she looked younger and more vulnerable than ever. He was thankful they’d been there to protect her, and irrationally irritated he wasn’t the one at her side. Exasperation took over as he approached and heard her protest.
“No, we do not need to call Aaron about this.”
