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She hesitated as Joel turned into the ranch resort driveway. “I have some pictures from up at Lawn Lake on my camera. They?
??re of the scene while you, Randy and Dennis were all working. You want them? Otherwise, I’m going to delete them.”
He slowed for a family of five crossing the lane to one of the guest cabins. “I’ve already got all my pictures, but I can still take a look at them. I’ll get them off your card and give it back to you tonight.”
“Thanks.” She ejected the card and placed it in his outstretched palm.
She was still fiddling with the camera as he braked to a halt near the stables. Her first glance through the windshield brought a hand up to cover her whispered, “Oh my God.”
When she realized Joel had come around to open her door, she slowly got out of the truck. Yesterday at the hospital, Mitch had told her the barn was a total loss, but she hadn’t tried to imagine what it would look like.
Joel placed a hand on her shoulder as she stared beyond the ribbon of yellow crime-scene tape in disbelief. “You okay?”
She didn’t reply. Everything was black, except for a couple spots near the middle where thin, wispy tendrils floated lazily into the air. That lingering scent of smoke and the reek of smoldering hay brought back the nightmare of last night. She covered her nose and mouth as she stared at the ruins.
The entire right side had collapsed into a heap of blackened debris. On the left, the row of stalls was still discernible in the iron framework that had withstood the flames. Charred pieces of wood clung to the iron, and in other places, boards that had snapped under the collapse of the roof above stuck up from the pile in stark relief against the trees and blue sky.
Mark walked over to join them from the main corral. He gave her a quick hug and then stepped back. “I didn’t expect to see you here today. Shouldn’t you be resting?”
His gaze shifted to the stitches on her forehead. Her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way unfortunately made the multi-colored purple and green bruise that much more visible.
“I’m rested out,” she stated. “And if I’m not here, I’m sitting somewhere doing absolutely nothing. My head is fine, my shoulder is fine, and after everything that’s happened, I really want to help.”
He checked with Joel via a cocked eyebrow. Luckily, Joel did nothing more than shrug, and she suppressed her spurt of annoyance because she knew Mark was just concerned about her.
“Okay, then, you can work with Casey,” he conceded. “He’ll be back from his dad’s place soon. Joel told you about him keeping the horses, right? We thought that’d be the safest place for them right now.”
“That’s good. Thank you.”
“You guys are going to be here all day?” Joel asked. “I figured I’d be back about five.”
“I’ve got a meeting at four-thirty, but Casey will be here.”
He nodded, yet didn’t appear completely reassured.
“I will be fine,” Brittany insisted, despite her own reluctance to separate from him. “There are plenty of people around.”
“We won’t leave her alone,” Mark promised.
“Good.” His gaze transferred to hers. “I’ll see you later then. Be careful.”
Warmth deepened the golden flecks in his eyes. His voice held a note of intimacy that increased her pulse and squeezed her chest with emotion.
“I will.”
Joel hesitated one more moment before reaching out to brush his fingers against her arm. Sizzling awareness skimmed across her skin even after he lowered his hand and started for his truck. She fisted her hands to keep from reaching out for him as she watched him leave.
His step faltered after three strides and he swung back around, eyebrows drawn together in a frown.
He looked like he was about to say something, but when he remained silent, her pulse kicked into second gear. “What?”
His frown deepened, and he shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll see you at five.”
Not caring if he saw her in the rearview mirror or not, she watched him until he drove out of sight, wishing her heart had listened to her head.
Chapter 31
By three-thirty, Joel wanted to punch something. Aaron hadn’t come up with any leads, and he could barely concentrate past the mental image of Brittany lying in bed, her blond hair shining as the morning sunlight slanted through the window. Yes, the sex had been phenomenal, but it was the whole package that’d done him in.
