AllFreeNovel
Share Us
*
Heart in herthroat, Keely returned home to air clouded with thick gray smoke. She didn’t remember much of the ride from the school to the farm, but volunteer firefighter Macon Draeger had been in the crowd at the school and shepherded Keely, Alexis and Nate into his dual cab truck to take them to the scene with him.
His flashing blue light in the front window had cleared a path through all the parents leaving the school, but even so it had been painfully slow knowing that with every second that passed, flames could feast on acres in an instant. She just prayed her father was safe.
Now, emerging from his truck while her brain tried to make sense of what she was seeing, Keely clutched Alexis’s hand.
“Stay here.” Nate raised his voice to be heard over the noise of firefighters shouting to one another, the fire itself noisy and hot as it hovered like a giant red beast above her fields. Her sunflowers, the majority of which that hadn’t quite reached full flower, were engulfed. “Stay close to the EMT van. Make sure your dad is okay.”
“We will,” Alexis assured Nate, when Keely couldn’t unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth. Alexis still clutched Keely’s hand, dragging her toward the EMT truck where a woman she didn’t recognize sat with their father, coaxing an oxygen mask on his face.
And then Nate was gone, running in the same direction as Macon Draeger, toward one of the fire trucks. Or, more likely, Nate was running in the direction of the property line where the fire could spill over into Rough Hollow at any moment. Maybe he just wanted to see the damage firsthand. Keely’s brain felt like it was in slow motion, not feeding her information fast enough, just broadcasting a vision straight out of a horror movie.
Smoke enveloped the property. The house looked unharmed, but it was backlit by the red glow of an active blaze. The big beautiful tree that sat between her property and Nate’s was on fire. Everett’s lands must be in danger too.
“Daddy, are you okay?” Alexis asked as they reached the EMT truck, finally releasing Keely.
Their father had to wave off the oxygen mask to speak.
“I’m so sorry, Keely. So damned sorry.” He reached for her shoulder, his hand clamping it awkwardly.
His touch—his sorrow—pierced the fog of her thoughts, reminding her that nothing was more important than her family.
“It’s not your fault, Dad. We’re all here. We’re all safe. That’s what’s important.” Even as she said it, she remembered they had no chance of paying this year’s taxes without harvesting the rest of the sunflowers. She had insurance, but how well would a claim hold up when she didn’t technically own the land anymore?
Her stomach dropped, but she hugged her father harder, trying not to think about it when he was already so distraught.
“No, honey. You don’t understand.” Her dad straightened, then pulled Alexis into the hug. He leaned heavily on both of them, his thin frame shaking. He seemed agitated.
“Mr. Harper, I really want to give you some more oxygen,” the young EMT insisted, still wielding the mask. “You don’t look well.” She turned sharp eyes on Keely. “He’s going to be admitted tonight. He needs a doctor.”
Keely knew her father’s pallor was always that shade of grayish green since his liver and kidneys had gone into full protest a year ago, but she agreed, he looked even worse than usual. “Daddy, take the oxygen.”
“It was an accident,” her father said more loudly, gripping her tighter where he still hugged her under one arm. “The still was a stupid idea.”
Keely’s heart stopped. The impact of what he was saying knocking her backward.
“Still?” Alexis repeated quietly, her blue gaze flicking to Keely’s. “What still?”
Fear iced her despite the blazing heat of the day and the inferno currently swallowing everything she’d worked for. “You’ve been sober for half a year. You can’t possibly mean to tell me you were making moonshine—”
“It was a damned fool idea. I wasn’t going to drink it. I just thought I’d see if I still knew how to make it. Maybe make a little extra income from selling it.” He wrenched away from his daughters and threw his hands up in the air. “The thing exploded and knocked me flat on my ass.”
Keely didn’t hear the rest of his rant. Or rather, she heard him shouting, but she’d checked out of what he was saying. He’d dragged out that old moonshine still of his that she’d disassembled long ago. While she and Alexis had been at Nate’s baseball camp, her father, despite his weakness, had somehow resurrected the old pieces and tried to cook up his own home brew.
It took two EMTs to calm her father down and wrestle an oxygen mask on him. Alexis seemed to be helping them, but Keely was so numb she couldn’t do anything but hug her arms around herself and hope she stayed in one piece.
She’d been so proud of herself for building a business, supporting her father on his journey to sobriety, and piecing her own life back together with family counseling. Yet for all that hard work, she was right back to square one. Her business was in ruins. And her father was one stupid decision away from drinking again.
The suffocating defeat choked her faster than the smoke clouds belching up from the fields.
“Keely?” Her sister’s voice sounded behind her. She wound an arm around her waist and laid her head on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She felt so drained she thought her knees might collapse under her. “How could he? Our only source of income is gone. The insurance might not help since I didn’t own some of the land to begin with. And the little bit of money Dad saved from selling off land will have to pay the taxes, but there won’t be enough left to start over.”
“We will,” her sister said firmly. “I can help you. I’ve been putting money aside.”
Keely didn’t have the strength to argue now, but she couldn’t let Alexis do that. She didn’t know if she had the heart to rebuild right now.
