AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dammit, Josephina. There’s probably a dead raccoon or something in there.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Can you help me solve this? Or do I have to wait until the fire goes out?”
“Is the well turned on?”
“Yes.”
He spotted a large flowerpot sitting near the porch. He dumped out the dirt, then turned on the outside water spigot. He filled the pot, then looked at her.
“Where’s the woodstove?”
“In the living room. Turn right when you go inside.”
He nodded. “Stay here.” He went onto the porch and into the smoke-filled house. The smoke was thick, but there was no furniture in the room, so he headed straight for the woodstove, opened the door, and poured the water over the fire. This caused more smoke, and he backed away, then ran out of the house. He continued off the porch, then bent over and rested his hands on his knees while he coughed and tried to clear his lungs.
Joey came up beside him. “Are you okay?”
He looked up at her and scowled, then held up a hand and coughed again.
“I’ll go get you some water.” She went around the house to the back door that would take her into the kitchen.
J.T. stood and moved further away from the house, then sucked in some fresh air. The smoke from the house was dying down, but still hung near the porch. After a few moments, Joey returned with a glass of water.
He took it from her and drank it down. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then looked at Joey. “I hope you had the well water tested before you turned it on.”
“I did. You’re not going to die from contaminated water.”
“Just smoke inhalation?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not going to die from that, either.” She looked at the house and then raised her eyes toward the chimney. “Do you really think there’s a dead racoon in my chimney?”
He held back a smile. “No. More likely a bird’s nest. How many chimneys do you have?”
“Four.”
“Have them all checked out and cleaned before you start another fire.”
“Who does that?”
“Check with Dutch at the hardware store. His son takes care of most of the chimneys around here.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “Thank you.”
He cocked his head. “You’re lucky it was only smoke. You could’ve started a chimney fire and burned the place down. Which wouldn’t have been much of a loss. But the wind is blowing toward my place today.”
“Wouldn’t want to lose your trailer.”
He shook his head. “Open all your windows and it should air out in a day or two.” He coughed again, then headed for his truck.
“J.T.?”
He stopped and looked back at her.
“Thank you for helping me.”
He nodded, then got into his truck and pulled out of the driveway. He should’ve gone home to change, but he was just going to be unloading hay all day. He turned right instead of left and headed for the ranch house. Halfway there, he rememberedhe hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. At the four-way stop, he turned left and headed for town. He was already late. He might as well get something to eat first.
J.T. drove to the bakery and parked out front. When he opened the front door, the bell hanging from it brought Xander out of the kitchen.
