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The smell of freshly baked bread hit me the moment I stepped through the front door. I made my way to the kitchen to find my mother and father both in there. Dad stared at something on his phone, a frown on his face.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He looked up and forced a smile, but I could see something was wrong. It was the same smile Maverick had given me. Mom turned, then flashed me a bright smile.
“I was just making some bread for dinner tonight. Will you and Maverick be joining us?”
“What are you making?”
“Lasagna.”
I rubbed my stomach with my hand. “Then yes, we’ll for sure be joining you. Do you want me to make a salad so it’s ready for later?”
“Oh, that would be great, Lily. Thank you, honey.”
As I walked to the refrigerator, my father was still looking at his phone. He glanced up and saw me watching him. “How was the ride?”
“It was good. I took Maverick up to the point. He loved it, of course. We saw the storm coming and decided to head back. I’m surprised we didn’t see the smoke from up there.”
“Smoke?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I saw it right after Blayze showed up and asked Maverick to help with some cattle that got out or something?”
Dad nodded and slipped his phone into his back pocket. Turning to my mother, he said, “I need to go help with a situation over on the east side of the ranch.”
The east side of the ranch is where I’d seen the smoke.
Mom instantly turned and gave him a concerned look. “What’s going on?”
Dad looked at me, then back to her. “Cattle got out.”
Grabbing a towel, Mom quickly wiped her hands, then dropped it back on the counter and folded her arms over her chest. “Tanner Shaw, I’ve been married to you long enough to know that you don’t rush out to help with loose livestock. There are plenty of ranch hands for that. So what’s going on? Lily mentioned seeing smoke.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and exhaled. “There’s a fire making its way toward the ranch.”
“What?!” my mother and I said at the same time.
Dad held up his hands. “It’s heading toward the ranch on the east side and is on a direct path to Mom and Dad’s place.”
“Oh my God!” I said. “Are they out of the house?”
“Lincoln and Brock got them out, but they’re sending as many people as they can over there to keep the fire from spreading onto the ranch.”
“Where areyougoing?” Mom asked.
“I can’t sit here and do nothing, Timberlynn. I have to go and help. Ty is already there with Josh. Dirk is on his way with Bradly, who just got to town.”
“Nathan?” my mother whispered.
Right at that moment, my younger brother walked into the kitchen. “I’m ready to go help with the cattle, Dad.”
My father closed his eyes on a sigh.
“You’re takingNathanto fight a fire? Did he evenknowthere was a fire?”
“You told her?” Nathan asked, frowning.
I spun and looked at my brother. “You knew?”
