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Beau stood a few feet away, arms crossed, feet planted apart.
“You’re going. Whether you like it or not.”
Landon scowled at him.
“I’ve had worse.”
“God help me, Landon, I’ll wrestle you to the doctor myself if I have to.”
“Try me. You know I fight dirty.”
Beau placed a hand on Landon’s shoulder, bending at the waist to look him in the eye.
“And I almost watched my fool of a best friend get burned alive in a fire because he was too stubborn to leave a bunch of horses behind. You won’t win this battle, Landon. Trust me.”
Landon made a noise of frustration, but he didn’t protest any further, accepting defeat. His gaze shifted toward the door where I stood, watching the scene play out. He straightened up in his seat and lowered the oxygen mask.
I stepped into the room, rubbing my arms. My mind was still reeling from how quickly the evening had turned bad. I’d had so much fun with Beau on our date, walking arm in arm through Ash Ridge as he gave me a tour after dinner.
When he drove me home, I’ll never forget seeing that orange blaze against the night sky and knowing in my gut something was horribly wrong. Beau gestured in my direction now.
“Callie agrees with me.”
I cast a sympathetic glance at Landon, knowing he wouldn’t like what I had to say.
“Beau is right, you know. You inhaled so much smoke. And those burns must hurt like hell.”
Landon shrugged, scrubbing uselessly at a smudge on his dirty jeans.
“It’s not too bad.”
Beau huffed and shook his head, muttering, “Stubborn bastard.”
“Well,” the medic cut in. “I’ve done everything I can. While we pack up the ambulance, you can decide whether you’re hitching a ride back with us to the hospital or not.”
After the medic gathered her equipment, I stepped aside so she could leave. Beau wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tucked me against him.
“Can you keep an eye on Landon? I’d like to have a chat with the firefighters before I wrangle him into the back of that ambulance.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said.
“You don’t have to do that,” Landon countered.
“Too bad,” Beau shot back over his shoulder. “You’re going. End of discussion. And if you keep complaining about it, I’ll hogtie you and gag you for good measure.”
When Beau was gone, I realized that I stood in my kitchen alone with Landon. He dropped his gaze, fiddling with the oxygen mask. I was tempted to reach out and trace the freckles scattered across his shoulders.
Finally, Landon cleared his throat.
“Are the…uh…are the horses okay?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, they’re fine. I’ve tied them up in the pasture for now. Blossom and Hera have a few burns but nothing too serious. Applejack’s breathing is still rough so I called the vet. He’s coming by later today.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. You’re welcome to house the horses at my place if you like.”
“I wouldn’t want to crowd you—”
