Page 74 of Second Chance with the Rancher
She did the whole thing again twice more, with dread and despair filling the cavities of Nate’s chest with each passing second, then suddenly, Bruno’s legs twitched, his eyes opened and he struggled to sit up so he was no longer on his side.
“Oh thank God,” Mieka said, sitting back on her heels as Bruno got to his feet and went to lick her face. He was a crazy-smart dog—if not a bit of a delinquent when he was bored. He knew who’d saved him.
The dog’s different-colored eyes swiveled to Nate briefly before focusing back on Mieka, his tail wagging.
He gave Nate no time of day because he knew Nate had chickened out. Nate had hesitated, but Mieka didn’t hesitate at all. She went into the fire, ready to rescue.
What on earth possessed her to do that?
“Good boy,” Mieka praised, reciprocating Bruno’s affection and kissing his head. “What were you doing in that shed, Bruno?”
Triss ran over carrying a small oxygen tank and mask that she retrieved from the office. They needed it for insurance purposes because they ran a business. The same with a defibrillator, first-aid kit and a spine board. Nate, Asher, Triss and all the ranch hands were up-to-date on their human and animal first-aid, but all of that flew out the window for Nate when he saw the flames, apparently.
“Does he need this?” Triss asked, sliding down to her knees and holding out the oxygen mask.
Mieka held Bruno and placed the mask over his nose, but the dog shook his head trying to dislodge the mask. Eventually, she gave up. “I think he’s okay?”
“I’ll call Jacob and have him come take a look,” Triss said, pulling out her phone and standing up again.
Bruno finally left Mieka alone and trotted over to Nate, licking his face, as well, and rubbing his body against Nate’s legs. “Hey, buddy,” Nate said, tears pricking his eyes. “You gave us quite a scare.” He rubbed the dog’s fur affectionately and swallowed past the lump in his throat.
Scratching behind the dog’s ears, Nate glanced behind him to where Hank and Asher were still spraying the shed, even though no more flames or smoke seeped out.
“Thank fuck,” Nate murmured, kissing a smoky-smelling Bruno on the head. “Thank fuck you’re okay, buddy.”
He made sure Bruno stayed with Mieka before he stood up and went to check on the charred remains of the lean-to as the black, burned wood dripped and steamed.
“What do you think happened?” Hank asked, releasing his finger from the trigger on the spray nozzle.
“I bet it was that fucker smoking,” Nate murmured, enjoying the way rage replaced the fear inside his heart and the heat that encompassed it. He spun around and stalked back over to Mieka, placing his hands on either side of her face. “What the hell were you thinking?” His forehead pressed against hers. “You could have died.”
“But I didn’t,” she said, her hands making their way to his hips. “And you shouldn’t have had to run in there. That’s a fear you shouldn’t have to face. Not like that anyway.”
He shook his head and pinched his eyes shut as his brain wrestled with all the colliding emotions threatening to bury him alive.
“How did you know what to do?”
“I remembered what you did when Chance was born and not breathing, I figured it was pretty much the same for a dog. And I saw the gardening gloves and goggles hanging up in the main barn a few days ago when I was visiting the horses. Not sure why you need goggles, but I’m glad they were there.”
Fuck, this woman was something special. Something amazing.
“You could have died,” he said again. “I could have lost you.”
Her eyes flared, helping him realize what he’d just said. He released her head and spun around, breaking into a jog as he made his way around the barn to the muster point in the field.
It was easy enough to locate the fucker, since he’d lit right back up and was standing away from the majority of the crowd, sucking on another fucking cigarette. Nate didn’t stop and he just ran right up to the guy and punched him with a hard right-hook clear in the jaw.
The man fell backward into the grass, but somehow managed to keep his smoke between his fingers. “What the—”
But Nate was already on top of him, sitting on the man’s barrel of a stomach, straddling him. He was about to hit him again, but hands came up under his arms and hauled him off the bloody-faced man.
“Nate! For fuck’s sake, Nate stop!” Asher yelled, his voice barely breaking through the ringing in Nate’s ears.
Asher gripped him by the shoulders and shook him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“It was this motherfucker. I caught him smoking, told him to put it out, that we’re a non-smoking business. I know it was him. There is no other explanation. He tossed his fucking butts on the ground and nearly set the whole ranch on fire. Nearly killed my dog. Could have killed the woman I lo—”
Asher released him and spun to face the guy who was still on the ground. Then that stupid son-of-a-bitch had the audacity to put his still lit cigarette back in his mouth and inhale. His face dripped with blood, and yet he still smoked. Right in front of everyone.
