“Hang on, baby,” Cade rasped. “I’ll have you out of here in a minute.”
“Cade?” Her voice was weak, but she was awake. Then she started coughing and Cade started running.
Pieces of burning hay rained down on them in thick clumps and Cade ignored the intense heat on his back as he sprinted for the door. Fear spurred him on as another loud crack split the night, followed by a second, and a third, and then a deafening roar as the heavy weight of the hay broke through the burning second floor and crashed onto the lower level.
Cade fell to his knees, skidded in the snow, and tumbled over with Addie on top of him. They’d only just made it out in time.
Coughing, Addie slowly scrambled to her feet, her eyes on the blazing heap that had once been her barn.
“Are you both okay?” Cord asked as he came to stand beside Addie.
She nodded and coughed, but didn’t take her eyes off the disaster before them.
Cade stood and ushered them all farther from the flames. “Come on, let’s back up a bit.” He kept his raspy voice even, but fury brewed just below the surface.
They made it ten feet farther away when Addie spun around. “Dreamer!” she shouted as she tried to dash back the way they’d come.
Cade grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. She tried to break free, but he took hold of both of her arms and wouldn’t let go.
“Addie, he’s okay,” he shouted, trying to gain her attention, but she was too busy fighting to listen.
“Let me go! I’ve got to get him out.”
“Addie.” He shook her as gently as he could and her dark eyes burned with ire when they landed on his. She was pissed.
Well, that’s fine, he was, too.
“Let me go, Cade,” she said. “I won’t let an animal die like that.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Cade growled. “Dreamer’s fine. I freed him before I found you. Even if he wasn’t, I wouldn’t let you go back in there.”
Some of her fight had faded from her eyes as he spoke, but his last statement kicked up the flames once more.
She yanked her arms out of his grasp. “You wouldn’t let me?”
It didn’t appear as if she intended to endanger herself further, so he let her go.
“It’s not your place to let me do anything.”
“Oh, so I should’ve just left you and the stupid horse in there?” he asked, pointing at the burning remains of the barn.
“Stupid…?”
“Yes. Stupid. How stupid do you have to be to run into a burning, dilapidated barn? You almost got yourself killed. And me along with you. What the hell were you thinking?”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Cord back away, plainly wanting to stay clear of the new sparks that were flying.
Cade had no idea why he was shouting or why his body trembled with rage. Maybe it was the harshness of her words or the rebuke he read in her eyes. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“You didn’t need to come after me,” she shouted, seemingly as angry as he was. “This is my place, my responsibility. Not yours.”
“So I was just supposed to sit out here and wait for you to appear?”
“I just slipped and hit my head. I was awake when you walked in. I would’ve been fine.”
Cade snorted. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“Oh, so now I’m just the poor, helpless woman who needs a man to do everything for me?”
He blinked. Where did that come from?
“That’s not what I said.”
“Stop being a Neanderthal, Cade. I can take care of myself!”
Oh, that comment made his blood boil. “Maybe if you didn’t act like a reckless child, I wouldn’t have to be so protective.”
“You don’t need to be protective at all. You’ve made your decision. I’m not part of your future. Why are you even still here? You and your brother should go home.”
His heart clenched. “Is that what you want?”
“It’s what’s going to happen anyway, so why not?”
“It doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Just go, Cade. You’ll be happier there. Maybe you’ll even want to stay.”
Sirens blared from the driveway as Addie turned her back on him and folded her arms across her chest. He stared at the back of her head, stunned into silence.
This was not what he wanted. What did he have to do to get her to see that he cared about her, wanted to be with her?
Apparently, that didn’t matter. The fact that he’d risked his life to help her didn’t matter. He didn’t matter. Just as he’d always known.
It was like suffering through Jenny’s betrayal all over again, only this time there were no other men to take his place. She just didn’t need him, didn’t want him. Just like Jenny…
Addie had told him to go. No more discussion, no compromise, nothing. Just a dismissal.
It took a lot of effort to swallow the lump of disappointment in his throat and to straighten his sagging shoulders. Part of him wanted to shuffle over to his truck and take off—to get as far from her and his feelings as he could—but he wasn’t going to do that.
She’d told him to go, and he would, but on his own terms. He wouldn’t run like a beaten dog this time. No, this time, when he left, it would be with pride and self-respect. She’d helped him when he needed it. He’d help her through the next few days of cleanup, of prepping Jorje to take over for him, and then he’d say his goodbyes with his head held high and his dignity intact.
Chapter 29
Though Cade kept his speed down, his old truck handled the newly cleared roads with ease. The high hills of plowed snow that lined either side of the road, filled the irrigation ditches, and hid the flat open fields beyond as they slowly rolled by. They’d briefly stopped to check on her cattle and to throw out some hay for them
