Page 46 of Maggie’s Match

He glanced over at her. “Too good for it?”

“Damn right I am,” she said with a chuckle.

“Okay.” He nodded. “Then I’ll build you a palace. All princesses deserve to have one.”

She cupped his face and kissed him. “So do princes.”

The way she kissed him, he doubted they’d return to the warmth and comfort of the house anytime soon. This time, instead of speed, they slowly enjoyed one another until, like before, they were lying breathless in one another’s arms.

“It’s probably past midnight.” Maggie sighed against his chest.

“Yeah,” he agreed as he pulled a bit of hay from her hair. “Good thing this hay is soft.” He wiggled to remove a few pieces of straw that were poking him.

Maggie sat up and glanced around. “Let’s go inside. I need sleep.” She yawned. They pulled their clothes back on and headed outside.

The moonlight lit up the fields and flooded into the barn when he opened the doors. There were a few security lights around the property, enough that they could easily make their way towards the house.

They had just exited the barn when a light across the field caught his eye. Stopping, he squinted and realized that the light was near the food storage barn.

“Shit,” he said, getting Maggie’s attention. “Go in and wake your uncle and Bent, but tell them not to turn on any lights.” He nudged her towards the house.

Maggie glanced over to where the light had just disappeared. “What?” she said, on guard.

“Go, someone’s messing with the feed barn. I’m heading out there…”

“Like hell you are.” Maggie frowned at him.

“Maggie, I don’t have time to argue. Go.” He nudged her and then took off in that direction. He ran as quietly as he could in cowboy boots.

When he was a few yards away from the building, he slowed down and walked the rest of the way, trying to get his breathing back in check.

Damn, he needed to run more often, he thought as he approached the large barn that held most of the fresh hay and grain for the animals on the ranch.

Glancing towards the house, he noticed a new dim light on inside and knew that Maggie had done as he’d asked. He doubted whoever was messing with the grain and hay inside would notice it.

The barn door was cracked open, and he easily shifted past it to step inside without opening it further. His eyes had already adjusted to the dark outside, but in the barn it was pitch dark, and he had to blink a few times to get his bearings.

He’d only been inside the storage barn twice since being on the ranch. Still, he remembered where everything was, or at least thought he did.

When he bumped into a ladder a few feet inside, he held in a curse at the soft sound his boot made hitting the wood.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed from the back of the building. Whoever was inside was in the back and probably knew that he wasn’t alone anymore.

Just then, the front door he’d just stepped through slammed shut behind him. There was another bright light as the back door was opened and shut. For a split second, he saw the silhouette of a man standing in the doorway.

He jumped and then jerked around when a whooshing sound filled his ears. Then a ball of heat hit him so hard, he flew backwards and landed on his side in the gravel.

He tasted blood and fire. His wrist stung and ached, but he didn’t stop to assess the damage. Instead, he army crawled towards the front door, but when he got there, he found that it was locked.

Whoever had set the fire had seen him and waited to lock him inside. Two of them, he thought as he banged on the door, coughing as the smoke filled the barn. One person at the back door to start the fire, one at the front to lock him inside.

Were they still out there? he wondered as he tried to find another way out of the inferno. The heat grew closer to him and the flames licked at his feet, consuming all the little bits of hay and grain that covered the dirt floor.

At this point, the entire loft was ablaze. The bales of hay, the large plastic bins, and the buckets of grain were all melting.

At least there weren’t any animals inside, he thought as he ripped off his shirt and covered his face with it.

It had grown too smokey inside to see now, and he knew that any chance of escaping lay with Maggie and her family. Would they get there in time?