He checked the Sinclair station as he walked around the side of the building to make sure there was no sign of vandalism like they'd seen the day before. Wildcat Bluff Fire-Rescue hadn't gotten a call about any more fires, but he still felt uneasy that the firebug hadn't been caught yet. If some kids were simply letting off steam, then the fires might stop as quickly as they'd started and they'd never know who'd caused them. That'd be okay by him, if that's the way it turned out, just so long as the fires didn't escalate or do more damage.

As he walked around to the back of the structure, he smelled smoke. He quickly glanced around the area but didn't see anything suspicious. Maybe somebody was burning trash or had a fireplace going and the wind had whipped the smoke in his direction. But he didn't think that was likely, not with the trouble Sure-Shot was having with fires. Worst of all, Lauren and Hannah were sitting out front in a vulnerable position.

And then he saw smoke curling out around the edges of the back door. He ran over there. The door had been jimmied open before being shut tight again. An old building like this one would draw in oxygen like a bellows and feed the flames fast and furious. Far as he could tell, he'd gotten to the scene pretty quick after the fire had started, but a dry building like this would go up fast.

No time to call in help. He was it. One lone firefighter to beat back the flames and try to save Sure-Shot.

But first, he had to make sure Lauren and Hannah got to safety.

Chapter 26.

Kent ran around the side of the building, hoping against hope that he'd be in time to control the blaze. He slid to a stop beside Lauren's SUV, saw her talking with Hannah, and pounded on her window with the flat of his hand to get her attention.

She quickly lowered the window, looking at him in concern.

"We've got a fire out back!"

"Oh no! What can I do to help?"

"Take Hannah to safety first." He glanced back at the structure and smelled smoke even stronger now. "I've got fire extinguishers in my truck. Good thing I had time to refill them after we used them at Bert's barn. Maybe they'll be enough. For now, get down to the Bluebonnet and tell Elsie to spread the word to the other business owners. If they've got extra fire extinguishers, maybe Elsie or somebody could bring them to me real quick."

"And I'll alert Wildcat Bluff Fire-Rescue."

"Good. A rig can't get here in time for the Sinclair station, but volunteers need to know in case the fire gets out of hand." He leaned down and pressed a fierce kiss to Lauren's lips. "Now get the h.e.l.l out of here."

She nodded, then backed up and headed toward downtown.

With Lauren and Hannah safely on their way, Kent's mind returned to the fire. He jogged over to his pickup and jerked open the back door. He quickly pulled on his fire-resistant yellow parka and made sure gloves were in one pocket. He pulled a face mask out of another pocket, jerked the mask over his head, and left it to dangle below his chin. He zipped his parka up to his jaw and pulled up the hood to protect his head.

Now he wore as much protection as he had with him, so he leaned back into his truck, grabbed the two professional fire extinguishers, and slung them over his shoulders by the straps. He selected a military-type spade, snapped up the handle, and tucked it under a canister strap. He didn't have a hose attached to a water source since the building was still closed, but he might make do with dirt to smother the flames if he ran out of juice.

He glanced down the street where Lauren had parked her SUV in front of the cafe and was just running inside. Perfect. He quickly walked over to the station and checked the front. So far, so good. The structure wasn't pumping smoke out of the cracks around the bay doors. Yet it was only a matter of time before a building so dry and drafty with such an oxygen-rich interior would feed the flames till there was no saving it. Far as he could tell, the structure hadn't reached that point yet.

He jogged around the side of the building, checking out the corrugated tin that lined the roof and sides. Metal would help stop the flames outside, but he figured the inside would be mostly flammable wood. When he reached the back door, he felt the heat of the blaze as more smoke oozed out around the door and windows.

He coughed from the smoke, then quickly pulled up his face mask and eased on his thick leather gloves. He eyed the back door. He hoped there'd be no blowback when he opened the door and introduced extra oxygen into the structure. He had to be fast, whatever he did now. He stood to one side so he'd be behind the door for a little protection. He wrapped his gloved hand around the old metal handle and jerked open the door. No flames rushed out at him, so he looked inside. Fortunately, sunlight and firelight illuminated the room enough so he could see what was going on.

Greasy rags-maybe gasoline soaked from the smell-had been stuffed into three old oil cans and placed underneath an old schoolhouse-type wooden desk that was built solid as a rock. If the desk had been made of pressboard or other flammable material, the fire would already have consumed the desk and leaped to other combustibles. As it stood at the moment, the desk was only now catching fire and sending up swirls of dark smoke.

He slipped one fire extinguisher off his shoulder, along with the shovel, and set them down on a bare dirt patch. He stepped up into the structure, shrugged the other canister off his shoulder, and aimed the nozzle. He started to lay down a chemical containment around the outer edge of the fire, working as quickly as possible against the hissing and spitting of a blaze that fought back. Soon a finger of fire escaped and leaped up toward the wall. He caught his breath, knowing that a single stray spark could end in disaster. He turned the nozzle upward and sprayed the blaze repeatedly until it gave out. He felt sweat trickle down his face as he exhaled in relief. If he hadn't been there at that very moment, the building most likely would have been lost to the fire.

But that extra spurt of chemical had emptied the can. He quickly moved outside, set the canister down, and picked up the full one. He glanced around to make sure no other flames were in evidence before he walked back into the building. He checked his surroundings again, but the fire hadn't spread from the original area. He sprayed a complete containment field around the desk to limit the fire's ability to jump to other parts of the structure. He worked fast until he quickly emptied the fire extinguisher. He needed another canister, but he didn't have one, so he'd have to go with his backup plan.

He stepped outside, set the empty can next to other one, then grabbed the spade and dug deep into the clumpy, black soil. When he had the shovel piled high with dirt, he carried it back into the building. He was relieved to see the containment area was holding back the blaze. He dumped dirt on top of each oil can until the fires sputtered, gained strength, then sputtered and went out, sending up dark, acrid-smelling smoke. He sighed in relief. The desk was smoldering, but he couldn't see any more flames.

He stepped outside again, jerked off his mask, and tucked it in his pocket. He stuck his shovel in the ground beside the canisters and bent over with his hands on his knees as he sucked in a deep lungful of clean air.

"Kent!" Lauren shouted as she ran over to him with a fire extinguisher hanging from a strap on each shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He stood up, shocked to see her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were safely away with Hannah."

"I was. But you needed help. Sure-Shot needed help." She set the canisters on the ground. "I brought more fire extinguishers."

He grabbed her around the waist, lifted her off the ground, spun her around in a circle, and held her tight as he set her back on her feet. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"I'm fine." She pushed back from him. "You're the one who has been in danger. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just catching my breath."

"That's a relief." She looked over at the station where smoke slowly curled out the back door. "What about the fire?"

"I caught it in time." He picked up one of the canisters she'd brought. "But I'm glad you brought more cans. We can use them."

"I'll help." She picked up the other full fire extinguisher.

"Come on." He quickly stepped back into the station and made room for her to join him.

"Looks like you did a good job with limited supplies." She walked over and examined the blackened area.

"I did my best." He pointed the nozzle of his can and sprayed chemicals over the dirt covering the oil cans. When he'd emptied the canister, he motioned for her to finish up the job.

She resprayed the containment area, slowly extinguishing the last of the glowing embers and putting a stop to the rising smoke.

He walked around the mostly empty interior of the structure to make sure he hadn't missed any wayward sparks that might later burst into flames. Everything looked okay.

"Thanks to your quick thinking, this Sinclair station still stands," Lauren said quietly, putting the empty can's strap over her shoulder.

"I'm glad we were here at the right time." He walked back to where she stood just inside the open door. "You helped, too. Thanks."

"Odd, isn't it? This building has been hit twice."

He nodded, not liking what her words suggested about the trouble in Sure-Shot. "The fires may be random, but it's beginning to look like somebody might have it in for this station or the family."

Lauren nodded in agreement, eyes dark with concern.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." He wanted her safely away from the stench and the destruction.

She quickly stepped outside and set her canister beside his empty fire extinguishers.

He followed her actions, keeping an eye out for anything that looked like it didn't belong or that might help solve the mystery of the fire.

"I don't know how you had time to take Hannah to Wildcat Bluff and get back here so fast," he said with a puzzled lilt to his voice.

She appeared a little guilty. "Hannah's drinking lemonade at the Bluebonnet."

"What?"

"She's safe there. I didn't want to scare or worry her by rushing her out of the area in a panic. And I knew you'd get the fire under control. It couldn't have been a big one or we'd have seen more indication."

"True, but you never know about a fire." He frowned at her, wishing she'd done what he'd asked and yet glad she'd returned with the extra canisters.

"Besides, I wasn't going to leave you here alone, not when Hannah could be safe at the cafe and I could retrieve her in a matter of minutes." Lauren stepped closer and smiled sweetly up at him. "I grabbed Elsie's extra cans and slipped away while all the business owners were pulling out water hoses and fire extinguishers in case they needed them."

He couldn't help but respond to her luring him out of his worry. "You know I appreciate it, but next time-"

"I'll be better prepared as a Wildcat Bluff volunteer firefighter, won't I?" She chuckled as she leaned in close to him.

"You bet." He put an arm around her slim body and pulled her close, giving her a hard hug as much in relief that they were all okay as in a promise for more later. She also sounded like she meant to get more involved in Wildcat Bluff, and that set his heart to beating fast in antic.i.p.ation of their future.

She snuggled against his body. "Guess I always wanted a cowboy firefighter of my own." She glanced up at him with a teasing light in her brown eyes.

"Guess you got one." He placed a kiss against her forehead, wanting to follow up on her words but knowing the time wasn't right. "For now, we'd better let folks know all is well here."

She sighed and moved back from him.

He pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket. "I'll call Sheriff Calhoun so he can come out and have a look. I'll also call Dune and ask him to come babysit the station till he's sure there's not going to be a flare-up. Plus, he's pretty good at spotting evidence."

"Good. Will Dune let Aunt Hedy know?"

"Sure. But don't you want to call her?"

Lauren shook her head, glancing away. "I'll call Elsie and she can tell the others that their businesses are no longer in danger."

"Okay." Kent wondered why Lauren didn't want to call Hedy, but he didn't figure it was any of his business. Anyway, the fewer calls they made the quicker they'd be done. He hit speed dial, reported the situation to the sheriff, and got Dune on the line while Lauren talked with Elsie.

When they were both done, he slipped his cell back into his pocket. As much as he wanted to stay close to Lauren, he needed to take photos and get a quick look around in case anything got disturbed later.

"Did you talk to Billye Jo?" Lauren looked at her phone, a puzzled frown on her face. "I tried earlier, but she didn't answer her cell."

"She'll probably be here any minute."

"I'll try again." Lauren punched in a number, listened a moment, then shook her head. "Still no answer."

"When she gets here, she won't like what she sees one little bit."

"But she'll like it a lot better than if she'd lost the building."

"True enough. Wait here a minute while I get my camera out of the truck." He quickly picked up the canisters along with the spade, then hurried out to his truck. He stowed the equipment away, jerked off the mask, and tossed it on the backseat. Finally, he picked up his camera and walked to the back of the building.

He searched the ground for something that didn't fit, but nothing caught his eye. He could see the area wouldn't be easy to investigate due to old detritus like rusted car parts, leaky cans, and shredded red work rags, but Sheriff Calhoun would need a report since the fire appeared to be arson. He took photos outside, then finished up inside.

"All done?" Lauren asked.

"Yep. I doubt there's much that will help us identify the firebug, but maybe something will give us a clue."

"I hope so."

A moment later, he heard the sound of a horse. He glanced up and saw a woman riding a bay across the field toward him. She led a brown-and-white paint pony.

"Now there's a welcome sight." He pointed toward the rider. "Looks like Billye Jo decided to ride instead of drive to meet us."

"Is that Hannah's pony?"

"I'd guess so."

"I'm so excited for my daughter."

"So am I."

She turned toward him, gave him a hug, and then ran to meet Billye Jo and the horses.

He couldn't help but smile at her happiness. No doubt about it, Lauren belonged in Wildcat Bluff County.

Chapter 27.

Lauren could hardly contain her excitement. She was about to complete a promise to her daughter. Back in Houston, this moment had appeared almost impossible. But in Wildcat Bluff County, just about everything appeared possible. She took a deep breath to control her emotions. With the danger of the fire and the sight of Hannah's pony, she was bouncing between extremes. If she wasn't careful, she'd appear to be riding a sugar wave like Hannah probably was at this very moment in the Bluebonnet Cafe.

She stopped her headlong rush and looked back at Kent just to savor the moment. They were doing this together, another something she wouldn't have been able to imagine in Houston. She simply couldn't ask for a better friend in Wildcat Bluff, or a friend so hot he set her internal thermostat on constant high. But thoughts like that were for later. Right now, she wanted nothing but horses on her mind.

She watched as Billye Jo set her mount to a trot, quickly swept across the open field, and pulled her bay-a reddish-brown horse with dark mane and tail-to a stop. She tossed a leg over her saddle horn, leaped to the ground, dropped the reins in a ground-tie, and strode over to them with a big grin on her face.

"Did somebody order up a paint pony?" Billye Jo gestured toward the brown-and-white pony that now stood beside the bay. "Meet Spot. She's a good little pony for a good little girl."

"Oh, she's beautiful!" Lauren exclaimed as she hurried over to the pony with a long white mane and tail.

"Spot doesn't bite, buck, or kick."

"Perfect," Lauren said.

Kent walked over and ran a hand down the white blaze on Spot's long nose. "Fine-looking animal."

"Thanks," Billye Jo said. "Spot belonged to a little girl who hated to give up her pony, but she'd grown big enough to need a horse. Now she just wants Spot to have a good home and a loving rider."