He watched from the shadows. She wouldn’t see him. Emma never had paid him much attention, never given him the credit he was due for the help he’d given her. She’d never admitted that he had good ideas. Of course, he couldn’t be too angry about it. She’d never agreed with anyone’s ideas, including his brother’s. Hell, she hadn’t even listened to her own father when he’d tried to tell her about the changes he wanted to make.

And now, he was going to have to force her hand.

He stared into the enclosure where the wolf paced nervously, whining slightly. It pissed him off that he wasn’t going to be able to jimmy the lock she’d placed on any of the entrances. To protect the damn animal, she’d purchased heavy-duty combination locks and he hadn’t brought his cutters on his last trip into the facility. Cutting the fence wasn’t an option. That wolf would attack him before he could get ten feet. Cana hadn’t liked any men before he’d gone to the rescue in Nevada, but keeping him locked in a small kennel, using sedatives and the choke collar, as well as a swat when necessary, to control him over the past year, had turned the wolf’s dislike to hatred and his uncertainty to fear, making him too dangerous to let loose.

So, he’d returned home to come up with a Plan B. It hadn’t been easy. It wasn’t even one he liked. If every detail didn’t go as planned, the entire thing would crumble. But he had to take the chance. For Conrad’s wishes. For the future of Sierra Tracks. For his brother.

Emma had to leave and this was the only way to make sure it happened. The doubts he’d planted around Hidden Falls weren’t working quickly enough. It was time to take drastic steps to make sure she was run out.

Slipping past the enclosure, he ducked behind several trees and headed for the back field, away from any of the animals, to the acreage they used to grow alfalfa hay for livestock. What they didn’t use for their own animals was sold to raise money for the sanctuary. Another of his brother’s ideas.

Lighting the match, he flicked it into the grass, watching it nearly smolder. It wasn’t as dry as most fields in their current drought conditions but it was dry enough. The ember caught and started to move up the stalks, reaching the leaves with a small burst of life. Just before it fizzled out, it caught another stalk, then another, moving it away from the facility, toward the foothills behind the property. He prayed the wind continued to move in that direction, carrying the flame away from the sanctuary.

He didn’t want anyone injured, he just wanted Emma’s future destroyed.

They don’t even need me here.

I need you, Emma thought as she read Ben’s text, the seventeenth in the past thirty minutes. She’d barely managed to finish all of her daily chores after he’d left because of the many texts he’d sent. There were a few telling her how bored he was, a couple mentioning how much he hated cleaning but the vast majority were about how much he wanted to be with her. Those were the ones that made her body sizzle, humming with anticipation.

It was odd for her to feel this way and, while it made her slightly uncomfortable, it also excited her beyond reason. It wasn’t just the newness of the feeling, it was the unique emotions flitting through her at random times. She’d enjoyed giving Ben new experiences but he was doing the same for her. She was looking forward to her first real nonsexual date with him the next day. —her couch with the movie and popcorn he was bringing back with him. While there was a good chance they would end up in her bed, there was no expectation.

A shiver of desire fluttered in her stomach and spread through her body, warming her to her toes. Okay, maybe a little expectation on her part.

She was in deep, deeper than she’d ever been with anyone before. It still frightened her in a “what am I doing, this isn’t me” kind of way but she was beginning to realize that being Emma Jordan had been lonely. She’d been on her own, shutting out everyone else, for so long that she was actually worried she didn’t know how to let anyone in. Then Ben showed up, finding weaknesses in her barriers that only he seemed to be able to breach.

Hang in there. Are you coming straight back here in the morning? I’m making plans for you.

She hoped he was. Desire curled in her belly, warming her. She’d be waiting for him in the kitchen with breakfast ready and nothing else on. Her phone vibrated with his return text almost immediately.

You’re a cruel woman, Emma Jordan.

Emma laughed as she slid her phone into her back pocket, hurrying toward the aviary. She had a lot to finish in the next hour, before she could quit for the night. The birds needed to be settled in and she still had to make sure each of the cages was locked tight. It had been a while since anything had happened but that lull was exactly why she double-checked every cage each night now.

The cloying scent of smoke caught her attention and she frowned, trying to figure out where it might be coming from. She scanned the horizon line, looking for even the faintest wisp but the sky was still clear, just fading to pink and orange as the sun began its rapid descent. She reached for the radio on her hip.

“Sadie, Monique?”

“Yeah, boss?” Sadie’s voice crackled through.

“I smell smoke. Do either of you have a clear view of the area behind the house and the outbuildings?”

“Shit!” Monique’s epithet came through clearly. “The alfalfa’s on fire.”

“Sadie, hit the sprinklers, drown that field. I’ll call the fire department.” Emma jerked her phone out of her pocket as Sadie responded, sounding out of breath, as if she was already running to do as Emma asked. The dispatch operator answered Emma’s call.

“I have a fire. My alfalfa field.”

“Ma’am can I have your address?” Emma provided it as the woman on the other end of the line sent her call through to the fire dispatch.

“I need you to stay away from the fire ma’am, but I also need you to answer some questions for me.”

“Okay.” Emma didn’t have time for this. She had animals to get inside before the fire got any closer to the facility. She had evacuation procedures for several of them, to get them off the premises. “Right now there are no structures threatened but I can’t see the fire from where I am.”

“How do you—”

“I can smell the smoke and one of my staff informed me where the fire is. We’ve already opened up the irrigation valves in an effort to quench the fire in the field itself.”

“I’ve sent out an engine. Is the fire threatening any lives?”

“Yes, my animals. I need to get everyone out. So just get a truck out here now.” Emma hung up on the dispatcher. She’d given them the information they needed. They’d arrive within minutes. She had no time to waste.

Emma ran to the house to get a clear view for herself. Thick plumes of smoke poured from the field, moving quickly as flames caught the top of the hay and jumped. She could see the irrigation spouts pouring water but it wasn’t fast enough as the flames licked their way past, moving toward the mountains. It was a small blessing but would be enough to buy her some time until the fire department arrived.

Before Emma could even finish her thought, the winds changed, twisting the flames in the air, carrying them into the sky and lifting the embers back toward the house, licking the tall pines along the way. Within moments, several trees were engulfed in flames, the dry needles burning like kindling. Emma stood, transfixed for a moment, paralyzed by the sight of the massive branches being consumed quickly by flames and then slowly as the embers traveled over the bark. It was frighteningly beautiful, seductively awful. A loud pop of fire meeting with tree sap snapped her out of her hypnotic state and she ran into her office to find the numbers of the many people she had on stand-by to transport the animals in case of emergency.

She’d sent a group text message out before calling the first name on the list—a local veterinary hospital—who would then call the next name until they had all been reached. Then she called Ben.

After several rings, it went to his voice mail. Did he know? Was his crew the one heading to her place right now? She quickly texted him the only message she had time for:

I need help saving my place. Hurry!

Sitting at the fire station was monotonous, until a call came in from dispatch. He slid his phone back into his pocket, desperately wishing he could be back with Emma, trying to alleviate his boredom while he was stuck here by fantasizing about what she might have planned for him when he arrived back at her place in the morning. But morning was still fourteen hours away and his fantasies were only engulfing him in unsatisfied longing, leaving his entire body burning for more.

When the alarm blared, tearing him from his thoughts of Emma, Ben jumped from where he’d been stretched out in a recliner. His body reacted completely out of instinct, hurrying into the engine bay and to his locker against the wall. He slid his feet into his boots, yanking his pants up and reaching for his jacket and helmet in one swift movement. Years of being on the department had made it possible for every one of them to be out of the station only minutes from the time the alarm sounded, and the Hidden Falls Fire Department was a well-oiled machine. As he was taking Angie’s place on the front line crew, he jumped into the cab of the engine, behind the driver and began settling his mind on what was to come when they arrived, listening to the information the dispatch provided over the radio.

Grass fire, ten acres, threatening structures nearby.

The captain responded that they were en route and their ETA of six minutes. Another engine would follow, due to the potential size of the fire but Ben prayed it didn’t spread. Years of drought had grass drier than ever this year, making fires even more dangerously unpredictable.

“Engine 3, be advised that we have just received a call that the fire is now heading back toward the house and animal sanctuary. Evacuation is currently underway.”

Ben’s heart completely stopped in his chest as the dispatch relayed the information. Emma!

He had to focus on his job, on what he could do to not only save her ranch but to rescue her. The dispatch recited the information about current weather conditions: seventy-eight degrees, sixteen percent humidity and winds variable, gusting northwest at ten to fifteen miles per hour. It was taking the fire away from the mountains, directly toward Emma’s house, the barns and his parents’ house before heading toward town. With the drought conditions they’d had for the past six years, this was devastation just waiting to happen if they didn’t get this under control before it hit the trees along the highway corridor. He knew his job, knew how much was at stake, but could only focus on the one thought circling his mind. Even as the sirens pierced his ears, Ben only heard two words in his mind, choking out every other sound—Save Emma.

“Emma.”

Spinning, she saw Jake running toward her. He was the last person she wanted to see and rage flooded her chest. “You son of a bitch! Ben was right? You are the one doing this, aren’t you?”

“What?”

Emma threw herself at him, ready to tear him to shreds with her bare hands. “How dare you come here? Don’t you realize what you’ve done?”

“What? No!” Jake shook his head, reaching for her wrists to keep her from killing him.

“Are you seriously trying to tell me you haven’t been behind all of this? The spray paint, the animals that just keep showing up?” She twisted her arms away from his grasp and shoved against his chest, knocking him backward. “You’ve been out to get me from day one.”

She ran for the front door. She didn’t have time for vengeance; she had to get the animals safely into their enclosures and sedate the most dangerous in hopes that transportation would arrive. Trailers should be arriving any moment for several of the larger, harmless animals like the two white-tailed deer she’d planned on releasing in the coming weeks. But, with animals like Wally or Buster, she had to tranquilize them and pray their specialized transportation arrived before it was too late.

“Emma, wait for me. I’ll help.”

“I don’t want your kind of help. You’ve done more than enough,” she yelled back, over her shoulder.

She didn’t want to hear his voice. What she wanted to hear were the sirens from the fire trucks, indicating their proximity. Instead, she only heard the eerie pop of the trees heating from the embers landing within the dry tinder and igniting.

“The sprinklers. Turn on the sprinklers around the enclosures,” Jake yelled, his voice nearly drowned out as he choked on the smoke the wind was now carrying into the facility.

She skittered to a stop and Jake, on her heels, nearly ran into the back of her. “The sprinklers,” she repeated, dumbly.

“Yeah, your dad installed them last year, because of the drought. The main is in the barn office.” Without waiting for her, he ran toward the barn. Emma followed, sprinting to catch up. “No,” he yelled back. “You go take care of the animals. I’ll do this.”

She looked back where the smoke now billowed from the field, creeping closer to the house. Turning on the irrigation system had helped keep the fire at bay but only until it had moved to areas the water hadn’t reached yet. It was too hot, too big and, without enough water pouring on the ground, it simply turned any water to steam before consuming everything in its path. She had limited time and even fewer hands to help. She had no choice but to trust Jake, the very same man she believed had caused this.

As if reading her mind, Jake shook his head. “Damn it! It wasn’t me, Emma. I wanted to run this place with you, not destroy it. Now go, or there’ll be nothing left for either of us.”

Against the voice of reason, the logic that said Jake was to blame, she placed her trust in him. Turning away, she bolted for the nursery, intent on saving the littlest, most vulnerable creatures first. As she reached the brick building, water rained down on her from sprinklers set high in the trees, plastering her shirt to her skin within minutes, just as she heard the sirens from the road.

The gate! It was shut, sealing out the people who needed in. “Jake!” she called as he came running out from inside the barn.

“Already on it!” He slid into the driver’s seat of the golf cart parked outside and headed for the front gate.

Emma ran into the nursery, glad she hadn’t yet found time to change the code, and found Monique already inside, placing animals into various travel crates and carriers.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked, her heart swelling for her volunteers who were willing to stay, putting themselves in danger to help.

“I’m fine. We’re good here,” Sadie said as she and Monique slid two orphaned opossums into one carrier and latched the door.

“We have quite a few of the cardboard carriers, but take a few to the aviary and get the birds out before it goes up, Emma.” Monique shoved two empty carriers at her.

She was right. The aviary was closer to the trees that were catching and filled with plenty of foliage that would light like a torch. Scooping up several more carriers, Emma ran to the building, heading for Winger’s cage first. Her heart was heavy but she knew the female could take care of herself, at least for a short time. Sliding her hand into the gauntlet, she carried Winger outside, releasing her into the sky to find a safe place to land until the threat of the fire was gone. She watched for a moment as Winger took flight, circling the facility before rising over the air currents and letting them carry her toward the foothills.

A tear slid silently down Emma’s cheek as she prayed the hawk would return, however, she couldn’t keep her here and risk her being burned alive. Running back inside, Emma headed for Mama Hoot and the owlet she’d become a surrogate to. She’d barely reached for the latch on the door when something jerked her backward, slamming her against the wall and knocking the wind out of her.

“You should have left when you had the chance. I tried, Emma. I really tried to not let it come down to this.”

Emma reached a hand to the back of her head and squeezed her eyes shut at the pain. Stars danced in her vision and she couldn’t quite focus, but she knew that voice. “Brandon?”

“You shouldn’t have come back, Emma. You’re not ready for this place. Jake was supposed to take over. It’s what your dad wanted.”

“No,” she groaned, bracing her back against the wall and forcing her body to stand. Sirens blared outside and she could hear them getting closer. “This is my home, my future. It always was.”

She squinted, seeing the blurry image of Brandon coming into focus slowly. She shook her head again. “You did all of this?”

“You just couldn’t see the vision of this place. Jake did. I did. Your father knew that. I’m just making sure his last wishes are fulfilled.”

“You did all of this so Jake could take over?”

“I had to get you to give up, to leave or be forced out.” He shook his head. “I like you Emma but you just didn’t know when to quit. Even with the entire town rallying against you. Not even when you almost got drugged trying to catch Buster.”

“You did that. You tried to shoot me, not Ben.” Pieces suddenly began to fall into place. “You were in the barn. You were watching. That dart came from your gun.”

“So? You’re a danger. To the animals, to this town and to yourself.”

“So all of this was to get me to quit? To try to make me run away with my tail between my legs?” Hot rage started to boil up within her.

Brandon closed the distance between them, his eyes reflecting the hatred he had to feel to cause this much turmoil. “I did this for my brother. I did this to help him realize his vision for what this place should be, not the amusement park you want to turn it into.”

Emma could hear the commotion outside as trucks parked and sirens blared. She could hear the voices of people barking orders, yelling as they tried to move frightened animals quickly. The thick acrid smoke was closing in which meant the fire was close, too close for people to remain on the premises and still be safe. She shook her head, defeat steamrolling her. In spite of the dying light of sunset, the inside of the aviary practically glowed as the fire surrounded the building. The heat making the enclosure nearly unbearable.

“You’re insane. You’ve put your ideals before the lives of these animals, or the people of this town. How many lives are you risking just to make a point?” She tried to shove her way past him but Brandon caught her by her upper arm and shoved her back against the wall, pressing her shoulder against the brick.

“No, I’m getting the job done. That’s what you always told me to do, remember Emma? When Jake or I would suggest something to make this place better? You’d tell us that doing it your way would get the job done. Now, I’m doing things my way. I’m putting Sierra Tracks first.”

Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt as she shoved him away. “By burning it to the ground, you son of a bitch?” He stumbled backward, his foot catching on the carriers. Emma took the opportunity to run to Mama Hoot and the owlet, forcing the panicky animals into the carrier.

The wooden door of the aviary jerked open as a firefighter ran inside with the nozzle of a hose, followed closely by another.

“Get out!” the firefighter yelled. “The fire is just behind the building.”

“No.” Emma wasn’t leaving without getting the rest of the birds out. The fireman reached for her arm as she saw Brandon bolt for the door. “He caused this.”

One of the other men grabbed Brandon by the arm. “Sir?”

Emma barely caught a glimpse of the firefighter dragging a flailing Brandon out the door. She didn’t have time to worry about him. The other man approached her.

“Ma’am, you need to get out.”

“I’m not going.” She could see the flames licking at one of the far walls, near where Winger had been housed. The entire air around her shimmered with heat, plumes of smoke beginning to fill the aviary. She rushed into one small room and scooped up a quail and her brood, dropping them inside. The only birds left were the two mallards that had adopted the sanctuary as their nesting place. She dropped both into the last carrier.

“Here,” she said, shoving the carrier at the fireman who’d just run in. “Take them to the truck outside.” She ran after him, wondering where Ben might be since all of the firemen looked the same in their turnout gear. “McQuaid, where is he?”

Several more firefighters ran along the outside of the building, illuminated by eerie orange, flickering light. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest; the fire had reached her sanctuary. While the animals were safe, this was the end of her father’s legacy and there was nothing she could do to save it now.

“Near those bigger cages,” the fireman said, waving toward the large animal enclosures where Buster and Cana were housed. “He’s fine. You need to get that truck out or, at the very least, closer to the main gate in case we can’t get this fire turned.”

Emma wouldn’t leave, not without Ben. And not when he was putting his life at risk. She couldn’t lose anyone else because of her career again.