Free The Stafford Collection, Historical Western Romances by Lynn Hubbard Page A

high strung at that. She didn’t know how the two bankers handled such horses.  Blaze, the dark red horse, kicked at the gate, wanting to escape. Solomon, the other visitor, was a dark brown color. His temperament reminded her of Troy.
    She missed Troy, since he now stayed with Brock most of the time. He was a fine horse. She’d thought about raising horses in the future and knew he would breed good stock. ‘His owner would breed well, too,’ a soft voice whispered in her mind. She barely saw Brock anymore either and, yes, she missed him too. She smiled recalling the day at the McAllister’s place when he held her close. His expression was hilarious as he realized that his body was responding to Will. Sabrina would have laughed if she wasn’t so tense.  Forcing herself to concentrate on her task, she shook her head to clear it.
    She would get no sleep this night. Blaze reared up on his hind legs as lightning struck nearby.  Climbing on the gate, she stretched up to reach his harness. She pulled him down and tried to get him under control before he hurt himself or one of the other horses.
    Crack! Another flash struck even closer.  Sabrina could actually feel the electricity in the air. This time all of the horses were flailing in their pens and Sabrina’s less sensitive nose eventually picked up what they smelled. Smoke. The lightning had struck the roof and the barn was on fire.
    Her first instinct was to open the stall doors and release the frightened horses, but without the barn doors open the frenzied horses would still be trapped inside and she would more than likely be trampled. Thinking quickly she ran to the main doors and threw them open. She released the closest horse, making sure she was behind the gate as the horse turned and ran in terror out of the livery and into the night.
    The barn was starting to fill with smoke. Apparently, the fire was spreading fast even with the torrential rain. The roar of flames sounded closer so Sabrina quickened her pace, releasing the next horse.
    Covering her face with her shirt, she next released Mr. Swanson’s old mare, Copper. Three down, one to go she counted automatically. She coughed as her lungs filled with smoke and begged for oxygen. It was very warm now despite the cold drizzle dripping from the ruined ceiling. Tendrils of flame and fiery ash rained down on her and Star, licking at the straw on the floor. She stomped out the ones she could as she concentrated on the latch at Star’s stall. In panic Star had struck the gate with her hooves, jamming the pin in the latch.
    Time seemed to stand still as Sabrina fought with the lock. She could hear nothing except for the crackling of the fire, the raging wind and Star’s screams of terror. Sabrina felt her energy waning as she coughed again, trying to suck air into her burning lungs.  She was starting to feel dizzy when someone grabbed her from behind. She was lifted up, and pulled away from the neighing horse. She had a flashback of a time not so long ago when her befuddled mind screamed out the first word she thought of: “Samuel!” He was again preventing her from saving the one she loved. In her mind, Star’s screams mingled with Lydia’s as Sabrina was pulled out of the barn and into the fresh air.
    She coughed, sucking air into her starved lungs. As her mind cleared a little, she fought the arms still holding her. Turning on her captor, she looked up beseechingly into Brock’s face.  “Let go!  Star’s still in there!”
    “It’s too late!”  Brock yelled through the wind and commotion. Townspeople were running around forming bucket brigades to stop the fire from spreading. Panicking, Sabrina kicked Brock hard in the shin, jolted loose, and dashed for the burning barn. She was fast but Brock was faster and he tackled her near the entrance. She screamed in horror as the barn collapsed in front of her.  Brock grabbed her by her belt and pulled her back to a safe distance.
    Spent physically and