Page 41 of Dallas Rivals

We get him settled, but my heartbeat hasn’t slowed; it’s pounding in my throat, refusing to quit.

Mr. Walker turns to climb back up.

“What the hell are you doing?!” he shouts when I follow. “Stay with your family!”

“No! The animals⁠—”

“I’ll take care of it!”

I push past him, the wind slamming into me as I burst outside.

The door bangs against the wall like a gunshot.

“Cala!” His voice rips through the storm, raw and furious.

He grabs my arm, his hand burning hot against my wet skin.

“Go back!”

“I said no!”

I tear free and run toward the barns.

The night swallows me whole. Wind shrieking in my ears, dirt pelting my face, the scent of hay and ozone clinging to my breath.

Somewhere behind me, he curses and then I hear his boots hit the ground, chasing me into the storm.

In moments like this, the only thing to do is let the animals go.

It sounds cruel, but it isn’t—they’re safer out in the open than trapped in a barn that could collapse on them.

Out there, at least, they can run from the danger.

Mr. Walker and I head straight for the SUV, slamming our doors in sync.

Both of us know we’ll have to move fast.

The rain starts—thin and needling, not heavy yet, but sharp enough to sting.

Lightning splits the sky open; thunder crashes right after, deep and bone-shaking.

The air smells like iron, wet earth, and ozone—like the world’s been peeled open.

“Go to the barn. I’ll take the stables!” he shouts, flinging the door open.

We run in opposite directions, boots hammering the mud, wind tearing at our clothes.

My hair whips across my face so hard it burns, but I push forward, grab the latch, and throw the barn doors wide.

Goats and sheep bolt past me in a blur of white and brown.

I guide them into the open field, my throat raw from shouting, my pulse a drum in my ears.

From the corner of my eye, I see the cows running too—Mr. Walker’s driving them out, his silhouette flashing bright and dark between lightning strikes.

Our eyes meet for half a second across the chaos.

No words, just a spark of shared urgency.