Devil in Texass(77)

“Oh shit.” Jack’s heart constricted, like someone was squeezing it tight.

“That’s Liza!” Jess said in a frantic voice. “She’s been helping Ginger with a

website. They must be trapped in the attic, Jack!”

He’d quickly deduced that and was already hoofing it down the street, Lydia and

Jess trailing behind him. The glass door and the window on the first floor exploded and the smoke billowed out, along with flashes of tall flames. The shop owners on either

side rushed out into the street, likely because of the heat and smell created by the fire.

Jack spared a glance up at the window Liza and Ginger filled, leaning over the ledge as though gasping for fresh air. The attic must already be filling with smoke. He had to get them out of there!

Changing his direction, he dashed across the street to the opposite side, hearing

Liza call out to him, as though she thought he was abandoning her. His gut pulled tight and his pulse raced. He threw open the door to Mason & Sons Hardware and yelled at Eddie Mason, behind the counter. “Fire across the street—I need your tallest ladder!”

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One of Eddie’s sons, Chris, rounded the end of an aisle and said, “Got it!” He

headed to the back of the store as his brother came out of the stock room. The two men grabbed the ladder and followed Jack and Eddie out. They raced toward Ginger’s shop

and propped the metal ladder against the side of the building, raising it as Jack called up to Liza.

“Try to clear away all the glass, then cover that window ledge with something

thick, if you can find it.”

The last thing he wanted was for the women to slice themselves open on jagged

shards while he tried to rescue them. Liza disappeared, only to return a few seconds

later. She used the base of an unplugged lamp to break away the remaining glass,

clearing the sill. Then she helped Ginger heft a rug onto the ledge, tossing half of it over so they had something to protect their bodies when they climbed out the window.

Jack was already halfway up the ladder, Chris and his brother Carl holding the

metal frame steady for him.

He eyed where the top step of the ladder ended, ridiculously shy of the window.

He heard sirens coming down the street and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the fire department would be able to reach the women better than he could. But one glance over his shoulder dashed his hopes. It was just the police.

“Jack, you’ll never reach them!” he heard Jess cry out. “Don’t you have a taller

ladder?” This likely directed at Eddie.

Jack didn’t have time to change ladders. The smoke was filling the attic and seeping

out the window where both women leaned out, trying to pull in clean air.

He stared up at Liza and said, “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m gonna get you out of

there.” He reached the last rung just below the top step and balanced himself by

spreading his legs so his feet, ankles and calves were braced against the metal frame. He didn’t dare go any higher for fear the additional weight from one of the women would

sway the ladder. Or he wouldn’t be able to keep his balance.

His gaze still locked with Liza’s, he said, “You’re gonna have to help Ginger. I’ll

come back for you, sweetheart. I promise.”

“What?” Ginger squawked. “No! Absolutely not! Get Liza out of here first!”

Liza knew instinctively why he’d made the decision he had and he loved her for

being so in-tune with him.

She turned to Ginger and said in a calmer voice than he’d thought she could muster

given the urgency of the situation, “You’re a good five inches shorter than me, Ginger.

He’ll never be able to reach you. You’re going to have to climb over the ledge and let me lower you down to him.”

“You can’t hold me!”

Liza nodded. “You’d be surprised at how strong I am. Isn’t that right, cowboy?”

“That’s right, darlin’. Now, Ginger, I need you to hurry, sweetheart.”

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Ginger gave him a panicked look as she eyed the huge distance between her and

him. But in the next second, she was climbing over the window sill as Liza gripped her wrists. Leaning out the window, Liza started to lower Ginger’s body, which dangled

along the side of the building.

Jack reached up, stretching as far as he could go. Wrapping his hands around

Ginger’s calves, he looked up at Liza. “Little more, darlin’.”

She groaned. “Little more and I’m coming with her.” But she stretched further, just

enough for Jack to get a firmer grip on Ginger. “Let her go.”

“Oh shit!” Ginger said. “Jack Wade, you’d better not drop me!”

“Doing my best.”

Liza let go of her wrists and Ginger slid down the wall into his arms as his hands

moved up her body. Her booted feet landed on the top step and he had just the right

leverage to hold her steady as the ladder swayed.

“Hang on there, Ginger,” he said, needing her to stay still until the metal frame

steadied. Then he helped her down a rung, then another, until he could pull her against him and keep her stable.

When he spared a glance up at Liza, she was assessing the fire behind her. Her head

whipped back to the window. Their gazes locked. She mouthed the word hurry.

“I’ll be right there, darlin’.”

Then he looked below him to the spectators gripped with the same fear he felt.

“Someone help her,” he said of Ginger’s shaky descent.

“Ladder won’t hold much more weight,” Eddie warned.

“I can help her,” Lydia said as she stepped forward and started to climb the ladder.

“I don’t weigh as much as you men.”

Chris helped her up with a hand on her elbow until she was out of his reach.

“You okay?” Jack asked Ginger.

She nodded. “Just can’t seem to get my trembling fingers to work.”

“Let Lydia help you down. Slowly.”

She stayed put, her arm wrapped around a rung, as Jack moved back up the ladder.

In the distance, he finally heard the sound he’d been waiting for. But he couldn’t

abandon Liza and hope the fire crew got to her in time. The attic would burst into

flames at any moment now, he feared, and she was already coughing and hacking from

the smoke inhalation.

He moved carefully up the ladder so as to not shake it while Lydia and Ginger

climbed down. When he was positioned again, he looked up at Liza and said, “Take

your shoes off. Those heels won’t help you. You’ll slip when you land.”