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  “Hey, you made it!” a familiar voice called from behind.

  Kelly turned to see friends Lisa and Greg loading boxes into the back of a green truck. A horse trailer with two alpacas was hitched behind. “Where are we taking the alpacas?” Kelly asked as she raced over to her friends.

  “To that woman’s ranch in Poudre Canyon,” Greg said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He dumped the box into the flatbed.

  “She’s a friend of Jayleen’s who lives up the Poudre. Andrea something. She and that guy were here when we drove up.” Lisa wiped a bandanna across her face, smearing the dirt. Even Lisa’s light blonde hair looked darker, dingy, Kelly noticed.

  Kelly looked over at the man and woman who were loading a skittish alpaca onto a trailer. Or rather, trying to. The man, who was wearing a KISS concert tee shirt, appeared unsure of how to handle the alpaca as it danced sideways, clearly frightened by the smoke and smell and confusion. He grabbed for the rope and Kelly noticed a tattoo on his arm. The woman took the rope lead from his hands and started talking to the alpaca, soothing the animal so she could load it safely inside the trailer. When she moved to the side, Kelly spotted a similar tattoo on the woman’s arm that looked like a dragon. She figured they must be a couple if they had matching tattoos.

  “Kelly, I’m going to grab more of Jayleen’s things from the house. We can fill up the back of my truck before we head out.” Steve started toward the ranch house.

  “I’m gonna grab another load,” Greg said. “This will be the only run we can make out of here. Cops are gonna close off the canyon road if they haven’t already. You should grab another load, too.” He nodded to Lisa.

  “Yeah, in a minute.” Turning to Kelly, she started to say something, but broke into a cough instead. “Man, the smoke is getting worse. You guys need to load up everything you can and head back. We can meet up once we’re out of the canyon. I already talked to Megan and Marty.” She coughed again.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Kelly said as Lisa took off for the ranch house. Kelly’s eyes stung already, and she felt the acrid smoke burning her nostrils as she breathed.

  The ranch yard was a riot of noise and people. Megan was carrying a box from the ranch house. Marty was loading an alpaca into the trailer behind the faded blue pickup. People she didn’t know were on the ranch porch. She spotted Jayleen standing in the corral surrounded by alpacas. Kelly noticed there were a lot fewer animals than usual. Thank goodness. Friends rushing to Jayleen’s rescue were thinning the herd. She scanned the remaining alpacas and didn’t see her six animals. Jayleen must have sent them earlier when Curt’s relatives came to help transport them to his ranch.

  Curt stood next to the corral fence, clearly giving orders to people. He waved at Kelly, then handed off an alpaca to a bearded man and pointed toward her. The bearded man started walking Kelly’s way. He was wearing a faded Springsteen concert tee shirt. She smiled. What was it with the concert shirts? She didn’t spot any tattoos unless they were hiding under his beard.

  “Are you Kelly?” the man called as she approached.

  “Yes, I’m here with the guy in the green CSU tee shirt,” she said.

  The man glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, yeah, Steve. He was already here when I drove up. Said you were coming with the trailer. Which one is it? Curt wants me to load for you.”

  “The red one,” Kelly managed before she coughed several times. She pointed toward Steve’s truck.

  “Yeah, it’s gettin’ pretty bad out here. Cops will be starting to chase people away soon.”

  “You mean evacuate?” Kelly said, as they walked toward Steve’s truck.

  “Yep. I live up Poudre Canyon, and that’s what happened last year with the Crystal Lakes fire. People were all told to get out. We were lucky with that one.”

  “This is it,” Kelly said, and opened the trailer’s back doors.

  “Hold him for me while I set up the ramp,” the man said, handing Kelly the lead to the gray alpaca. It looked like Jayleen’s Gray Ghost.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Kelly soothed the animal, whose anxious gaze told her how frightening this situation was for gentle creatures who lived simply in the beautiful mountain scenery, grazing on grass surrounded by its fellows. Alpacas were herd animals and did not like being separated.

  “Okay, here you go,” the man said as he took the gray’s lead again and beckoned the hesitating alpaca up the trailer ramp.

  Kelly finally realized where she’d seen him before. When he mentioned he lived “up the Poudre” she remembered seeing him a year ago when she and Jennifer were meeting in a real estate client’s cabin. This man was the “shaggy guy” Kelly had seen hiding in the bushes outside, spying on them. Burt said he was the neighbor next door.

  Since she couldn’t remember his name, she decided this was a good time to find out more about this guy. “Thanks so much,” Kelly said as the man walked down the ramp. “What’s your name? Jayleen has lots of friends.” She held out her hand. “I’m Kelly Flynn.”

  “Dennis. Dennis Holt,” he said, giving Kelly’s hand a quick shake.

  Deep blue eyes, she noticed. And a firm handshake. Rough hands. Outdoor hands. Steve’s hands used to be rougher, before he started working down in Denver. “Do you have alpacas, too? On your ranch in the Poudre?”

  “Only a few. Used to have more when my wife and I were still married. But she’s got most of them now.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the brunette woman and man loading a second alpaca into their horse trailer. The woman was stroking the head of a skittish younger caramel brown alpaca.

  Kelly didn’t know the woman or the man with her. But Dennis Holt’s comment aroused her curiosity. “Is her ranch up the Poudre? Is that where Jayleen wants us to take the alpacas?”

  “Yep.” He nodded his head. “Andrea’s got a big pasture. There’s plenty of room. I can only add a couple to my little herd since I have less pasture at my place. But I’m right near the water.” He gave Kelly a smile.

  Nice smile. It softened his bearded features and he no longer looked shaggy and scary. Amazing how a simple smile could accomplish that, Kelly thought. “Boy, are you lucky. I love going up into the canyon and just sitting on a rock beside the Poudre.”

  Dennis grinned. “You got that right, Kelly. Let me load another alpaca, then you folks can head out of here. Oh, you could check inside the house and see what else needs to be taken out. Some of Jayleen’s friends are helping to load up stuff.”

  “Sure thing.” Kelly followed Dennis across the ranch yard, then stopped when Greg and Lisa pulled in front of her in the green truck.

  “Hey, let’s meet up outside of Landport,” Greg said, leaning out the truck window. “One of the fast-foods on North College. Grab something to eat and get gas before we head up the Poudre. Sound okay?”

  “Yeah. I’ll tell Steve. Drive safely,” Kelly said as she waved them off. The horse trailer rattled and shook, moving side to side a bit, she noticed uneasily. Oh, boy.

  She looked around, searching for Steve, then spotted him dumping a box into the back of Marty’s faded blue pickup. He looked up and beckoned.

  “Hey, I saw that guy loading alpacas into our trailer, so let’s start putting stuff in my truck. We’re trying to empty out Jayleen’s file cabinet, just in case.”

  “Thanks, buddy, I think we’re gonna head off,” Marty said, looking around. “Have you seen Megan?”

  “Yeah, she’s inside.” Steve coughed, long and deep.

  “Whoa, you need to get out of here,” Kelly said. “Let me grab some boxes inside and start loading. This stuff is getting thick.”

  “Yeah, it is. We need to grab what we can and head out. Did Greg talk to you, Marty?”

  Marty nodded, then waved to Megan. “Yeah, we’re meeting at the fast-food plaza on North College,” he said, then waved. “Hey, Megan! Let’s get going now
!”

  “See you down below,” Kelly called over her shoulder as she and Steve headed for the ranch house.

  Just then, Curt started walking their way. “You two better get on that road. Get those animals to Andrea’s,” he said as he approached. “We moved your alpacas first, Kelly. My daughter and son-in-law both brought trailers, and they took four of yours. I’m carrying the last two with me. We’re gonna put them all in that front corral at my ranch along with Jayleen’s animals. My sister hauled off two of them, and Jayleen will take the two that are left.”

  Kelly spotted Curt’s truck and peered at the rear ends of two alpacas showing in the back. “Looks like you’re carrying my smoke gray and the cinnamon brown.”

  “Yep. I’m gonna fence off a separate pasture for all of them.”

  “Let us know when you get to your ranch, Curt,” Marty called through the truck window as he and Megan started down the driveway.

  Curt waved and nodded in reply as the truck spit gravel.

  “We were going to get more of Jayleen’s things from the house,” Steve said.

  Curt’s face was smeared with dirt and soot like Steve’s. He reached out and clamped his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “You’ve already done more than your share, Steve. Jayleen and I couldn’t have gotten those animals loaded as fast as we did without you. Now, you and Kelly get the hell out of here.”

  Kelly glanced over at Jayleen, who was leading a younger alpaca up the ramp of her truck trailer. “How’s she doing, Curt?”

  “Okay, once we got to the ranch. It was the not knowing that was killing her.” He wiped his sweat-drenched shirt-sleeve across his forehead. “Once she saw the animals were still okay, she came back to herself. Saving the animals was all that she cared about. Those are her babies.”

  Steve stared at the ranch house. “Damn. I’d hate to see this place burn. But I swear if it does, I’m going to rebuild it for her.”

  Curt gave a crooked smile. “Now, don’t you go worrying about that, Steve. Right now, you two have got to get out of here safely. Police will start evacuating people real soon.”

  “You’re sure you’ve got enough trailers for the animals?” Kelly craned her neck. Jayleen was loading another alpaca.

  “Yeah, thanks to Dennis. He brought his trailer and that was nine trailers loaded. We’ll worry about the ones up at the Wool Market later. I already talked to Burt and he and Mimi are gonna keep the kids with them at Estes Park overnight at a motel. And they’ll be on duty tomorrow until Jayleen and I can get up there. Bless their hearts.”

  “You’re going to have a long drive back to your ranch,” Steve said, shaking his head. “With Stove Prairie Road closed by the fire, you’ll be going all the way back into Fort Connor then south then west again to get back to the lower Buckhorn Valley.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be a long ride, for sure. My daughter’s already there with the rest of the grandkids, finding places for the animals. Bringing in Jayleen’s things. It’s going to be a busy night, so I sure am glad Burt and Mimi are taking care of things in Estes Park.”

  The sound of another car pulling up into the ranch yard caught Kelly’s attention, and she turned to see Connie Carson from the Lambspun knitting shop jump out of her small black sedan and stride across the ranch yard. She looked like she was headed toward Jayleen’s alpaca rancher friend, Andrea, who was opening the door to her navy blue truck, clearly getting ready to drive away. Her male friend stood on the other side of the truck and was staring wide-eyed at Connie.

  “YOU! I knew he was with you! You bitch!” Connie yelled, face red, arm outstretched as she pointed at Andrea. She reached out and pushed Andrea.

  Clearly caught off guard, Andrea stumbled backward a little, but quickly caught herself. She stepped toward Connie, shoving her hand out. “Back off! Get away from me!”

  “What the hell? That’s Connie!” Steve stared, incredulous.

  “Good Lord. That’s the last thing we need,” Curt said and hurried toward Connie and Andrea, who were both yelling at each other.

  “You get away from me!” Andrea warned, pointing her own finger at Connie. “Back off! We’re trying to help Jayleen. Go have your nervous breakdown somewhere else.”

  At that, Connie stiffened and let loose another expletive, then charged toward Andrea again. But this time, Curt grabbed Connie around the waist and pulled her away from Andrea before Connie could get to her. Kelly noticed that Andrea stood her ground and didn’t move. The man with her stood beside the trailer and watched wide-eyed.

  “That must be Connie’s husband,” Steve said. “Did you know that they broke up?”

  “No, I mean, not officially. Connie’s always made it sound like they fought a lot but always made up. So, this is news to me.” She shook her head. “Man, this is a bad way to discover your spouse is out with another woman.”

  Jayleen climbed over the corral fence and raced over to where Curt held a struggling, furious Connie, who was still shouting accusations at Andrea.

  “We were getting back together! Then you interfered! You bitch! You have no right!”

  “Connie, calm down,” Curt said, keeping her trapped in his embrace.

  “It’s her fault! Jim and I were getting together . . .”

  “Shut up, Connie!” the man yelled suddenly, his face red. “That’s a lie and you know it! We haven’t been together for six months!”

  Connie looked stunned for a moment, then yelled back. “No! No!”

  Jayleen stepped between Connie and Andrea then. “You two better get going,” she said over her shoulder to Andrea, then turned to comfort Connie.

  Andrea and Jim got into the navy blue truck and revved the engine, then drove slowly down the gravel driveway. Once again Kelly watched a horse trailer sway behind a truck. Slower this time, since two alpacas were aboard.

  Connie suddenly burst into tears and buried her face in Jayleen’s shirt. Jayleen patted Connie on the back as Curt released her. A personal tragedy or melodrama, in the midst of all this chaos and impending disaster.

  “I think we’d better do the same,” Steve advised, pointing to his truck. “Cops are going to start clearing folks out, if they haven’t already. Roads will be clogged.”

  Kelly and Steve swiftly walked past Connie and Jayleen. Kelly did reach out and give Jayleen’s arm a squeeze. Like one of Mother Mimi’s reassuring gestures.

  “Call us when you get to your ranch,” Steve called to Curt as he and Kelly climbed into the red truck. Curt gave them both a thumbs-up as Steve revved the big engine.

  “Traffic will be a nightmare,” Kelly predicted as they started down the gravel driveway, slowly.

  “Ohh, yeah.”

  Two

  Later Saturday afternoon

  Steve turned his truck into the crowded fast-food plaza located in northern Fort Connor. Greg, Lisa, Megan, and Marty were already parked beside one of the familiar fast-food restaurants located in the plaza. Kelly climbed out of the truck the moment it pulled to a stop.

  “Whoa! I never thought we’d get off that road,” she complained, leaning over toward the ground in a big stretch. “Traffic is really slow going with all the cars and trucks on the canyon road.”

  “Bumper to bumper for an hour,” Megan said as she leaned against the faded blue pickup and sipped from a soda can. “Everyone is evacuating the canyon now.”

  A steady stream of traffic was turning from the road that led into north Fort Connor from Landport, the small town that sat on Fort Connor’s northwestern edge. A main highway ran through the town, branching off for Bellevue Canyon, then continuing farther northwest to the Cache La Poudre Canyon.

  “Man, every firefighter in northern Colorado must be here,” Steve said as he stretched his arms over his head. “I even saw National Guard guys in Jack’s Supply parking lot.”

  “Yeah, my cousin is in the National Gu
ard unit here, and I betcha they’re called in soon. The Armory’s over on West LaPorte Avenue,” Marty said, a slice of pizza in one hand and a soda in the other.

  “The fried chicken is good,” Lisa said, motioning to a familiar logo. “Greg’s getting a whole bucket, so there’ll be plenty.”

  Kelly’s stomach rumbled. “Yum. Fried chicken does sound good. I may snitch some.”

  “Why don’t I just buy us some,” Steve suggested. “Who knows how long it will take us to get these animals taken care of at that ranch up Poudre Canyon. Andrea said it was a few miles before Poudre Park, on the right. Yellow ranch house set behind the corrals. What do you want to drink, Kelly?”

  “Iced coffee would be great. Fried chicken sounds good. Looks like Greg is enjoying it.” She pointed to Greg as he approached, holding a large plastic bucket of fried chicken with one hand while he munched on a chicken leg he held in the other.

  Steve grinned. “That’s a recommendation. Why don’t you catch them up on the soap opera that started before we drove off,” he said, then headed for the red and white building down fast-food row.

  “Ooh, that does look good,” Lisa said, taking a crispy brown chicken breast from the bucket. “Thanks, hon.” She gave Greg a kiss. He had already polished off the chicken leg and was devouring a large crispy piece.

  “What soap opera was that?” Megan asked, lifting a slice of pizza from the carton that lay open on the truck.

  “Oh, brother, I can’t believe it,” Kelly said, brushing hair away from her forehead. There was less smoke down here in town, but the acrid smell was still in the air. “Connie from the shop came driving up Jayleen’s driveway, jumped out of her car, then started screaming at Andrea Holt, Jayleen’s rancher friend. Calling her names and yelling and even shoving her. Andrea caught herself before she fell over. But Connie was spitting fire. Accused Andrea of stealing her husband. That was the guy with Andrea.”

  “Whoa!” Marty said, before diving into another pizza slice.