Buried Flames (3 page)

“Don’t do this…”

Mason closed his eyes at the despair in Brenna’s voice, unable to walk away from her now. He was already berating himself for the action he was about to take, but he took a step toward her anyway. He slowly reached out with a hand and lightly ran his fingertips down her unblemished sun-kissed face, doing his best to memorize every line and curve of her features.

Brenna had been his everything back before he’d been wounded and she had absolutely no idea how those memories had carried him through some of the most harrowing days of his life afterward. He brushed his thumb over her lower lip, remembering the softness and warmth from when he used to kiss her. It had been so long ago, and it wouldn’t be fair of him to take another taste. He forced himself to do the right thing and gave her an encouraging smile before dropping his arm and stepping back.

“Good luck. You’ll have a better chance with them, Brenna.”

Mason turned on the heel of his boot and walked toward the driver’s side door, purposefully not looking back. It was bittersweet to leave the same woman twice, even if both times had been under far different circumstances. He was doing what he thought best for them both, just as before. Their lives were meant to be on different paths and he’d come to terms with that a long time ago.

“I won’t need luck, Mason,” Brenna called out determinedly from where she still stood by the horse trailer, her entire demeanor changing on a dime. His shoulders tensed at the tone of her voice, already knowing what she was going to say and just as firm in his stance as she was in hers. They were about to come face to face with a battle of wills. “I’m going with you.”

“L
ike hell, you
say,” Mason barked, turning on a dime and facing Brenna with his usual frown. The small tender moment they’d shared had apparently been fleeting and she was once again presented with the eternally determined man who lived on the next farm over from hers—one who’d existed but not lived since his return from the war. His dark gaze zeroed in on hers with a frightening fury. “You’re going to get into your truck, drive to your own place, pack what you need to survive your journey, and then leave with everyone else like I told you to do. Be smart, Brenna. You don’t know me anymore.”

Brenna narrowed her eyes in fortitude at the directive Mason had just delivered. That was the difference between the young man who’d left Harpersfield and the stranger who had returned years later. She’d fallen in love with a bad boy back in her sophomore year of high school, but he’d always treated her as if she were spun out of gold. Now? He regarded her as if she were just like
everyone else
. Nothing she said or did ever got through to the man she knew was still just beneath the surface. Right now, Brenna had more to worry about than the hidden feelings she’d kept smoldering under cover.

A natural disaster had all but brought the world to an end. Brenna still hadn’t quite comprehended the complete danger civilization was facing, even with Mason spelling it out word for word. She’d done her best not to show the fear running through her veins, but it was damn hard to hear the truth about what was coming and hadn’t quite arrived yet.

There would be people who stayed and would try to work it out, however, this wasn’t a winter storm that would pass in a week. The cold long winter that was promised would last for years. Those who stayed would die from some sort of calamity—starvation and lack of clean drinking water would be chief among them.

Mason had practically commandeered the residents of Harpersfield when he’d stormed into the diner with his impending announcement. He usually kept to himself, so it was quite a shock to see him giving directives on what everyone should do if they wanted to live to see next week. Honestly, she was relatively certain most of the townsfolk were terrified of him and his declaration hadn’t helped to belie their trepidation.

“Smart? According to you, there’s a special place in Washington that will afford us both everything we might need to survive this,” Brenna said somewhat sarcastically, walking around the back of the trailer to leave him wondering what she was doing. She now knew he’d been telling the truth about the natural disaster, but that didn’t mean he was thinking clearly. If his so-called friends said he should jump off a bridge, would he do it? That’s what had her concerned. She raised her voice so he could hear her over the vehicle. “I’d say the smart thing to do is travel with you to this extraordinary place of salvation that the government doesn’t even know exists. We would stand a better chance of survival at this refuge, right?”

Mason muttered something about Brenna being the same as she was way back when. She took that as a compliment and allowed her anger to take over. It was a hell of a lot better lashing out at Mason than succumbing to the panic trying to rake her over the coals.

Brenna yanked on the handle and swung the passenger door open with its traditional squeak, setting the gasmask and the beat-up cardboard box of filters on the seat. She figured Mason wouldn’t be too pleased with her decision to join his expedition, but it was the only way for her to get through to him. She just hoped he wouldn’t call her bluff, because purposefully traveling in the general direction of a massive ash cloud wasn’t something she wanted to do in reality. She curled her trembling fingers into the palms of her hands, willing herself to do what she had to in order for him to see the reason of her argument.

“Listen to me very carefully, Brenna,” Mason ordered as he came around the front of his truck in a rush. “These men I served with saved my life on more than one occasion in conditions you couldn’t even imagine in your worst nightmares. I returned the favor tenfold and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again at the drop of a hat. You don’t know what this will be like and I don’t have time to explain it to you.”

“You can explain it to me on the way then,” Brenna instructed with false bravado, pushing the items aside as she climbed into the cab. Couldn’t he see it was nothing more than a bluff on her part and a death wish on his? Is that what he wanted? God knows he spent every waking hour working a ranch that produced nothing but scrawny stock, half-wild barn cats, and chickens only fit for the fryer. It was wasted space in terms of production and underutilized acreage, but it meant something to him. She wasn’t being obtuse. This place gave him peace, but just because he had to leave it didn’t justify him taking the path that guaranteed his death along with his place here in the wilds of the once Great Plains. “I’m ready.”

“You’re absolutely not…fuck!” Mason shouted as he turned away from her, placing his hands on his waist in frustration. Brenna clenched her jaw and blinked back the sting of tears at his reaction. It wasn’t her intention to get him all worked up, but she wouldn’t stand by and watch him drive away knowing full well he’d never make it to Washington or anywhere near it. She made sure she lifted her chin when he spun back around. “What is going on with you? Do you think I have a death wish? Is that what this is about?”

“Don’t you? You refuse anyone’s help and you’re tilting at windmills,” Brenna countered, unwavering in her resolution to get Mason to travel east. “How is it you think you can get through the ash? The truck’s engine won’t last very long. You have a gasmask, but what about your horses? You’ll kill them, Mason. You won’t make it halfway through Montana and you know it. All for what? To keep a promise to a bunch of guys you see once a year? It’s great that some of your buddies are in an area where they feel safe, but you can’t make it there the way you’re going. Come with me. Help these people and—”

“I am helping them, Brenna.” Mason sounded somewhat resigned, but at least his initial anger had subsided. She turned in the seat so that she was facing him, waiting for him to explain his reasoning. She had no doubt she could poke holes through every crazy notion and maybe then they could gather whatever else they needed to head into town. The people they’d grown up with were most likely waiting for them or getting ready to depart. “
I
have the capability of making it through the harsh elements that are rushing this way as we speak. I have the necessary supplies, even for the horses, but not for an entire community. I would be risking their lives and I won’t do that. Hell, I could all but guarantee their deaths should they choose the path I’m going to take. You said the President gave a speech and he announced the same directives I did at the diner. I don’t have a death wish. I keep to myself because I like it that way, but those men heading to Washington to join Tank and Mav? They are all my brothers. Together…we’ll survive because we’re better prepared for this type of thing.”

“And the East Coast?” Brenna inquired, wondering if they were all just marching to their demise. Was it even worth trying for when all that awaited them was death? “Do you think there’s a chance for any of us?”

“There’s always a chance, no matter how small.” Mason took a step closer, his brown eyes deepening with reassurance she wasn’t so sure was real. “It could be months before the government gets assistance to those stranded, but help will come for those who are prepared for what is coming. Some people will try and go for the borders, but don’t do that. They will be closed soon enough. Most likely the other countries will secure off their entry points while they struggle to figure out who and what to take based on their situation. They have their own people to worry about and many of them won’t survive. The highways will be jammed solid, so take back roads whenever possible. Once you reach the coast, find shelter as quickly as you can and protect it with your life. Work together with those who are with you, but never turn your back on what is in front of you. This is about survival of the fittest.”

“And who has your back while you’re traveling alone without anyone to pull your ass out of trouble?” Brenna asked, searching his dark gaze for reassurance he could make it to Washington. She couldn’t stand the thought of him out there by himself. He might have kept to himself these last few years, but he was still a part of this community and her past. He still meant something to her in her own heart. “What if we could—”

“I have the training for what’s coming. I will adapt and overcome.” Mason’s eyes drifted to the sky and Brenna knew her time to change his mind had come to an end. He wasn’t going to join her and the others. “It’s no different than being on a battlefield and I would absolutely take others with me if I had the additional supplies to guarantee their safety. I don’t. They’d be dead within twelve hours and I’d have to live with that knowledge. At least this way…I know you and the others stand a chance of surviving the trip.”

Brenna finally understood where Mason was coming from, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. He truly believed he could make it to this sanctuary his friends had established, but he only had provisions for himself. The rest of them had no choice but to head east. Her life hadn’t gone nearly the way she’d thought it would and this was how it was going to end? She couldn’t bring herself to believe that, but as he’d said…she didn’t have the time to sit around and throw a pity party.

“Promise me you’ll get there safe and send word to me…somehow?” Brenna asked softly, accepting she wasn’t going to change Mason’s mind. Her heart broke a little more at the thought of another goodbye. It would be their last one. She reached out and caught his hand, the first time she’d touched him since they were kids. His calloused hands revealed the hard work he’d put into this ragged place and she wished she’d had the chance to feel them intimately on her skin. She brushed her fingers over his ever so lightly in regret as the years faded away. She had nothing to lose by telling him the truth now. Maybe it would be easier to say goodbye if she did. “You know you were the one. You always were.”

“Brenna—”

“I had such incredible dreams about showing the horses my dad raised, traveling the country, and being the best of the best,” Brenna continued over Mason’s attempt at stopping her from sharing too much. “You wanted to see the world while serving your country, but I never once doubted we would end up back in each other’s lives eventually. When you returned home…”

“We’re different people than we were back then,” Mason countered with the same regret she was feeling; so why then had he remained such a stranger? He stepped closer and enclosed her hand gently in his. “You took over your dad’s ranch, had your circle of friends from the community, and thrived in this town while I…I’m damaged, Brenna. In ways you could never imagine or understand.”

Brenna didn’t want to waste this time by debating the past—what should or shouldn’t have been done on whomever’s part. She pulled him closer and slid her hands up the soft material of his shirt until her palms rested on the five o’clock shadow he’d forgotten to shave. Her eyes caught sight of an old scar right underneath the neckline she hadn’t seen before, but there wasn’t any need to bring it up now. This was goodbye and she wanted something more to remember him by than the disregard he’d shown her for years.

“We’re all damaged, Mason,” Brenna whispered, drawing him down until they were mere inches apart. “You just haven’t learned to heal like the rest of us.”