Ramirez backed the horses out of the trailer. Riders tightened cinches, mounted up, and headed off to move the cattle to a safer spot away from the blaze.

Kade traded his hat for a Diamond Bar bill cap, grabbed a shovel, and looked up to see Ellie grabbing a rake and heading for the fire line.

“You’re with me,” he said in the voice he used to command his men, and for once she didn’t argue. He didn’t like the idea of her working a fire, but she was there, and she refused to stand by and watch. Kade admired her for it, but he was worried about her.

All kinds of accidents happened in a firefight. Drifting chunks of burning ash could set your clothes on fire, a blazing tree could fall and kill you, just breathing the thick damned smoke could make you sick, even kill you if the air was too hot.

Around them, he could hear the crack and roar of the fire as the wind whipped the blaze down the mountain. Red and orange flames leaped from the tall pines into the night-black sky. Sparks exploded, catching another tree afire. The greasy smell of smoke hung heavy in the air.

A couple of deer bounded out of the woods to escape the flames, but so far the area burning didn’t appear to be more than a hundred acres. That could double if the wind kicked up. At least the air was cold, and the fire department was on its way.

Kade wet a bandana from a plastic water bottle, tied it around his nose and mouth, and saw Ellie doing the same. He’d hired her for her skills as a detective, but she was a real hand when it came to ranching. His admiration grew, and his chest tightened with emotions he didn’t have time to feel. At the moment, he just needed to keep her safe.

As they worked beside the men to clear a swath wide enough to deprive the fire of fuel, he glanced at the flames licking their way down the hillside, and an unwelcome thought occurred.

Had the man who’d hired Keller set the fire to cause more trouble? Was it arson? Had the blaze been set to kill cattle and men?

Kade clenched his jaw, tugged down the brim of his bill cap, and kept working, digging up dry bushes, small trees, and dead grass while Ellie raked the debris out of the way.

They worked hard for over an hour. Sam Bridger and some of the cow hands off neighboring ranches showed up to join the fire line. A few minutes later, Kade looked up to see the flashing red lights of fire trucks, two engines plus a water tanker.