Jade Lee - [Bridal Favors 03] Read Free Page A

ran.
    He kept going, one stall after another. Then he found the cows. He didn’t so much find them as fall on top of one. Thankfully, the dog had started to do the work, barking and biting to get the stupid things moving. With Dandy’s help, Grant cursed and kicked and shoved until every one of the dumb creatures ran out through the flames.
    Was that six? Had he gotten them all? What about the horses? Were there more? Grant couldn’t tell. He couldn’t breathe, and he sure as hell couldn’t see. His skin felt like it was crackling, and he stumbled forward. Everything was ablaze. Where was the door?
    All that straw in the hayloft, all the wood, everything was ablaze and falling down around him. He picked a direction and rushed forward, but he couldn’t make it. He tripped again and dropped to his knees. He had to crawl. Which way?
    Something grabbed his wrist. He blinked, sweat and soot in his eyes. Dandy? It was the dog, tugging him forward. That way? Must be.
    Trust the dog. When all else fails, trust the dog. He’s much smarter than you.
    He did. With Dandy leading the way, Grant crawled out of the barn. He was safe. The cows were safe.
    The barn collapsed behind him.
    I stand corrected, his madness drawled. Lots of luck here tonight. And all of it bad.

Two
    Wakey, wakey! Your luck isn’t done with you yet.
    Unwilling to listen to his inner madness, Grant focused on the externals. He heard the sound of buzzing and felt a heavy hand shaking him awake. He murmured, tasted something hideous in his mouth, and cracked an eye to find someplace to spit. What he saw, however, made no sense whatsoever.
    He was in the woods? Couldn’t be. He hadn’t slept outdoors since he’d been a child. A very young child. A gentleman slept indoors and on a bed. And with a willing woman curled around him.
    Could be your understanding of yourself—as a gentleman or otherwise—is rather flawed.
    Grant blinked, but the vision remained the same. He was in the woods and not even in a clearing. The buzzing came from some dratted insect—a bee, he now saw—among the leaves and dirt. He tried to shift, just to see better, but the ache in his muscles had him groaning aloud. What the hell had he slept on?
    “You might as well face it. It’s not going away,” the voice said. A man’s voice, deep and clearly aggravated. He recognized it, though it took a moment for his brain to come up with a name. Robert Percy, Lord Redhill, and once his good friend at school.
    Then before Grant could process more, the man squatted in front of him and held out a flask. Grant moved for it out of reflex, his hand gripping the thing and bringing it to his mouth, even as his brain tried to talk him out of it. More alcohol was not what he needed just then. A bath and a strong coffee, yes. Brandy—
    “Gah!” It was water. He choked on the taste then spit it out. But a second later, he realized he needed it more than he hated it. So he took another swig then emptied the flask. “Thanks,” he rasped.
    “I didn’t do it out of charity. I need you clearheaded.”
    Grant sighed. That didn’t sound good. In fact, that sounded very, very bad. With a groan, he slowly, carefully, rolled to a sitting position, while letting fly with his most colorful curses. God in heaven, he hurt. Everything hurt. And even worse, his memory was returning.
    Oh yes! Let’s review your lucky evening, shall we?
    The bet, the barn, the fire.
    He’d rescued the cattle. He remembered that. But the barn. Hell, the barn was gone. He remembered it collapsing. He remembered dropping to the ground and seeing the disaster fill his vision.
    There had been shouts. People had come to help. But he hadn’t the voice to direct them. He’d tried, but—
    Then his brother had appeared. Will had run up and bellowed orders. Guests and servants alike had helped with buckets of water. But there was nothing to do to save the barn. Their efforts had been to simply contain the disaster. The last thing