Dragging himself free of sleep’s grip, he rubbed his eyes and sat up. The smoke was too biting and dense for the fireplace. Something else. He slid out of bed, leaving Errol to sleep. There was nothing visible out the window, and only dark filled the front panes. The fireplace looked fine. He pivoted and headed to the kitchen. Holy shit. In the backyard, flames reflected on the snow, orange and red as they engulfed the shed. Crazy shadows danced over the chopping block and the trampled snow. His gut tensed. This was a nightmare, a potential inferno. They needed to put this out now. Ashes could drift into the forest, and they’d be in the middle of a wildfire. The roads were clogged with snow. They couldn’t get out. There was no way he was losing someone to fire. Heart pounding, he whirled and ran to the bed. “Errol! Get up. Get dressed.” Errol pushed upright, shoving his hair out of his face. “What’s going on?” He sniffed. “Is that smoke?” “The shed’s on fire. Get dressed.”
