Fanning Flames

by Cindy Caldwell

  Alex looked up the hill as he drove.

  “Yes, definitely. When I was with the fire department before I started search and rescue, we’d spend much of the summer just clearing some of this out. You know, to prevent forest fires. I even got a badge from Smokey the Bear,” he said with a laugh.

  “Aw, that’s cute.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, cute, but deadly necessary. Looks like this area might be last on the list for this year.”

  He pulled up in front of a little cafe in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees. And surrounded by what Lindsey knew now to be underbrush.

  He held out his arm to her and shook his head, almost as if to get his worry about fire out of it—something she could tell was mostly impossible, the more she got to know him.

  “Nothing to be done about it right this minute,” he said. “Let’s just eat and enjoy the view. Best Huckleberry pie in miles and miles.”

  “Count me in,” Lindsey said as he opened the door for her.

  He pulled out a chair for her right before a big man came out from the kitchen and gave him a bear hug.

  “Alex, great to see you, son,” the man said. “Been a long time since you’ve been to Nellie’s Cafe.”

  “Too long, Jeff.” Alex turned to Lindsey, who stood to shake the man’s hand. “I’d like you to meet my friend, Lindsey Montgomery. She’s visiting River’s End Ranch.”

  “Montgomery, eh? You related to that Travis Montgomery? I watched every one of his races. In fact, he’s going to be calling one tomorrow. Not gonna miss it.”

  Lindsey could feel her face turning scarlet as she looked quickly at Alex, her eyes wide and her hands sweating. She could just say no, but she felt like a deer in headlights, because now it would be lying.

  Alex saved her again.

  “Nah, she’s just passing through. But she couldn’t come without tasting the best Huckleberry pie around.”

  “In all of Idaho, I might add,” he said with a wink to Lindsey. “You sure you’re not related? You sure look like him,” Jeff said before he turned back to the kitchen.

  Lindsey just smiled and nodded as the man went into the kitchen, calling for someone named Nellie. She assumed it was his wife.

  “Sorry about that,” Alex said quietly. “Who knew there were so many race fans? I sure didn’t.”

  “Actually, I’m sorry for having to put you in that position. But thanks for covering...well, thanks for answering.”

  Alex cocked his head and rose an eyebrow, and she was pretty sure he wanted to ask a question, and equally grateful that he didn’t.

  “Hi, I’m Nellie. Jeff’s better half,” a nice, older woman said as she kissed Alex on the cheek. “‘Bout time we saw you out here, boy.”

  Alex blushed and said, “It’s been way too long. Glad I had an excuse to come out. We’re stopping by for lunch, but I noticed you have some clearing you need to do out front. Need any help?”

  Her husband stepped up to the table after delivering meals to the table next to them.

  “Don’t I know it. With all the fires, there’s been nobody to do it. I try best I can, but I can only do a little bit at a time. There’s not even anybody to hire.”

  Nellie looked out the window and frowned, and Lindsey noticed that she leaned forward to check for the smoke that still hovered over the mountain.

  “How about if I give you both the special? Made it myself, and you can polish it off with pie.”

  Alex nodded and the woman headed back into the kitchen.

  Lindsey leaned forward and whispered, “You don’t even know what it is.”

  “No, I don’t, but if I say no, she might not recover. I’ve come here since I was a kid and there was only one thing I didn’t like in all that time. Want to know what it is?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Lindsey said. She laughed. “I’ll just take my chances, I think.”

  “Good call, because whatever it is, you can just wash it down with pie.”

  “Okay. If you say so,” she said, deciding to trust him once again, and once again surprised that she did.

  Chapter 10

  “I’ll send somebody out in the next week to clear some brush. I think with the big fire under control, we’ll have some people available again,” Alex said to Jeff as they left.

  “That’s really nice of you,” Lindsey said on their way to the truck, after having gotten two bear hugs from Jeff and Nellie herself. The lunch rush had passed by the time they got there, and they’d sat down with them and had coffee. Lindsey got to hear lots of stories about Alex when he was a boy—from picking huckleberries and staining his fingers to the summers he’d come and clear brush for them on his own.

  She also learned more about his sisters and parents, his father being a lifelong friend of Jeff’s. As she listened to them talk, she wondered if this was what it was like to have lots of people who know you—who love you—rather than none at all. It was sweet to watch Alex’s eyes light up as they told stories, and she almost felt like she was there. Almost.

  But the comparison to her own childhood was stark. Parents who she wasn’t really sure cared about her and being sent away to school had cemented the sense that there was no one for her. No one who knew her or cared to know her. And a nagging in her belly told her it might be the same with the brother she’d never known.

  She tried to shake off her thoughts as they cruised down the mountain. The weather had warmed, and the sun felt soft on her cheek as she rested her head against the window.

  Before she knew it, Alex was pulling in to River’s End Ranch.

  “Oh, gosh, I must have fallen asleep,” she said, rubbing her eyes.

  “You did. You were snoring.”

  “No, I wasn’t,” she said indignantly. She’d shared rooms with people her whole life, at school and on the road, and nobody had ever said that before.

  “Okay, maybe it’s the drool on your chin.”

  She pulled down the sun visor and checked in the mirror—no drool.

  “You’re awful,” she said.

  “Hey, I have a lot of teasing practice. That’s what brothers do.”

  “Well, my best guess is that this is what sisters must do when teased,” she said, pinching his arm.

  “Ouch.”

  “Am I right?”

  He put the truck in park and rubbed the back of his neck. “Pretty much. You’re good.”

  She laughed and hopped out of the truck when he came around and opened the door for her.

  Alex untied the ropes holding down their supplies and she hopped into the truck, passing the boxes to him as he carried them over to the porch of the command bungalow.

  She crouched down on the tailgate, ready to jump to the ground. Before she had a chance, she felt his arms around her waist, and he swung her down as if she was light as a feather.

  He held on for a moment after her cowboy boots had touched the ground before he cleared his throat and pulled his hands away.

  “Thanks,” she said slowly as he turned and walked over to the bungalow.

  “My pleasure,” was what she thought he said, although she couldn’t hear him clearly as he mumbled. She did notice that his ears were red—and she was pretty certain hers were, too.

  Alex opened the bins right inside the door and they unloaded the supplies, making quick work of it. Alex counted things off and Lindsey marked the inventory list as he shelved them.

  “Well done,” he said as he held up his hand for a high-five.

  Lindsey obliged and felt the warmth of his hand as he squeezed hers.

  “I mean it. Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Lindsey piled the last of the empty boxes in the corner. “Sure you could have. Maybe not as fast, but you could have.”

  “Okay, well, I didn’t want to. It was way more fun with you,” Alex said.

  “Fun, fun, fun. What’s all this about fun?” Dani asked from inside the command center.

  Lindsey flushed as she follow
ed Alex into the room.

  “No reason we can’t have a little fun while we’re working,” Alex said as he sat down beside Dani in front of the computer monitors. “How has it been here today?”

  “All right, from the search and rescue standpoint. But the fire has jumped a little bit and there are some new hotspots.” Dani pointed to the map on the computer screen. “Here, and then way over here. That one might be a lightning strike. Not sure.”

  “Hm. Good thing all campers and hunters have been notified to stay away. Doesn’t look like any structures threatened at the moment.”

  Dani leaned back in her chair and took another look at the map. “For now. But you know how people are. We’ll need to be on standby for a while longer, I think.” She turned to Lindsey and took the clipboard she held out. “Wow, thanks for doing all this. Even though medical is short-handed, we might be able to squeak through a rescue now since we have the supplies we need.”

  Alex rubbed his chin. “Hopefully nothing will happen in the next few days. They’re short of pilots, too, with this big fire. We need Travis to come back.”

  Lindsey’s ears perked up. “Travis flies the helicopter?” she asked, looking out onto the helipad. Now that she thought about it, the helicopter had been out back since she’d arrived.

  “Yeah,” Dani said. “He spent a year getting his license, and he’s been out on lots of rescues now. He’s pretty good at it.”

  Alex laughed. “Better than good. He’s a natural. Guess if you can drive a race car, you can fly a helicopter.”

  Dani smiled and reached for a bottle of water. She brought it to her lips and took a tiny sip before setting it back down with a grimace flitting across her face.

  “You all right?” Lindsey asked.

  Dani nodded and stood, gathering her backpack.

  “Yeah, I just haven’t felt all that great lately. I think I’m going to call it a day and try to get some shut-eye. Alex, you mind being on call tonight? Keeping the radio?”

  Alex shook his head. “Of course not. You took today, I can take tonight.”

  “Thanks.” Dani gave them both a weak smile and headed for the door. “Thanks again, Lindsey. Really appreciate your help.”

  Alex and Lindsey watched the door as it closed behind Dani.

  “She didn’t look so good. Pretty pale,” Lindsey said. “Unless that’s normal for her.”

  Alex shook his head again as he loaded up his backpack. “Nope. She’s one of the hardiest people I know.”

  “Hm,” Lindsey said quietly as she looked out the window and watched Dani walk to her truck. Dani had her hand to her stomach and stopped for a moment, leaning against the truck before she got in. “Something’s off with her. I hope she feels better tomorrow. Hopefully she really will get some sleep.”

  “Yeah, and we probably should, too, but I’m hungry.” Alex rubbed his stomach, too, and grinned and Lindsey. “It’s Thursday, trivia night at the restaurant. Two-for-one pizza. Whaddya say?”

  Lindsey pulled out the empty bag of snickerdoodles and swung it in front of them. “We’re out of cookies. Sounds like a good plan to me.”

  Alex took a last look at the computer monitor and frowned.

  “You worried?” Lindsey asked, resting her hand on his arm as she looked over his shoulder at the red spots that indicated new fires.

  Alex took a deep breath. “I always worry at this time of year. Everything seems under control right now, but you never know. Things can change fast during fire season. I’ll keep checking on things with my phone, and I have all of this on my computers at home. I feel better if I know what’s coming—as much as that’s possible.”

  “I bet.” Lindsey grabbed her backpack. “Too bad you don’t have a crystal ball to see what’s coming—for search and rescue and everything else,” she said as she took the arm he offered to her and headed toward the restaurant, wishing she had one, too.

  Chapter 11

  Fall was definitely in the air, and Alex felt the spring in his step as they walked toward the restaurant. The evening was crisp, and the leaves that were beginning to turn rustled as they walked by. It was his favorite time of year—not least because it signaled the end of fire season. Things should be much cooler soon, and summer tourists doing silly things that they needed to be rescued from would end also.

  He’d spent the day with good friends, and he had a beautiful, interesting young lady on his arm. He snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eye and smiled as her long, sandy brown hair blew around her face. Her jeans and cowboy boots fit perfectly here at the ranch, and he found himself wondering if she wore them in foreign countries, too. Maybe he would ask her later.

  He swung the door open wide, ushering Lindsey in before him. His stomach growled at the smell of pizza, and she turned and laughed when she heard it. Her eyes twinkled, and he thought that if he was ever in a real disaster, it would be good if he was with her.

  He patted the radio on his hip, satisfied that it was secure and he could hear it if needed. He scouted the bar area for a table and his stomach dropped when he saw a bunch of arms waving in his direction.

  “What’s the matter?” Lindsey asked when he groaned.

  He quickly took out his cell phone. Sure enough, he’d missed a text from his mother that his whole family would be a trivia tonight and asking him to join them. If he’d seen it, he’d have taken Lindsey to any other restaurant on the planet than this one.

  But he was stuck now. He forced a smile and whispered in Lindsey’s ear.

  “My family’s here. I’m sorry. I think we have to join them.”

  “Oh,” she said, and he noticed a flicker of uncertainty pass over her face. “Your whole family?”

  “Yes, all six of them,” he said as he ushered her over to the table. His father hopped up and grabbed another bar stool, scooting it over to the table when he saw Lindsey.

  “Mom, dad, everybody, this is Lindsey Montgomery.” He hadn’t told them too much the night before, and he crossed his fingers that they’d be on their best behavior.

  Pamela’s eyebrows rose as she looked from Alex to Lindsey and he tried to catch her eye, hoping she at least would remember that Lindsey hadn’t wanted to talk about anything and help him steer the conversation.

  She seemed to take the cue and introduced the rest of his sisters. They ordered pizza, and he thanked his lucky stars that his sisters didn’t pick tonight to tease him about much. They kept the conversation to work, Idaho, and questions about Lindsey’s job.

  “You really have traveled all over the world? You’re so young,” Alex’s mom asked, sparking a conversation about Lindsey’s travels. Her eyes lit up as she described Thailand, India, the Dominican Republic, Brazil. She really had been a ton of places.

  Just when he thought he might come out from the evening unscathed, Caroline said, “Alex has always wanted to travel. Haven’t you, Alex?”

  “What? Um, yeah, I guess so.”

  “And he loves food from all over the world,” Kirsten said. “Especially tacos.”

  They all laughed, and his mom described his special birthday dinner requests over the years.

  “I started that tradition long ago, that the kids could request anything they wanted for their birthday dinner. I think Alex was only two or three when he asked for curry.”

  Lindsey’s eyes grew wide as she looked at him. He felt his face flush—he hadn’t mentioned to Lindsey that she’d made his absolute favorite dinner last night. Favorite of all time.

  “Oh, I’m sure the curry I made last night didn’t compare to yours,” Lindsey said graciously.

  “You made curry for Alex last night?” Caroline asked in that sing-song way of hers.

  “I did,” Lindsey replied. “He even brought an apron.”

  His mother raised her eyebrows and stared at him. “I wondered where that was. You took the the one with ruffles?” she said, hiding a smile behind her hand.

  “Yes, I did. Thanks for the loan. It was the first
one I could find.”

  His sisters looked like they were going to bust a gasket and he wanted to sink into the floor. He looked at Lindsey pleadingly, and she thankfully threw him a life preserver.

  “That’s a great tradition, Mrs. Bauer. You introduced them pretty young to world cuisine, sounds like.”

  He wished he could change the subject.

  “So, Dad, how’s work.”

  “Good luck with that, son,” his dad said with a laugh and a roll of his eyes.

  “My favorite is tacos, too,” Amelia said.

  “Same here,” Kirsten chimed in. “You know, I was in Las Vegas not long ago and there was a taco truck on every corner. We need that here.”

  “Absolutely,” Amelia chimed in.

  “Yes, I heard he loved tacos,” Lindsey said with a laugh.

  Alex glanced over at Lindsey who, while she seemed a little overwhelmed, was being quite a good sport about it all. Actually, he was in the hot seat. He was feeling it, and hoped that his squirming wasn’t too noticeable.

  Mercifully, trivia started and they were all preoccupied. They did pretty well—Lindsey’s answers were a huge help—and they barely lost to Jaclyn’s team. Barely.

  Jaclyn headed over to their table afterward, and Alex hoped it was just to tell them they ran a good offense. His worst fears were realized, though, after she’d looked from him to Lindsey and back again.

  “Hello, all. Nice to see you here. I see you’re all having a nice time with my newest snickerdoodle couple.”

  Pamela looked at Alex, her eyes narrowed. “Snickerdoodle couple?”

  “Yes,” Jaclyn said, her hand on Lindsey’s shoulder. “The fairies instructed me that Lindsey and Alex needed snickerdoodles. Have you enjoyed them?” she asked Lindsey.

  “Well, um, yes, they were very good. We finished them all, actually.”

  Jaclyn crossed her arms and looked at the two of them for a while.

  “Good. I’d bring you some more, but I don’t think you need them. I’ll make my positive report to the fairies later.” She smiled and nodded at the rest of the group. “Nice to see you all. Congratulations.”