The Marine's Baby

by Deb Kastner

  Too fast.

  Nate took in the whole chaotic scene at once. One of the teachers was ushering a handful of preschoolers away from the burning building. The children were surprisingly subdued, given the circumstances. They moved in an organized line. The teacher, an older woman, was scurrying back and forth between the front and back of the line, pointing toward the trees and encouraging the children to walk faster, away from the burning structure.

  Nate refocused his gaze on the building itself just as the second teacher emerged from the front door, covered with soot. She carried a little girl under her arm like a football and was pulling another child, a little boy, by the hand. Scooping the boy up in her other arm, she rushed toward where the other teacher and the children now stood, hunched in small groups near the tree line.

  He heard Jess praying under her breath, her fists clenching the dashboard as she leaned forward to survey the scene. “Lord, help us.”

  Nate sped into the parking lot and punched on the brake. The Jeep slid several feet on the loose gravel under the tires.

  Jess was out the door before the Jeep had slid to a stop.

  “Jess, no!” Nate cried out. He reached out to grab her, to stop her from putting herself in harm’s way, as he knew instinctively she had every intention of doing. Like him, her only thought was for Gracie and the other children trapped in the inferno.

  His hand met empty air. Jess was already rushing toward the burning building.

  Nate looked after her for a split second that felt like a lifetime, his entire being supplicating God for help as Jess disappeared through the billow of black smoke coming through the open front door of the building. His stomach lurched and he swallowed hard, forcing down the increasing sense of fear and panic eroding his thoughts.

  Focus, he ordered himself, forcing a breath into lungs that appeared to have stopped working.

  He jammed his hand into the front pocket of his bomber jacket and retrieved his cell phone, while with the other hand he was putting the Jeep into Park and shutting down the ignition.

  His first instinct was to run in after Jess, but he wasn’t sure if either of the teachers now huddling over the children near the tree line had a cell phone with them, nor if they would have the presence of mind to make the necessary call.

  It looked as if they had all they could do just to contain the gaggle of children, some of whom were staring wide-eyed at the blaze, others who were chattering up at the adults, though Nate could barely hear them through the ringing in his own ears. He felt a little dizzy, and he realized he was hyperventilating.

  He had to pull it together, to remain in control, for Jess’s sake now as well as Gracie’s. His military training finally kicked in, slowing his pulse and his breathing so he could think.

  He jumped down from the Jeep and was racing toward the front of the day care center even as he punched in the emergency number. Thankfully, a new cell tower had recently been built just north of the Morningway property, and the signal on his phone was strong. After just one ring, the emergency dispatcher picked up.

  “911. What is the nature of your emergency?”

  “This is Nathan Morningway of Morningway Lodge,” he said, enunciating every word. “We need the fire department here right away. The day care center is on fire. I think there are still some little kids inside. I don’t know how many.”

  One, for sure. His baby.

  His baby!

  He paused before the entrance of the building and gave the emergency dispatcher all the necessary information on the location. Fear like he’d never experienced before clutched at his chest, and he could barely think past the pain.

  What if he lost Gracie—or Jess?

  No!

  He couldn’t—wouldn’t—think that way. He had to get into that building and get them out of there.

  Alive.

  “Please stay on the line, sir,” the dispatcher said in the calm, determined manner to which Nate knew she had been trained.

  “Just get them here quickly,” Nate replied. “I’ve got to go. My daughter is in there.”

  Panic preceded every thought as he snapped the phone closed and took one last deep breath before plunging into the smoky room, ducking as low as he could to the floor while still at a dead run, one arm sheltering his mouth and nose.

  He couldn’t see a thing through the black smoke, so he reached out his other arm in front of him, hoping to feel his way around, if it came to that.

  Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm.

  It was Jess. He could barely see her through the haze and the way the smoke stung his eyes, but she was there, holding a handkerchief over her mouth and nose and gesturing with her free hand, pointing back toward the front door where he’d just entered.

  What was she trying to tell him?

  Jessica’s hand slid from Nate’s upper arm and clasped to his wrist in an iron grip. She tugged in earnest, but he was so tense his arm didn’t budge. She knew he couldn’t see anything through the thick smoke, and the fire was roaring too loudly for him to hear her speak. Touch was her only choice in finding a means to communicate with him.

  She fought down the rising surge of panic. They were running out of time, and she couldn’t get Nate to move in the right direction.

  She yanked harder and felt him subtly shift. Desperate for him to understand, she dragged his hand in front of her, waist-high, where several children were huddled. When his fingers connected with one young boy’s silky hair, she felt him freeze as the realization of what she wanted finally hit him.

  When she’d burst into the building moments earlier, she’d found five small preschoolers huddling under the art table. Her first thought had been to go for Gracie, but she couldn’t abandon these tiny innocents to the elements, no matter how much her heart cried out for the baby she knew was in the next room.

  The children had been terrified and afraid to move, and she hadn’t been able to reassure them with her voice. Dropping to her knees, she’d gathered them in front of her, in her arms, and then was attempting to push and prod them toward the door and safety when Nate had materialized next to her.

  They needed to get these kids out, so they could get to Gracie before it was too late. The raging fire itself wasn’t the only danger. Jessica was already feeling the effects of smoke inhalation despite the handkerchief over her nose and mouth. Granted, the children were smaller and therefore lower to the ground, but the thick, merciless smoke had to be affecting them, as well.

  And Gracie…

  Panic surged again, painful in its intensity, but she tamped it back, willing herself to focus and concentrate on what needed to be done.

  Nate nodded frantically, letting Jessica know he understood what she was trying to tell him. She let go of his wrist, and a moment later, he had a mop-headed little girl in one arm and a young boy in the other. Jerking his head in the direction, he turned, he lurched toward the front door.

  Jessica was right on his heels, holding one toddler in her arms and clasping the other two by the hands, dragging them forward with a momentum she hardly believed she possessed, fear and adrenaline making up for whatever strength she might have lacked.

  They all burst outside at the same time. The sunshine temporarily blinded her as she choked and coughed and propelled the children forward, toward the teachers and the rest of the waiting children.

  “How many?” she choked out, aiming her question no one teacher in particular.

  “Thirteen,” called Miss Cathy, who was in charge when Jessica wasn’t present. The sheer panic on her face, along with the older woman huddled over the children at the tree line, matched the turmoil in Jessica’s own heart.

  “We’ve got them all, Jessica, except for Gracie,” Miss Cathy continued hastily. “I’m sorry. The chaos. I couldn’t leave the children to—”

  “Keep those children away from the building,” Nate ordered, sternly staring down first one teacher, then the other, looking ominous and almost threatening with swirls of a
sh lining his powerful face.

  He whirled and ran full-force back toward the building. Jessica was right on his heels. After a moment, he became aware she was following him and tossed a stern glare over his shoulder.

  “Go back with the children,” he barked in the same no-nonsense voice that had worked so well with the teachers and, Jessica imagined, dozens of marines over his years in the service.

  “No way,” she uttered through gritted teeth.

  She was determined to continue back into the building, no matter what Nate thought, and she only balked for a moment at his harsh tone before starting forward again, resolve in every step, moving at such a quick pace she soon rushed in front of him.

  “Jess,” he roared, reaching out to grab her arm in a viselike grip. “Go back. I don’t have time to argue with you.”

  “Then don’t. We have to get Gracie!” Panic edged her voice, but her movements were surprisingly firm.

  “I’ll get Gracie,” he said, pulling her backward and stepping in front of her. “You go back. The children need you.”

  “Gracie needs me,” she insisted, jerking her arm away from his grip and dashing into the day care, gagging as the smoke pierced her lungs, thicker even than it had been before. She ducked down, trying to avoid the worst of the smoke.

  Nate burst through the door moments after Jessica, ducking down just as Jessica had, and gestured for her to go ahead of him. She knew the way better than he did, and she was glad he was no longer fighting for her to leave the scene.

  She moved without hesitation into the adjoining area, the nursery, and immediately moved to the left side of the room. Cribs ran the circumference of the room, and she frantically struggled to get her bearings for what felt like hours but was probably only seconds.

  The smoke was so thick she hardly knew which way was up. She prayed as she hastened toward what she hoped was the crib where she usually placed Gracie when she was working in the day care, hoping that the other teachers had placed her in the same spot.

  A beam right above their heads cracked ominously, and Jessica ducked instinctively, then staggered the last few feet to the crib. She couldn’t see him, but she sensed Nate was right behind her.

  Her eyes and her lungs burned with the effort, but as she approached, she thought she saw movement from within the crib, though with the thick smoke, she couldn’t be certain.

  Panic surged through her once again.

  Gracie!

  She had to get to the baby.

  Without another thought, she reached for the metal latch that would release the side of the crib.

  “Jess, no!” he tried to scream, but the heavy smoke billowed into his lungs and he gagged instead.

  His warning, even if he’d been able to voice it, had come too late. Jess wrapped her bare hand around the metal latch and then jolted and staggered backward, cradling her burned skin close to her chest. Her mouth was open, but no sound emerged.

  She would have fallen, but Nate darted forward and swept her against him, one arm wrapped firmly around her waist and the other urging her mouth closed.

  More than one beam cracked and whined above them, and the heat was growing more intense by the second. He was feeling woozy again, but he fought the sensation with every fiber of his being.

  As from a great distance, he heard the sound of sirens, but he knew he didn’t have time to wait for the firefighters to help with the rescue. He had to get his baby girl and the woman he loved out of this building before the whole thing came down on them.

  Pulling Jess with him, he reached over the edge of the crib, relief flooding through him when his hand made contact with the baby’s head. Gracie was sitting up, her arms flapping in distress.

  Nate reached for her, but Jess was faster.

  Ignoring her own injury, Jess plucked Gracie from the crib and tucked her as far beneath her jacket as the material would allow, trying to protect the baby from additional smoke inhalation. The action left Jess’s own lungs unprotected from the smoke, and put her at the very great risk of losing consciousness.

  He had to get them out now.

  He reached out and grabbed the collar of Jess’s coat, dragging her with him to the nearest window. His head was swimming from the lack of oxygen, but his mind was amazingly focused on this single task.

  Get them out alive.

  There was no time to work their way back to the front door, and Nate suspected the fire had made the route impassable, in any case.

  Sending up a silent prayer for his actions to work, he turned sideways to the window, bent his elbow and slammed into the glass.

  Pain shot through his shoulder as the glass splintered but did not break. Knowing there was no time to waste, he ignored the pain, gritted his teeth and threw his shoulder into the window again.

  This time, the glass shattered under the full force of his weight. Nate gasped as oxygen poured through the window, but his relief was short-lived as the fire all around them flared to a new intensity, being fed by the burst of air.

  The blaze was growing worse by the second, and Nate didn’t hesitate as he pulled the sleeve of his bomber jacket over his right hand and thrust his arm around all four sides of the windowpane, jarring loose jagged edges of glass so the three of them could crawl through to safety.

  Two firefighters, dressed in full regalia and face masks, reached for Nate’s arms, gesturing for him to crawl through the window.

  Nate balked and jerked away from their grasp. He wasn’t about to go through that window until Jess and Gracie were safe.

  Jess nudged Nate’s side with her shoulder, then shoved the now-limp baby into his arms, gesturing wildly toward the window.

  Nate wanted Jess to exit with Gracie, but he knew she wouldn’t budge until the baby was safe.

  He stepped forward, thrusting Gracie at the two firefighters. The baby had clearly lost consciousness, and terror such as Nate had never known coursed through him. He prayed with all his might that they had not arrived too late to save her.

  If he lost Gracie…

  No.

  He couldn’t think of that now. Jess was still standing behind him, and she was still in very great danger from the flames around them.

  He spun on his heels and reached his arms to her, intending to catapult her through the window and into the waiting arms of the firefighters.

  But this nightmare was far from over. He didn’t even know for sure that they hadn’t missed any little children when they had evacuated the building. He prayed the teacher’s head count had been right.

  He could only react to the moment and pray for the best.

  Only seconds had passed, but it felt like hours. He stepped toward Jess, his arms outstretched. Jess reached back to him.

  Their fingers met. Their eyes met through the smoky haze. Fear masked her face, but Nate read determination there, as well. He would have sighed in relief if he could have breathed at all.

  Most people, Nate thought, would have let fear take advantage of them, freezing them immobile.

  But not Jess.

  Not his Jess.

  They both heard the hiss and crack of the beam directly overhead before they saw it. As if in slow motion, Jess looked up, and Nate followed her gaze.

  Sparks rained down on them, the only warning they had before the beam came loose and pitched downward.

  Jess let go of Nate’s hand and instinctively sheltered her head, but it was too late.

  The heavy beam of flaming wood crashed down on top of her. She jerked, her eyes wide in surprise, and reached out for Nate. Then she fell lifeless as the beam slammed into her shoulder and crushed her beneath its weight.

  “Jess!” Nate screamed, scrambling forward. He fell to his knees as a wave of dizziness overtook him, but he continued to crawl forward, fighting the looming blackness with all his might.

  A dry sob wracked his body as he reached Jess’s unmoving form, covered horizontally by the fallen beam of wood.

  He wanted to cry.

/>   He wanted to pray.

  But one thought obscured all the rest. He didn’t know nor did he care whether it was just in his head, or whether he was screaming out loud.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Not Jess. Not Jess. Not Jess. “No-o-o-o-o!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nate lunged forward, his arms outstretched toward Jess, and then slammed to his hands and knees on the floor when his forward momentum was crushed by someone suddenly clasping his ankle in a firm grip.

  Groaning, he glanced behind him. The two firemen who had been at the window had now entered the building. The first one, clutching Nate’s ankle in a viselike grip, was now pulling him backward. The second firefighter was gesturing at Nate and pointing toward the broken window and their only means of escape.

  Nate’s gaze swung back to Jess. She wasn’t moving. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing.

  He knew what the firefighters wanted him to do.

  Exit. Immediately.

  Leave the rescuing to the experts, the men who were well-versed in what flames and smoke could do.

  They might be heroes. And they might be right. Nate could hinder them as much as he could help them, especially if they became more focused on getting him out alive than in rescuing Jess.

  His heart and his mind tugged in two different directions, but only for a split second. He relaxed his leg for a moment and then yanked hard, surprising the man who was gripping his ankle and breaking away.

  He scrambled forward, his heart slamming into his chest. His lungs felt as if they were going to explode, but he ignored the sensation and plunged ahead through the billowing smoke.

  He was thankful his mind was military-hardwired for crisis, for otherwise he never would have been able to keep it together.

  Kneeling beside Jess, he leaned forward, checking her vital signs and praying all the while.

  She wasn’t moving.

  But she was breathing. Barely.

  And that beam had to weigh a ton. It was crushing her. Thankfully, it didn’t appear to be burning, though it was no doubt smoldering.