Dear God, don’t let me be too late.
The smoke was much thicker on the second floor than below. As he made his way down the stairs, his vision improved. He found the front door, unlatched the lock and pushed outside. Coughs racked his body while his lungs fought for fresh air. Dropping to his knees, he laid Maxi gently on the grass. He swiped at the tears blinding him, desperate to see if she were breathing. The fact that she wasn’t coughing sent off alarm bells inside him. He found a weak pulse, further adding to his anxiety.
Life and death decisions had to be made. Raising his head, he looked back at the house. Shep stood on the porch, barking in frantic staccatos. Bernice was still inside, but he had to get Maxi breathing first.
He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t lose her.
Determination strengthened his resolve. Hopefully, Bernice had more time, since the smoke wasn’t as bad on the main level. Right now Maxi needed oxygen. He checked her airway and began mouth to mouth. His hands shook as he held her face and blew.
Please God, let her breathe.
On his third attempt, Maxi began to cough. Then she gulped in large quantities of air.
“Thank you, Lord.” Relief made his muscles weak.
Her arms flailed as she regained consciousness. Gently, he held her by the shoulders.
“You’re going to be OK. Stay here. I have to get your mother.”
He raced into the house, dimly aware of sirens approaching.
Minutes later, he returned carrying the frail older woman. The fire truck and ambulance had just pulled up. Men spilled from the vehicles. Jason brought Bernice right to the paramedics.
“She needs oxygen. So does Maxi over on the grass.”
One of the men tried to put a mask on Jason, but he pushed it away.
“The women first.”
Suddenly the smoke took its toll. Jason bent over, hands on his knees, gasping air into his straining lungs. When the ground stopped spinning, he raised his head and went to find Maxi.
True to her stubborn nature, she was on her feet, refusing the paramedic’s offer of an oxygen mask. Her desperate eyes sought Jason. “Where’s Mama? Is she OK?”
She took a few unsteady steps toward him before her legs gave out, and he caught her.
“I think so. They’re looking at her now.” Maxi’s colorless lips matched her pale skin. “You need oxygen.”
“I have to see her first.”
There was no use arguing with her. She was as stubborn as a spreading fire. He half carried her to the ambulance, motioning for the paramedic to follow. Once Maxi spied Bernice lying on a gurney, she pushed out of his arms.
“Mama.” Her croak turned into a cough. “I’m here, Mama.”
Bernice’s lids flickered open for a moment. She gave a brief smile before they fluttered closed again.
“Is she all right?” Maxi asked the attendant.
The man, in his forties with a brush cut and a no-nonsense attitude, avoided her question. “We need to get you all to the hospital.” He nodded at Jason. “You too, sir.”
As much as he hated it, Jason knew the guy was right. Plus he wanted to make sure Maxi received treatment. She’d been unconscious for who knew how long.
Before she could protest, he grabbed her by the waist, hoisted her into the ambulance, and then climbed in after her. With the adrenaline waning, exhaustion crept into his body like water trickling through a dry creek bed. After Maxi was settled, he let the attendant place the mask over his face, then leaned back, waiting for the ambulance to take them away.
6
Maxi fought her way through dense fog, battling for breath. She had to find Drew. He was in this maze somewhere. She coughed, unable to find air. Heat singed her eyelids.
Fire!
She shot up as a scream ripped from her throat. Strong arms pulled her close where a steady heart thumped under her cheek.
“It’s OK. You’re safe.”
Jason. Relief spilled through her. Everything would be all right now.
“Where’s Drew?”
She felt him go still and pulled back to look at his face. Under his tousled mop of hair, sympathetic eyes watched her.
“You were dreaming, Max. Drew died a long time ago, remember?”
The confusion in her brain refused to clear. “Where are we? What happened?”
Jason held her shoulders. “You’re in the hospital.” His voice was low and calm. “A fire started in the barn and spread to the house.”
Oh God, no. Not another fire.
Adrenaline surged through her veins. Where was her mother? She tried to push Jason away and get out of bed, but he kept a hand on her shoulder.
“Your mom’s going to be fine,” he said, as though reading her mind. “She suffered some smoke inhalation. Not as much as you, but because of her illness, they want to keep her for a day or two.”
Tears blurred her eyes, partly from gratitude, partly from the force of what they had escaped. They both could’ve died. “How—how did we get out?”
She fought to recall any detail, any tiny scrap about it. All she remembered was waking up on the grass with someone pushing an oxygen mask over her nose.
“I got you out.”
She wiped the moisture from her cheeks and stared at him. His face was grim; his jaw clenched tight.
Jason had saved them?
“You? How?” Her throat burned with every word.
“I was on my way home and saw the flames in the distance. I didn’t realize it was your place until I got closer.” He shrugged but the look on his face told her just how bad it had been.
“So you came and got us out?”
Jason looked uncomfortable. He shifted on the bed beside her. “It’s what I’m trained for.”
Maxi tried to comprehend the magnitude of what he had done, scrambled to find the words to express her gratitude, but all she could do was cough. It was an effort to get the air into her lungs.
“You saved our lives,” she murmured. Her body began to shake, as though she was cold, which she wasn’t. It was most likely from the shock of almost losing her life. Of almost losing her mother so soon after her father.
Jason pressed her back against the pillows and rang for the nurse. A heavy-set, middle-aged woman appeared at the door seconds later.
“Our patient’s awake, I see.” She bustled over to check Maxi’s vital signs. “Back on the oxygen you go, miss,” she ordered, and attempted to replace Maxi’s nose tube, which had come out during her struggles.
Maxi put up a hand to stop her. “I want to see my mother first.” She couldn’t rest until she saw Mama’s condition for herself.
The woman darted a look at Jason who nodded.
“I’ll take her.”
“Only five minutes. Then I want her back here.”
In the room down the hall, Bernice lay still beneath the sheets of her hospital bed. A little too still for Maxi’s liking. Jason wheeled her chair to the side of the bed, and Maxi reached to take her mother’s hand. The skin was paper thin and cool to the touch. Bernice’s lips had a bluish tinge, her cheeks looked almost gray. Maxi swallowed hard to quell the tears that threatened again.
“I want to talk to her doctor.” It hurt her raw throat to speak.
“I’ll see if I can find someone.”
It registered in the dim recesses of her brain that Jason was being far too accommodating. He usually argued with her about everything. Did that mean her mother’s condition was worse than everyone was letting on?
When Jason left, she laid her head on her mother’s arm, longing for her to wake up and tell her everything would be all right. “Please be OK, Mama. I can’t lose you, too,” she whispered.
A few minutes later, Jason returned with a different nurse. This woman was tall and slim with short dark hair and a kind air about her.
“Your mother will be fine,” she assured Maxi. “We’ve sedated her, so she’ll rest. Because of her illness, though, we’re going to keep her for
a couple of days of observation.”
Maxi sensed no deception, just honesty. The tension in her shoulders eased a fraction. “Thank you.”
“If there’s any change, I’ll come and let you know.” The woman flashed a warm smile. “Now I think you should get back to bed yourself.”
The last bit of energy drained from Maxi’s body. All she could do was nod. She felt the wheelchair moving, was vaguely aware of being lifted into bed and the oxygen tubes attached before she succumbed to oblivion.
7
Jason ran his hands through his hair in disbelief as he surveyed the ruins of the Norths’ barn. Nothing left but a pile of ashes and part of one wall. This would delay the sale of the farm for sure.
The first light of dawn peeked over the rolling hills of the property as Jason turned toward the house to see what state it was in. Kingsville fire chief, Steve Hamilton, descended the porch stairs as Jason approached. Fatigue etched the lines of Steve’s face. He was probably finishing the tail end of the midnight shift.
Jason strode over to him, noting a dejected Shep lying on the porch.
“Hey, Steve. How bad is the damage in there?”
Steve looked up from his clipboard, his face grim. “Main floor’s not bad, but the second story will need extensive repairs. The roof over the far bedroom is gone.”
Maxi’s room.
“Lots of water damage, too,” Steve continued. “Looks like Charlie let the batteries wear out on the smoke detectors."
Jason shook his head, not wanting to think ill of the dead, but it was typical of Charlie. “So the family won’t be able to come back yet?”
“Not for a while, I’m afraid.”
Jason tried not to think about telling Bernice and Maxi they were homeless for the time being. “Any idea how this started?”
Steve threw him a dark look. “There’ll have to be an investigation to know for sure, but it looks like…” He paused as if unsure to continue.
“Like what?”
“Possible arson.”
Jason’s mouth fell open. “Arson?”
Steve nodded. “I’ve already called the inspector from Bismarck. He should be out here in the next couple of hours.”
Jason’s mind raced, trying to make sense of the whole situation. Why would anyone want to burn down the North farm?
“Heard you were the first one on the scene.” Steve pushed his pen through the graying hair over his ear.
“That’s right. I’m the one who put the call in.”
“According to the paramedics, you got the women out in good shape.”
Jason straightened his shoulders, not sure where Steve was heading with the conversation. “I did my best. They’re both stable for now.”
Steve narrowed his eyes. “Good job, rookie. Tough thing to handle on your own. Even tougher when you know the people involved.”
“You have no idea.” Jason still grappled with his decision, whether he should’ve gotten Bernice out first because of her delicate health. But he’d gone with his gut, which usually ended up being the right call.
“I wouldn’t go in the house right now unless absolutely necessary,” Steve called over his shoulder as he headed to his vehicle.
“I need to get Mrs. North’s wheelchair and her medication. On the main level.”
“Make it quick.”
“Will do.”
Jason bounded up to the porch, through the door and into the hallway, where he careened to a halt. The smell of rancid smoke curled around him like phantom arms. The fear that had gripped him as he’d raced up those stairs, not knowing if Maxi was alive or dead, now roared back with the force of a bulldozer.
He could’ve lost her for good last night. He took a deep breath, steadied himself on the post at the foot of the stairs and determinedly squashed the uncomfortable sensation in his chest. Dwelling on what might have been was a colossal waste of time and energy.
Instead he focused on the task. In Bernice’s room, he folded the wheelchair into a manageable position, grabbed the bottles of medication on the dresser, and headed back out. There was no point in trying to retrieve anything from Maxi’s room. Everything would either reek of smoke or be water logged.
Jason stepped onto the porch and took a deep, cleansing breath. Shep raised his head off his paws and fixed Jason with a forlorn look. Poor dog had probably been outside all night.
“Come on, boy. You’d better come home with me.”
Shep stood up, gave a slight wag of his tail, and followed Jason to his truck.
Lack of sleep caught up with Jason as he steered his vehicle home, fighting to keep his lids from drooping. He hoped his mother would be awake. He needed to run his idea past her before he approached Maxi. Shep followed him up the walkway to the front door of the bungalow.
His mother stood in her blue bathrobe at the kitchen counter, pouring boiling water into the teapot. She eyed him and the dog and put the kettle down with a deliberate snap. “Why is there a dog in my kitchen?”
Jason smiled and bent to kiss her cheek without answering.
She frowned. “You look terrible. What happened?”
“Sit, have your tea, and I’ll tell you.”
Ma took two mugs from the cupboard, poured the tea, and brought them to the table where Jason sat with his head in his hands. He took the cup, grateful for its warmth.
“There was a fire at the Norths’ farm last night.”
“My goodness, no.” Alarm shot into his mother’s eyes. “Are Maxi and her family all right?”
He nodded. “I got them out in time.”
“You got them out? You were on duty?”
“Actually, I was on my way home.” He explained what had happened and how Bernice and Maxi needed somewhere to stay for a while. “I was hoping you’d let them come here until the repairs on the house are done.”
“Of course. They’re more than welcome.”
“The dog, too?”
She gave a mock scowl. “As long as he’s house broken. And as long as you don’t tell me there’s a herd of cows needing shelter as well.”
Jason chuckled. “No livestock. The chicken coop wasn’t touched, thank goodness.”
She smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good man, Jason Hanley. Now go get some sleep.”
“Thanks, Ma. Sleep sounds like heaven right about now.”
He’d worry about the rest when he woke up.
****
Maxi groaned as she attempted to get up to use the bathroom. Every muscle ached, and her chest wheezed like she’d been smoking for fifty years. She hadn’t gotten much sleep with the constant whirring of machines, nurses coming and going, and checking her oxygen levels. But the doctor had been in to see her earlier and given her good news. She would be released later in the day—a fact that should be cause for celebration, but Maxi couldn’t shake her unease. She’d feel better once she knew for certain her mother was out of danger. Now to figure out how bad the house had been damaged and whether they could go back there or not. She’d give her right arm for a cell phone right about now.
She’d returned to her bed and got settled under the covers when Jason poked his head around the doorframe. “You decent?”
“Aren’t I always?”
He grinned and then stepped into the room, a huge bouquet of flowers in his arms. Maxi blinked, suspicion blooming as he handed them to her. Jason wasn’t the flower-giving type of guy. He must have bad news to resort to this.
“OK. Give it to me straight.”
“What? Aren’t you supposed to bring flowers when someone’s in the hospital?”
“Save it for one of your girlfriends. What aren’t you telling me?” She tried not to notice how good he looked, his chestnut hair waving over his forehead. And he smelled like he’d just stepped out of the shower. All fresh and spicy.
He grew serious as he pulled a chair over to her bed side and sat down. “The barn’s completely gone.”
Maxi sucked in a brea
th. She hadn’t really allowed herself to imagine what toll the fire might have taken. Then the irony of the situation struck her full force. How many times had she wished for this very thing to happen? That the farm would disappear. Now when she needed it in tip-top shape, a fire destroyed it. Was God trying to sabotage her life again?
“Hey, you OK?”
She pulled her attention back to Jason. “Yeah. What about the house?”
“There’s some damage to the roof and the second floor.” He got up to take the flowers from her and set them on the windowsill.
“So we’ll have to live on the first floor for now?”
“Not exactly.”
Her patience evaporated. “Spit it out, Hanley. Bottom line.”
He reclaimed his chair, his expression grim. “The house won’t be livable for a while. So my mom wants you and Bernice to stay with us until the repairs are done.”
Instant panic rose in her chest. She could not stay in the same house as Jason. Sleep down the hall from him. Shower in the same bathroom as him. Not without her old feelings flaring up stronger than ever. “I’m sure Lily can put us up,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
“They’re renovating the main floor, remember? Besides your mom can’t do the stairs there. And I don’t think Lily needs all the extra work in her condition. Nick’s on her like a hawk about taking it easy.”
Jason watched her a little too closely. Could he sense her discomfort? When no other solution would come to her frazzled mind, she finally shrugged. “OK. Guess we’ll be roomies for a while.”
His lip twitched. “Please, curb your enthusiasm. My ego can’t take it.”
She hit his arm. “Cut it out. My life is in ruins, and you’re making jokes.”
“Sorry.” With that glint in his eye, he didn’t seem the least bit remorseful. “Look, we’ll get the house fixed. I promise. I’ve already called a few guys about getting a team together to rebuild the barn. The only hold up will be the investigation…” He clamped his lips shut and looked like he wanted to bite off his tongue.
She stiffened against the pillows. “What investigation?”
Wayward Hearts Page 5