by Hart, A.
“What’s going on?” I asked, and then looked at Emerson, who frowned for only a brief second before smiling weakly.
“Hey Megan, how are you?” Cal asked after giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.
“I’m fine, and everything is better now.”
Cal nodded. “I’m glad, Meg.” Then he turned to me “Hey, sorry, I’ve got to leave in ten. Our station got called in to fight the fire to the east.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for us to get the call too, it’s not looking good, huh?”
He looked over at Emerson and then cleared his throat. “Eh, no . . . wind that we have had all night carried both fires.” I nodded and then, as if my uncle were summoned via thought waves, my phone beeped on my hip for the hundredth time today with more updates on the fire. Before I could grab it to look at it, my phone started ringing.
I grabbed it to see my uncle’s face staring back at me. “Crap.” I whispered, and then stepped slightly away from the group. They continued to talk about Charlotte’s morning and tried to ignore me as I answered it. “What’s up?”
Uncle Tom sighed on the other end of the phone. “Hey bud, I sent out the mass text, but I wanted to talk to you myself before we are around the others.”
I cleared my throat. “Okay, shoot.”
He paused for a second and then said, “It’s a bad one, SJ, our crew has never seen anything like this. I was hoping that this fire would die down, not because I don’t think our crew can handle this, but because it’s a killer, SJ. Over fifty stations are being called out to help. People are trapped in homes, surrounded by fire, and the fire is moving fast, so I just wanted to mentally prep you and tell you . . . ” He paused and then took a long, deep breath. “I’ve never told you, but . . . ” I waited, and then he said in a hushed voice, “I love you like a son, so be careful, you hear?”
I sighed and smiled to myself. “Yeah, I hear you, Chief. Love you too. Don’t worry, I won’t tell any of the others that I’m your favorite.”
He laughed. “Smart ass, see you in an hour, Prescott, get a move on it.” I nodded into the phone and then hung up after he clicked.
Cal was just saying goodbye when he stopped and looked at me with a question in his eyes. I simply nodded, and he nodded back. “See you up there, man.” Cal kissed his wife and daughter, then hugged Megan goodbye and walked out the door. I sighed as I watched Emerson’s strength fade. “He will be fine, Em, I’ll make sure of it.”
She smiled sweetly and then, with one twin on her hip, came up and kissed my cheek. Emerson saw the worry in my eyes and quickly turned back to Megan. “Hey, I have an idea, don’t you have tomorrow off, Megan?”
Megan nodded. “Yeah, it’s a three-day weekend and Jules is having Chelsea cover night cleaning at the coffeehouse for me for a couple of days, why?”
Emerson smiled and then shrugged. “Well, I was thinking you and Lotte could just stay here. I already have Lotte’s stuff here, would you be okay borrowing some of my stuff tonight?”
Megan thought for a second, and then I saw the slight panic in her eyes. “Yeah that would be great, Em.”
Em nodded and Charlotte screamed, “Yay!” from the other room. We all laughed.
“Good ears.” Megan whispered, and I nodded at her with a raised brow.
Emerson continued, “Sarah can walk over for a movie later, maybe she’ll stay too. Having her living in the guest house has its props.”
Just then, the door opened. “Sure does.” We all shifted to see Sarah walk through the front door in her pajamas. “Now, now, you know you’re supposed to call if there’s a party.”
I laughed. “So Meg, you and Lotte are okay to stay here? I can have Travis check on Buck at the house and pick up Chase, bring him here, and check on you ladies later if you’d like. I’m sure he would be willing.”
Megan nodded and smiled. “Okay, but how long will you be gone?” I frowned, not liking the sadness in her voice.
I had a couple of minutes. “Can we talk in private for a second?”
Megan nodded and Sarah snorted. “Good luck, hot stuff.”
Emerson elbowed her. “Sarah. Sorry, Sawyer. Come on, girl.”
Sarah snorted again. “You ruin all the fun.”
Emerson laughed. “Yeah, yeah, but I made you breakfast!”
Sarah said, deadpan, “You are forgiven, lead the way.”
I laughed, but Megan stayed serious as Emerson and Sarah walked into the kitchen, followed by the three rascals.
I looked down at Megan and placed one hand on her cheek. “I have to leave pretty soon, Pumpkin, or Chief will chew me out, but I need to make sure you are okay and ask if you will keep Chase with you.”
Megan swallowed hard and then nodded. “Of course I will, we adore him and honestly, I will feel better with him near, but . . . um . . . how long?”
I dropped my hand and shook my head. “I don’t know. A day, three, maybe a week . . . or two . . . ” She cleared her throat and then nodded, looking like she was in pain. I hated it, I hated the fire for coming at a terrible time. “Still have my house key?” She nodded and I continued, “You can stay at my house as long as you want, but I know you might not want to.” I didn’t want to say why, and I knew I didn’t need to remind her of last night. She just nodded. “I’m sure you can stay at Emerson’s, Jules’s or Sarah’s. After tonight I’m going to have my aunt and my cousin, Tori, who’s in town for a little, check on Buck and the house daily. I won’t be in contact most likely, but if you aren’t at your apartment, please just make sure that someone other than who you are staying with knows where you are, okay?” She nodded and I smiled. “Look at this as a vacation from me being a pain in your ass.”
She looked at me with pain in her eyes. “You’re not.”
I snorted and grinned, attempting to cheer her up. “Lying to make me feel better? Wow, you must really miss me already.”
My attempt didn’t work, because she swallowed and then stared up at me. “I do.”
The emotion in the second string of words had my body tense with concern. “Megan—”
She cut me off. “I—I . . . ”
I just looked down at her, and although I told myself not to, I grabbed her hands and she grabbed them back. “You?”
She took a deep breath “I . . . ”
I just smiled at the realization of what she was trying to say and knew it wasn’t easy for her. “I know.” I smirked.
Her eyes flew up to mine. “What?”
I smiled and kissed her head. “We will continue this when I return, but for now, Pumpkin?” She looked up at me with those steel gray eyes and I couldn’t hold back anymore, I had to claim her.
I quickly ducked down and kissed her, fast and sweet, on the lips. “Pray for rain.” I smiled at the sight of her standing there in shock, touching her fingers to her lips. I quickly ducked into the kitchen and hugged Emerson and Sarah, quickly told them to look out for the girls, and then gave Charlotte a huge hug and kiss. When I walked back out to leave, Megan was still standing there, just how I left her, and her eyes traveled up to mine. “Bye, love.”
She swallowed hard and then slowly walked to me and kissed me lightly on the cheek. “Be safe, SJ.”
I smiled. “Always, Pumpkin.” I turned and walked out the door, more sure about life than I had ever been. I would be safe alright, and then Megan and I would finally have a real talk about our future, the one I always envisioned, except now it included an adorable preschooler.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Megan
Emerson’s living room looked like one big mattress with the array of blankets and pillows we crowded the room with. Sarah, Emerson, Charlotte, Mari, Maxi and the three dogs—Cooper, Silver and Chase—were all snuggled around me, sleeping steadily. I was still up at midnight finishing the last movie we had starting watching, The Little Mermaid, one of my favorites. Travis came by to check on us and drop off Chase. He was now sleeping on the couch above us. Poor guy
had no chance of leaving this house once he’d stepped foot in it. After last night, even Sarah wanted him around. That was a huge sign that we were all still a little rattled. Thankfully, Travis didn’t start his academy until Wednesday and was willing to play bodyguard once again.
I felt safe, surrounded by people I loved—not to mention three protective dogs, not including Travis. Good One, Megan. I laughed at myself in my mind. Although I felt safe, I couldn’t sleep with the thought of Sawyer in harm’s way. Images of fire surrounding him haunted me, and it hurt to close my eyes. It was just like every deployment with Charles. Crap. I should have told Sawyer, but I froze. Good going, Megan. He had thrown me off with his cocky attitude, and I couldn’t speak. I took a deep breath and watched Arielle get her voice back in a whirl of lights. Finally, after the credits rolled on the movie, I fell into a steady sleep.
The next day, we had breakfast and hung out for a little bit. I needed to go get our stuff from SJ’s but I didn’t want to go by myself. Travis volunteered to take Charlotte and me wherever we needed to go and get us set up for anything we needed. He said he would be able to concentrate better at the academy if he knew we were all set up. He talked me into getting an alarm system and even installed it for me. The alarm, plus Chase, made me feel much better about being alone in the apartment again with Charlotte. Even though I knew Stew and my mom were both locked up, the fear that had become ingrained in my mind was still lingering back there somewhere. The extra precautions helped to keep them in the far back of my mind.
Sawyer
Six days. It had been six days since we showed up here, yet the fire didn’t seem to be dying down. In fact, it had gotten angrier and came back with a vengeance. The wind had died down the day we showed up, but it came back last night to throw us a curve ball. I hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, and the sleep I had gotten so far had been minimal. Food was available, but having no time made it difficult to eat. I found myself taking bites of sandwiches that locals made us every hour or so. The one good thing was that the stations were all working together, so Cal and I somehow teamed up. It made it comforting to know that he and I cared for the same people who were sixty miles away and safe from the flames that surrounded us. Thank God.
Cal and I were standing against one of the trucks taking a much-needed water break. “So when you got out of the Army, did you think you’d end up back in hell?”
Cal laughed. “Not really. Didn’t think about it I guess. Before, I was just a paramedic, so I never did this stuff. But I guess I should have thought about that before teaming up with the fire department, huh?”
I laughed. “Guess so.” Cal was a firefighter, but mostly he was a paramedic. We all were certified, but no one had experience like him.
Suddenly, our conversation was cut short with yelling from the other side of the truck. Cal and I looked at each other and then ran towards the noise, up the hill. “What’s going on?” Cal yelled at one of his buddies.
Cal’s friend responded, “We cleared the area, but a guy’s goat got loose, and ran up the hill a ways. The old man chased after it. We tried to stop him once we spotted him, but he’s a fast son of a bitch.” Cal and I looked at each other just as an older woman came running over.
“Please, please, my Harry! Oh God, that stubborn old man, please, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he has Alzheimer’s. He thinks that damn goat is our daughter, who we lost years ago. Oh God, I can’t lose him too, please!”
Cal gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay, ma’am, it’s going to be okay, we are going to get him.”
She sighed. “Really?”
Cal smiled lightly. “Really. Now, his name is Harry?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
Cal nodded. “And what is your name? Your daughter’s name?”
The old woman sighed as tears leaked down her eyes. “My name is Margo, and our daughter was Lucy.”
Cal patted her shoulder. “Thank you. Stay put, and stay safe.” The old lady nodded as one of the men walked her to the safe area. Cal looked around. “Where’s Chief?” he yelled.
No one answered for a moment, then someone yelled, “North bank, with the front line.” We knew that meant the fire was advancing fast, and he most likely needed to assess what to do next.
Cal walked over, finished suiting up, and grabbed a couple of tools, along with his medic bag and a bottle of water that he hooked onto his utility belt. Then he looked over at me. “You in?”
I nodded. “Hell yeah. I’m not letting Harry break that sweet woman’s heart.”
Cal nodded. “Good man.”
I copied Cal, grabbing gear, and then we told a couple of guys what we were doing. “You’re going to get your ass chewed if it goes wrong,” One of them said.
Cal laughed and then said seriously, “Either we are walking out with the man alive, or we aren’t walking out. One way we are heroes, so no one’s going to chew us out, and the other way? Can’t chew us out if we aren’t here, right? I’ll take my chances . . . Prescott?”
I swallowed hard, letting his words take full impact on me. If this went wrong, if we screwed this up, Megan would be left alone a second time. She hadn’t told me she loved me, but she was about to, and I loved her, she knew it. I couldn’t die, damn it, I would have to figure out a way not to let that happen. Then I thought of Emerson’s face before we left. Yeah, that wasn’t happening either. I would have to find a way to keep us both alive. I cleared my throat, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Yeah. Lets go.” We quickly booked it up the hill. We rushed through the narrow pathway, surrounded by flames on both sides, into the mountains and to the heart of the fire. Not going to lie, I’ve had better plans.
Calvin
We had hiked for over an hour, and the air was thick and gray. Air tanks were expensive, heavy, and currently being used up. So that meant we had to be creative and were currently breathing through bandanas over our mouths. My goggles kept filling with ash and I had to wipe them frequently. To talk took air that we didn’t have to waste, so Sawyer and I spoke mostly with hand signals. This may have not been the best thought-out plan, but when that woman came running to me, all I saw was my Grans, Ethel, and I thought about Gramps before he passed. I couldn’t let that woman go through what my Grans did, not yet, not like this. Something in me called me up that hill, and whether it was simple intuition or something higher, I didn’t know. But I knew I was supposed to be on this hill, in this fire, looking for the confused old man who thought a goat was his child.
Flashes of Emerson, Mari and Maxi flooded my mind, but I willed them out. More hauntingly, images of Maxwell came back followed by Megan and Charlotte, all he left behind. I needed to worry about the mission in front of me and get us all home alive, so I pushed the images out and focused on the task.
Willing my ears to hear further than they could, I stopped and listened through the sound of the fire crackling around us. Sweat trickled down my back and my body ached with exhaustion. Suddenly, Sawyer froze and put his hand up to stop. He looked at me with wide eyes and then pointed to the left. I stopped, and then I heard it. A bleating was coming from the downed tree on the left side. Sawyer and I jumped over logs and into the brush.
Laying there under the tree was the old man, hunkered down and wrapped around the small goat, his shirt around his mouth, asleep. At least I prayed that he was asleep. I bent down and took off my bandana, exposing my face to the harsh air around us. “Harry.” I shook him lightly and his eyes flew open. His hands tightened around the goat, who belated in response, and he slid back a little. “No, no, don’t move, Harry. I am Smith, and this is Prescott. We are firefighters, here to save you and Lucy.”
His eyes widened further, and then a tear leaked from them as he petted the goat. “Okay, thank you. She is only five, she’s so scared.”
My chest ached for the man, and I nodded. “I can see that, I understand, I have two little girls.”
Harry sat up a little. “You do?”
Harry nodded. “Yeah, alright.”
Sawyer
We had made it a couple hundred yards towards base camp when the wind picked up again, causing the fire to swirl all around us, too close for comfort. The air was heavy and thick with smoke. All three of us, and even the goat, had our mouths covered, and we were still breathing heavily. We weren’t going to last out in the elements with the fires blazing much longer without oxygen. Deciding that we needed to do something or we wouldn’t make it back, I grabbed the small, portable oxygen masks out of my pack. They weren’t the best bet, but they would help greatly. We hadn’t used them yet because they were only a temporary supply of fresh air, and it was best to save it for . . . well, for now. After placing mine on, I placed one on the old man, Harry. He wheezed and coughed into the mask. He took a long breath and almost fell. After Cal placed the mask over his face, he gently took the goat from Harry, and I placed Harry’s arm over my shoulder, guiding him slowly down the fire-ridden hill, as he coughed more. I could see the colors of the firetrucks far in the distance below and told myself we were almost there.
Suddenly, the wind gushed along the hillside and the fire swarmed over us. I threw Harry on the ground and jumped over him. I looked over briefly to see that Cal had done the same with the goat. We both grunted at the pain of the heat of the flames being too close. There was a large boulder with a decent-sized hole in front of it that was surrounded by dirt and had no brush immediately nearby. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do the trick until I could think clearly.
Cal and I must have had the same thought, because we both scurried on our hands and knees towards the safe haven. Unfortunately, the fire was blowing in the wind and was near inches above our backs, causing searing pain at the closeness. I nudged Harry forward with my hands and he sluggishly tried his hardest. Once in the hole, I grabbed Harry and the goat. I placed the goat in Harrys arms and pushed his head down for him to stay low. He obliged. The flames from the fire surrounded us and were moving closer. I jumped up and helped Cal, who was quickly grabbing anything that could burn around the hole and throwing it away from it, sometimes feeding the fire in return.