Trevor tried to spot the woman he had saved, but he couldn’t tell whether anyone laid out on the medical stretchers looked like her. His heart sank as he thought of how she would react when she regained consciousness, and realized her partner hadn’t been as lucky as she had. Trevor frowned, and started walking in the direction of the fire station. His SUV was parked at the station, and, while he could have gotten a ride from someone, he thought the two mile walk might help clear his head.
As he got farther away from the scene of the fire, the air cleared until he could finally breathe deeply again. He removed his helmet completely and wiped at the sweat on his forehead. All he wanted to do was get back to base, where he lived with the rest of his clan of smokejumpers, and sink into his soft, warm, bed. He had been looking for some action and adventure to fill his winter days, but tonight had been more excitement than he wanted. The troubled eyes of the woman he had saved haunted him as he climbed into his vehicle and headed for the outskirts of Red Valley.
Chapter Two
Early the next morning, Trevor sat on the grassy area outside the airplane hangar that served as home base for the Burning Claws crew of smokejumpers. He stared at a copy of Red Valley’s daily newspaper, taking in the dramatic pictures of a burning hotel splashed across the front page. The article’s title proclaimed “One Dead in Hotel Fire.” Trevor closed his eyes and felt a heaviness settle over his heart.
One dead.
One that he could have saved, if he had only been quicker to find the voices crying out for help. Trevor threw the newspaper across the grass in frustration, then laid his head back and stared up at the cloudless sky.
The crisp morning air and the deep blue sky felt strange after the heat and haze of the night before. Trevor breathed in deeply, and wondered if he should stay in the volunteer fire department. He had joined to get away from the angst-filled feeling of sitting around and doing nothing all winter. But he didn’t like taking orders from the fire chief, and he didn’t like feeling like a failure. And, after last night, he felt like a failure. How had a bear like him, in excellent physical condition and with excellent hearing, failed to make it to rescue someone in time?
Trevor heard footsteps and looked up to see his fellow clan member, Luke, walking toward him and carrying a small toolbox.
“Hey, Buddy,” Luke said. “What are you doing up so early? I thought you were at a fire until late last night.”
“Yeah, I was. And I’m exhausted,” Trevor answered. “But I can’t sleep anymore. A man died in the fire, and it was my fault.”
Luke raised an eyebrow as he pulled out a measuring tape from his toolbox. “Your fault? How?”
Trevor shrugged. “I didn’t get to him in time. He and his girlfriend or wife or something were trapped on the fourth floor of the hotel. They were shouting for help, but it took me a long time to figure out where they were. The heavy smoke seemed to really mess with my bear hearing. I managed to save the woman, but the man had shut himself up in the bathroom. He died of smoke inhalation. He must have thought he was shutting out the smoky air, but he actually just trapped himself in a small space with the heavy smoke. He suffocated.”
Luke stretched the measuring tape across the width of the lone picnic table that sat in the grassy area, then wrote down the measurement in a small notebook. “That doesn’t sound like your fault. It sounds like the guy panicked and sped up his own death.”
“I guess,” Trevor said. “But not being able to figure out where the screaming was coming from was frustrating. And the fire chief kept yelling at me to get out of the building. He’s not willing to take the slightest risk, even when there are people to rescue. I don’t think I can keep working for him. After working for someone like Ian, who trusts me and doesn’t treat me like a stupid little kid, it’s hard to respect this other guy.”
Ian was the alpha and crew chief of the Burning Claws Clan. He led the team of six smokejumpers on their missions to fight wildfires, and, even though he held the powerful title of alpha, he treated his crew with dignity and respect.
“Ian’s a rare breed,” Luke said as he measured the length of the picnic table. “Not too many bosses balance power and trust so well. But what would you do with yourself all winter if you didn’t keep working for the fire department?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to think of something. But the Red Valley Fire Department hasn’t exactly been the distraction I’d hoped it would be. Other than last night, the work has been slow and sometimes nonexistent. I guess there aren’t actually a lot of fires around here.”
Luke furrowed his brow and glanced over at Trevor. “There’s got to be something else you can do. I personally think that after fighting wildfires all summer, it’d be good for you to have a break from fires during the winter.”
“I guess,” Trevor said in a noncommittal tone.
“I also think you’re being too hard on yourself. It’s not your fault that guy died. Even bear hearing can be affected by heavy smoke and roaring flames. You know that. And you managed to save the woman. That’s something to be proud of, Trevor.”
Trevor sighed. “I know, but it just feels wrong to celebrate saving a person when that person just lost someone they loved. I keep imagining her waking up in the hospital alone, disoriented and looking for her partner, only to learn that she’ll never see him again. Maybe she would have rather not been saved. I know after we lost most of our clan in that rockslide, there were a lot of days that I wished I had just been killed along with them. The pain was agonizing.”
Luke silently stared down at the picnic table for several moments. Years ago, the Burning Claws Clan had lost all but five of their members in a rockslide. The remaining clan members had leaned on each other and made it through the tragedy, but it was hard to imagine anything being more painful than that time.
“Why don’t you go talk to her?” Luke asked.
“Talk to her? And say what? ‘Sorry I couldn’t save your man. My bad.’”
Luke sighed. “No. But maybe knowing that you did everything possible will help her feel better. Maybe the simple human act of reaching out to tell her that you wish he had made it will help. Since she was staying at the hotel, odds are good she doesn’t have any other family or friends around here. She’s probably in the hospital feeling very alone right now. Get over yourself and go be a friendly face for her.”
Trevor picked blades of dewy grass one at time, flicking them away as soon as he had pulled them from the earth. After thinking about what Luke had said for several long moments, he nodded. “You’re right, as usual. I should go offer my condolences, and see if there’s anything I can do to help. Maybe I’ll even take her a pie from Riley’s pie shop as a gesture of kindness.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Luke said.
Trevor stood and wiped the remnants of his grass pickings off of his jeans. “By the way, why are you measuring the picnic table?”
Luke grinned. “I’m going to build a new one. Maybe two new ones. I’m tired of not having enough space for everyone to sit, so I figured it’d be a good way to flex my woodworking muscles.”
“Good luck,” Trevor said, and laughed. The clan had been short a picnic table since their alpha, Ian, and his lifemate, Charlotte, had broken the second table into smithereens during a particularly hot and heavy makeout session. Luke was spending the winter sharpening up his woodworking skills, and a new picnic table would be a useful addition to the clan’s base.
Luke shooed Trevor off. “Get out of here. Go take care of that poor girl.”
Trevor didn’t wait to be told again. He went into the bunkhouse to grab his wallet and keys, and then fired up his SUV. He stopped by The Sweet Crust first. Another one of the Burning Claws clan members, Hunter, had encouraged his lifemate, Riley, to open a pie shop. The Sweet Crust had been the result. Riley could outbake anyone for miles, and Trevor had never met anyone who didn’t like her pies.
When he stepped into the pie shop, Riley’s voi
ce called out from somewhere in the back room. “Be with you in just a minute.”
Trevor shifted his weight back and forth anxiously while he waited. He scanned the list of pies written in chalk on a blackboard above the counter, trying to decide which one would be best for offering condolences to a complete stranger. A few moments later, Riley appeared, wearing a dark apron and covered in flour.
“Hey, Trevor! Nice surprise. I haven’t seen you in here for a bit. How’re things?”
“Uh, they’re okay. Except last night was pretty rough. I helped out with a hotel fire, and rescued a girl. But her boyfriend didn’t make it.”
“I heard about that,” Riley said, her voice taking on a sympathetic tone. “It sounds like the fire burned the whole hotel to the ground.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t pretty. Anyway, I wanted to get a pie to take to the hospital for the girl that survived, but I have no idea what kind to get. I don’t even know her name, let alone what kind of pie she likes.”
Riley scrunched up her face in thought. “Hmm. Well, apple is our bestseller. I make a version that’s got a lot of cinnamon notes, and people seem to like it a lot.”
“I’ll do an apple pie, then,” Trevor said. “It’s as good a choice as any.”
Riley nodded, and went to box up a pie for Trevor. She tied a red ribbon around the box and handed the pie to him.
“I hope a red ribbon is okay. It’s the only color I have right now, since I’ve been making a bunch of pies for Valentine’s Day.”
“It looks great,” Trevor said, handing his credit card to Riley. After he paid, he carefully carried the pie to his SUV and then headed for Red Valley’s Hospital. When he arrived, he walked up to the information desk and waited several moments for the bored looking receptionist to look up at him.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a yawn.
“Uh, yeah, I’m a volunteer firefighter and I worked the big hotel fire last night. I saved a woman from the building, but she had severe smoke inhalation damage, so I’m pretty sure she’s still here in the hospital. I’d like to see her, if possible, and give her this pie.”
“What’s her name?” the receptionist asked.
“I don’t know. I was hoping you’d be able to help me find her.”
The receptionist arched one of her eyebrows at Trevor, and looked confused. “You don’t know her name, and you brought her a pie?”
Trevor shrugged. “I’m just trying to be nice. I think she lost her boyfriend in the fire, so she’s probably feeling a little down at the moment.”
“Well, I know we have two different women here being treated for injuries from the fire last night. One’s an older lady and one I think is about your age.”
“I’m looking for the one who’s my age.”
The receptionist typed something into her computer. “Bailey Webb. She’s on the third floor. Let me call her room and see if it’s okay to send you up.”
The receptionist dialed something into her phone and waited. After about a minute, she hung the receiver up. “There’s no answer. She might be sleeping, or out having a procedure done or something. I can’t send you up without permission, but you can wait a while and I can try calling again in a little bit.”
Trevor frowned. “No, that’s okay. I don’t want to bother her. Could you maybe just send this pie up to her?”
“Sure. Do you want to leave a note?”
“Uh, yeah. Do you have something to write on?”
The receptionist handed him a small scrap sheet of paper. It looked a little ridiculous next to the fancily wrapped box, but Trevor decided it wasn’t worth trying to pester the receptionist for something better. A mug on the counter held an assortment of abandoned pens, and Trevor grabbed one. It didn’t work, so he grabbed a second one.
“What did you say her name is?” he asked.
“Bailey Webb,” the receptionist said.
“B-a-i-l-e-y?” Trevor asked, spelling out the name.
“Yup.”
Trevor had just started to write on the note when a nurse came up behind him and clapped him on the back.
“Did you say Bailey? Bailey Webb? You know her?” the nurse asked.
“Not really,” Trevor said. “I’m a firefighter who helped save her last night. I wanted to check on her and drop off this pie, but I guess she’s sleeping or something right now.”
“Oh, lord, yes. The poor girl’s been asleep almost the entire time she’s been here. She suffered pretty bad smoke inhalation. She’s actually pretty lucky she made it out of there alive.”
“Has she said anything about her boyfriend or husband that was in the hotel with her?”
The nurse frowned. “She hasn’t mentioned anyone. But she’s been sleeping my whole shift so far. The only emergency contact name she gave us was her boss, so we haven’t had any friends or family to notify that she’s here. I was hoping you knew her.”
“Nope, sorry. I don’t know her outside of rescuing her last night. Do you think you could drop this pie off for her, though?”
“Sure, no problem,” the nurse said, and took the pie.
Trevor thanked the nurse and the receptionist, and then left the hospital. He needed to go for a long run, or do something to take his mind off the events of the last twelve hours. Sitting around here waiting for someone he didn’t even know would definitely not improve his mood.
Chapter Three
Bailey Webb blinked against the bright light as she opened her eyes. Sunlight streamed in through the open blinds on her large hospital room window, reflecting off the polished steel of the medical equipment surrounding her.
Feeling dazed, she sat up in her bed and tried to remember why she was here. Her chest ached a little when she breathed in deeply. Slowly, memories of the past twenty-four hours came flooding back to her. She remembered waking up to a blinding haze of smoke and the blaring of fire alarms. Everything in the hotel had been dark, and the hallway had been so hot and thick with smoke that she’d been afraid to venture into it. Besides, she’d thought she remembered something from fire safety classes in elementary school about not leaving a room if the doorknob felt hot, and the door handle on her hotel door had been uncomfortably warm. So, Bailey had opened the window of her fourth story room, and waited for someone to rescue her. Despite the wailing of sirens, though, Bailey hadn’t seen any firemen or ladders near her window in the back of the hotel. The smoke had grown thicker, and the air hotter. Bailey had started considering whether she could survive a jump from the fourth floor, when her hotel door had burst open. Her coworker, Conner, who had been staying in the room across the hall from her, burst in.
“We’re trapped!” he’d yelled. “I tried to get to the stairs, but the smoke is too thick. And the closer you get to the stairwell, the hotter it gets. We’re going to die in here.”
Bailey had never heard Conner sound so panicked. He was always the cool, collected one, even when everything on a work assignment was going to shit. And, as a field journalist, things frequently went to shit. The panic in his voice had triggered her own feelings of panic, and she’d started yelling for help.
He’d yelled with her for a few minutes, but then had told her they should hide in the bathroom and shut the door to keep out the smoke. Bailey had told him he was crazy, and that they would suffocate in there. He’d said, “Suit yourself,” and then disappeared into the bathroom.
It was the last thing she’d ever hear him say.
She’d cowered in the corner by the window, trying to get what little fresh air might seep in against the smoke. Breathing had become more and more difficult, and she started to think that her only choice was to attempt a jump from the fourth floor window. She might be able to make it, and a few broken bones would be much better than dying.
But before she’d been able to act on her plan, a tall fireman had rushed into the room. She’d tried to raise her hand to show him where she was, but she’d had almost no energy left. It hadn’t mattered. The fireman had seen her,
and rushed over to scoop her off the floor. With her last burst of strength, she’d told him about Conner. The last thing she remembered before waking up in the hospital had been watching the fireman rush into the bathroom.
At some point, she’d briefly regained consciousness, and the hospital staff had peppered her with questions. They’d tried to get information about her medical history, and emergency contacts. Bailey had laughed. Her only emergency contact was her boss. Work had taken over her life, and she had no family or friends, other than people who worked with her. She’d tried to mumble answers to the staff’s questions, but all she really wanted to know was whether Conner had made it out okay. After repeatedly asking about him, one of the nurses got very quiet. Bailey knew even before the nurse spoke that the news wasn’t good.
“I’m so sorry. Your friend didn’t make it,” the nurse had said. Bailey had closed her eyes and slipped out of consciousness again, which had been a merciful escape from the painful reality of losing a friend and colleague.
But, now, she’d woken up again, and she had to face the fact that Conner wasn’t coming back. Her hospital room was empty and quiet this time. She looked around at the beeping machines and no-nonsense décor. The only thing that brightened the plain, sterile room was a box with a lovely red ribbon tied around it. Bailey pushed the button on her hospital bed that raised the back, bringing it to a seated position, and wondered what was in the box. She didn’t have much time to wonder, though. Before she had finished raising the bed, a nurse she didn’t remember seeing before walked into the room.
“Well, good afternoon, Sunshine. You’re finally awake. I’m Mindy, your day shift nurse. How are you feeling?”
Fire Bear Shifters: The Complete Series Page 27