Fighting the Fire

by Jennifer Conner

  Cy flung his arm to shield his face as the whoosh of flames pushed closer. The heat rippled over his coat. He drew a sharp breath of oxygen from his tank remembering to breathe.

  There was a shimmer inside the house, a dark form, like a desert mirage. “Mia!” he cried and she spun, holding the child tightly against her.

  Her face showed relief a second before her eyes widened and she screamed, “Cy, watch out!”

  Cy looked up as he expected part of the burning house to be falling. Instead, a man’s face, red in fury, was inches from his.

  “Why didn’t you die? Why are you making this so much harder than it has to be?”

  Cy felt the impact as the board hit him against the side of the helmet. He staggered back trying to keep his balance.

  The man took another swing, but this time Cy was ready and stepped to the side. The board brushed past his coat and hit the wall with a thud. “Jason, stop!”

  The man’s eyes were wild, filled with years of rage. “You killed my family, you bastard.”

  Cy held up his hand to try and stop him but instead dodged another blow. “Jason, listen to me.” He moved closer to the edge where the fire was burning, away from Mia and the child. “It was my father. He’s the one that drove drunk that night.”

  Jason wiped tears away with the back of his hand gripping the weapon tighter. “He needs to suffer. Feel the hurt I felt for all these years.”

  “Killing me isn’t the answer.” Cy’s gaze darted to the flames and judged their distance then flipped up the visor on his flash hood. “My father doesn’t give a shit about me, and never has. Let me help you. Jason, you need help.”

  The man’s hands trembled, his face confused. “You need to pay,” he said in a monotone, his voice distant.

  “Don’t do this.”

  The fire crackled around the board at their feet, there wasn’t much time before the structure of the house started to give way to the flames.

  Cy moved so Mia and the boy was safe behind him. He didn’t dare break his gaze with Jason.

  “Cy, the roof!” Mia screamed as a board broke free and crumbled toward them. Cy stepped back as Jason shielded his face from the burning embers.

  Cy grabbed his Haligan bar and gripping it like a baseball bat, swung hard. The impact caught Jason by surprise as his eyes rolled back and he began to slump. Cy saw West in the doorway.

  Cy yelled, “Run!” to Mia, pointing toward the door. He felt the ripple of energy from the orb as she passed, the blue light glowing eerily off the walls.

  West backed up to make way for Mia and the boy.

  Cy grabbed Jason’s limp body, threw him over his shoulder, and ran after Mia. The back door was still open as they hit the smoke and flames. Cy turned his shoulder to take the brunt of the heat as it shimmered around him. He hoped Jason would stay unconscious.

  The sunlight grew brighter as they moved past the edge of the house. Mario took Jason and carried him to a patch of open grass where the medics were.

  “Mia needs help,” Cy said.

  “Where the hell did he come from?” West asked as he looked up and motioned for the police.”Did he do this?” Cy’s gaze met West’s and he nodded.

  As Mia held the boy tightly to her chest, her body shook from the effort.

  “Pull it back inside, Mia. I’m here. No one can see us.” Cy said, as he stepped to block her from view and pulled his glove free. Energy snapped at his fingers as he reached inside the sphere and brushed her cheek.

  Mia nodded, closed her eyes tight, and then with a snap it was gone.

  “How’d you do that?” the little boy asked, his wide green eyes watching.

  “She’s has a special superpower.” Cy smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair with his large gloved hand. “Man, were you ever brave in there,” he told him and then said to Mia, “Give him to me, he’s safe.” He put out his arms and flipped up the face shield of his helmet so she could see his eyes. Mia pried the boy’s small arms from around her neck.

  Screams echoed across the grass as the boy’s mother collided so hard into Cy she almost knocked him off his feet. He handed the boy back to his mother.

  “Here ma’am, take him over to the EMT. I think he’s fine, but make sure he didn’t suck in any smoke.”

  “Thank you for saving him.” Tears streamed down her face as she hugged her child.

  “Hey, it wasn’t me. It was the woman over there.” He tipped his helmet in Mia’s direction. “You’ll have to thank her later. I’d like to see you do that.”

  The mother kissed her boy and ran a hand through his short blond hair. She muttered calming words as she walked toward the waiting EMT stretchers.

  Cy had to take a second and check on Mia before he went back in to help with the still raging fire. Flames shot high while the other firemen battled to get the blaze under control.

  Cy ran the distance and took Mia’s face in his hands. “Damn it.” He closed his eyes before he spoke. “I want to yell and tell you how dangerous that was. I think instead I’ll kiss you until I can stop thinking about it.” He pulled his helmet off and crushed his mouth to hers. Her lips were warm and sweet. He knew he would never get tired of kissing her. Burying his nose against her cheek, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and brushed away a tear. “I know you’re mad, but I thought that I might be the only one who could reach him on time. I had to help.”

  “You did. You saved that boy.”

  “The man inside?”

  “Jason,” Cy said stiffly as they watched the police cuff him and push him into the back of a police cruiser. “I still don’t understand. All those years he hated my father so much for what he had done, but then he killed innocent people to get to me?”

  “His mind was clouded. Without even touching him I could read it. There was so much pain and hatred in him. I tried to take some of it, but with the little boy…”

  “Jason needs professional help. Neither of us can do that. He has to understand what he did was no better than what my father did. Mary’s family will grieve the same.” He kissed her again, needing to feel her pressed against him. He needed to feel something real and solid. “When we’re married, you’ll never do anything like that again.”

  She pushed back and looked into his face. “Married?”

  Cy lifted the edge of his coat and shoved his hand into the pocket of the jeans beneath his turn-out pants. Pulling out a small black velvet box he popped it open. The platinum and gold band inside was entwined with a Native American design and glinted in the sun.

  Unceremoniously, Cy shoved the ring on Mia’s finger as the words fell in a tumble from his mouth, “Mia, when you went into that fire, I couldn’t imagine living without you.” He gathered composure. “This isn’t at all what I planned. I never say the right thing. Damn it. Just, say yes that you’ll marry me?” Cy looked over his shoulder to see West angrily waving for him to join the others back on the line.

  “You’re such a romantic,” Mia said and laughed out loud.

  “I know. I suck at this. But, I gotta get back.” Cy looked over his shoulder to see West storming toward them.

  She rubbed a smudge of soot off his cheek with her thumb.

  Cy kissed her again. An electrical current had snapped his lip and he ran his tongue over it. “What am I going to do with you?” Cy said as he pressed his brow to her forehead.

  “Whatever you want...later, but now you’ve got a fire to fight.” She grinned and looked down at the ring. “Oh by the way, yes. I’ll marry you.”

  “Good. That was the answer I wanted to hear.” Cy grinned broadly, turned, and shoved his helmet back onto his head. He hurried off to join the others.

  Epilogue

  One week later.

  Orenda threw open the front door of her shop and let out a strangled cry when she saw the four of them. “Come here!” Waddling with her walker she met Donoma and Sally halfway through the entrance.

  The thr
ee women embraced and cried.

  “It's been too long. Why have we stayed away from seeing each other for so long?” Donoma wondered aloud.

  Mia smiled as she felt Cy’s hand weave behind her back and draw her close to his side.

  Sally limped to follow them through the open door. The skin grafts had taken well and there was little evidence other than the memories of the fire.

  “Life’s good some days. Not every day, but days like this, it’s great.” Cy’s warm lips gave Mia a soft kiss as she leaned back into his body.

  Her grandma wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “So many years I’d blamed myself when my daughter took Miakoda from us. I knew I should have listened to you. We should have left when we had the chance.”

  Mia walked toward the two women and kissed her grandma on the cheek. “We talked about this. No more dwelling in the past, it’s not worth the time or the energy.” The old woman hugged her and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Mia turned to Orenda, “Hey, you got any cookies in there?”

  “Of course I do.”

  ****

  Munching their way happily through the first plate, Mia said, “I knew she was my grandma when I walked through her door. I felt her powers.”

  Donoma smiled. “My powers have never been as strong as yours. You’ve already learned so much in such a short time, and now you’ve learned how to help others.”

  Cy took another bite adding, “But no more running into burning houses. That’s my job.” He kissed Mia’s nose leaving a smear of chocolate behind and then licked it off.

  “What will happen to Jason?” Sally asked.

  “He’s in custody for arson and murder. They’ll do a psyche observation on him before the trial. I wish there was something I could have done to help him.” Cy scuffed his foot on the floor.

  “He killed my friend. Even though I’ve known Jason his whole life, I can’t forgive him,” Sally shook her head.

  “You’re right,” Cy said. “He had his chance for help and forgiveness. That time has passed.

  Sitting on the couch between Mia and Cy, Orenda reached for their hands and pulled them into her grasp.

  “Not another Tarot card reading,” Mia said, popping the last bite of the cookie in her mouth.

  “Hell, those cards are just for show. I see the future fine without them.” Orenda laughed, and her large purple dress shook in ripples. Gaps in her front teeth showed as she grasped their hands tighter and smiled. “Things are different between you two?”

  Mia smiled and felt herself blush. “Cy asked me to marry him.” She held out her hand with the ring. The women simultaneously whooped their approval.

  “And you didn’t tell me?” Sally asked and tried to frown but smiled instead.

  Orenda dropped their clasped hands. “I know! Isn't it great?”

  “How could you know?” Mia mouth dropped open. “He only asked me last week.”

  “Have you not heard a thing I said?” Orenda asked, clearly exasperated. She rolled her eyes. “I knew from our first meeting that you two would marry. I was just waiting for you to catch up on the game. Married. My two favorite people. It’s just too much to take.” She turned to Donoma and Sally and clapped her hands loudly.

  “I get my granddaughter back, and with it gain a grandson. I still can’t believe it.” Donoma said, patting both Mia and Cy on the knees.

  “Do you want to know how many kids you for help re going to have?” Orenda asked with a devilish twinkle in her eyes.

  Mia choked on the last bite and laid the cookie back on the table. “Did she just say—plural?”

  “I believe she did,” Cy said. “Orenda, if it’s more then five kids, let’s not tell her. She’s still trying to talk herself into marrying me.”

  “How come I seem to be the only one here that didn’t know I was going to marry you?” Mia grinned.

  “It’s about time you caught up!” Cy kissed her again.

  They all laughed.

  Cy was right, it was better to be half full than half empty.

  Full of love. Full of family. Full of life

  .

  Please leave a review for Fighting the Fire by clicking on the link for Amazon and Goodreads below.

  Every review counts and yours is greatly appreciated!

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  LONDON WITH A DARE

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  LOVE POTION NUMBER 9

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  AMAZON

  I absolutely love this love story. I am a hopeless romantic and I love happily ever afters. Jennifer Conner is an amazing author with a lot of passion and romance in her stories. I really enjoy her writing and I am looking forward
to reading more of her books. I highly recommend you read Love Potion Number 10 and any books by Jennifer Conner. You will not regret it. She is a wonderful writer who has become one of my favorite authors. I am looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. 5 stars.

  Girl with Pen Reviews

  What a cute Valentine's Day romance. What happens when Everett Benedet has the hots for her playboy boss Felix but can't seem to turn his head? Well you go see a local fortune teller for a love potion of course! Royce works with Everett, but she sees him as a sweet friend at the office. When Felix gives Royce a ticket to go see Beethoven and the other to Everett, it is the beginning of an entirely new symphony. But what about the cookies laced with the love potion that Everett gave to Felix? This is a cute and sexy romance, with minimally explicit sex scene. The dialogue between the characters can have you rolling your eyes at one and sighing with another.

  Redrabbit reviewer

  Look for Jennifer Conner’s Other Titles

  Visit Jennifer at her website

  https://jenniferconnerwriter.wordpress.com/

  BOOKS AVAILABLE IN EBOOK, PAPERBACK, AUDIOBOOK, and FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDITIONS

  Starvation Height (Screenplay)

  Finalist Austin After Dark Film Festival and The Oregon Scream Festival

  Soon to be a television series:

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  Novels

  Shot in the Dark

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