Elizabeth beamed. “How about that! Did she like it?”
“It was a calling,” he said. “One of my daughters is a nurse, too. Do you know Maggie? She just moved down to Idaho.”
“I don’t think I know her except maybe by sight from bartending,” she said. “But I know your son Josh a little bit through Hayley.”
“And then there’s Jack,” Bruce said. The corners of his mouth tightened.
“And then there’s Jack,” Elizabeth said.
She had the feeling they were thinking two very different things about Jack at the moment. Bruce was likely thinking of his estrangement from his son, while Elizabeth was thinking of the way his body felt pressed against hers.
And then there’s Jack, she thought again. Man of my dreams.
“I’ve been thinking,” Bruce said. “I’m really glad your dad’s getting released soon. I’m sure you two must be relieved to know that chapter of his life is over.”
“For sure,” Emmett said.
“May I offer some advice?”
“Of course,” Emmett said.
“Well, you know I’ve got long ties in the law enforcement community, right?”
Emmett and Elizabeth both nodded.
“I was chief of police for over a decade, and I still see those guys regularly. Word is they're not going to make things easy for your dad when he gets out.”
“It figures,” Emmett muttered. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“I know the head of the parole office in town, too, and … well, let’s just put it this way. There are a lot of current and former cops gunning for your dad to make a mistake when he gets out so they can send him right back to prison.”
Elizabeth felt tears welling in her eyes. “That’s so not fair.”
“I agree,” Bruce said. “But here’s the thing. I’m also friends with the guy who heads the parole division down in Anchorage, and he’s really set up a nice program down there. They’ve got fantastic job placement, and they keep a high percentage of these guys out of prison.”
“I think that’s the way to go, then,” Emmett said, looking gratefully at Bruce. “It’s nice to know my dad’s got one good friend left on the outside.”
Bruce looked a little uncomfortable. “You know, he and I weren’t the greatest of friends when we were on the force together. He’s always been a hothead, which I’m sure you know.” He said it rhetorically, and both Emmett and Elizabeth laughed, as they definitely had experienced their dad’s hotheadedness. “But he did a lot of things right when he was a cop. Enough that I think—” Bruce shrugged. “Well, he served his time. He’s due for a fresh start. But it’s not going to happen here in Golden Falls, I can tell you that.”
Elizabeth knew he was right. “We’ve suggested before that he start over somewhere else, but he insists he’s going to come back here and clear his name—of the theft, I mean. He still won’t admit he did it.”
“That’s not going to fly,” Bruce said. “If he shows up in a bar and starts spouting off like we all know he’s capable of, someone’s gonna draw him into a fight and make him break parole. I think the two of you need to take matters into your own hands and make sure coming back here isn’t even an option.” He looked around. “Who holds the deed on this place? Is it in Nate’s name, or both your folks’ names?”
“It’s in our names,” Emmett said. “Both mine and Elizabeth’s. We went through a bunch of legal stuff back when I needed to get custody of her. Our mom skipped out, and I had my dad sign over the house to me to prevent my mom from getting access to both the house and my sister. I added Elizabeth to the deed when she turned eighteen. So we could either rent this place out or sell it, but we’d have to move quickly.”
“Are the two of you prepared to do that?” Bruce asked, looking from one to the other.
“I need as much of a fresh start as my old man,” Emmett said. Elizabeth was cheered by the hint of enthusiasm in his voice. “I’ve got a bunch of friends who moved down to Anchorage. I’d be happy to head down there with my dad, and if that doesn’t work, hell, we can keep on going down the Lower Forty-Eight if we need to. California’s always been on my radar.”
“That’s true,” Elizabeth said. “It has.”
“My sister would probably stay behind.” Emmett looked at her with affection. “She’s got more going for her here than I do, with school starting and a good job and good friends. Right, Lizzie Bean?”
“I think so,” Elizabeth said, feeling a huge relief wash over her at the idea of avoiding the drama that Nate’s return to Golden Falls would inevitably bring, and the thought of finding her very own little place to live appealed to her tremendously.
Not least of all, it occurred to her that she and Jack might have a better chance at a relationship if her father’s past wasn’t getting thrown in their faces all the time.
“So time is of the essence,” Bruce said. “I’m happy to help you two fix this place up and make some needed repairs, and if selling it is the way you want to go, I know a great realtor who could have it listed in no time. Do either of you know Misty Rhodes?”
“Oh, I do!” Elizabeth said. “She comes into the bar sometimes. She’s nice.”
“What do you think, Lizzie Bean?” Emmett asked. “Do you want to sell or rent it? I’m thinking that selling it’s the way to go.”
“Definitely,” Elizabeth said. Her heart felt lighter already. “I think this is a chapter of our lives we can finally close. But Bruce, we couldn’t accept your help, although if you could just connect us with Misty Rhodes, that would be great.”
“Oh, but I have way too much time on my hands,” Bruce said. “I used to help Josh with the sled dogs, but he’s got the kennel pretty well shut down already, and I miss the structure of having something to do with my days. Plus, I’ve remodeled my house from the studs up, so I have some expertise and all the tools you could imagine. Elizabeth, you can focus on school and on finding yourself a new place to live, while your brother and I can get this place ready to list.”
“Deal,” Emmett said, pre-empting any objections Elizabeth might have—not that she had any. Instead, she was imagining herself in a cute little place, maybe something similar to Hayley’s, which she’d heard about from Hayley but never seen. She pictured herself studying for her classes, tucked under a blanket in front of a working fireplace, with no one around but Rugby, who’d lie at her feet.
She pictured her phone sounding with an incoming text from Jack: I miss you. I want you. I’m coming over.
Elizabeth smiled at the thought.
A girl could dream, right?
15
Jack had just loaded up a bowl of chili and a plate of cornbread for a late lunch when the dispatch tones went off and the LED display in the kitchen flashed red.
Again.
It had been a crazy morning, this being the fifth call of the day for the engine crew; the ladder had run six calls themselves. He was glad to keep busy because every time he had any downtime, he found himself away from the men and on his computer. He’d discovered that Elizabeth was featured on the website for the Sled Dog Brewing Company, smiling and laughing with some customers as she mixed drinks.
Jack couldn’t get enough of that picture. Even though she sported a much different hairstyle now, the smile was all her. He was struck by how much he missed her and the thought of what might have been.
“Engine One SERV for a fall injury off a horse, vicinity of Caribou Draw Lane.”
Jack was startled when he heard the dispatcher announce the location. That was his street. And a fall from a horse could only mean his neighbors at Pickens Stables. He left his chili on the kitchen counter and ran for the bay with more hustle than he usually did.
“Pickens?” Sean asked as they turned out into their snow rescue gear.
“Has to be,” Jack said.
Thirty seconds later, the crew was climbing into the SERV, the Snow Emergency Response Vehicle, a crew cab F-350 with a trailer
hitched to the back. The trailer contained the department’s two rescue snowmobiles and transport basket sleds. Sean drove with his usual expertise on the icy roads, while Jack spoke with dispatch to get more information. In the backseat, Dylan Hart and Cody Bradford were quiet, also listening for further information.
“Engine One to Dispatch. Do you have any more information on the patient?”
“Female, calling from her cell phone. She gave GPS coordinates, uploading to you now.”
Female patient, Jack thought. For a wild, horrible moment, he thought of Elizabeth—she’d met Charlene Pickens. What if she’d decided to go horseback riding on her own? “Did the RP give a name?” he asked dispatch, trying to keep his voice even.
“Affirmative, the name is Charlene Pickens.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Jack switched his headset off the open dispatch channel so that he was speaking only to his crew. He was worried about Charlene, of course, but he was also relieved it wasn’t Elizabeth. His rational brain regained control, and he knew that Charlene would be dressed appropriately, wearing a helmet, and that she’d had the presence of mind of call 911 and give her coordinates.
“Charlene Pickens?” Sean asked. “Isn’t she your neighbor?”
“She is,” Jack said. “I just got the coordinates here—I can see exactly where it is on the trail system, about three miles in.”
“Anything on injuries?” Cody asked from the back.
Jack read the scrolling information on the computer screen. “She’s saying a probable leg fracture. Femur.”
“Yeesh,” Sean said.
Poor Charlene. She’d be in tremendous pain. Femur fractures were one of the most agonizing of broken bones, and that was without complications such as interference with the femoral artery. With the temperature just above zero, Charlene would be cold, and only getting colder, as well as wet from lying in the snow while waiting for rescue. She could go into shock. Could get hypothermia.
Sean got them to Pickens Stables in under twenty minutes. Together the crew unloaded the snowmobiles out of the trailer and rigged up a transport basket to one of them. Onto the other one, they loaded the medical and drug boxes. Jack did a radio check with all of their personal radios, fastened his helmet, and then hopped on the snowmobile with the basket. If it were him, he’d prefer to be towed behind someone he knew and trusted, and he figured Charlene would feel the same.
“Dylan, take the other snowmobile,” Jack said. When the weather was nice, Dylan rode a motorcycle, and in the winter he was just as skilled on a snowmobile. To Sean and Cody, he said, “Sean, call an ambulance code two, and we’ll be in comms all the way.”
“Go get her,” Sean said, slapping the front of Jack’s snowmobile, and then they were off. Jack went fast—but not too fast—in the lead down the trail system he knew so well. The GPS device was activated, but Jack didn’t need it; he’d known the exact spot just from one look at the map. It was a slight hollow, at a bend, with a massive fallen tree parallel to the trail.
He slowed as they approached the bend and then braked the snowmobile to a stop, with Dylan close behind.
Jack’s throat constricted when he saw the scene before him. Charlene was lying flat on the ground, covered in blankets, with her helmeted head in Rob’s lap. She must have called the house after 911; Rob’s snowmobile was parked just off the trail. Several yards away, Charlene’s black Friesian horse stood, tied to a branch, looking what Jack imagined to be abashed at having thrown his human.
Jack did a U-turn with the snowmobile, dismounted, and pulled off his helmet.
“Jack!” Rob said when he recognized him. “Thank God you’re here.”
“We came as fast as we could.” He went to Charlene and knelt beside her, cringing inwardly to see the pain in her eyes. “Old Bucket finally threw you, did he?”
“No, he didn’t.” Charlene’s lips were pale and her voice thin, but she glanced with affection at the horse. “He got spooked by a fox, and I fell off.”
“We’ll get you taken care of now.” Jack was relieved to see that she was wearing her helmet, which looked intact. “What hurts?”
“My leg,” Charlene said. “And my shoulder.”
Jack did his assessment and ruled out a head injury, but when he pulled back the blanket and saw the weird angle of Charlene’s left leg, he felt a twist of nausea. He got queasy whenever he saw a visible deformity, but because he knew Charlene, it was somehow worse. He also saw that her shoulder was possibly dislocated or fractured. “Let’s do a C-spine to be on the safe side,” he said to Dylan. “But first, drugs.”
“Yes,” Charlene croaked. “Give me the drugs.”
Jack and Rob both grinned.
“Hang in there, darlin’,” Rob said. He bent down and kissed Charlene’s forehead, and Charlene managed a smile for him.
Jack thought of Elizabeth and her smile and the way it made him feel. At that moment, he yearned for her, and to have with her what Charlene and Rob had—a simple life and a long love.
The dose of fentanyl took Charlene’s pain from a ten out of ten to about a six, and at that point, Jack and Dylan got her C-spined, on a lift sheet, and loaded onto the basket.
The radio crackled with Sean’s voice. “Ambo is staged.”
“We’re heading back with the patient now,” Jack returned. “ETA ten minutes.”
The ride back down the snowy trail took longer since Jack didn’t want to jostle Charlene unnecessarily. By the time they got to the stables, the sun was edging the tops of the trees. As Charlene was lifted onto the gurney and wheeled into the waiting ambulance, she murmured for Rob.
“I’m right here,” Rob said.
“Where’s Bucket? He’s not still on the trail, is he?”
“I’ve already called Danny,” he said, referring to their college-age son who lived in the Alaska State dorms. “He’ll be here in a few minutes and will ride out and get him.”
“But—wolves—” Charlene’s hands twitched with anxiety.
“Charlene!” A female voice broke through.
Jack turned and saw Kristy Barrow, his part-time employee, coming across the snowfield from the cabin she’d been working on. He lifted a hand and waved.
“Oh, no,” Kristy said, standing at the edge of the ambulance. “Charlene, what happened?”
“I’ll tell you the whole story later,” Jack said. “But she’ll be okay. It’s just going to take some time for recovery.”
Charlene moaned. “I don’t have time for this. How will we manage the stables?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Rob said. “I’m sure Danny will help.”
“He has school to worry about, and here I’ll be laid up for weeks,” Charlene said, although to Jack’s estimation it wouldn’t be weeks but instead several months before she’d be able to get back to work in the stables—and that was if she healed well. “I’ll need someone to help me manage all the day-to-day stuff. I’d never ask Danny to do that.”
“I can help you!” Rob said, somewhat indignantly. “I can take care of you as well as anyone.”
“But we need you in the stable,” she said.
“This can all be settled later,” Jack said, climbing into the back of the ambulance to ride into the hospital; as the paramedic, Charlene was his patient, and he would stay with her until the transfer of care at the ER. Rob Pickens climbed in, too.
Kristy Barrow, though, smiled suddenly. She was looking at Jack, and Jack wasn’t sure why.
“Don’t worry about who will take care of you, Charlene,” Kristy said. “I have an idea.” She looked again at Jack. “Can I offer to put someone up in one of the empty cabins for a few weeks to help out? I have a—a recent acquaintance—who’d be great, only she might need a place to stay.”
“Of course,” Jack said. “Whatever we can do to help.”
“Perfect,” Kristy said, and now she was outright grinning in a way that made Jack wonder what she was up to. But he didn’t have time to analyze
it; the ambulance EMT closed the doors, and they were on their way to the hospital with lights and sirens.
Elizabeth’s phone rang just as she was moving the last of the drywall supplies into the garage. She and Emmett and his friends had worked all day, minus their coffee break with Bruce, and the roof and living room ceiling were both now repaired—or so they hoped. The next day’s impending snowstorm would be the test.
She dug around in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. She didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Elizabeth? Hi, it’s Kristy Barrow. We met the other week at Jack Barnes’ house.”
“Kristy, hi!” Elizabeth was happily surprised to hear from her. In the kitchen, Emmett heard her and raised his eyebrows at the mention of Kristy. “How are you?”
“Well, I’m doing okay, but we have a bit of a situation out here that I’m hoping you can help us with.”
“Us being you and Jack?” Elizabeth asked, her heart pounding. She would love to help Jack. With anything. Anytime, anywhere. Including undressing him and running her hands down his muscled body and—except he didn’t want her. He’d told her as much.
“Yes, and Rob and Charlene Pickens, too,” Kristy said. “Did you meet them when you were out here? They own the stable next door.”
“Oh, yes! Well, I met Charlene, anyway.”
“Unfortunately, she’s had a terrible fall from her horse,” Kristy said. “She’s at the hospital now, and once she comes home, she’s going to need lots of help. I remember you mentioned how you want to be a nurse, and that you need money, and, well … how would you feel about helping out Charlene? She’d hire you as her personal caregiver. You could do it around your schedule at the Sled Dog, and if you want, you can even stay in one of Jack’s empty cabins. I’m still working on the interior renovations in number four, so you and I would be neighbors!”
“I’d stay in one of Jack’s cabins?” Elizabeth said, a warm rush coursing through her at the thought of being so close to him. So available to him. “And you’re sure Jack’s okay with that?”
From The Ashes (Golden Falls Fire Book 3) Page 11