by Pamela Clare
Naomi bit back a sob as Chaska came to her and lifted her off the floor. She wrapped her arms around him, held on tight. There was so much she wanted to tell him, so many things she wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time. “Chaska.”
He set her on her feet again, touched a hand to her belly. “Are you okay?”
She blinked back tears, nodded. “I am now.”
“There’s a party going on out there. Have you seen? The Mudbugs are playing, and people are dancing. It’s crazy out there.”
“I’ve been busy here.”
Little Alissa squealed, jumped up. “Daddy!”
Kat dashed out of the back room, hurried straight over to Gabe, who scooped up his daughter and drew his wife into his arms, neither of them speaking.
Naomi reluctantly let Chaska go, knelt, and hugged Dean. “I’m so glad you’re safe! You gave me such a scare. I want to hear about your adventure today.”
Dean grinned. “I rode with the hotshots. Tall Bull said I can be a hotshot, too.”
Naomi had no idea who Tall Bull was. “Is that what you want to be—a firefighter?”
Dean nodded, still smiling. He seemed like a different child than the angry, frightened boy who’d been throwing punches this morning.
Then Naomi hugged Grandpa Belcourt, her throat going tight. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I was so worried.”
God, how she loved the old man.
He chuckled. “It was an interesting day.”
Winona burst through the door. “Grandpa!”
Grandpa Belcourt held his granddaughter, speaking softly to her in Lakota.
Then Winona made her way over to Chaska—and hugged him hard.
“Hey, little sister.” Chaska chuckled, then drew back. “What’s wrong?”
Winona shook her head. “I’m being silly. That’s all. Shota went to the wolf refuge. It’s better for him than staying here.”
Understanding dawned on Chaska’s face. He hugged his sister again.
Naomi told the counselors to continue with the games, while she took the three who stayed behind to the backroom. It was clear to her that the three of them were exhausted and a little shaken up. They all smelled strongly of smoke.
“What you did today goes so far beyond your job description. You were willing to sacrifice your lives for the children and other counselors. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Food?”
Naomi laughed. “There’s leftover spaghetti in the kitchen area and a bathroom with a single shower. I’ll see if we can get towels for you. After the kids are asleep, we’re meeting to talk about what happens next.”
They disappeared as a group into the kitchen.
Kat walked up to Naomi. “All the cots are up. Unless you need anything else, Gabe and the kids and I are heading home.”
“Thank you—for everything. I couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”
Kat hugged her. “I was going to say the same thing. Thank you for letting me stay with you. Being here made it easier for me to cope.”
Out in the main room, Chaska and Gabe hugged.
Chaska slapped Gabe on the back. “You saved our lives.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, brother.”
Kat and Gabe collected their kids, said their goodbyes, and were gone.
Chaska gathered the children into a big circle. “Old Man wants to tell us a story.”
Grandpa sat, drum in hand, and began to beat on it. “Who can tell me about the beating of this drum?”
Dean’s hand shot in the air, and he blurted, “It’s the heartbeat of our ancestors.”
Grandpa nodded. “It’s the heartbeat of our ancestors, of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people. Our people have been through many hard times, but we survived them all because we are strong. As long as the drum beats, our ancestors and our people live on. Today was a hard day for us, but we survived. Now, let me tell you the story of Mato Sapa, the Great Black Bear, and the angry Fire Spirit.”
Chaska came to stand beside Naomi, slipped his fingers through hers, whispered in her ear. “He’s making this up.”
Jesse drove down the canyon into Boulder, the tail end of a day-long adrenaline rush like too much caffeine, exhaustion creeping in around the edges. He called Ellie to let her know he was coming—and to tell her their home was undamaged.
“I can’t wait to see you,” she said. “I heard about Eric and Brandon. The news reports say Eric has third-degree burns. How awful.”
“Yeah. The man is lucky to be alive.”
“I’m so glad Gabe, Chaska, and the others are okay.”
“Me, too.”
“Cedar is grilling Portobello mushrooms, but I told him you’d need something more substantial after a day of firefighting. He got you a T-bone.”
Jesse was not a vegetarian. “You’re the best. See you soon.”
Images from the day kept running through his mind as he drove. That ominous wall of dark smoke. A tsunami of fire meeting the spray of the fan guns. Hawke’s chopper spinning, going down. The destruction at Camp Mato Sapa. Belcourt, Rossiter, and the others laughing down at them from that cave.
Yeah, it had been one hell of a day.
Not that it was over yet. The fire was contained, yes, but there were still spot fires and lots of smoldering timber. Mopping up this blaze was going to take a while.
He threaded his way through Boulder traffic to Martin Acres—called Martian Acres by locals—to Claire and Cedar’s bungalow on 32nd Street and parked at the curb.
The door flew open, and Ellie ran out.
He stopped her from hugging him. “I’m hot and sooty and sweaty. I’ll get your clothes dirty. Let me take a shower, and we’ll pick up right here.”
Daisy squealed as Jesse stepped through the door. “Daddy!”
Daniel was right behind her. “Daddy’s home!”
Ellie caught them. “Your daddy needs a shower. He’ll give you big hugs as soon as he gets out of his dirty firefighter clothes.”
“Hey, man.” Cedar stepped out of the kitchen, a microbrew in his hand. “I’ve got beer chilling in the fridge when you’re ready.”
“God, that sounds good.”
“Hey, Jesse.” Claire, his sister-in-law, appeared, carrying a fussy Dylan. “Good grief! You look like a chimney sweep.”
She handed the baby to his mother and led Jesse to the guest bathroom, where Ellie had already put their toiletries. “There are towels and washcloths under the sink. I think Ellie brought clothes for all of you.”
“Thanks.”
The shower felt like redemption, soap, shampoo, and warm water washing away salt, soot, and stress. He willed himself to relax, to focus on the relief of water massaging his tired muscles and sluicing over his skin. When he stepped out of the shower, he felt less tense, more awake, and clean.
He opened the bathroom door wearing only a towel and found a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and some boxers sitting just outside the door, with a note from Ellie that said, “I love you.”
She was always doing things like that, always finding ways to show him that she cared about him.
He dressed and joined the others, who were outside on the deck now, his T-bone on the grill next to three Portobello mushrooms.
Vegetable steaks.
As far as Jesse was concerned, that was an oxymoron.
Ellie sat at the glass patio table nursing the baby. “Better?”
“God, yes.” He bent down, kissed her cheek, lifted Dylan’s little fist from her breast with his pinkie, felt a hitch in his chest when the baby grasped his fingertip. “Hey, little guy. Daddy missed you. Where are the twins?”
“I think they’re downstairs drawing pictures for you.”
Another hitch in the heart.
Damn, he loved being a father.
“Have a seat.” Cedar rose, walked to a cooler, grabbed a beer. “Tell us all about it. We watched the coverage on TV, but half the time they’re clueless.”
&nb
sp; Jesse took a swig of his brew and told them about his day, from the alarm he’d felt when he’d spotted that first wisp of smoke to his astonishment at seeing Rossiter, Belcourt, and the others alive.
“They could have died of smoke inhalation in there.” Ellie had worked her share of hours in the hospital emergency room and wouldn’t miss a detail like that.
“Belcourt says they covered the opening of the cave with a big woolen blanket his grandpa had on hand. He and Rossiter held it in place until the fire passed.”
Cedar grabbed him another beer. “So, it was your idea to use the snowmaking machines? That’s genius.”
“I’m just glad no one was killed. Are Eric and the others going to be okay?”
“It will be a long haul,” Ellie said. “But, yes, they’ll recover.”
Daisy and Daniel stepped outside, whispering to each other.
“I’ll give him my picture first,” Daisy said.
“We can give him the pictures at the same time,” Daniel was saying.
It was good to see him stand up for himself against his more talkative, outgoing sister.
“Yes, give them to Daddy at the same time.” Ellie lifted a sleeping Dylan from her breast and buttoned her blouse.
Jesse set his beer aside, ready to give the twins his full attention. He hauled them, drawings and all, onto his lap. “First, I want hugs. Here’s my Daisy. Here’s my big boy, Daniel.”
He held them tight, one child in each arm, grateful beyond words that they were safe. “Okay, let’s see what you drew.”
They each held up a sheet of paper with stick-figure drawings that appeared to be him with lots of orange and yellow flames.
“Wow. Look at these! Did the two of you see news about the fire on TV?”
They nodded.
Daniel’s drawing showed stickman Daddy holding what was meant to be a firehose spraying blue water toward a burning tree, a smile on his face.
Jesse studied it, saw a child’s worry. “There were lots of trees that burned down today, but not the ones in our yard. Thank you, Daniel. Good work.”
Daisy’s drawing showed even more fear. This time, Stickman Daddy stood in the center, surrounded by a ring of fire.
“Great job, Daisy. Look, I’m surrounded by fire.” He looked into his little girl’s eyes. “The fire never got close to me. I was very careful. Do you know why I was careful?”
She got a shy little smile, shook her head.
“I had to keep myself safe so that I could come home to you, Daniel, and Dylan.”
Daisy and Daniel looked at each other, doing their twin thing, and smiled.
Cedar stood, got the steaks off the grill. “Who wants steak sauce?”
After supper, Jesse helped Ellie give the kids baths and put them to bed. Dylan was already sleeping in his portable playpen.
Out in the hallway, Jesse caught Ellie around the waist, nuzzled her neck. “How about you and I get in bed—and not sleep.”
Ellie tilted her head to the side, gave him room to play. “We’ll have to be quiet.”
Jesse chuckled. “I hate to break it to you, honey, but I’m not the noisy one.”
Kat pushed Gabe back on their bed, straddled him, ran her hands over the hard muscles of his chest, the lamp on the nightstand casting a glow over his skin. Her gaze locked with his as she reached down, took his cock in hand, and guided him inside her.
He inhaled, a quick shuddering breath, a crease appearing between his brows as she slowly took all of him.
It felt so good, his cock stretching her, filling her, stroking that deep ache. She began to move, grinding herself against him, the sensation almost too sweet to bear, pleasure making her forget, chasing away the lingering shadows of a terrifying day.
He knew just how to drive her crazy, teasing her nipples, cupping her breasts, sending jolts of arousal straight to her womb.
Somehow, their sex life kept getting better, the bond between them deeper. He was her half-side—her perfect, matching half—and she was his.
She kept up the rhythm, her nails digging into the skin of his chest, pleasure drawing tight inside her. He reached down with one hand to stroke her clit with his thumb, his blue eyes dark. Her gaze still locked with his, she came, bliss washing through her, a blaze of golden light that left her breathless.
The moment her peak had passed, he flipped her onto her back and caught her legs with his shoulders, forcing her knees back and opening her fully to him. He thrust into her, driving hard, carrying her toward a second shattering climax. This time he came too, spilling himself inside her.
They lay together afterward, her head on his chest, his fingertips tracing her spine.
“What you did today—it’s the same thing you did the night you lost your leg.” She’d thought a lot about this on the drive home.
His voice was deep, soft. “How?”
“You took a situation where death was imminent and turned it into a chance for life.”
“I was where I needed to be today.”
Kat smiled to hear him say that. “Yes, I guess you were.”
When she’d met him, Gabe hadn’t believed in anything—no higher power, no religious tradition, not even himself.
Her mind flashed to the last moments together before she’d driven away with the kids.
“I’ll stay here and wait for the next sheriff’s vehicle. Deputy Marcs got a call off to Dispatch. They know we’re here.”
“Are you sure they’re coming?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You stayed behind knowing that no one could get through, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t have a choice—at least not one I could live with afterward. I couldn’t drive off and leave others behind to die.”
Gabe told the whole story, filling in the details. “When we reached the cave and everyone was up and out of harm’s way, I was hit by the reality of what had just happened. I was so afraid the fire would overtake you and the kids on the road.”
Kat had worried about that, too. “When I saw Megs and the others on their way up, I felt so relieved. She said they were going to get you. We got caught in a traffic jam in Scarlet, and then Conrad walked up to the car. I knew then that they hadn’t made it. He told me that the fire had already burned through the camp. I jumped out and threw up beside the road. The thought of you all burning to death…”
He kissed her hair, spoke in a soothing voice. “That didn’t happen.”
“Conrad went to Naomi next and gave her the news. Somehow, seeing how devastated she was helped me pull myself together. I tried to focus on helping her.”
“You think I’m brave, but of the two of us, you’re the truly strong one.”
Kat propped herself on her elbow, looked down at the man who had turned her life upside down. “That’s crazy talk.”
“Is it? You’ve had three babies without drugs, and you—”
“I’m hardly the first woman to do that.” Her grandmother had given birth in hogaans squatting on dirt floors and beneath trees, sometimes alone.
But Gabe wasn’t done. “I get trapped by a wildfire and climb to safety. Okay, cool. High fives. But you believe you’ve lost your husband and still find the strength to go on with the day and help someone else who’s suffering. That took a lot more courage than on-sighting a hundred feet of rock.”
“I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that. Besides, what choice did I have?’
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We sure have been through some shit together, haven’t we?”
That was the truth.
She pressed her palm against his heartbeat, the feel of it precious. “I’ve known from the beginning that I might have to finish this journey without you.”
He started to speak, but she pressed a finger to his lips to stop him.
“I know you would never risk your life for kicks the way you used to do, but I live with the tension of being proud of the man you are and what you can do, and, at the sa
me time, feeling afraid that your courage and abilities are going to get you killed.”
His gaze went soft. “I know that scares you, but try not to worry. You and I are going to grow old as the hills together. You’ll look like your Grandma Alice, with no teeth and wrinkly like an old apple.”
Kat laughed at that image—and came up with one of her own. “You’ll look like that old white-haired guy who used to live next door—stooped over with trousers that go all the way up to your chest.”
The two of them laughed together, the feel of it sweet after so much worry.
Gabe kissed her, stroked her hair. “One day, many years from now, when we’re gone, our kids will stand together and say, ‘Our parents loved each other well.’”
Kat rested her cheek against his chest. “I like that.”
She closed her eyes, snuggling against him as he drew up the sheet around them. Soon, they were both asleep.
Chapter 22
Marc sat at a long table on the Wests’ deck at the Cimarron, trading stories about his day with the others while the children played on the lawn below, Sophie holding Marc’s hand, the breeze cool, the sky full of stars.
Marc took a swig of his beer. “Then we look up, and there they are, just hanging out, having a good time in a cave.”
Julian, who’d been treated in the ER before leaving Scarlet Springs, picked up the story. “Rossiter had free soloed a hundred feet up the cliff wall, fixed a pulley in the rock with a piton, and pulled the others to safety.”
Heads shook, and people laughed.
Zach shifted his sleeping boy from one arm to the other. “Why am I not surprised?”
Nate looked amazed. “You have to be in complete control of your body’s adrenaline response to do what he did with a hundred-foot wall of flame coming at you.”
Jack picked up his whiskey. “That man has an unnatural relationship with gravity.”
“Bless his heart,” said Natalie, Zach’s wife, glass of wine in her hand. “Are we sure he’s actually human?”
Janet didn’t seem to find anything funny in this. “Think what would have happened if he had fallen or hadn’t been there. All of those people…”