In Service of Love

by Laurel Greer

  But he didn’t.

  And thirty seconds later, he emerged from the door, with Maggie in a firefighter’s hold over his shoulder.

  She was limp. Way too limp.

  So were Asher’s knees. He locked them to keep from falling over.

  “Maggie!” he called. He muttered a desperate prayer, stumbling over the Hebrew that had come easily to him the last time he’d begged for the life of a person he loved.

  Sheriff Rafferty jogged a safe distance from the building before shifting Maggie in his arms, stripping the backpack from her shoulder and laying her on the lawn.

  Of course she’d gotten the backpack.

  “Is sh-she o-ok-k-kay, Daddy?” Ruth shuddered in his arms.

  “I don’t know.” He wanted to fall to the ground, but he couldn’t. He had to stay standing for Ruth, and they both needed to stay out of the way while the first responders worked—

  “She’s breathing,” the sheriff said, the relief in his voice a fraction of what flooded through Asher.

  He hugged his daughter. “You know what, I do know. She will be okay.” They all would. He’d make sure of it.

  * * *

  Why the heck was her back wet? And the world was so danged blurry. Something was dripping on her face, so Maggie kept her eyes closed. Her head throbbed, and her throat burned like she’d swallowed a hot coal. And almighty Cheetos, her hands felt like she’d touched a lit barbecue—oh, wait. The fire. Maggie coughed, gasping for breath.

  Someone settled an oxygen mask around her face, and the cool stream of air forced its way into her lungs.

  “Maggie Reid, you are a stupid woman.”

  The sharp voice came from her left. She knew that voice.

  “No, Ryan, you’re stupid. You deserted my sister.” The mask muffled her words.

  “Oh my God, Maggie.” Someone knelt on the ground by her head. A big hand stroked her hair. Lips landed on her forehead. “Stupid is right.”

  “She is not stupid—she’s brave!” a small, tear-rent voice insisted. “She got my letters.”

  Shoes—and paws, maybe?—scuffed the ground to her right. She cracked open one eye.

  Ruth stood a couple feet away, gripping Jackson’s collar in one hand and the singed backpack in the other. Asher’s face, shattered with worry, swam in Maggie’s vision. Had she ever seen anything so beautiful as this man and his daughter? She tried to smile at him, but the mask got in the way.

  She went to take it off but a hand stopped her.

  “Christ, keep your oxygen on,” Ryan snapped. “I thought you watched This Is Us. You don’t run into a goddamn fire.”

  Not normally, no, but when a young girl was about to lose her most precious memory from her dead father, and all you could think about was how you would do anything to hear one sentence from your own father as loving as the thousands of sentences in that stack of letters? Then you did.

  Because of love. She couldn’t feel anything except love right now. For Asher and Ruth and the goofy dog straining to lick Maggie’s face, and even her sister’s jerk of an ex-boyfriend, who’d risked his life to chase her into a burning building because she had rejection issues and—

  “Maggie. Breathe,” Asher murmured calmly, his hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to hyperventilate.”

  She locked gazes with him. His glasses did nothing to hide the tears clinging to his lashes.

  “I love you,” she said. She turned her head a little, facing Ruth. “And I love you, too, sweetheart. Promise.”

  A stretcher rolled up beside her. “Hey there, Dr. Reid. Let’s get you off the ground and under a roof. You have a couple of burns that need attention.”

  Ah, that explained the barbecue hands. Crud.

  “I saw her go down,” Ryan said. “She was crawling on her knees. No C-spine issue. Burns on her palms and wrists, though.”

  Asher hissed in sympathy as she showed the EMT her wounds.

  “That’s a whole lot of ouch, Dr. Reid. Want me to treat you in your exam room, or do you figure we should head for the human hospital?” the EMT teased. He supported her as she sat up and shifted onto the lowered gurney, then promptly rolled her toward the parking lot. She lifted her head to keep Asher and Ruth in her sight.

  “Stay with me, please.” Even if her words sounded like she was speaking underwater because of the oxygen, she figured her pleading look got the message across.

  Asher bent his head, handed Ruth his keys, and said something to her that Maggie couldn’t hear over the noise of the firefighters and other emergency personnel. Ruth nodded and took Jackson out of view. To the car? Maggie’s head swam as she tried to track the duo.

  “Relax, Maggie. Put your head down and enjoy the comfy bed.”

  The EMT’s dry suggestion made her chuckle, which made her hack and wheeze. He and his partner lifted her into the ambulance and started treating her burns.

  A strong hand settled on her shoulder and Asher’s face came into view. He settled on the bench opposite the stretcher and cupped both her cheeks. “Hey. I—I can’t ride with you. I want to. Really. But I have Ruth and the dog. And the EMTs want to check us out, too.”

  “It’s okay,” she rasped.

  “No, it’s not. I’ll drop Jackson off at home and meet you at the hospital, okay?”

  “It’s just smoke inhalation.”

  “Maggie. You almost—” His voice cracked, and he took off his glasses and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. “You almost died. Don’t pretend this is nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing. You and me and Ruth—it’s everything.” She wanted to reach out to him, but the EMT was busy cleaning and dressing the hand nearest to Asher.

  Fatigue creased the corners of his mouth. “Let’s shelve that, okay?”

  “I want to talk now,” she croaked.

  He looked up at the ceiling as if desperate for patience. “You sound like someone took sandpaper to your vocal cords.” He sighed, and stroked her cheek with gentle fingers. “I’ll see you at the hospital as soon as I can.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  As soon as I can took way longer than Asher would have liked. An EMT from a second ambulance ruled out smoke inhalation issues for Asher and Ruth, but they weren’t able to leave right away. The fire captain had all sorts of questions. Ruth clammed up, shaking her head whenever someone asked her if she knew what happened. Asher assured the captain they’d participate in any investigation. The drive to their town house seemed to take forever. Ruth was quiet in the back seat. Way too quiet.

  “Ruthie, talk to me. I know that was stressful. And you need to be somewhere way more soothing than an emergency room. Do you want to go to Uncle Caleb’s house—Garnet’s at home—or come to the ER with me? You might have to sit by yourself for a bit when I first see Maggie.”

  “I want to come with you. I want to see Maggie, too. But...but...” She sniffled. “The fire was my fault!”

  He almost drove off the road. Catching the wheel before he yanked it past the point of no return, he slowed the car and pulled to the shoulder of the residential street. He turned in his seat to look at his daughter. “Say that again?”

  “The fire was my fault.” She buried her face in her hands.

  His breathing picked up, and he worked to steady it. “How?”

  “The—the heater.”

  “Like, the thermostat?”

  She shook her head. “No, that black b-box heater that you had to dry the p-paint on the cupboards. Jackson was cold and Maggie said I could use it, so I p-plugged it in with the yellow cord and turned it on. And I fell asleep on the couch, and it was b-behind me, and I didn’t n-notice it was on fire.”

  Oh, hell. He’d heard those things were notoriously flammable... “I fell asleep, too, honey.”

  How could he have done that when his daughter had been in s
uch a state? Guilt razed his gut. He got out of the car and into the back seat and held Ruth for ten minutes while she cried over her trauma. Jackson, propped awkwardly beside them, stuck his nose in the middle of their hug and whined.

  “Ruthie, you couldn’t have known. It’s okay. No one’s going to blame you. I promise.”

  “What if Maggie’s mad at me?”

  “She won’t be. She meant it when she said she loves you.”

  He’d gotten the impression she’d meant it when she said she loved him, too. He was counting on that truth.

  After taking another minute or two to make sure Ruth was calm, he drove the rest of the way home where he secured the dog in his crate.

  The five-minute drive to the hospital was excruciating. He jogged toward the hospital’s emergency entrance, Ruth’s hand tucked in his. Maggie had been alone for way too long, unless her brother had been notified—

  “Hey! Matsuda!”

  Asher jolted to a halt. Speak of the devil. He turned and waited for Lachlan to catch up with him. Ruth buried her face against his shirt, and he palmed the back of her head, supporting her.

  “I hear my damned barn just burned down.” The man put a hand on Asher’s shoulder. “Thank God you all got out. You okay there, Ruth?”

  Ruth shrugged, still hiding from the world.

  Asher sent Lachlan a look. The other man nodded, seeming to get the message that Ruth was overwhelmed. Lachlan jerked his head and started off toward the emergency entrance again.

  Asher hitched a step to catch up. “Did you come from the clinic?”

  “No, I came from home. The sheriff called.” They walked through the two sets of automatic doors. “I wanted to check on my sister first. Ream her out for running in after...what? A backpack, Rafferty tells me?”

  Asher swore under his breath. More like running after the childhood Maggie’d never had. “Something like that.”

  The emergency waiting area was a long, narrow room with plastic chairs and terrible-smelling coffee. A nurse looked up from her desk as they entered.

  “Maggie’s in three, Lachlan,” the nurse said. “Dr. Matsuda’s in with her. You can go in as soon as he gives the all clear.” She studied Asher carefully. “Dr. Matsuda’s your brother, right?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. And thank God Caleb was on shift. Damn, Asher needed a hug. With Maggie in no shape to be his support system, his older brother would do just fine.

  “How’s Maggie?” Asher croaked.

  “Just because you’re related to the doctor doesn’t mean I can give you patient information, hon,” the nurse said sympathetically.

  “What about me?” Lachlan asked.

  The nurse sighed. “I’ll say this—in serious smoke inhalation or burn cases, protocol is to transport the patient to Bozeman. And as I’m sure you heard on your SAR scanner, Lachlan, no helicopters or ambulances have been dispatched. Now, sit tight for a few minutes, and you’ll be able to go in.”

  “Thanks, Cath,” Lachlan said.

  Chest clenching, Asher dropped into a chair, pulling Ruth into his lap in an awkward embrace.

  Lachlan sat down, too, leaving one chair empty between them. He gripped Asher’s shoulder. “I’m glad it’s quiet. I have a couple of questions.”

  “It’s never actually quiet in the emergency ward,” Asher muttered. How his brother managed his on-call shifts at the hospital, he didn’t know. He dug in his pocket and extracted some change. He pointed toward a set of vending machines out in the hallway. “Ruthie, how about you go get yourself a snack?”

  “Okay.” She shuffled off and stared at the choices with her usual careful thought.

  Lachlan leaned in and whispered, “So it was seriously your kid’s backpack?”

  “Long story,” Asher said, keeping his voice low, too. Nerves shivered up his spine. Ruth may not have knowingly caused the fire, but she’d still contributed to it. Admitting that to the man who’d been dealt a blow to his business plans sucked. “You’re going to want to talk to whoever set up your sprinkler system—it didn’t come on.” He took a deep breath. “Ruth told me in the car ride over that the space heater malfunctioned—”

  “You’re kidding me.” Maggie’s brother collapsed against his chair, tanned face paling.

  Asher shook his head. “Ruth said she plugged it in to an extension cord. I’m so damned sorry—”

  “She didn’t plug it in to the extension cord. It was already plugged in. Maggie and I had both used it.” Lachlan groaned. “And the sprinklers not coming on—the plumber had been there earlier in the day but didn’t finish the job. Left the water off.” He let out a low curse. “This could have ended so, so much worse. Your kid or you, or if Ryan hadn’t gotten to Maggie... Hell, even your dog.”

  It was Asher’s turn to squeeze Lachlan’s shoulder. “Let’s just be thankful rather than go down any of the ‘what could have happened’ trails, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Lachlan scrubbed his hands down his face before peering at Asher. “I’m assuming if my sister’s running into burning buildings for mementos, she’s in pretty deep with you.”

  Asher’s heart skipped a beat. “I hope so.”

  “Freaking finally,” Lachlan muttered. He clapped Asher on the back. “When we get the all clear, I’ll wait out here. You go in first.”

  “Ruth’s too shaken up to be alone, I think. She thinks she’s responsible.”

  Ruth returned to Asher’s side, holding a packaged Rice Krispies square. She regarded Lachlan warily as she fiddled with the blue wrapper.

  “Sweetheart—” Lachlan rested his elbows on his knees and fixed Ruth with a gentle, genuine smile “—this wasn’t your fault, okay? It was mine.”

  Metal curtain rings zinged on a rod, and Caleb rushed out of the cubicle.

  “Is Maggie—” Asher’s throat closed over.

  “She’ll be okay,” Caleb said, hurrying toward them. “And am I glad to see you.”

  “Uncle Caleb!” Ruth ran to her uncle, who gathered her in a tight squeeze.

  Asher’s brother’s haggard expression matched the accumulated stress that had been building in Asher since he first smelled smoke. He joined his brother and daughter, leaning into the family hug.

  “Mom’s going to lose her mind,” Caleb said quietly. “Dad, too.”

  “We’re all fine. You’re sure Maggie’s okay? I need to talk to her,” Asher said.

  “She needs to rest—I want to observe her for a few more hours and get another lung X-ray before I spring her. But she’s been asking for you. Ruth can stay with me if you want a couple minutes alone.”

  “I do.” Asher glanced at Lachlan. “That okay?”

  Lachlan held up his hands. “She’s asking for you, man.”

  Asher cocked a brow. “I might be a while. I’m a book nerd with a penchant for singing my feelings. Being concise isn’t my forte.”

  Lachlan chuckled. “Take your time. Maggie’s been waiting many a year for a guy who’s worth her time. I’m not going to be the one to steal away her romantic moment.”

  Let’s hope that’s what this will be. Maggie had seemed super sincere when she’d said she loved him. And that was a huge step for her. Would she want to do anything about it? But his heart was still bruised from her walking out earlier tonight—he couldn’t take it if she retreated again.

  * * *

  Maggie poked at the cannula in her nose with a bandaged hand and sighed. She was alone. Dang it. This is what happens when you push everyone away. They eventually get the message.

  No. Asher had said he’d be here. She had to believe that. She was just about to press her call button to ask if someone could call her brother or Emma when a hand nudged the curtain aside.

  Asher slipped into the cubicle. His tired gaze took in the cramped space, stalling on the oxygen tank and the vital signs monitor and s
ettling on the dressings on her wounded hands. “Holy crap, Maggie.”

  He came over to the bed and perched on the edge. And somehow, despite the tubing and wires and bandages, he managed to hold her. She melted against him. His shirt was still a little damp from the sleet, and his hair stuck up as if he’d been standing in front of a wind turbine.

  “Think you have any pull with Caleb? I want to go home,” she said. Caleb had told her to whisper, but not being able to speak at normal volume had made her question come out like a toddler’s whine.

  “Hell no. You’ll stay until he decides your lungs aren’t going to fill with fluid.”

  She sighed. “It’s not that bad.”

  He stiffened. “It isn’t? Breathing is kinda necessary. And what about your hands?”

  “They’ll heal.”

  Releasing her, he eased into the chair next to the bed and rested his fingers on her forearm. “It wasn’t worth those letters, you know.”

  Okay, so Maggie had been rash. But making sure Ruth didn’t lose her connection to her dad? It was worth a whole lot. “You didn’t have copies.”

  “Who cares?”

  “I couldn’t let her lose that part of Alex. He mattered too much.”

  He pressed his fingertips against his eyelids, pushing his glasses up to his forehead. “Maggie, the best parts of Alex can’t be lost. They live on in Ruth.”

  The words landed with a blow. She would have reeled back had she not been reclined on the angled bed. She’d always been so focused on how her parents had affected her in a negative way, she forgot sometimes that positive traits could be passed on, too. Was it the same with her parents? Were there any parts of her that reflected them? Her dad’s tenacity, maybe. And her mom’s ability to keep a bunch of balls in the air at once...

  “You know what we did almost lose, though?” Asher’s voice teetered on menacingly low. His fingers tightened on her arm. “You.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “You passed out. In a fire. Had the sheriff not gone in—The firefighters were a minute behind him. What if...?”