Page 141 of Never Forget
The job hadn't gotten easier. Fires still burned. People still needed saving. The tones still dropped at 3:00 a.m., and I still ran toward what everyone else ran from.
But the culture had changed. The equipment had changed. The standards had changed.
And somewhere along the way, so had I.
I was the man Jack believed I could be now. The one who didn't stay silent. The one who showed up. The one who chose his family—blood and choice—every single day.
It took nine men dying for Havensworth to listen. It took one man dying for me to become someone worth listening to.
But they listened.
And we would never forget.
Epilogue
SAM
Our backyard was full by 5:00 p.m.
Jamie had been planning this barbecue for three weeks, she just didn't want anyone to know. Coolers on the porch. Lemonade in pitchers. The grill was hot by 4:30 p.m.
The village was here. Megan and Danny had claimed the shade by the fence. Their oldest, Ethan, was off-shift and showing one of our probies something on a phone. Keith stood half-in and half-out of a conversation with our Jack about something structural, probably. Tyler and Elena were inside helping Jamie. Martinez had taken over the grill. Sean and Carol were on the patio, their older daughter chasing Ben around the yard and the younger one asleep on Carol's shoulder. Jenna was in the kitchen. Quinn was leaning against the fence with a beer, talking to one of Tyler's kids.
And Cole was at the far end of the yard.
I noticed him because he was standing still.
Cole didn't stand still at parties. He was a man who moved, filling drinks, clearing plates, checking on whoever he'd decided needed checking on. Right now he was leaning against a fence. His beer was half-full and had been half-full for a while. He was looking at nothing.
I knew that shape. I'd worn it once, when I was his age. A man who hadn't slept because his head wouldn't stop.
Jamie caught my eye from the kitchen window. Followed my line of sight to Cole. Raised her eyebrows at me. I nodded. She went back to whatever she was doing.
I grabbed two fresh beers from the cooler and walked across the yard.
"Hey."
"Hey, Cap."
I handed him a beer. He took it. Didn't drink from it. I leaned against the fence next to him and watched the yard. Ben had Sean's daughter in a headlock, or she had him, it wasn't clear.
I didn't say anything. With Cole, you didn't fish. You waited.
A few minutes went by.
"Something on your mind?"
"Maybe."
"Okay."
More quiet. The sound of the yard washed around us. I took a sip. Didn't push.
"You saw the video."
"Which one?"
"Cap."
