Page 27 of Single Mom's Firefighter SEALs
“I haven’t seen anything suspicious around Mae’s,” she says eventually, folding her hands on the table. “No vehicles slowing down, no one lingering, and I know that should make me feel better.”
“But it doesn’t.”
“Not really.” She meets my eyes. “I keep thinking about the photo they left out at my house.” Her fingers tighten together. “It wasn’t the act of someone who’s finished.”
I agree with her, but don’t want to increase her alarm. “What can I do?”
She takes a breath and suddenly looks determined. “I came to ask about the school.”
I pull out the chair across from her and sit, and she keeps going.
“Mae’s house feels secure, and I know my house is going to be once everything is installed, but I can’t stop thinking about the school. About how open it is. Theparent carpool line, the side entrances, after-school events, people coming in to visit …”
She looks down briefly, then back at me. “I need professional advice. I don’t want to scare the kids or turn the place into a prison, but there must be changes I can make to make it more secure.”
It’s a good question. We don’t know what we’re dealing with, and we need to prepare in every way we can. “We can increase drive-bys,” I say, thinking as I go. “Not just during the day, but evenings and weekends. Buck can work that through the sheriff’s department if needed.
“You need strict front-door control,” I continue. “No side entry, unless it’s staff and stays locked. If someone’s using a side door, you need eyes on it. Make sure the cameras are angled right and working.”
“We do have cameras, but I don’t know how thorough the coverage is.”
“We can walk the building and identify blind spots.”
We talk about exterior lighting, potential hiding spots, staff procedures, parking awareness, and more. She asks good questions, the kind that show she’s already running scenarios in her head.
In the middle of one of her follow-ups about after-hours custodial access, the station’s fire alarm goes off. I knew a test was scheduled for today, but my mind knowing and my body knowing are two separate things.
The shrill sound erupts overhead, too sudden in the enclosed space, and every muscle locks. My shoulders jerk, and I grip the edge of the table before I realize I’m doing it.For one ugly second, the room goes white at the edges, just enough to lose the shape of where I am.
Heat surrounds me, and there’s nowhere to go. A burst of noise over comms. Light strobing against metal. The helpless surge that saysmove, move, move,when there’s nowhere good to move to.
CHAPTER 15
CALDER
“Calder?” Elena’s voice reaches me through the haze.
I blink, and the kitchen comes back into focus. Table, chairs, fluorescent lights, alarm still sounding overhead. Elena still across from me at the table, her hands folded, and her face more alert than frightened.
I force myself to let go of the table. “Routine test.” My voice comes out flatter than I want. “They said they were doing it tonight.”
She keeps her eyes on my face, not my white-knuckled hand or my shoulders, and if she notices my shallow breathing, she ignores it. “That’s good to know,” she says.
The alarm cuts off a few seconds later, leaving a ringing echo in its wake.
I expect us to pick up our conversation about the school, but instead, Elena tilts her head and says, “T.J.’s had nightmares recently. Not every night, but more than a few times.”
She changes the subject with such a light touch, I almost don’t notice.
I sit back in my chair, relaxing a couple of clenched muscles. “About the fire?”
“Not overtly, but I think that’s the cause.” Her eyes stay on mine, calm and curious, but not prying. “He doesn’t usually want to talk about them in any detail. Sometimes he wakes up upset and can’t explain why.” She wets her lips once. “I wondered if you knew any techniques that help with … stress responses, I guess.”
Stress responses.
Not trauma, not PTSD. Not what just happened right in front of her.
“Consistency helps,” I say. “Routine at bedtime, lights the same, noise the same, if you can manage it. Something solid for him to focus on when he wakes up. Not just comfort, but specific things.”
