Page 56 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
Someone hands me a water bottle, which I splash on my face before drinking deeply. When I stand, my legs are steady enough, even if my body is extremely exhausted.
“Evans.” This time, I recognize Levi’s voice. “You’ll be on the opposite side now. We’re trading places.”
“Take a bigger crew with you,” I advise him.
He reassigns the men who are still available.
Samson and another man huddle together by the cab of the truck while they wait for an ambulance. He took a harder hit than I did.
I cast one more look around me and then head back into the fire.
* * *
Paige
“What did that report just say?”
I’m standing in the middle of the emergency room, watching the tail-end of a report on the local news channel. The nursing desk is a bit slow tonight, but we’ve had a whirlwind of activity in the last hour.
So far, I’ve administered fourteen stitches, two bags of fluids, a pint of blood, and some anti-nausea medication. I’ve ordered an ultrasound for a heavily pregnant woman. And now, I’m catching my breath.
The television hangs from the ceiling in the corner near the family waiting area. When the nurses need a short break from the chaos of the unit floor, they can sit in the hard plastic chairs, take a sip of lukewarm coffee, and breathe.
Lisa and I are both sitting here, holding our pagers in case we’re needed. She’s been sitting here longer than me. I just walked up in time to see the picture of uncontrolled fire flash on the screen.
She turns around and looks at me with alarm on her face.
“I thought you were in with bed nine,” she hedges. Her face is carefully blank, the kind of look I recognize from when we have to give a loved one bad news about a patient’s prognosis.
“Finished up.” I point to the screen. “I need to know what that story was about. Right now.”
“I was hoping you would have found out differently. Or that your brother might have called you, since you and that handsome captain are on the outs.” She wrings her hands.
Lisa is one of the only people who knows the truth about what happened between Aaron and me.
“I haven’t had time to check my phone,” I admit. I pull it out of my pocket and see several missed calls from Levi. “Levi?—”
“Probably won’t answer,” she cuts in. “That wildfire is back.”
My stomach sinks faster than my mind can process what that means. Everything I’ve heard from the station for weeks has been about small fires, easily contained. Nothing to worry about—or so they tell me.
If Lisa thinks that Levi won’t answer my call, then it must be far worse than it was the day Aaron rescued those puppies.
Aaron and Levi.
Two of the people I care about most in the world are in the midst of fighting one of the worst fires this town has ever seen, judging from the quick glimpse I got at the pictures on the screen.
“I should go,” I say, turning back toward the desk. “I have to make sure they’re okay.”
“You can’t help them right now by leaving,” Lisa says gently. “Stay here, finish your shift like you planned, and keep your mind busy.”
“That’s mybrother,” I hiss.
Even though I know Lisa is right, I have to take this out somewhere.
“I know. And you should stay here in case one of his men gets hurt so that they get the best possible care.”
I sigh. She’s right. If someone were to get hurt, I would want to be the nurse assigned to their case. And if it were Levi or Aaron who was brought in, I would definitely want to be here to assess and see their injuries for myself.
