Page 55 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
“Retardant and water,” I tell Zachary. He’ll spray the retardant on the perimeter of the fire to keep it from spreading while we try to get the flames under control.
We have to hope we have the resources to tame both sides.
I jump back into the truck when we get there, sending out a message for help from the next town over. We’ll need the helicopters to get this put out with minimal damage. Last time, we could do it.
Now?
Now, the best thing I can do is take it moment by moment. I don’t have time to think about how long they’ll take to get here or what they can do for us when they arrive. Zachary and I arealready pulling out hoses, neither of us really feeling the weight of them on our shoulders.
We pull and drag them to the point where the fire is closest to the houses.
Zachary nods at me, and we get started. For thirty minutes, we work in tandem without a single word exchanged. My muscles shake, and every part of me is drained by the effort of manning the hose. My body needs a break, but we’ve hardly made a dent.
“You see anything in the fire?” he asks as we stop to take the shortest breather we can. I’ve been scanning for signs of movement, of life.
“Nothing on my end. You?”
He shakes his head. “Let’s go see how the rest of the guys are doing. I need to give my arms a break for a minute. See how everything is doing.”
“Go on,” I tell him. Samson runs up behind us, ready to take his place on the hose. He’s out of breath from running across the neighborhood in full gear. “Samson and I will swap out.”
After a brief rundown, Samson takes the hose from me, and I pick up where Zachary left off for a change of pace. Zachary runs to the rest of the team to see where they stand.
Samson and I work shoulder to shoulder, both breathing too heavily to speak or strategize.
Until the wind blows.
A strong gust of eastern wind whips through the area, clearing the sweat from my face. It feels refreshing for a few seconds before it hits. The wind pushes the fire further in our direction, the flames licking at our hands on the hoses.
Samson screams as the heat from the flames hits him . He drops the hose just moments before I feel the same flames hit me.
Pain blinds me, the heat making it impossible to open my eyes and see which way we need to run. Without clarity, we could be running right into the fire. But if we stay where we are right now, we’re absolutely going to be engulfed in flames.
“Samson!”
His muffled scream comes from beside me, close enough that I can hear him. With my eyes closed, I feel around until I find him and grab a fistful of his jacket.
“We have to move,” I bark.
Somehow, I stand and haul Samson up with me. He’s stopped screaming, focused like I am on how to get out of the mess. We both stumble ahead, but the heat doesn’t abate.
I have to get out of here.
My thoughts grow more frantic with every passing second. I think of the promise we all made before we got out of the truck. We areallgoing home, and that includes Samson and me.
If I make it out of here, I’ll tell Paige how I really feel. I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll persuade her that this thing between us is real. Life is too short for us to avoid the issues.
Samson and I struggle until I feel more hands on our jackets. He gets pulled away from me despite my frantic cries to bring him back. Two men are on each side of me, draping my arms around their shoulders.
“I’m okay,” I pant, but I let them drag me out of the flames. “Check on Samson.”
As soon as I feel cooler air again, I throw myself to the ground so that the guys will go focus on someone else. The truck is right there. I’m just on the opposite side of it, the metal body blocking some of the heat.
I purposely don’t look at my exposed skin.
“You need medical attention,” a voice says from above me. I don’t recognize it.
“No,” I croak. “Just water. Gotta get back to it.”
