Page 14 of Wild for the Firefighter
I grab a sweatshirt. “How did they end up with my car?”
“You have my Cherokee, remember? We traded because I was going into De Clair. Tabitha’s car is in the shop, so I lent her your car to go meet Ollie.”
“Of course.” I feel like some beast is sucking the life out of me. I rush downstairs. The house is quiet. Mark and Lara are still asleep. I’ll text him when I’m on the road. “Mom, I'm taking your car to the lake.”
“No, don’t be ridiculous, Honey. Don’t go out there.”
I stop at the refrigerator, poised to grab a water from inside. “I have to.”
“Absolutely not. It’s not safe. You stay put. I’m coming over.”
“What? No.” I glance at the kitchen clock. “It’s six in the morning.”
“I’m up. You’re up. I’m coming over.”
“How?”
“I’ll take Dad’s car.”
I flop down on the chair around the breakfast table. She’s right. There’s no point in my going out there. I don’t fight fires. Apparently, I only host them on my B&B property. “Fine. Come over.”
I pull up my texts with Brady.I heard about the fire. Are you there? I hope everyone is okay. (prayer emoji)
The toilet flushes somewhere upstairs. Probably Mark. He’s going to lose it when he hears about the fire. He’s going to tell me to take the lower amount from the insurance company and buy the Santa Barbara acreage for the retreat.
I glance outside. Daylight is breaking over the horizon. Thank God Tabitha and Ollie are okay.
Everything I own seems to get set on fire. Who would do this to me?
This isn’t the universe telling me to leave. It’s a criminal.
Should I listen? What will happen to my family if I don’t?
Chapter Six
Smokeclingstotheearly morning fog around Bearclaw Lake. The guys brought Tabitha to the section of lawn where we parked the vehicles. I crouch down beside the shaking young woman. They’ve got an oxygen mask on her, and her eyes seem like they're bugging out of her head. They're the same shade of blue as Sammy’s.
Her brow furrows like she’s on the verge of tears. I need her to calm down because I need straight answers. I take an inhale along with her and lengthen my exhale in the hope she’ll do the same. “Where did Ollie enter the woods?” I ask at the end of the exhale.
She points to a section of forest toward the lake.
“There?” I point in the same direction for confirmation.
She pulls off the mask. “We were camping by the lake.” Her coughing turns into a fit. I stand. I don’t have time for details, and she doesn’t have the breath to give them.
She tugs at the leg of my gear. “Please find him. He was going back to the campsite to get my lucky sweatshirt. The firehappened so quickly.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I love him so much.”
Ollie risked his life for a lucky sweatshirt.Fucking hell.“We’re going to get him, okay? Ollie’s a strong guy.”
I tighten the straps on my mask and head in the direction Tabitha pointed. I’m on full alert, my eyes scanning for Ollie, my ears trained for a human voice and signs of sudden spread from the fire.
The crack of a falling tree stops me in my tracks. It’s ten yards ahead to the right. If Ollie is caught underneath it, I’ve got seconds to pull him out alive.
But he shouldn’t have gone over there if he was headed for the shoreline where they were camping.
But he could’ve gotten lost.
I’ve got one second to decide whether to check if he’s under the tree.
