When I felt Ember go limp in my arms, I knew.

I had to get her to safety, even if it meant letting the entire range and valley burn to blackened ashes. I’d find Randy if it was the last thing I did. But Ember came first. Ember and our baby.

“Ground to Air Seven, repeat, ground to Air Seven.” I released the button, praying for a reply, but only getting static. I hit the gas harder and kept one arm around Ember. She sat beside me, her head lolling against my shoulder. She was awake now, but she was shocky and I didn’t like her color. “Ground to fucking Air,” I repeated, “goddammit, answer me. This is crew command…”

“...Air Seven to ground, go ahead.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “Is everyone else on the east side of the ridge?”

“All but the two unaccounted for,” Frank’s reply came back. “Carl… and Randy. We’re still searching.”

I swallowed hard, hating the words before they left my mouth, but knowing there wasn’t any other choice. “Take ten more minutes… and then meet me where Cradle Creek widens out toward Copperton,” I said fast. “There’s a cabin with a clearing on the north side where you can put down. I’ve got a head start, so I’ll be waiting. I need you to pick me up and fly me back up the front line. The only way to find them now is go in on foot. And I’m going in.”

“Copy that, Jason. Air Seven out…”

We’d torn up the road, racing precious time to reach the cabin.

Now I sat with her on the porch, cradling her against my chest, as if we had all the time in the world. All I could do was wait for the helicopter. Reilly paced, lifting up his head to let out a plaintive howl.

A few boxes sat near the front door; deliveries… for our wedding…

“The last thing in hell I want is to leave you, Em,” I said, picking her up in my arms and cradling her in my lap. “Christ, it’s tearing me apart. But I can’t send someone else into that fire. Randy’s my friend, my responsibility. And I know better than anyone how his mind works when he’s on the job. That gives me the best chance of finding him.”

“I know,” she nodded. “And it’s safer for everyone if I stay behind,” Ember said, looking trustingly up into my eyes. “He’s my brother, Jason. My only brother…”

I took her lovely pale face in my hands and kissed her, but without any sense of desperation now. It felt like there was no past anymore… and maybe not even the same future we’d imagined for so long. She sat on my lap like she had a hundred times, on the old porch swing. I rocked her like a child, the preciousness of this moment striking and sharp. She was so delicate, and yet so incredibly strong.

“I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know,” I said, looking deeply into her eyes. “I want to make promises, but…”

“I know,” she said softly. “I know.” She reached up and traced a finger down my gritty jaw and it felt like my heart ripped in two. “You’ll do everything you can… and you’ll put yourself in danger,” she said, resignedly. “It’s what we do, when we love someone.” She smiled at me with a tenderness that was almost unbearable. “I love you, Jason. And I understand…”

I took her then, possessing her mouth, reaching for whatever softness I could find. I cursed the clothes that separated us, but crushed her to me, willing the depths of my love to fill her heart… until I could fill her body with my aching hardness again. I let my hands explore her face, her hair… the slenderness of her waist and the full, rich curves of her hips. Never in my life had I wanted her more, to possess every sweet inch of her body and soul. But I could hear the sound of the helicopter in the distance. I had a job to do. And she and our baby had to be safe, no matter the outcome.

“Take the truck into town,” I said. “You’ve got time to take a few things from the house… just in case…” I didn’t bother to finish. She was reading the look on my face. “Don’t take too long, babygirl. For my sake… and for his…” I caressed her flat little tummy and closed my eyes, imagining him moving, growing round inside her. How beautiful, how incredibly sexy Ember would be. And for a second, I could almost picture my son’s tiny face on the day he was born. Would he have her brilliant hair?

“Promise me.”

“I do,” she answered. “I love you, Jason. Now, always.” She smiled up at me bravely, her jaw set, but I could see her eyes glistening brightly. “The sooner you go, the sooner you come back.”

We were in the air, halfway back to the gorge when the winds shifted, intensified. I’d flown a hundred times, in some of the worst conditions imaginable, but something was different this time. The chopper buffeted, its tail swinging violently behind us as it suddenly dropped in altitude. Frank had the stick gripped tightly in both hands. In the distance, through the smoke, we could see the fire burning high. It was taking the canopy and moving fast.

“Drop me here and I’ll go in on foot,” I shouted. I put on my respirator and motioned toward the ground. “Fly around that column of smoke and you might be able to come around from the back side. But if the wind speed increases, you get the hell out… You hear me? Right now, we can’t beat this thing from the air…”

Frank gave a single, short nod in response and set us down. I climbed out, heaving my pack over my shoulder. “Radio the crew. I want that east grove leveled. It’s the best chance we’ve got left to protect as many cabins as possible.”

“And you?” Frank shouted over the roar of the blades overhead.

“Back into the furnace,” I yelled. “Two of my men are still out there…