Chapter Nine
Grant
“I still can’t believe that Emily’s house burned down. I feel so bad for her,” Brady was saying at breakfast that morning. “That’s just not the sort of thing you ever think is really going to happen to you.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. “Imagine your whole life coming down in flames like that.”
“You must’ve seen a few of those, though.”
“Not so much. In fact, this was my first time helping out the guys. So far they’ve only been showing me the ropes. This was my first mission with them. It was pretty surreal.”
“Weren’t you freaking out?”
“It’s weird. I thought I would be. But when you’re in the middle of the chaos, you sort of just go with the flow. It’s like your mind blanks out the danger, and you just concentrate on getting the job done. It’s only afterward when you realized how close you were to death yourself. It’s really something.”
“I don’t know how you do it.”
“Those guys are amazing, though. I’m surprised they let me help out so quickly. But I’m glad I did.”
“They obviously know they can trust you. And they probably see that you’re good at the job. Some people just have a knack for these things. You know, if it wasn’t for you the fire might have spread to my house. So thanks, man. I was actually thinking of that last night and realized I never thanked you.”
“Ah, it’s not me. I’m sure you would’ve called the fire department yourself if I hadn’t been here. But I’m glad it didn’t spread. Sometimes those things get out of control. That’s probably the worst part of it.”
“Do you think anything in that house is salvageable? It doesn’t look like it from the outside. I took a quick peek in it when I got back, and it looks terrible in there.”
“Yeah, it’s bad in there. Emily thankfully managed to get a few things that she really wanted. She got a box of photos and a diary of her gran’s, and I think she was happier about that than anything else. Like she said, the rest is just stuff. Although, if you ask me, I’m amazed at how calm she was throughout the whole thing. It’s quite impressive. She’s got a very logical side to her that I’m not sure most people would have at a time like that.”
“Yeah, I’d be a mess. Although maybe when it happens to you, it’s different. You’ll probably find she cried when nobody was watching or something,” Brady said. He was just about to take a bite of his toast when he suddenly looked up at me in confusion. “Hang on, how do you know all that about Emily? About the photos and the diary?”
“Oh, I helped her the other morning. She came back the next day to see if she could get anything, and I went to help her. I actually found the diary for her. She’s a nice girl.”
“Yeah, she seems sweet.”
“Actually, I’ve asked her out on Saturday.” I tried to downplay it, but I was actually a lot more excited about the date then I cared to admit. I hadn’t stopped thinking about it since I’d asked her. I was surprised that she’d even said yes considering she’d hid behind her car the first day she saw me.
“What? On a date?”
I laughed. “I don’t know why that’s such a shock to you. Can’t a guy like me go on a date? You do realize that I’m only twenty-nine years old. You’re twenty-six. We should we going out more. Hard work is good, but it’s also good to get out and meet people.”
Brady pulled a face. “No, it’s not that. It’s good that you’re going out. But, just be careful with the women from this town.”
“What is that supposed to mean? I thought everyone in this community was nice and helpful.”
“They are. But some of the women have a bit of a reputation. That’s all. I think they get bored sometimes because there’s not all that much to do around here. Some of them are involved in some things that they shouldn’t be involved in. And there was some story about two girls running around naked the one time. The descriptions seemed to fit Emily and her friend, Terra. Although I couldn’t be too sure.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the image of Emily running around naked. I was almost sure that it wasn’t her, but even if it was, it was pretty funny.
“It sounds a bit like small-town gossip if you ask me,” I said.
He sighed. “Maybe. But you haven’t been around here that long. Trust me; sometimes it’s better not to meddle with some of these people.”
“Emily seems nice, though,” I said.
“That’s also true. She’s been nothing but nice to me, and she does seem like one of the more innocent ones around here. Anyway, that’s just me being me. I don’t want to see my brother getting hurt.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Not much can hurt me.”
We dropped the subject, finished breakfast and then headed out to work for the day. We had a busy schedule, and at the end of the day we were meeting with the owner for a beer. It would be my first time meeting with him, and I wanted to make sure I was presentable. So after work, I rushed back to Brady’s house to shower and then quickly met back up with him.
Harold Frank was an old man, with white hair and even whiter teeth. He oozed money despite his relaxed demeanor. He was very friendly, and I took an immediate liking to him.
“It’s good to have more help at the ranch. I’m too old to help out now, and I’ve been wanting to get someone else in for a long time. But I could never find anyone as good as Brady. I wanted someone that would come in and help him and not hinder him with a million questions on how to do what. When he told me that his own brother wanted to do some work on the ranch, I had to say yes. And from the sounds of it, you’re doing very well there. Seems like you fit right in.”
“Thank you, Sir. I’m enjoying it. It’s a great place.”
“Sir? Nonsense, call me Harold. And yes, it is a great place. There’s nothing quite like the cowboy life isn’t there?”
I wanted to laugh. With his sparkling white teeth and expensive boots, he was the richest-looking cowboy I’d ever seen.
“My brother here used to be a Navy SEAL. That’s where he gets his work ethic from.”
I wanted to kick Brady under the table for bringing that up. That was another lifetime ago, and not something I liked to talk about too often. But I couldn’t be angry. Brady had no idea that it was a conversation I didn’t like having. Whenever he’d mentioned it in the past, I’d simply brushed it off or moved the conversation somewhere else. Thankfully, Harold didn’t seem to want to talk about it either. Either that, or he sensed that I was desperate for a change in topic. He simply lifted his hat toward me and thanked me for my service. And after that, he went straight back into talk about the ranch.
After the beer, I decided to visit the fire station to hang out with the boys for a little while. I didn’t get much of a chance during the day, and after the beer, I wasn’t in the mood to sit around at home with Brady. I enjoyed his company, but I was a bit tired of doing the same thing every night after work.
The boys seemed happy to see me and invited me to join them for pizza. They’d all ordered takeout, and they had plenty to spare. I called Brady to tell him that I wouldn’t be home for dinner and then sat down to join them.
“Thanks for all the help the other day, Grant,” they said to me.
“Thanks for letting me join you. It’s really something being out there.”
“You’re made for this sort of work. I tell you what, most people think they want to be a fireman, but then they freak out when the time comes to actually go in there and do the job. It’s not easy, and I don’t blame them for freaking out. But I always say that it takes a certain person to do a job like this. And you’ve got what it takes. Come on, when are you going to join us full time?”
I beamed. “Thanks, man, that’s nice of you to say. I’m not sure. My brother really did me a solid by letting me stay with him. And I know he needs help at the ranch. So I’ll probably stay there for a while longer. Also, I’m really enjoying it. But we’ll see. I enjoyed working with you guys too.”
“Cool, man, we understand. Come help out as much as possible. The chief told us that the more involved you get, the more likely he is to let you in when you are ready. You can do your training with us.”
“Oh yeah? He said that?”
“He did. And trust me, the chief is not an easy man to please.”
“I’m not, am I?”
We all looked around and laughed as the chief walked in. He was, in fact, a rather scary-looking man, but the boys all loved him. They were constantly talking bull about one another when it was clear that they all loved each other like a family. The chief hit one of the guys on the head, then grabbed a slice of pizza and joined them at the table.
“Nice to see you again, Grant,” he said to me. “Thanks for your service the other day. We appreciated both the call and the help. You did very well out there. Far better than most people do their first time out on a call.”
“It’s no problem. I was glad to help. I think I was just acting on impulse. Get in, and get out. Like I said to the guys, I’m just glad you let me join in.”
“So, any idea what the story was? Because that didn’t look like a case of a candle left to burn or something. And I’ve met Emily. She’s got her head screwed on straight. I wouldn’t expect her to accidentally leave anything that might cause something like this.”
“Actually, that’s what I came to tell you boys about,” the chief said, and we all turned to look at him.
“Oh yeah? Did you find out what happened?”
He nodded. “Yeah, you won’t believe it. Turns out it was a case of arson.”
“Arson? Whoa, man! Serious? Someone would actually do that to her? Dude, that’s crazy!” one of the boys said.
“Do they know who did it?”
The chief shook his head. “Nah, that’s all the information I got so far.”
Arson? I wondered if Emily knew. Was someone really trying to hurt her? The men’s voices blurred around me as I thought about my talk with Brady that morning.
Just be careful with the women from this town.
Did I have to be careful with Emily? Or was this just a complete coincidence?