Sirens cut through the roar of the fire, and horns blared as a pumper truck groaned its way up the driveway.

Grady burst through the fiery bushes and shouted, “The trailer burned down. We can’t find Linx and Jessie.”

He knew he was delirious, but it didn’t stop him from grabbing an ax. He would starve this fire if it was the last thing he did.

A tanker truck scrambled up the hill, and Connor, Brian, and Larry flung themselves out. They grabbed fire gear from the storage compartments as the Colson’s Corner crew connected the hoses.

“We’ve a pump down by the creek, but the water stopped,” Grady shouted.

“Got it. Let us put out the fire,” the chief commanded. “You guys search for survivors.”

“Flashlights,” Mark shouted. “Give us flashlights.”

The firefighters held the flames at bay with water, while Grady and his brothers dug a fire line, keeping the fire from spreading down the hill.

The burned ground was hot, and Grady felt the heat blistering the soles of his feet, but he ran toward the remains of his trailer.

“Linx! Linx! Can you hear me?” he shouted. “Linx!”

“We don’t even know if she’s here,” Mark put a hand on his shoulder. “I just got a call from Todd, he’s got a lock on her mom, and it isn’t here.”

“But Cedar’s here. Linx’s Durango’s right over there.”

“Her mother might have taken them hostage and set the fire as a distraction,” Mark said, dragging Grady back to the clearing where the fire engines were assembled. “Todd said he’ll have more intel when he moves in. They’ve surrounded the van with a SWAT team. Let’s get going.”

“Get out of my way. I’m standing my ground here.” Grady charged the fire line and chopped at the trees, trying to deprive them of fuel. Meanwhile, the pumps cranked up and fed a steady stream of water at the remaining flames. Little by little, they beat back the fire until it was reduced to steaming embers.

“The fire’s out,” the fire chief said. “If you want to help with mop up, be my guest. There’s nothing here but that burned out trailer. If they’re here, it’ll take us some time to open it up after it cools down.”

“They’re not there,” Mark said. “God promised to protect them. Let’s go back to town and wait for the sheriff.”

“You go ahead,” Grady said, stiffening every muscle in his body. “I’ll stay here to mop up and keep searching.”

“You okay?” Dale put a hand on his shoulder. “You know Linx is a tough one. She’s probably hiking down the hill right now.”

“No, Cedar was still here.” Grady yanked his gaze around, looking for the two dogs. He’d lost track of Sam, too. “She would never leave without her.”

“Animals are afraid of fire,” Dale said. “The dogs are probably hiding somewhere. Maybe with Linx.”

“Then I’ll find her, if that’s the last thing I do.” Grady grabbed a flashlight. “Give me a canteen of water and a first aid kit.”

“Sure, take some boots and gear,” the firefighters offered.

Grady changed out of his singed clothes, noticing for the first time how he was almost naked. He slipped his blistered feet into the boots and donned the protective pants and jacket. They gave him a helmet with a searchlight attached and packed supplies into a backpack.

“I’m staying with you,” Dale said, putting on a jacket and grabbing the first aid kit.

“Thanks, bro,” Grady said.

“We’re staying, too,” Connor, Larry, and Brian said. “We can take over the cleanup and if she’s here, we’ll find her.”

The rest of the vehicles pulled away and Grady and his brothers and brothers-in-law spread out, each with a beacon of light, looking over the piles of smoldering wood and rising steam.

“Linx! Linx!” Grady shouted until his throat was raw. He followed the ridge to the remains of his trailer and focused his beam on a shovel blade.

She had to have been here. That shovel didn’t pop up from nowhere. At the back of the trailer, he found the metal tip of a Pulaski. The door was hanging off the hinges, allowing Grady to shine his light.

“Linx? Linx!” The metal was still too hot to touch.

He went back to the Pulaski and shovel.

If Linx were fighting the fire, she definitely would not have stayed inside the trailer. She knew how dangerous it would be to be high up off the ground when a fire overshot her position. One of the chiefs had died when he tried to shelter himself in the cab of his fire truck.

However, if she’d gotten into his supplies, she could have found the fire shelter.

Grady pointed the beam of the flashlight at his storage bin. It had been opened.

His heart drove him forward as he scanned the ground for a lower depression away from the pine trees and their flammable needles.

A ledge of rocks led down to a hollow where he had planned on building a carport. He’d cleared the bushes and laid down a bed of sand, but hadn’t gotten around to putting in asphalt.

Grady slid down from the rock face and almost fell onto a blackened tarp—a burnt fire shelter that was charred to a crisp.

“Linx!” he screamed and pulled at the shelter with his gloved hands. It was still hot to the touch and he dreaded what he’d find.

A woman’s body lay face down, still holding tight to the straps. She could be dead already, with rigor mortis setting in, and she wasn’t letting go of the hold-down straps.

Grady ripped what was left of the shelter from her and wrapped his arms around her, moving her from the ground. “Linx, say something. Say something, Linx. Tell me I’m an ass. Tell me to get lost, but say something.”

“Mommy, Daddy, Linx, Grady, Mommy, Daddy, Ginger, Betsy,” a small voice was muffled underneath Linx’s stiff, but still hot body.

“Woooo!” another small voice howled and sneezed.

Grady moved Linx aside and looked straight into the eyes of Jessie.

“I want my mommy and daddy,” the little girl cried as tiny paws scrabbled out from her side and a little dog barked, her voice raw and dry.

“Oh, Jessie, you’re safe.” Grady hugged her tight. “You’re safe, and your mommy and daddy are coming right now.”

“But what about Miss Linx?” Jessie rolled over and shook Linx’s body. “Miss Linx is also my mommy. I asked God and He says it’s true. God won’t let my mommy die, will He?”

“No, He won’t.” Tears rolled down Grady’s face as he cradled Linx’s blistered face, shaking her. “Wake up. Wake up, my love. God knows I love you.”

She sputtered and coughed, then gasped. Her arms clenched tight as if still holding onto the straps of the fire shelter. “Is Jessie okay? Is Jessie going to live?”

“Yes, Jessie’s okay, but you don’t look so good,” Grady said. He fumbled with the canteen to get water into her cracked and raw lips.

“I’m dead, aren’t I? I burned to death so Jessie can live.” Her eyes rolled back and she passed out, relaxing her hold on him.

* * *

If she died, she most certainly had gone to Hell.

Linx was stuck in a forever loop of fire. Her body was ablaze and every nerve ending stabbed her with excruciating pain. She was trapped in the fire shelter, fighting to keep it over her and Jessie, while voices in her head told her to let go. To let it all fly away and run, run, run.

She flung the shelter from her shoulders and stood up, leaving Jessie and the puppy. Raising her arms, she took a hot breath and sprinted down the hill, her skin melting. Pain chased her, and a whoosh of white heat seared into her lungs, burning her from the inside out while evil, orange sparks charred her to the core of her bones.

“Jesus, save me, please,” she gasped as fiery tongues scraped her skin off and set her blood boiling. “I’m a sinner, but save me, please. I believe you. I trust you.”

But it was too late.

Why hadn’t she listened to Pastor Mark? Why hadn’t she gone forward to have her sins washed away? Why had she held back while Miss Jean had pleaded with her to receive Christ as her Saviour? Why?

Because she still held evil in her heart. Evil and vengeance against Grady Hart.

She didn’t deserve Heaven, and now, she was doomed to forever in Hell.

“Jesus, please, give me a chance,” Linx screamed. “God, forgive me. Give me another chance.”

There was no answer. Only the throbbing pulse of fire stinging and consuming her, and yet, somehow, not killing her. Pain, pain, all around her, forever and ever, like the Bible had promised.

There would be no second chance, no matter how hard she prayed. There was no redemption from doing good works, no free pass because she’d saved Jessie.

She’d died in her sins, and not even the tears bathing her face could cool the everlasting agony.

“God, forgive Grady, please, save him before it’s too late. Forgive me, too, even though I’m too late. I didn’t know what I was doing. I. Didn’t. Know. What. I. Was. Doing.”

“She’s coming out of the anesthesia,” a disembodied voice hovered above her. “Put her in the recovery room, but require all visitors to wear gowns. One visitor at a time.”

“Yes, doctor,” a female voice said. “Her fiancé’s going to be very happy. He hasn’t left the hospital.”

“It’s going to be a long road for her,” the first voice said. “But at least she has family, unlike the other one.”

“Right, they should lock her up and throw away the key,” the female said.

Linx didn’t know up from down as she lay on a bed of nails, with pain prickling from her every pore.

“Juh …, Jess …, siee,” she mumbled, her heart rate jumpy. All she remembered was the fire and Jessie.

A while later, a nurse told her she was in the recovery room and that she had a visitor.

“Linx, it’s me, Grady,” a rough, male voice cleared his throat. “Can you hear me?”

“Juh …” Nothing came out of her dried throat, and everything hurt when she moved her mouth.

“Here, have a sip of water.” A straw appeared at her lips, and she sucked in as cool, refreshing liquid soothed her insides.

“Where’s Jessie?” she croaked, surprised at how raw her voice sounded.

“She’s safe, thanks to you,” Grady said. “Jessie and Ginger are fine. No burns, minor smoke inhalation. It’s a miracle, but you protected them.”

“No burns at all?” She struggled to turn her head, but pain shot through her entire back.

“None, whatsoever. Not even first degree. Pastor and Mrs. Patterson are so grateful. You’re truly Jessie’s Wonder Woman.” His voice came from somewhere above her.

“Is she here?” She wondered why all she saw was the white clouds below her. “I can’t see anything.”

“You’re lying on your stomach,” Grady explained. “Your entire back is covered with burns, second and third degree. The backs of your legs and your feet were also burned badly and need grafts. I’m right here. I can’t touch your skin. Infection risk, but here’s my hand.”

He put his gloved hand below her face so she could see him. She tried to reach for it, but her arms were encased in bandages.

“I’m burned, right? Real bad? I thought I died,” Linx muttered, a little disappointed she hadn’t been transferred to Heaven—although now that she thought about it, Heaven would be much better than a bunch of white pads and a friendly voice.

“Then I would have wished to die with you,” Grady said. “I never realized how much I loved you until I almost lost you.”

“That close, huh?” She felt her face crack in a painful smirk. “I had to almost die for you to say it and mean it.”

He cleared his throat. “I’ve always meant it before, but pretended I didn’t. Too scared to admit it.”

“Same here.” Linx tried to take his hand, but hers was wrapped up like a mummy’s. “Forgive me, Grady.”

“I forgive you, even though you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Oh, I did a lot to hurt you, starting with Cedar and then Jessie.” Linx closed her eyes, exhausted by even the effort to speak.

“I hurt you, too.” Grady’s voice was raspy. “I didn’t believe you, and I ran from my responsibilities. I had no right to play with your heart. I was a jerk.”

“You weren’t. I understand you and forgive you,” Linx barely breathed. “Will we make it? For real?”

“Yes. We have our whole lives ahead of us,” Grady said. “I wish I could kiss you, but I’ll have to wait.”

“Yes, please, and Grady? I forgive you everything, but please ask God to forgive you before it’s too late.”

He leaned close and she could feel his breath. “I already have, when I sat by your bedside and prayed for you. I asked Jesus to save both me and you.”

“I did, too. Thank you, God.” Linx nodded despite the pain radiating from her burns. Her eyelids were heavy and she wasn’t sure if Grady had left her side.

Jessie and Ginger were safe and well. God had forgiven her and let them live. She could relax as the fiery pain receded and she drifted into a cool and soothing beachside cabana, lulled by the smooth sounds of a slow rolling surf.