Chapter Twenty-One
After forty-eight hours of rest, Jake should have been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for his next shift, but all he could focus on was the crust in his eyes and his bed beckoning him back. He smiled, thinking about yesterday. He hadn’t felt this happy in years. Another thing that made him happy? His daughter would be home in just three short days.
He glanced at the clock on the microwave and picked up his phone, dialing Bailey’s number. This was the only time he’d been able to connect with her on a consistent basis, because she was in classes most of the day and hanging out with her friends in the evening.
She picked up right before it hit voice mail. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, princess. How are you doing?”
“Oh my God, I’m having so much fun, and there was this girl Christina, you remember her, the one who thinks she’s the shit with her PLC programming skills. Newsflash: She’s not.”
Jake mmhmmed and righted as his daughter gushed about how her computer code won that day’s competition over the girl who’d been rude to her from day one. He liked that his daughter was having a good time, but he was ready to have her home. An empty house just felt wrong. He stared over at her place at the kitchen table. If it was a typical morning, he’d be reading the news on his phone, and she’d have her nose in a book. A pang hit him square in the chest at the thought that he didn’t have much longer before she’d be out of the house for good.
Don’t get ahead of yourself. He had years. He still had a lot to teach his daughter.
“I can’t believe I only have a few more days. I want to stay here forever.”
He focused back on the conversation. No need to let her know that her old man had turned into such a sap since she’d left. “I tried to get them to sign the adoption papers, but it was a no-go, kid.”
“Yeah, your jokes still aren’t funny.”
“Does that mean I have to stop renting out your room when you come home? Or are you okay with sleeping on the couch?”
Bailey scoffed, but then said, “Dad?”
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“I love you. Be safe today.”
“I will. Love you, too.”
He ended the call and made his way to the bathroom to finish getting ready for his shift.
Thirty minutes later, he slumped into the chair in the conference room and waited for Hollywood and Reece to join him, along with the battalion chief for the morning meeting.
Chief Richards was a gruff man who liked his coffee black and a cigarette the minute he stepped outside. He clicked on the TV and started up the presentation on the flat screen. Most of the time, he couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries. Jake attributed that to the fact he was a year from retirement.
He started the meeting without even looking at the men. “We’re getting ready for Brew Fest, which starts up this Thursday.” He pulled up a slide that had a map of all the parking zones and where their rigs would be parked during their next shift. They participated in all the local events, making sure civilians were safe, setting up first-aid stations wherever needed.
“We’ll also be partnering up with PD to get some good PR.”
“You mean get them some good PR,” Hollywood said.
Station Eleven was attached to the local PD. They’d razz each other every chance they got, but it was all in good fun. They were all on the same team. Even if firefighters got the better end of the deal in terms of PR with civilians.
“So what are you suggesting? We make balloon animals with them?” Reece asked.
Richards stroked his fingers over his chin, contemplating. “I am fond of the dog ones.” He slammed his hand down on the table, rattling his cup of coffee, some of the liquid spilling over the edge. “No, you assholes. Hand out stickers together. Show your rigs to the kids.”
Jake and Reece exchanged glances. Right. Richards had been up Reece’s ass since the moment Richards had transferred to their station. He didn’t know if it was because their senses of humor clashed or what, but he’d taken a personal interest in shitting on anything Reece had to say.
After being briefed completely about the Brew Fest plans, Hollywood took another page out of their EMT book and gave a short refresher on EpiPens. Richards disappeared outside for what Jake assumed was a smoke break.
“How about a round of rummy to decide who has to be stuck on sticker duty?” Hollywood procured a deck from his pocket.
“Works for me,” said Reece.
Cards slid his way, and Jake collected them, putting them in order. He stared at his phone. He hadn’t heard from Erin since last night, since he’d dropped her off. He shot her a quick text.
JAKE: What are you up to?
ERIN: Running along the riverfront.
JAKE: Didn’t you hear that texting while running is dangerous?
ERIN: Maybe you should stop texting me then.
He smiled and stared at the message.
Reece tapped the edge of the table near him, snapping him out of his stupor. “Hey, asshole, it’s your turn.”
Jake turned his attention back toward the card game and threw out a couple of cards.
“Who are you texting, anyway?” Reece took a bite of a brownie. “Also, whoever made these is my new wife.”
“Erin’s friend Sloane made them,” Jake said. “She and Erin baked yesterday and sent me home with the leftovers.”
Reece choked. “Never mind. They’re probably poisoned.”
Jake tossed a card into the discard pile. “What the hell is going on there?”
“Nothing. She’s always had it out for me ever since I dated Annie. They work together in the ped unit,” Reece said.
“Well, you never did call the woman back. People tend to take offense to that.”
Jake and Reece may have been the same age, but they went about dating completely differently. Reece dated everyone with a heartbeat, and Jake . . . didn’t. There’d been a few of Reece’s past flings who’d shown up while he was on shift at the station, trying for a second chance. He felt bad for all those women. Reece never seemed to commit, not since his high school sweetheart, Beth, had ended things and married some dude in the navy a few months later.
“Unless they’re addressed directly to you, I think they’re safe.”
Reece made a show of pushing the brownie farther up the napkin.
The tones went off, and they all shoved back from the table, flopping the cards facedown before they made their way to the engine. Once they heard it wasn’t a fire call, Jake remained in his class Bs and booked it to the engine.
“We’ve got a female in her late twenties. She collapsed while out on a run. Isn’t responding.”
Jake’s heart rate sped up. He thought of Erin and how she said she was going for a run around the same location the operator had given.
Reece stretched his neck from side to side, steering his way downtown. Jake shoved on his headset out of instinct, but everything that Reece and Hollywood were saying slipped to the back of his mind. At the forefront was Please don’t be her. It can’t be her.
Reece took a sharp right down Third Avenue, snaking his way through traffic. Jake knew Reece was driving as fast as he could to the call, but that didn’t help the pounding in his chest.
As soon as Reece parked the Intimidator, Jake booked it out of the truck. Need to get to her. Need to make sure she’s okay. His feet pounded against the pavement to the same beat of his heart, until he was at a full-out sprint.
It didn’t take long to find her. A crowd of people circled around someone on the ground, a couple of people motioning him over.
He advanced on the woman lying lifeless on the concrete, several people surrounding her. His heart lurched.
“Move out of the way,” he called, dropping to his knees in front of the woman.
The woman lay clutching her chest, rolled to the side. Brown curls. Not blonde. A woman with a larger build than Erin. The knot in his chest loosened. He put his fingers on her wrist, leaning down to her face to listen for any sign of breathing. There was a faint pulse, and her breathing was shallow.
Hollywood and Reece flanked him seconds later. With Jake’s airway bag he’d forgotten in the truck.
“She’s got a pulse,” he said, forcing down the embarrassment of how he’d just freaked out over nothing. A rookie move, one that had no place during a shift with Reece and Hollywood.
The EMT team followed moments later with a gurney. It was a minor miracle they weren’t there to see his blunder. Just the two men that counted on him on a daily basis. The EMTs loaded her onto the gurney and started a line on her.
Jake gave the go-ahead to transport her to the hospital. Reece shot him a look as they walked back to the engine. It wasn’t unwarranted. He’d forgotten his med bag, which was his essential accessory when he went on any call.
Stupid. If Reece hadn’t picked it up, if she’d needed it, that could have cost her life if he’d had to run back to the engine.
As soon as they climbed up into the engine and shoved on their headsets, Reece’s voice bellowed, “What the hell is wrong with you?”
He shook his head. He’d never felt this way on the job. Not once. Now it was like he was fresh out of training, shaking like a damn newbie. “I don’t know. I was distracted.”
“Distracted? Are you fucking kidding me?” Reece yelled.
“Hey, he said he was sorry. Let it go, man. Nothing went wrong,” Hollywood piped in.
Reece continued, ignoring him. “Shit, man, we need your head in the game. What if it had been something more serious? We rely on each other.”
The only time Jake had seen Reece so heated was when he’d spilled half of his cherry Icee on the seat of his car in high school after he’d just gotten the car detailed.
Jake didn’t even know why he’d been so spooked. The chances of it being Erin were slim to none. He’d never been flustered on a call, not even as a rookie.
“I don’t know what that was, but that can’t happen again. That’s our lives on the line if you fuck up.”
He nodded. Damn it, Jake needed to get his shit together. He knew that adding someone new into his life would cause some waves, but he didn’t think it’d get in the way of his job. Firefighting was everything. He wouldn’t let that happen again. Reece was right. He’d put his men at risk with his actions. Any added risk and one of them might not be coming home that night to their family. He thought about if it was reversed and one of the guys put him at risk. Bailey being all alone. He couldn’t do that to her.
As soon as they reached the station, he pulled out his phone, which he hadn’t bothered to check since the incident. Three texts.
Just got back. Crazy hot day out there.
Want to hang out after you get off shift tomorrow?
:-)
He set his phone down, deciding not to respond.