Chapter Six
Angela
“Don’t you have a hot date tonight?” Stephanie asked me just as I was finishing the count of the bottles of Jack Daniels.
Turning my head, I peered at her over my shoulder from my squatting position. “Yes, I do, but I needed to come in and take count.”
“I could’ve done that. You should be home prepping for all that hotness!”
I stood, placing my hand on my hip. “Get your mind out of the gutter. We’re having dinner, and he’s taking me to a jazz festival.” I told Stephanie about my date with Eric after she hounded me for details when she saw him pick me up for our date the previous week. It felt good to gush to someone else about the new interest in my life. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach every time I thought or spoke about him.
“The only place he’d be taking me is to pound town!”
I gasped. “You have such a filthy mind!”
“I know, right?” she laughed.
“Yeah, well keep those filthy thoughts off of Eric and on someone else,” I warned.
“Protective already, huh?”
I buried my face in my hands. She was right, I was experiencing a twinge of jealousy at the thought of another woman thinking of him the way I was thinking of him.
“It’s all right. I get it. I mean, those dark eyes that look almost black―”
“Until you get close enough to see they’re dark brown, and depending on his mood they darken or lighten a little. And he has the smoothest skin with yellow undertones, but his cheeks flush with red when he’s exerting himself in spin class. And his Adam’s apple. I never really found them appealing before, but now I find myself wanting to―” I stopped, remembering where I was. I saw I held Stephanie’s rapt attention. I cleared my suddenly parched throat. “Anyway, there are eight bottles of the Jack Daniels left, two cases of that new brown ale we tried. I don’t think that one was too popular, so I’m not going to order it again. Oh, and tell Susan to give me a call when she comes in, please?”
“Sure thing,” Stephanie answered, going back to wiping down glasses as she was before.
“I think that’s it. Give me a ring if you need me, okay?”
“I think I’ve done this once or twice before.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you alone now. Don’t forget about Susan,” I reminded her as I shoved the clipboard with the count back under the bar, and wiped the dirt from the floor off my knees. Giving my employees one last good-bye, I headed out the door for my fifteen-minute walk home. It was another warm day, but not too hot, so I opted to walk to the bar instead of drive. By the time I made it home, it was just after two o’clock, giving me enough time to start cooking the meal I planned for the evening. I chose a Tuscan chicken recipe and debated on making mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower as one of the sides. Although I liked going with the low carb option, I decided that mashed potatoes would be my best bet for the night.
I skinned and dropped the potatoes in boiling water to let them cook through, and began chopping spinach to make part of the sauce with the chicken. I spent the next hour or so cooking, first pounding chicken breasts until they were as thin as I wanted them, then cooking them in the pan, and finally whipping heavy cream to make the sauce. After letting the potatoes cool for a few minutes, I got out my butter, salt, chives, and homemade chicken broth to make the mashed potatoes. Once all of the cooking was done, I quickly chopped some vegetables and lettuce, making a salad as the final side. I made one of my favorite salad dressings with freshly squeezed lemon juice as the base. Once the food was all prepped, I stuck the salad in the fridge, put the chicken and potatoes in the oven to keep warm, and then headed down the hall to grab my towel from my bedroom to shower.
Sunday was usually my wash day for my hair, so I grabbed my bottle of shampoo and conditioner that I loved to give my hair its weekly spa treatment. After shampooing, I lathered my short strands in conditioner and tied a plastic bag over it, allowing the conditioner to penetrate my strands, especially the pieces that I colored. They needed a little extra TLC. Next, I lathered up and then shaved my legs and underarms since I’d be wearing a sleeveless dress this evening. Once I rinsed my hair out and hopped out of the shower, I pat dried my body using my towel but left it in the bathroom as I walked to my bedroom and sat on my bed to slather on lotion and then some of my favorite shimmering body spray. I loved the way it made my skin look all dewy. I dried my hair using the diffuser to keep it from looking too limp. I finished dressing, looking myself over in my full-length mirror. I loved the way the sleeveless A-line electric blue dress swayed as I moved. The front stopped a couple of inches above my knees, while the back came down to just brushing my ankles. I opted to pair the dress with my tan, strappy sandals. The heels on the sandals were only about three inches. I wanted something manageable since we’d be walking around the festival later that evening.
Grabbing my favorite floral-scented body spray, I gave myself a few spritzes just as my phone buzzed. I looked at it to see I received a text from my close friend, Janine. She and I met in college, and although she remained in Boston, we still managed to be a part of one another’s lives.
Bestie: Matt dumped me!!
I kept myself from rolling my eyes, but just barely. Janine and her on-again, off-again boyfriend were always going through some drama. The problem was she wanted to get married and he so obviously didn’t. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why she clung to him.
Maybe it’s for the best. I responded, knowing that wouldn’t go over too well, but she needed to hear it.
Bestie: For the best?? I LOVE him!
I sighed, as I replied that she was too good for him. After a few of these exchanges, I finally told Janine I had to go but that I would call her the following day and let her vent all she wanted about her man troubles. My phone buzzed again, but I didn’t get a chance to read her response because I’d placed the phone on my coffee table in the living room while I went to the kitchen to take out the plates and bowls for our meals. I glanced up to see the time was 6:01, just as the doorbell rang. I smiled. I do love a man who knows how to be on time.
When I opened the door, the air rushed from my lungs. The first thing that hit me was his scent—some woodsy cologne mixed with what I knew was his natural scent. Those piercing eyes met mine, wrinkling slightly around the edges as his lips parted into a warm smile. A few strands of his dark, cropped hair fell over onto his forehead. Broad shoulders had the white Lacoste shirt he wore sitting like it was made just for him. Black jeans and loafers finished out the look.
“Hi.”
He leaned down, and instinctively I tilted my head upwards, readying myself for what was to come. My eyelids drooped, and a tingling sensation went through me when our lips connected. He took my lips, owning them, and I gladly let him. An arm reached down around my waist, pulling me in, and I ran my hand against his hard chest. He was the one who broke the kiss first. We both stood there, transfixed on one another for an extra moment, until Eric held up his free arm.
“I brought a bottle of wine for our dinner.” He held a bottle of red wine.
“That’ll go perfectly with our dinner but I told you, you didn’t need to bring anything.”
He gave me a look. “I couldn’t show up empty-handed.”
My lips twitched at the gleam in his eyes.
“Come in,” I said, stepping to the side to allow his entrance. I shut and locked the door. “Let me give you a short tour.” I took one of his hands in mine, and when his strong fingers wrapped around my hand, I nearly stumbled at the way my body reacted. I peered up at him to see his eyes on our interlocked hands, and I knew he felt it, too.
“This is obviously the living room. A friend of mine came in and helped me redecorate once I took ownership.” I held out the hand that had the bottle of wine, giving him a view of the space. His eyes observed the tan sectional filled with cream and brown pillows, the square dark wood coffee table sitting in the middle filled with magazines and candles, and the fireplace directly across from the couch, above which hung the massive flat screen television. Since redecorating over a year ago, this place has felt so much more like my own home as opposed to my parents’ house. I released a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding when he blinked and smiled in obvious approval. I didn’t care to entertain why this man’s approval of my home mattered.
“Down the hall is the master bedroom and bathroom. Upstairs are two more bedrooms, and over here,” I led him farther inside, “is the dining area. Where we’ll be eating tonight.”
“Thanks for the tour. What do you mean by took ownership?” he asked a few moments later.
“Oh yes. This was my parents’ home where they raised Sean and I. They left it to me after…”
“Ah.” He nodded in understanding.
“I redecorated to make it feel more like mine, ya’ know. Not that my parents’ style wasn’t great, but it was…”
“Theirs.”
“Right!” I agreed with his correct assessment. “I wanted something a little more my own. Plus, every time I came home and saw all their furnishings and decorations it made me miss them that much more. Sean was the one to suggest I redecorate. I was pissed at first, but then talked it out with my friend, Janine, and she made me see the error of my ways. She even came down from Boston for two weeks to help me figure out what I wanted and shop with me. She’s an interior designer, so it was perfect. By the time she left, I felt like I had a completely new place. I loved it before…” I trailed off, realizing I was doing it again. I peeked up at Eric to see his keen eyes on me as if waiting for me to continue.
Pulling my hand out of his grasp, I waved it dismissively. “We can talk about all of that over dinner. I hope you brought your appetite.”
I set the bottle on the medium-sized circular table with a black cherrywood finish and matching chairs.
“I made Tuscan chicken, mashed potatoes, and a salad for dinner.”
“Sounds delicious.”
“Sit, I will pour the glasses of wine and fix our plates.”
“Let me help with the wine at least,” he insisted, grabbing the bottle from the table and putting his other hand at the small of my back to maneuver me toward the kitchen. “Just show me where the bottle opener and your glasses are.”
I opened one of the drawers of the counter. “Here’s the bottle opener. The glasses are on the top shelf of the cupboard right above your head.”
He easily reached the top shelf of the cupboard, taking down two wine glasses. I moved to the dining space, placing the salad and dressing at the center of the table, along with two bowls. Next, I plated our food and just as I was about to take the plates to the table, a hand on my arm stopped me.
“Let me,” he insisted, removing the plates from my grasp and walking them to the table where our glasses, half-filled with wine already sat. I was almost bowled over when he stood behind the chair with my plate, pulling it out for me, waiting for me to sit.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for cooking dinner. It looks delicious.”
“It was nothing. Mm, this wine is pretty good.” I held the glass up in front of me. I usually went for white wine, but this was a dry sherry that I thought complemented our dinner quite well. I leaned over to put salad in each of our bowls along with the dressing I prepared.
“This is delicious. You made the dressing?”
I laughed that he sounded impressed. “Yeah, just some lemon, garlic, avocado, and a few other things blended. I’m glad you like it. How was your day?” I asked after a few moments of eating in silence.
“Was pretty slow today at work.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” A day with minimal fires or emergencies sounded good to me. Apparently, Eric didn’t think so.
He snorted. “Trust me, you do not want to be sitting around the station with a bunch of firemen who have nothing to do.”
“Oh man, I can only imagine the trouble you guys can get into.”
He laughed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Don, he’s the prankster of the group. We’re all sitting in the kitchen at the table eating lunch, talking smack. Our usual. Don gets up as if he’s making a phone call. A few seconds later he runs into the kitchen, squirting something on the floor behind him, and then halfway up one of our newer rookie’s legs then runs out. Seconds later we see flames rushing up the trail he left behind right up to the rookie’s leg. It was lighter fluid.”
I gasped. “No freaking way!” That sounded dangerous, but Eric was laughing about it.
“The rookie had his protective gear on. He wasn’t in any danger, but he did freak out until I leaned over and dumped my coffee on his leg, putting out the fire.”
“That’s what you all do in the firehouse? Light one another on fire?”
“Sometimes. You don’t want to know the other things we can get into.”
I laughed some more as he told me a few of the other antics of the guys in his station. The poor rookies seemed to get it the worse, which was always the case, I figured.
“Are you close to your parents?” I asked during one of our lulls. I wanted to find out more about him besides his being a firefighter.
“Not particularly.” He gave a one-sided shrug. “I mean, I love them, and they love me, of course. I visit them a couple of times a month.”
“Do they live in Williamsport?”
“No. My dad finally convinced my mom to move out to the suburbs of Collingwood. It’s only thirty minutes outside of the city. Close enough that my mom can commute back in three times a week for work.”
“What does your mom do?”
“She’s a professor of linguistics at Williamsport U.”
I wrinkled my forehead, impressed. “Wow. Williamsport U is one of the top universities in the city.”
“So I’m told.”
I giggled. “What about your dad?”
“He works as an executive at Townsend Energy.”
“And you’re an only child?”
He nodded.
“They probably had a lot of hopes and dreams pinned on you.”
“They did. Townsend was the company I worked for out of undergrad. I got hired through my dad’s connections, although I had the education and internship experience for the job. It seemed like the perfect fit.”
“Until you had other plans.”
“Right.”
“How much of a rift did your career change cause?”
“My dad refused to speak to me for months. My mother spoke to me, but it was minimal. It took a few years for them to come around, and even still…” He trailed off.
“But you’re a hero. No, I mean it,” I insisted when he snorted. I put down my fork, grabbing his wrist. His eyes moved from my face to my hand. A wave of need shot through my belly at the sharpness in his gaze. “I-I just mean, no disrespect to your parents. But you run into burning buildings and save lives. You may not make the big bucks like someone working in the executive suite at Townsend but what you do is so much more valuable.” I squeezed his arm for emphasis.
He stared at me for a long while, his dark eyes burrowing into mine, drinking me in. A dizzy feeling came over me at the intensity of his stare. That spark of electricity that always threatened to ignite whenever we were close rose up, consuming us both.
“Are you finished with dinner?”
“Yes.” My tone was low, breathy.
Rising from his seat, he came around to where I sat. Before my mind could register what was happening, he pulled me up to stand in front of him, strong hands holding me at my waist. His lips were on mine a second later, and I willingly opened up to receive whatever he was trying to give.
His tongue swept my teeth and then my tongue, tasting me, savoring me. His fingers dug into my sides, pulling me deeper and deeper into his spell. Knowing I’d topple over from the vigor of this kiss, I wrapped my hands around the hardness of his triceps, using his body weight as an anchor to hold me up. I moaned into his mouth, our lips smacking against one another. I needed to come up for air, but the kiss was too good.
Breathing could wait.
I didn’t need it.
All I needed to survive was more of this.
More of him.
I was lifted off the ground and placed on the table. I wrapped my legs around his thighs and gasped when I felt the third leg in his pants. I moved back, staring at him, asking without words if that was what I thought it was. He smirked with a promise filling his dark eyes. The seam of my panties became moist with my need for him. He pulled me in again. I closed my eyes and sighed into his ravenous mouth, knowing this was wrong. But how could something wrong feel so right?
His strong hands on me.
His lips caressing mine.
I knew we shouldn’t be doing this so early on. We were only on our third date… if we counted the coffee shop as a date. Each caress of his lips or swipe of his tongue left me falling deeper and deeper under his spell. One I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to come out from under. Just when I decided to throw all caution to the wind, he pulled back, hand still holding onto the back of my neck, our foreheads pressed together. We both panted loudly.
“You’re making it hard to take things slow.”
“Who said you need to take things slow?” I practically purred.
“You did, Angel. Your body wants to, but your mind’s still wrestling with it.” He gazed into my eyes before taking a step back. “Go freshen up. I’ll clear the table so we can head over to the festival.”
I stood there for a second attempting to regain my equilibrium. Blinking, I oriented myself, and saw Eric taking our empty plates to the kitchen as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He looked at me expectantly, and I remembered he told me to go freshen up. I smoothed down the edges of my dress, almost embarrassed at how carried away I let things get on my dining room table!
I headed toward my bathroom and reapplied the light pink lip color I donned earlier, fluffed my hair out, and spritzed myself with some of my floral spray. When I re-emerged, the table was cleared, and Eric stood by the entrance way.
“Thank you for clearing the table.”
“You cooked. Only right I should help clean up. Ready to go?”
“Yes.”
He led me out the door, pausing for me to lock up behind us. When I turned, I noticed him staring at my legs. A shiver ran through me. I really shouldn’t have been so caught up in this man. It was very early on. I’ve never had this type of draw to someone this soon. I bet he was used to women throwing themselves at him. I mean, just look at him! Six-feet-two inches of hard, solid muscles, covered by beautiful smooth, tanned skin with a face to match.
“You okay?” he asked, getting in the car just as I sighed.
“Of course.” I kept my gaze directed at my hands in my lap.
He paused, leaving his key in the ignition but not starting it. Strong fingers gripped my chin, turning my head to look him in the eye. There was silence for few moments as he just stared into my eyes.
“You’re uncomfortable about what happened,” he stated.
“Not uncomfortable. If anything, a little too comfortable. If you weren’t the one to stop us, I’m pretty sure we would’ve… you know.” I felt so foolish admitting that out loud.
“That’s a bad thing?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I don’t know. Just…what does that say about me?” I hated to sound like a prude, but I’ve never been intimate with someone I wasn’t already in a committed relationship with.
“It says you’ve got good taste.”
I laughed, despite not wanting to.
He placed one arm on the steering wheel and rested the other against the headrest of my seat, leaning in close to me. He was so near, I could feel the body heat emanating from him. That same feeling I had in my dining room began to emerge again.
His voice was low but laced with steel when he said, “I won’t take you until you’re ready. I could tell you were having doubts. And doubts lead to regrets, and when I finally do take you for the first time, there won’t be with any regrets. Because once I make you mine, there won’t be any take backs.” He waited for me to accept what he was saying.
I nodded, and he pressed a kissed to my forehead before starting the car.
It took a while before my erratic heartbeat calmed down. I shifted the car’s vent toward me to get the direct blow of cold air. This man couldn’t be a firefighter―he’s way too good at stoking the flames.
****
Eric
When I do take you…
My own words echoed in my mind over and over again. Even though every word I said was true, I cursed myself for sounding like a goddamned lame ass. It’s been a couple of years since I was in a serious relationship. I was enjoying the single life and didn’t think I was ready to settle down just yet. But a couple of dates with Angela and I was ready to say fuck the single life. That’s why I completely put a halt to our previous night’s kiss before it went too far. I could sense her hesitation. I even felt the exact moment she decided to say “fuck it” and was all in. I knew then it was my responsibility to put a stop to things. I was more than ready and willing to pick her up and pin her again the nearest wall, or countertop, or bed, whichever was closest and most convenient. But, I also knew that she’d have regrets afterward, and that’s something I wouldn’t let her take on.
“Harvard, I called you last night. Wanted to see if you were in the mood to meet me at Charlie’s,” Corey began, interrupting my thoughts as I walked into the kitchen. I saw his missed call and knew that’s probably what he wanted.
“I was out last night.” Grabbing a plate from the cupboard, I went about fixing a plate of the eggs, bacon, and toast that had been prepared, not realizing how quiet it’d gotten behind me. When I turned around, I saw Don, Carter, and Corey staring at me.
“What?” I asked as if I didn’t know. Sitting down, I ignored their snickers and began eating my breakfast.
“Don’t fucking what us,” Don quipped.
“What Don here is trying to say is, what’s her name? What does she look like? Do we know her?” Carter laughed.
“You bastards are worse than middle school girls.” I pointed my fork at the three of them. A chorus of laughter sounded off between them as they pulled out chairs.
“Come on, Harvard. If you don’t spill something new, Donnie here’s going to go crazy. Probably lighting someone or something else on fire,” Corey laughed. “We’re bored as fuck without any fires. It’s been a slow week.”
That was true. It was a slow week. We got a few calls, mostly for small fires and a couple of car accidents, but for men like us, those types of days dragged on. We all wanted to be where the action was, or we got antsy.
“First of all, my damn love life is not going to be used for your fucking fodder around this station.”
“Fodder?” Don looked puzzled.
I rolled my eyes. Don was always playing as if he didn’t know what certain words meant.
“Gossip,” Carter responded, his gaze pinned on me.
“Oh. Whatever, man, give us something. Is she hot?”
“Come on, Donnie. You know Eric only messes with beautiful women.”
“Corey, you call me Donnie one more time, and you won’t have to worry about women, fodder, gossip, or any-fucking-thing else. Got me?”
We laughed at Don’s fake threats.
“Harvard,” Carter started in a tone as if he was a school teacher dealing with an unruly child, “All we’re saying is, you’re our brother, and as such, it is our responsibility to make sure any young woman you’re gallivanting around with is suitable. Right, fellas?”
“Yeah, what the fuck he said.” Don pointed with his thumb in Carter’s direction.
I looked at the three men, who reminded me of children, anxiously waiting to be dismissed from school on a Friday afternoon.
“Okay, you wanna know?” I asked after swallowing the last bite of my breakfast and wiping my mouth.
They glanced between one another and then nodded.
“She’s…” I leaned in and held up my fork, jabbing it in their direction with every word I said. “None. Of. Your. Fucking. Business.” With that, I stood up and took my plate to the sink.
“Ah, man, this must be serious. We never withhold this type of vital information from one another.”
“Whatever, Corey.” It was true. We’ve each done our fair share of talking about the women we dated and bedded. But this time around, I didn’t feel like sharing what was happening between Angela and I. One reason was that these guys knew her. They frequented her bar and the idea of them knowing what went on between us didn’t sit well with me. An image of Angela―breathing heavy from our kisses, as she sat on her dining room table, legs wrapped around my waist, eyes wide after having just felt the size of my hard-on―had me swallowing deeply. When I thought of her kiss-swollen lips, and then the acquiescence in her eyes as she decided to give in to the chemistry between us made me shift my positioning in my chair. No. I sure as hell wasn’t about to share that moment with these guys. And I damn sure wasn’t about to confess the sheer amount of strength it took for me to drop Angela off at her door after our date, place another kiss on her lips, and then walk away after she went inside, alone. All that, after feeling her body against mine as we walked and danced at the jazz festival. Nope. I’d never hear the end of it. But more than that, I wanted to protect what we were building. This felt entirely too important to expose for fire station gossip.
“Whatever, man. Since Harvard’s not talking about his love life, let’s talk about something that matters. You hear who our new captain is?” Corey asked, looking around the table.
I shook my head. There were a few different names floating around the station as to who was going to be our new captain. Unfortunately, in the fire department, things like replacements could happen slow as hell or quick as lightning. Just depended on what the upper-level department heads were doing. And since there’d recently been a shake-up with the Fire Chief, new positions had been slow to be replaced.
“I hear it’s Graham,” Carter spoke up.
“Graham? Fuck outta here!”
“You gotta be shitting me!”
“The hell?”
Corey, Don, and I spoke in unison.
“You mean Graham Waverly?”
Carter nodded.
“Shiiiit,” Corey cursed.
Graham Waverly did not have the best reputation as far as Rescue Four was concerned. He was captain over at Firehouse Station Three a few years back when part of our station’s area was redistributed to theirs. Graham had been the biggest proponent of the change. Since then, Rescue Four has held a grudge against Graham Waverly. As I said, firefighters are highly competitive, and the idea of knowing part of our district was taken away from us, thereby causing us to get fewer calls, was a huge problem.
“He better not bring his ass in here thinking he runs shit,” Don mumbled.
We all chuckled at the look of anger on Don’s face.
“When’s he supposed to show up?” I asked Carter.
“Today, I hear.”
“All right. In the meantime, let’s run some drills and clean our equipment. It’s been slow the last couple of days, and you know what that means.”
A series of grunts and scraping chairs echoed as we stood. A slow couple of days usually led to all hell breaking out. It was summer after all, and things never kept quiet for too long during the summer.
****
“Heads up. He’s here,” Carter stated, tapping my bunk as he moved past me.
I rose up, peeling my eyes open from the short nap I was trying to get in. It was later that afternoon, and I was working a twenty-four-hour shift. I was attempting to get in a little shut-eye wherever possible. I had a feeling I’d be getting very little sleep that night.
Hearing footsteps around me I got up, tucked my navy blue, Williamsport Fire Department shirt into my standard department issued black trousers, slipped on my black boots, and headed down the steps. When I reached the middle of the stairs, I could make out the top of the new captain’s greying head as he moved toward the kitchen. By the time I reached the bottom step, I could make out the speculative glare Don was giving the new captain. I followed him, and we stood at the kitchen’s entrance, silently watching as our new captain wordlessly went over to the counter, grabbed one of the mugs from the cupboard, and poured himself a cup of coffee. By that time, the new captain had an audience of about six guys, who just stood around observing him, scoping out his behavior. Bringing the mug to his mouth, he turned and acknowledged each man with a slight tilt of his head. Only the rookies returned the nod, much to the chagrin of the older guys, including myself.
I observed the captain, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, sandalwood colored skin, and eyes that were slightly darker and sharp as a tack. He appeared to be the type who only needed to see something once to have it committed to memory. He also had the look that most older firefighters had in their eyes―as if they’ve seen a hundred lifetimes in the decades they’ve been on the job, and they had.
“Where’s my office?” his gruff voice asked, looking around.
“Upstairs, Cap.” That was one of the rookies.
Sucking teeth and mumbling ensued that from Don, Corey, Carter, and a few of the older guys. Rookies had so much to learn. Captain already knew the answer to his question before he asked. He was testing us to see who’d break this little showdown first. Of course, it was the same fucking rookie who took the keys out of the rig the other week. I glanced over at Don who gave me a look. I nodded, conveying I was already assigning this rookie cleanup duty for the next week for his latest gaffe.
“I’ll be upstairs,” the new captain informed, moving past us with his coffee mug in hand. For his part, he didn’t appear intimidated or put off by the cold shoulder he just received. That boded well for him. Captains couldn’t show weakness, not if they expected this group of roughnecks to follow them into the flames.
A few hours later the new captain received his first ride with Rescue Four when we got the call for a three-alarm fire. As soon as the alarm sounded off at one in the morning, I was up, ripping the blanket off of my body, whipping my feet over the side of the cot and directly into my boots, which were strategically placed where they’d be easily accessible. Less than three minutes later, I had my fireproof pants on, suspenders up, and was sliding down the pole right behind Don, Carter following right behind me, and the new captain behind him. I glanced at Corey, who was now relegated to the back of the rig because the captain always sat up front, passenger side.
I reached for the keys, relieved to feel them in the ignition already. Seconds later, we were in the rig, sirens blaring, charging out of the garage and making a left toward the fire. I focused on the road but could hear the captain using the walkie-talkie to communicate with headquarters. They’d gone to a private radio line to communicate, which usually happened when someone had been injured. I pressed my foot on the gas, pushing the rig to get us there faster. We were three blocks from the fire when I saw smoke billowing up toward the sky. Huge plumes of black clouds hovered over a five-story brick building. From the looks of it, it was some warehouse.
The captain grunted beside me. I didn’t know him well enough to understand his grunts and moods just yet, but if he was thinking what I was thinking, it looked as if this fire was going to be a doozy.
“Roger that,” he said into the walkie-talkie just before we jumped out of the truck. Ours was the first truck there, soon followed by two more rigs.
“Kim, you, Alvarez, and Williams find a way in. Rookie, you’re with me. When I move you move. Got it?” The captain didn’t bother waiting for the rookie’s reply. He referred to myself, Don, and Corey by our last names. Nonetheless, we grabbed our hatchets and the hose, then hooked it up to the nearest hydrant, but we didn’t immediately turn the hose on. The fire was now shooting outside of the fourth story windows. Observing the area, I saw people in nightgowns and sleeping attire crying across the street. I knew there was a high chance that people were still inside. It was one in the morning, and in all likelihood many people were passed out from smoke inhalation or trapped inside.
“Don, Corey, let’s go!” I yelled, running toward the first entrance I saw, lowering my mask over my face. I entered on the first floor and yelled at a few people I saw coming down the apartment building’s stairs, pointing toward the exit. A few of them cowered in fear. In addition to people being terrified of fires, seeing large, bulky men in facemasks can be jarring in the middle of the night. I often have to cajole frightened children and even adults, letting them know I’m there to help them not harm them. Of course, I didn’t always have time to play nice, so yelling out orders and directions ended up being my go-to method most of the time. They may not like my tactics at the moment, but in the end, I’ve never met a person I pulled out of a fire not say thank you for saving their ass.
“Anyone in here?” I yelled, banging on each door I came to. Corey and Don were doing the same behind me.
“All clear!”
“Clear!”
Both men yelled once we cleared the first floor. I led the charge up to the second floor, which was coated with a thick fog of smoke. By the time we arrived, we knew the fire started on the fourth floor of the building. There was already smoke on the second floor which meant the fire had burned down to the third floor and soon down to the second, soon enough consuming the entire building.
“All clear!” I yelled out when we cleared the second floor. Thankfully there were no people trapped, but I knew the next two floors were going to trick us. As we made our way up the nearly black stairwell, which would carry us to the third floor, I steadied my breathing a much as possible. There was a great deal of noise that could be heard on our two-way radios.
“Fourth floor is completely consumed! Copy?” I heard the captain’s voice.
“Roger that!” It was meant to be a warning. We were not to go up to the fourth floor. We were already on shaky ground on the third floor. I heard the heavy breathing of Corey and Don behind me. We knocked on doors of the apartment.
“This one’s locked!” I shouted when I came across a closed apartment. I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one was behind me and swung my hatchet into the door, making a hole big enough to stick my arm through to reach the knob and unlock the door.
“Fire department! Anyone in here?” I yelled out, doing my best to make my way through the living room, then down the hallway to what I presumed were the bedrooms. I check one room, looking around as best I could, and saw an empty bed. When I cleared that room, I started to head to the one across the hall only to be nearly knocked over by Corey.
“I got one. She’s unresponsive,” he informed me.
I got on my radio. “Coming out with a female. Unresponsive.”
“Don!” I called, making sure he was with us.
“Yeah! All clear,” he announced.
I helped Corey with the woman, carrying her legs while he had her upper body. We went back down the stairs, the same way we came up. It took us mere minutes to get back down to the first floor and then out the same entrance we entered. Corey and I carried the woman across the street, taking her to the awaiting paramedics. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Don run to the rig and begin helping the rookie who stayed back with the captain with the hose. By now the other two rigs had their hoses turned toward the fire and were now putting it out. In Williamsport, firefighters were required to put out every fire we encountered. While in many cities around the country, firefighters were allowed to let the fire burn, in our city, the houses were too close together to let that happen. The fire could quickly jump from one house or building to the next, and before we knew it an entire block could be up in flames.
Once paramedics took over CPR on the young woman, Corey and I grabbed a second hose off our rigs and connected it to another hydrant and joined the other guys to battle the flames. We fought that fire for the better part of two hours. It made its way down to the third and second floors, much of the inside collapsing under the melting power of the fire. By the time we turned our hoses off, and the last ember burned, my throat was sore and voice hoarse from yelling so many directions at the rest of my guys or following our captain’s instructions.
Once assured the fire was completely out, we were given the all clear to go in and check the first and some of the second floors. The third and fourth floors were destroyed, and there was no safe way anyone could enter let alone walk on those floors. For the next half an hour we made our way through the first two floors, ensuring that no one had been left behind. I had a feeling, however, that not everyone had made it out of this fire alive.
“She’s going to be okay,” one of the paramedics came over to Corey and me to let us know. The woman we pulled out was taken to the nearest hospital after she regained consciousness still at the scene. The ‘medics just got a report from the hospital that she suffered smoke inhalation and some first-degree burns, but after a day or two in the hospital, she’d be okay.
“Hell of a job,” I said, clapping Corey on the back.
“Thanks for the help, bro,” he returned.
We did the customary fist bump when we made a save, then headed to the rig to load our gear back on. By the time we returned to the station, my body felt the weight of the physical and mental exertion it just exercised. You would think I’d be tired, but these were the times where my mind was still racing, going over and over what I’d just done. While it was close to four in the morning, none of the men were going back to sleep anytime soon. So we did what we always did. We parked ourselves in the kitchen, at the table, and ordered some food. There were a couple of twenty-four-hour food places within blocks of our station. We ordered breakfast food, as no one felt like cooking. We’d leave that for the next shift that was scheduled to relieve us at nine a.m.
“Good job out there today.”
I lifted my eyes to see Captain Waverly standing at the head of our table, sincerity in his eyes as he looked pointedly at all of us.
“They pull anyone out of there yet?” Don asked after a few heartbeats of silence. We all knew there’d be at least one body coming out of that building in the morning. Fires that started in the middle of the night, when people were asleep, often had the most casualties.
“Not yet. Fire investigators are going to be scoping it out in the morning.”
“I’ll head over there in the morning also,” Don commented.
The captain gave no argument, just nodded and pulled out his chair to eat with us. A silent respect had begun to form between the new captain and Rescue Four. He’d done a hell of a job taking over and commanding us and the other rigs that showed up at the scene. While he still had a ways to go to prove himself, on his first day in action, Captain Waverly was looking like he just might make it at Rescue Four.