“Cynical, much?” he grumbled at his sister, who until last Christmas, had merely existed in a lovelessmarriage.
“Nope, not at all.” She beamed at him, tugging his sleeve. “This place is a fresh start for me and Brian. So far above the pollution of the big city. The scent of mountain pine, the natural beauty, and a community of good people. It’ll be refreshing to put down roots in a place where we can make adifference.”
“For you, but not for me,” Grady said. “A rolling stone gathers nomoss.”
“If you’re really a rolling stone, then why did you quit smokejumping?” Cait angled her all-seeing face and cornered Grady in front of the stepping stones crossing thestream.
Sam lapped at the water while squirrels in the trees above them sounded the alarm. The dog’s ears perked, but he didn’t lunge orbark.
“I didn’t quit smokejumping,” Grady said. He brushed by her and took long lanky steps across the stream. “I’m skipping this season, that’sall.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was what he told himself. He was good at what he did, and nothing could beat the excitement and exhilaration of parachuting into a firestorm, prepared to do battle with an angry MotherNature.
Nothing except for that last jump where things had gone horriblywrong.
“Wow, you’re really going to leave me on this side of the creek?” Cait called, unable to decide on a path for her pregnant body to take across the slipperyrocks.
For a moment, smoke and flames clouded his vision. Worse than the images were the sounds—the loud cracks, pops, and greedy snap of red, orange, and gold, consuming everything in its path. And the smells—thick, acrid smoke digging into the nostrils, gagging soot and chokingashes.
He blinked at the sound of her voice, and then his eyes widened. A plume of smoke rose over the treetops from the direction of his parents’cabin.
“Smoke.” He bounded over the creek back the way they came. “Stayback.”
“What’s happening?” Cait’s voice shrieked from behind him. “Is there afire?”
“Call 9-1-1 if you can get a signal,” he shouted, hoping that the new cell towers wereoperational.
Without waiting for her to answer, he dashed toward the cabin. This couldn’t be happening. Shouldn’t behappening.
His parents already lost their house in a fire and had only recently finished rebuilding. How was it fair for them to lose their mountaincabin?
All because he’d distracted Cait who had probably been cookingdinner.
Sam bounded beside him and when they reached the cabin, it was engulfed in crackling flames and thick withsmoke.
“No!” Grady shouted as he ran toward thefire.
