A gust of wind reminded Derek that he was wet and getting colder by the second, so he headed for the dive van. The earlier winter sunshine was now blocked by a bank of dark clouds that cast a shadow over the distant peaks. After shutting himself in the back of the vehicle, he stripped off the dry suit and the damp layers beneath. Shivering, he hurried to dress in his street clothes.
By the time he reemerged, the EMTs had Chase bundled into the ambulance. As the emergency vehicle left the reservoir, lights and sirens flashing, Derek found himself moving toward a shell-shocked-looking Artie. He couldn’t help it. When she was close, she drew him toward her. It had been that way since kindergarten.
“Guess that little girl gets her wish about seeing some firemen,” he said.
Artie blinked and then turned her head toward him. She was so beautiful. Each time he looked at her, it was like getting punched in the stomach. “What?”
In answer, he just gestured at the crowd of students still clustered next to the bus. Their eyes were all fixed on the big red trucks, although their feet hadn’t moved an inch since Callum had ordered them to stay still.
Her laugh was more of a gasp. “Right. At least Amber’s day is made.”
“Amber? Is that the fireman fan?”
She nodded, but Callum stepped in front of her before she could say more.
“I’ll take this. Thanks for your help, Artie,” he said, gently pulling the portable radio from her grip. She looked down at her now-empty hand, as if she’d forgotten that she’d been holding it.
“If I’d been doing my job,” she said, her eyes still fixed on her fingers as they tightened into a fist, “then he wouldn’t have gotten onto the ice in the first place.”
“No use in killing yourself over ‘ifs.’” Derek resisted the urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She wouldn’t welcome the touch—they’d barely spoken in years. “Besides, I count three other chaperones and three dive-team members who’re just as responsible. Put your glove on.”
Although she did as he asked without any argument, her expression showed she still blamed herself. “I should get back to the others.”
Feeling like a needy idiot, Derek followed when she walked away, taking a couple of quick strides so he caught up to her. “How’ve you been?”
“Okay.”
It was such an obvious lie that he snorted. “Let’s try this again. How’ve you been, Artie? The truth, this time.”
Her exasperated huff made him smile. He didn’t like seeing her looking so…defeated. “Honestly? There are good days and bad days. Overall, though, it’s an uphill progression, so I’m sticking with my original answer. What’s wrong?”
Derek blinked at the question before realizing that it was directed at Marnie Belcher, who’d hurried to catch them a few feet away from the group of students. Although her tears from earlier were gone, she looked unsettled.
“I’ve counted over and over, and there are only thirty-five kids,” Marnie said in a low voice.
“There should be thirty-seven.” Squeezing her eyes shut for a second, Artie took an audible breath. “Okay. Who’s missing?”
Marnie grimaced. “I’m trying to figure that out, but, after what happened with Chase, my brain is fried. Maybe I’m just skipping over a couple of the short ones. Could you do a count?”
“Sure.” Artie raised her voice to address the group. “Students! Line up in two rows. Ms. Belcher’s class, line up here next to her.” She nudged Marnie a few feet to the side. “My class, line up in front of me.”
The kids hesitated, sending fearful looks toward the dive van. “That man said we shouldn’t move,” one of the girls said, pointing at Callum. “He’s scary.”
Derek had to turn his head to hide his grin.
“That was just for when we were getting Chase out of the reservoir,” Artie explained. “It’s okay to move now.”
None of the students took even a single step.
Coughing to mask a laugh, Derek turned and bellowed, “Yo! Cal! Tell the kids the game of freeze tag is over.”
Turning away from his discussion with Lou, Callum eyed the group of petrified students. “As long as you stay off the ice”—his crisp voice carried easily—“you may move.”
The kids hurried to get into their appropriate lines. Artie leaned closer to Derek and murmured, “Callum needs to visit my classroom on a regular basis. That was amazing.”
The admiration in her voice caused a pang in his chest, but Derek shook it off. He should be used to jealousy when it came to Artemis. To cover, he forced a laugh. “His magic works on adults, too.”
She smiled as she began counting, walking along each line and touching each child on the shoulder. As she started on Ms. Belcher’s class, her eyebrows drew together. Uh-oh. That didn’t look good. Derek swallowed the swearword—multiple swearwords, actually—trying to bubble up in his throat. This day was going from bad to worse.
