Me: Fine. But you’re buying.
Mindy: Deal. Dot’s at ten?
Me: See you there.
I get out of bed with the feeling that today is a turning point. As I’m getting ready, my phone rings again with a call from an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Winnie? It’s Cathryn Cross. Patton’s mom.” Her voice is warm. “I hope I’m not calling too early.”
Panic rises in me and I actually have to sit down. “Is everything okay?” My voice is shaky.
“Oh yes, fine. I heard about last night—both the Ball and the bet.” She pauses. “I would have been there, but I had the final meeting of my Bible study and was the host. I’m wondering if you’d have time to meet for lunch before you see Patton this afternoon. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
My stomach flips. “About …?”
“About my son and the future. Nothing bad, I promise. Just a conversation. Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve visited Huckleberry Hill. I’d say I’m well overdue.”
I hesitate. “Okay. Where and when?”
“Huck’s at noon?”
“I’ll be there.”
I race to get ready for church while tracking my suddenly full agenda.
Coffee with Mindy at ten. Lunch with Patton’s mother at noon. Hopefully, seeing him sometime in there. Today is shaping up to be either the best day of my life or a complete disaster.
36
PATTON
It’s barelydaybreak when the alarm screams through the station with the second call in less than twelve hours—a rarity. I drag myself from sleep that had me dreaming about Winnie, probably because I replayed everything she said on the steps as I was drifting off.
I love you, Patton.
I put on my turnout gear before I’m fully conscious, muscle memory taking over while my brain catches up.
“Major structure fire, Carson City limits,” Captain Leyton’s voice crackles over the radio. “Engine Seven. Old warehouse district. Seventeen Prospect Road. Code three. Possible people inside.”
Austin appears beside me, eyes still bleary but focused. “Ready?”
“Always.”
As we load onto the engine, sirens split the just barely dawn quiet, but my mind isn’t only on the fire ahead. It’s on the woman I left standing outside the Ball last night. The conversation we started but didn’t finish.
Tomorrow, wesaid.
But what if there is no tomorrow?
The notion hits me like a sucker punch, and I force it down. Can’t think like that. Not when people might need me. It’s a thought ladder that leads nowhere.
When we arrive, the warehouse’s silhouette against the lightening sky is like a beast breathing smoke and flame. Orange light flickers through broken windows, and even from our position, I can feel the heat radiating off the structure.
The Carson City Fire Department is already on scene. Captain Leyton organizes the outsiders with the calm gained from over thirty years of experience on the line.
“Cross!” Leyton waves me over. “We’ve got reports of a security guard who didn’t check in. Might still be inside. You and your crew take the north entrance. We have Engine Nine and Four covering the east and west.”
