That last one seems the most self-explanatory.Open-face cut it is.
Positioned a safe distance away, I line up my chainsaw in the direction I plan the pine to fall. Two cuts, one horizontal and one…from behind?Or is it at angle?I can’t screw this up.
The blade slices halfway through the trunk’s diameter and—great—I’m about to get creamed. It sways and tips in my direction.
McCafferty jumps to his feet and in a split-second decision, I finish the notch in the front. Wood shavings fly in my face. I only have it cleared by a foot when I hear the base snap. Gravity takes over and the whole thing topples to the ground.
It’s not a clean cut by any means, but it didn’t kill anyone either.
“This is why you need a babysitter. Now discard it in a controlled heap,” Dean says.
I follow his orders, working under a gaping hole in the desert sky. Here, in the hot summer sun, my traitorous mind thinks of Teddy and Miles. Boating and swimming and laughing so hard my stomach aches. Or maybe it’s the breakfast I skipped.
With my watch buried beneath my work gloves, I can’t check the time. It’s got to be noon, right? I glance over at McCafferty, who’s squatting in the shade eating a turkey sandwich.
“Any chance you were going to tell me it’s lunch time?”
“Waiting to see if you would notice,” he says.
I set down the chainsaw, finding a small patch of shade across from him. He tosses me the brown paper sack from my line pack.
“Thanks.”
I take a bite of the soft wheat bread. I know he isn’t a fan of small talk but maybe if I try to get to know the guy, he might not dislike me so much.
“How long have you been on this crew?” I ask.
“Four years,” he says.
“Four years and you made squad leader? Your parents must be proud.”
What would my parents think if I stuck with something for four years?
As if he’s reading my thoughts, he says, “All it takes is proving yourself here. Showing you can work as part of a team instead of next to one.”
I chuckle softly, and he flicks his gaze from his sandwich.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just haven’t seen a lot ofprovingfrom that tree stump.”
Why am I this way? I can’t just leave it alone?
“I’ve done my time here, and you know nothing about me.” He stands and walks off with his sandwich in hand.
I can’t blame him. Two days in and all I’ve learned is that maybe I’ve made a huge mistake.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HAILEY
Forty-eight hours. That’s how long I’ve been here, and Jack still hasn’t said a word to me since our initial greeting. As of eight o’clock this morning, R&R is over. Dispatch called the crew to their first assignment, and Ben and I stayed behind. It’s only ten minutes outside of town. We can be there in five if we have to.
I overheard the incident size-up report over the radio before their buggy pulled out: a spot fire on a farm next to the highway. A hot exhaust pipe from a vehicle drug over a patch of dry cheatgrass. It lit on fire and ran for a ten-foot pine tree, a single barn structure, and a flock of sheep.
I’ve spent years knowing my father was in dangerous situations like this one, but being up close and personal, I wasn’t prepared to feel worried about him. I try to distract myself with another too-quiet day alone with Ben, restocking supplies.
“How many emesis bags does one need in an ambulance?” I mumble. There’s enough for the entire crew to get food poisoning at the exact same time.
