She pointed up the road and took command of the situation. “Garrett, you put this truck back into drive and get your tail up there or you’re cleaning out the head for the rest of the year. I’m not having any soldier going AWOL on my watch.”
He let out a deep breath. “Yes, ma’am. You’re right.” Slowly, as if against his will, he changed gears and started the truck forward at less than 20mph.
It was on the tip of her tongue to give him a hard time about driving like an old man, but she reconsidered. He was doing what he promised. If he could have patience with her, she could have patience with him.
They continued for almost half a mile before he spoke. “Here’s the beginning of the firebreak.”
She looked out the front windshield to his side of the road which had brightened considerably. There was nothing but weeds and grasses and a few short shrubs from the road to about four hundred feet into the forest and then it looked like an abandoned nightmare.
Once towering ponderosa pines were skinny black sentinels ready to fall, some already leaning on each other. At their base were green shrubs, bushes, and tiny trees, seemingly oblivious to the threat of the delicate monsters above them.
They continued slowly up the road, the bird song having stopped. The burned landscape seemed to go on forever, but that may have been because he drove so slow. As far as she could see, the black burnt wood covered the landscape, most standing straight like soldiers at attention but many others littering the forest floor. The heat of the fire had to have been intense.
“If they are still here, they should be around the next bend on your side of the road.” Garrett’s voice was low, his dread clear.
She held her breath as she strained to peek between the trees on the right side of the crumbling pavement of the road. Halfway through the curve, she saw a wood wall.Please, let it be part of a building and not the remnants of a fire.
The truck rolled ahead revealing a full structure and then another. There were even cars parked outside them and children were climbing a tree in one of the yards. She let out a breath and gazed at Garrett.
His face remained serious as he took in every detail.
The years since the fire had added three more homes from what she could see, though calling them “homes” was being generous. It looked like a refugee camp in the middle of the towering evergreens. She understood now, why this had been so important to him that he’d risk his life.
A ball rolled into the street in front of them and Garrett stopped the truck. The young man chasing it also stopped at the side of the road. Copper barked.
“That’s not for you.“ Garrett waved the boy across. “Go ahead.”
The young man gave him a wave and grabbed up what looked like a dodge ball. He returned to a common area, if pine needles could be called that, and what appeared to be a game of soccer with two carboard boxes set up as their goals.
She put her hand on his thigh again and smiled. “They’re all here.”
He nodded. “They are. And then some.”
A knock on her window startled both her and Copper, who ran across the backseat to her side of the truck and barked again. Turning, she found a middle-aged man in a Phoenix Suns t-shirt standing there. She put her window down, and he set his hand on the door. “You folks lost?”
She smiled at him. “No, sir. We just wanted to see how the forest looked after that fire five years ago.”
The man shook his head. “I was here for that one. They had us all evacuate. Never thought I’d see this place again.” He jerked his head toward the small community. “Some of them don’t know how lucky we were. Those Hot Shots came in and kept that fire back there.” He pointed to the other side of the street, looking at it as if he still couldn’t believe it had stayed away.
She smirked. “So they’re responsible for saving your homes?”
The man returned his attention to her. “Damn straight they did. Not just our homes but our lives. These are all we have. When they made us evacuate, we went to a shelter. My wife, Elli, spent the whole day and night praying for us and the firefighters. I was more worried about what happened when they closed the shelter, and we had to find somewhere else to live. I can’t thank those Hot Shots enough.”
Pride filled her for what Garrett had done. “As a matter of fact, you—”
“You can be assured they know.” Garrett interrupted. “That’s their job to protect people and save property if they can. I know they are happy to do that. So you were able to move back. Did everyone?”
The man nodded. “We had nowhere else to go. You could have blown me over with a dust devil when we found this place still standing.” He shook his head again as if he still had a hard time believing it. “Me and my wife, we’re on social security now and we could move into town, but this is home. Where are you folks from?”
Garrett replied. “I’m living in the north valley in Wickenburg.”
“And I’m an Army brat, so I guess you could say I’m from everywhere.”
The man looked back at his home. “You need to put down roots. It’s a good feeling.” He turned back to her. “You two figuring on driving the whole road? If you are, I hope you got a full tank of gas. That fire went on forever. Hopped this road where they hadn’t cleared further up. Not a pretty sight.”
Shit, Garrett’s team had seriously saved the little community. She looked at Garrett who had an odd look on his face, but he didn’t say anything. She faced the man again. “No, I think we’ll drive a little farther then turn back.”
The man patted the truck windowsill. “Good idea. Much prettier sights to see closer to Prescott. You have yourselves a nice day.”
