“She’s going to try to sue the department, right?” Riya was talking fast now. “I’ll take responsibility. It was me up there. Not any of you.”
She’d had no idea this would be so much trouble. Anger built inside her. No one sued when a man saved their lives. “She can’t win, though, right? She’s alive.”
The guys were looking anywhere but at her. Evans and Alvarez were shaking, their heads bowed.
“Right?”
Evans finally looked up at her, his hazel eyes dancing, and burst into laughter. Alvarez joined him, then Schultz. Even Ambrose let out a chuckle.
“What?” she demanded.
“You,” Evans finally said. “You’re a goddamn firefighter, and you saved that woman. Who cares if she sues? You were doing your job. And you did it damn well, Desai.”
Relief eased the tension in her muscles, flooding through her body. “What’s so damn funny?”
“You should have seen your face!” Alvarez said, another fit of laughter taking him. He raised the pitch of his voice. “‘I’ll take responsibility.’” He sobered, allowing a small scowl onto his face. “As if we would let you take the fall.” He shook his head.
Lieutenant Ambrose caught her eye, an approving smile on his face. “Good work today, rookie.”
Riya relaxed into the laughter and camaraderie, grinning at the guys as they continued to poke fun at her. She couldn’t imagine ever doing any other job than this, and she kicked herself for not following this dream earlier. Schultz expertly parked the rig in the station, and they all disembarked, immediately beginning the cleanup routine.
Today Riya was in charge of maintaining the line. She got to it, Evans helping her out. She’d always liked him. He’d always treated her like part of the team as opposed to a rookie or even a woman.
Ambrose ambled over. “Evans, I want you to go over the Jaws with Desai.”
“Yes, sir.” Evans grinned at Riya.
Ambrose passed his gaze over Riya as he walked away, a nod and grin where there had once been skepticism.
Riya snapped her gaze to Evans. “He means the Jaws of Life, right?”
Evans shook his head at her. “Yeah, the Jaws of Life. What the hell otherjawscould there be?”
“Awesome.” Excitement pumped through her. This was incredible. If Evans could teach her the Jaws, she’d have another skill to offer on scene.
“We got a guy coming in, couple days from now. But I can show you a few things ahead of time.”
“You would do that?” She narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Why would you do that?” She was suspicious. Thoughts of Ian Walsh flashed through her mind.
Evans shrugged. “You have the potential to be a great firefighter. Clearly Ambrose thinks so, too. Or he wouldn’t have suggested it.”
Riya bit down on her excitement in an effort to remain professional. She failed as her eagerness came through in a huge smile she couldn’t hide. The more she learned, the better things would be for her. She was a woman in a man’s field. It would do her well to know everything there was to know about firefighting. And be the best at it. “Thanks.”
“I’ll go over it with you next shift.”
“So, Evans.” She paused as they finished up the hose. “What do you think about me starting a mentor program for young girls getting ready for the academy? Kind of showing them the ropes, so to speak?”
Evans shrugged. “Never been done. But doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” Riya grinned. She really loved this job.
Riya finished out her shift without getting a shower. The guys had all jumped into the locker room, so when Riya parked her bike in the driveway of her parents’ home, all she wanted was to feel clean.
She looked for Scout as she entered but then remembered that Dhillon had taken her while she was on shift.
She caught a glimpse of her father on the phone in his office and her mother asleep in her room.
When she closed her eyes in the shower, she saw the fear in the rescued woman’s eyes as she had picked her up. Fear that Riya might not be able to save her. She also recalled the respect her fellow firefighters had shown her for saving her anyway. And how often did her lieutenant tell her she’d done good work? She smiled to herself as she turned off the water. And, even better, she was going to learn how to work the Jaws of Life.
