“I’m not the first person on this crew to put it all on the line for something they really want.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I need to know if she’s okay first. Then you can psychoanalyze me.”
She held up her hands. “Fair enough.”
Her radio came to life and she snapped back into professional mode. I chewed the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.
Finally, she removed her headset again.
“They can’t give names for privacy reasons but the injured firefighter was male.”
I let out a long, shaky breath, some of the tension leaving my chest.
“It wasn’t her,” she said gently. “But maybe you should take this as a sign.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “The universe had to make it a neon sign to get my dumbass attention but I get it.”
“Attaboy. Now I’m going home to my man. Go get some sleep.”
I did need sleep.
I had just gotten off a long shift and had another one tomorrow. Instead I wandered out to my truck and sat in the driver’s seat, not starting it. The radio prattled on in the background. Just because I was off shift didn’t mean SAR stopped running. There was always someone on the radio, someone ready to help.
I pulled out my phone and my thumb hovered over the call button beside Wren’s name. I hit it but again it went straight to voicemail.
Either her phone was dead or she was out of service range.
A male firefighter had been injured badly enough that word spread. I felt for the guy and his family. It was dangerous work. Just because the one reported on the news wasn’t her, that didn’t mean she was definitely safe.
I knew if I wanted to be with her — and the more time passed, the more I knew I did — I would have to trust her to do her job and stay safe. I couldn’t be the reason she hung up her uniform.
And if she wanted to be with me, we’d come up with a way for us both to know the other was safe but we hadn’t gotten there yet. In my mind, ‘not her’ wasn’t the same as ‘she’s fine’.
I needed to know one way or the other. I needed to tell her what was on my mind before I drove myself crazy. If she felt the same way, we would find a way for us each to do what we loved with the other person’s support.
For now, I just had to see her.
With that in mind I shoved my key into the ignition and started the truck.
Chapter Seventeen
Wren
Isat up coughing, trying to blink through the ash that filled the air. I took a mental scan of my body. Nothing hurt except where I had landed on my ass. I turned and tried to squint through the ash to see if the firefighter I’d been running beside was okay.
I didn’t know his name, so I groped around the ground until I found his arm. “Are you okay?”
He groaned. “Ankle,” was all he said.
“Division Alpha to Command, we’ve got an injured firefighter at our location. Possible lower-limb injury. Request medical response.”
“Copy that, medical en route.”
The firefighter grabbed my hand and I held his tight, remembering what it was like to be brand new in this job. The ground was hot and hard where I sat but I didn’t let go until help arrived.
I returned to camp after my shift and went straight for theshowers. They were far from perfect, but it still felt good to get a layer of dirt from my skin. Once I was dressed, I got a plate of meat and potatoes from the dinner line and sat heavily at one of the folding tables in the main tent.
The conversation level was low. Everyone was too tired to speak.
