Page 2 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

“Um, okay.” Jessica did so, but she still didn’t like it. “Isn’t there something I should do to put it out?”

“It’ll go out if you press it down long enough. The shell represents the water element, after all.”

Jessica jumped as a shrill alarm blasted through the living room.

“It’s that damn smoke detector!” Verna pointed at the ceiling. “Wave the smoke away from it!”

Jogging over to the small device, Jessica flapped her hand at it. It continued its horrendous beeping, and Jessica now realized just how adorable those tiny beeps from the lockbox had been in comparison. “There’s too much. I’m going to open the door.”

“Ugh! It’s too late,” Verna shouted over the clamor. “It’s going to call the damn fire department on me.”

Jessica swung the door open, and the draft pulled a small amount of the smoke outside. She waved the door back and forth on its hinges, trying to create a current to clear the place. “Do you have a fan I could plug in?”

“Mrs. Muldoon, this is Trevor with MediCheck.” The voice boomed through the living room.

Great. The emergency response system. It was a good thing to have when it was necessary, but Jessica really didn’t need any more witnesses to her embarrassing predicament. Verna was more than enough. The day was now picking up speed as it continued to careen downhill. At least she could tell them it was just a bit of smoke and everything was fine.

“Is everything okay?” Trevor asked from the speaker on the table.

“It’s fine!” Verna’s eyes shot daggers at the speaker. “I didn’t need this stupid system anyway.”

“Mrs. Muldoon, I’ve got a report of smoke in your home. Are you all right?” Trevor tried again.

“I said I’m fine!” she shouted.

“The fire department is on the way,” Trevor announced.

Well, this was it. Her whole career was going straight down the toilet in just one day. “I think you have to push the button for him to hear you.” She pointed at the little plastic pendant that hung from Verna’s neck as she continued with the door. It was helping, but obviously not enough.

“Oh, this damn thing!” Verna fumbled with the pendant. “It’s no use. They’ll be here in about two seconds anyway. They always are.”

The wail of sirens came through the room as Jessica continued flailing the door back and forth. “Maybe you can call them again and tell them it’s a mistake.”

If Verna heard her, she made no move to follow her advice. “That idiot doctor insisted I put the thing in, but I don’t need it. If I set fire to the place, I’ll just call 911 my damn self!”

The sirens were getting louder very quickly. The fire department was just down the street from the senior living complex, and a giant red fire engine glided into place just in front of Verna’s door.

Great. Just friggin’ great. Jessica stepped aside and slid open a window as two firefighters stepped over the threshold.

“Is everyone okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Jessica said as she pulled the curtain to the side to make sure it didn’t get in the way of any airflow. “Everything is fine. We tried to tell the dispatcher.”

The first one had broad shoulders and deep blue eyes. He lifted his chin slightly as he sniffed the air, then cocked his head at Verna and put his fists on his hips. “Mrs. Muldoon, were you burning sage again?”

Verna scowled at him. “I’ll do what I want in my home, young man!”

“I’m so sorry,” Jessica repeated. “This was all my fault. I didn’t know what I was doing.” She stopped short of continuing her explanation as she turned to look fully at the man who’d spoken. Did she know him from somewhere?

The other burly firefighter’s blue eyes twinkled just the same. “You really ought to have people watch a tutorial or something.”

“Why would I do that when I can get two hunks in my apartment with just a bit of smoke?” Verna snarked. “Don’t you two have a calendar to pose for or something? It’s not like you ever do any real work around here.”

The first man pressed his lips together in an attempt to hold back a laugh. “I’ll get the fans.”

Jessica’s mouth gaped as she understood this wasn’t the first time this had happened. In fact, the firefighters hadn’t even come in their full gear. They wore thick, heavy pants and boots, but the jackets and helmets had been left on the engine with the water hose. They’d known as soon as they’d gotten the call that there was no real emergency.

The first firefighter saw Jessica gawking. He turned and held out his hand. “You must be Verna’s latest victim. I’m Hayden, and this is my brother Pierce. It’s nice to meet you.”

---