Page 13 of Embers of Love

“What about me?” Ember asked, confused.

“You’re different this morning. More alive—you’ve got a glow about you.”

Ember was suddenly very interested in the contents of her locker. She pulled out her fire gear and made to leave with the stuff.

“Must’ve been a nice date,” Zara added, the edge of her lips hinting at the ghost of a smile.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about!”

She bolted as quickly as she could to avoid further questions only to have Haley ambush her at the fire truck with a million questions. That was the thing about a team of firefighters. Nothing was ever private. She didn’t have a choice, she had to spill the details. It was oddly comical, as they did their daily checks on the fire truck, while chatting about Ember’s love life.

“You are totally into her, aren’t you?” Haley could always tell what Ember was really thinking.

“Umm, yeah. Well, definitely yeah. She is totally hot. And smart. We got along well. Laughed a lot. It felt comfortable with her. I liked her.”

“Like, how much older is she exactly?” Haley asked, excitedly.

“Well, that’s the thing.”

“EMBER!” Haley admonished.

Ember laughed.

Luckily, they were interrupted by the blaring siren.

“We got a call!” Elle announced, coming down the stairs in a hurry. She hopped into the driver’s seat, and they were off in moments.

“What are we dealing with?” Ember asked.

“Medical emergency! Senior citizen downtown had a stroke and we’re the closest!”

Firefighters were often called in during medical emergencies. Their firetruck was equipped with nearly everything else an ambulance would have. This time, Rory Brooks jumped on the truck. She had the most experience in providing first aid and medical care.

“Huh,” Elle hummed as they approached the house. “No crowd this time. Means we can do our job in peace.”

True enough, there was only a couple of people waiting for them outside. Rory was out of the truck and on her way to see the patient right away, snapping out instructions to get the stretcher ready. Everything about their job was based on time. It would literally mean the difference between life and death, so they needed to move as quickly as possible.

They rushed to get the unresponsive woman on the stretcher while Rory tended to her. The unit’s other rescue vehicle arrived and since it operated more like a traditional ambulance, they loaded the woman on it and they were driving away in minutes. Sirens blared as they made their way to Phoenix Ridge hospital. One of the patient’s daughters rode with them, fretting over her mother while Rory and Haley worked to keep her stable.

“Ma’am,” Ember called out as she noticed the lady was getting in the way. “Could you sit down, please? Your mother’s going to be fine, but they need room to work.”

The woman tried to force herself to take a seat. Ember went to join, taking her hand. She understood the woman’s worry. If something had happened to her own mother, she’d be losing it too. Her relationship with her mom was tempestuous at times because they were too alike in some ways, but Ember loved her very much. Becky had always been there for her. She had never had a second parent on the scene. Becky was the strongest single mom Ember could imagine. How she had balanced that with rising to the very top of her chosen career was an admirable feat in itself.

Ember wasn’t good at things like these, but she could offer the woman some comfort.

“It’s okay.”

“I don’t know,” the woman wailed, tears welling in her eyes. “She doesn’t look so good.”

“She’s in good hands. Rory’s one of the best.”

As she heard her name, Rory raised her head and smiled at them before she went back to making sure the woman had her oxygen mask put on properly. Ember spotted the hospital building outside as they pulled. It was time to start moving. She got the side door open then helped Haley and Rory maneuvered the stretcher out and through the emergency room entrance.

The place was abuzz with activity as always. Nurses and doctors in their scrubs were rushing back and forth, a few of them approached the firefighters with the stretcher to take the patient off their hands. There was already a protocol in place for all this. Rory updated them on the lady’s condition while Ember waited and listened to the idle chatter around her. She knew some of these people but stopping to chat while she was on the job wasn’t her thing.

While she was waiting, someone walked past her. A familiar perfume wafted over her. Floral, with a layer of Bergamot underneath. It tickled a very recent, very sensual memory. Suzanne. She turned sharply, trying to catch a glimpse of the person wearing it. But there were so many people about, she had no way of telling who exactly it was. Too quickly, it was already gone, and she didn’t want to go around stopping random people.

“Damn it, Ember. You’re losing your mind over this woman,” she chided herself.

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