Page 2 of Embers of Love

The adrenaline was wearing off. The heat and stress accumulated through the day were starting to set in. Thankfully, that was her final race for the day. She planned on recovering her tools and heading home right away.

“You were like an actor in a movie! The way you turned your car around and came back to save his life!”

Mandy was a bit of a talker, but she was such a sweet girl. Ember could never bring herself to be tired of her company.

“Is there some secret serum they give all you firefighters that makes you all so badass?”The girl looked like she had stars in her eyes.

“Idon’t know about everybody else, but I certainly didn’t get any of it. Where’s your mother?”

“Oh!”Mandy looked around rapidly.“She was standing next to—there! She’s talking to that old lady with the baseball hat.”

Ember started packing up her things. She was almost done whenMandy’smother cameoverto talk to her.

“Hey, that was a good thing you did back there.”

Ember stuck her head out of her truck.“Oh, yeah. Thanks, Kathy.”

The two of them had attended the same high school together, though Kathy was her senior. They remained friends ever since. Kathy graduated and had a family, while Ember went on to become a firefighter. Ember suspected Kathy had a crush on her at some point, but nothing ever really came of it. They werebothhappy for each other anyway, and the friendship was easy since Mandy adored Ember.

“Heading out already?”

“Yeah, you know how it is.”

“Not really,”Kathy laughed.“You’re always running somewhere in that beautiful car of yours.”

Embercouldn’tresist the urge to glance at Joan. Shetrulywas a beautiful car. Of course, what Kathy saidhadn’tgone over her head completely. She tried not to think about it too much. Life had been lonely lately. Sure, Phoenix Ridge was great, and all her friends and family were here, and they were great. But shecouldn’thelp but feel like something was missing.

“See you around, then.”As predicted, Ember hopped into her car and ran.

Shortly after she got home, her phone rang.

MOM flashed up on the screen.

She must be calling to ask about the fire accident.Of course, her motherwould’veheard about it.Even if shewasn’tthechief of the fire department, her mother seemed to know someone everywhere.Hardly anything ever happened in Phoenix Ridge without her knowing about it.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hey, sweetie,”hermother’sworried voice came through the phone.“Ijust heard about the incident. I hope you’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m good. It wasn’t my car that caught on fire.”

“Okay,”her mother replied.“That’s good to hear.”

Uh oh. Ember recognized that tone. Becky was about to attempt to discourage her from going to drag racing events for the millionth time. Ember wasn’t ready to have one of those arguments again. Not after the exhausting day she just had. Itdidn’tfeel right to be arguing with her boss/mom on her day off.

“Hey, can I call you later. I gotta go do… stuff.”Ember cringed.That was a terrible lie.Lying had never been her strong suit. And that wasn’t entirely a bad thing, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have some skill, even at telling little white lies.

“Riiiight,”her mother drawled.“That’s alright. I know you don’t want to talk about it. I’m glad you’re okay at least.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“I love you, Ember,” Becky said, and Ember smiled to herself. She knew her mom loved her. They might have their differences sometimes, but she was grateful for her mom’s love.

“Love you too, Mom.”

The call was brief. Ember plopped facedown on her bed. She would have to return to work the next day. That lent her some energy. She actually looked forward to it. This is not something a lot of people would say, but Ember genuinely loved her job.Not because her mom was a firefighter, too, despite what other people might believe.She loved saving people from fires just as much as she loved the thrill of running into burning buildings to rescue them. That was something her mom would hate to hear.

Ember was a thrill seeker and that was what she loved the most about her job.

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