Page 44 of Embers of Love

“I have to go back,” Josephine whispered.

Her father glanced at her. “What?”

“I can’t leave. I have to go back,” she repeated, louder this time, going into a frenzy. What the hell was she thinking leaving at a time like this?! Phoenix Ridge had been kind to her, why would she abandon the city at the first sign of danger? Why would she leave Ember to face all that by herself?

“We have to turn around.”

Thankfully, her father didn’t get annoyed with her. He merely nodded and rose to go speak with the pilot in the cockpit. When he came back to take his seat, she felt the plane begin to circle back to the airport.

“So, you decided to stay?” her father asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Josephine confessed. “But I want to help right now.”

Their plane landed and she was out the door in a blink. She found a car to take her back into the city. Her mustang was supposed to be shipped back to her in New York later. The hospital was busier than normal when she walked in. Doctor Gale found her immediately. His blue eyes lit up with glee he saw her entering.

“Welcome back.” He smiled triumphantly. “I knew you wouldn’t leave us at a time like this.”

“I’m not back permanently.” She didn’t want to get his hopes up. “How can I help?”

“Right now, we’re put together teams to go along with our EMTs to provide aid to the?—”

“Put me on the next one,” she said without hesitation.

Doctor Gale hesitated. “It’s closer to the fire. There’s a lot going on. It is going to be risky.”

“I know. This city has done much for me. This is my way of giving back.”

“I don’t know about that. You’ve been a blessing since the day you walked through those doors.”

He didn’t need further convincing. Josephine changed into her trauma medic jumpsuit and was on the next ambulance headed in the direction of the fire.

“Wildfire this close the city is almost unheard of,” the driver of the ambulance said. She was a tall woman with both of her forearms heavily tattooed. She smelled great, Josephine mused.

“How do you think the firefighters are faring?” Josephine asked.

The driver shrugged. “Looks like they’ve been doing good so far. No casualties that we’ve heard off. Just some homes that were lost. While that is heartbreaking, houses can be rebuilt.”

Josephine agreed with the sentiment. Her profession had taught her to value human life above all else. Almost everything else could be reacquired, but not life. It was fragile, but that quality made it beautiful.

Getting through traffic presented a major obstacle. Becky was on the scene in her fire chief coat and helmet—the only white helmet while all the others wore yellow—with a big clipboard, directing the various teams when they arrived. She took one look at them and immediately had them stationed nearby.

“The other EMTs have everything under control for now. Stay here, if anyone is brought in, you’ll handle it.”

Josephine would have liked to stand by her friend, but she obviously had her hands full. She grabbed one of the firefighters passing by.

“Where’s Ember Thompson?” she asked.

The firefighter had to pause to get her bearing before she answered Josephine.

“Ember was suspended; I don’t know if they called her back in.”

That brought her a sense of relief. Perhaps Ember was not embroiled in all this chaos. As soon as the thought came, she immediately pushed it aside. Ember would never sit on her ass while something this big was happening. Josephine finally summoned the courage to approach Becky.

“Is Ember here?”

Becky glanced at her and indicated with her hand. “Ember is over in that area. They’re working on backfiring to keep the fires from reaching the homes in the suburban areas. It shouldn’t be too risky if all goes to plan.”

Josephine felt a swell of relief. Maybe Ember wouldn’t get into any trouble today for once.

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