Page 8 of One Touch

If someone else abandoned us, we might never recover.

Marie didn’t abandon you. She died.

I gritted my teeth, pushing the thoughts from my mind, then looked at Ava. “Now, I want no jokes while I’m doing this, okay? If you make me laugh, it’s game over.”

“Don’t worry,” said Ava solemnly, “you’re too dumb to get my jokes.”

I chuckled and turned back to the Ferrari, then picked up my brush. I took a long, deep breath, then dipped it into the paint, carefully wiping off the excess. Slow and steady. That was the key. But not too slow. And not too steady. This job needed confidence and flair, as well as a measured approach. Everything had to be balanced just right.

As I zoned in, the rest of the world melted away. There were no worries, no bored children, no dead wives, no nothing. Just me and the line, stretching off into the distance.

The feeling of calm focus continued for a few blissful minutes until a loud buzz pulled me back to reality. My damn phone, going off on the workbench beside Ava.

“Ava, honey, can you see who that is?” I called out, not daring to look up from my work.

“It’s. . . .” She paused. “Chef Hawkins?”

“ChiefHawkins?”

“Yeah. That’s what I mean.”

My hand froze in midair, the brush quivering. Hawkins ran the fire brigade in Bluehaven Beach and Goldharbor Bay. He was one of the officers that had tried to save Marie. It was a car accident—a drunk driver from out of town, while Marie was driving home from the shopping mall. A whole fleet of emergency vehicles had shown up—police, firefighters, paramedics. Chief Hawkins had been the one to cut Marie out of the car. The paramedics went through their protocol, but it was already too late. I hung on to that fact sometimes—she had been killed instantly. The drunk driver was killed too, which brought me no relief.

I think some people assumed I wouldn't want to work with cars after Marie died in one. In fact, it only made me more determined to do it. To make every vehicle I worked with as safe as possible. Beautiful, yes, but safe, too. It wasn't a car that had killed Marie, anyway. It was a person. Anirresponsibleperson. So, I'd spent my life trying to be as responsible as can be. Raising my daughter firmly but fairly. Making every car that came into my garage as reliable as could be.

Still, it wasn't enough. After seeing what the local emergency services had been through trying to save Marie, I’d sworn to give back to the community. To take on even more responsibility. I didn’t have the brains to work as a medic, or the stamina to work for the police, but sliding down poles and putting out fires was definitely in my wheelhouse.

I’d waited until Ava was six, to make sure she was settled in school, before telling Chief Hawkins that I wanted to join the service. Only part-time, as I still had a garage to run, butI wanted to give what I could. The chief said he could use an extra pair of hands, but the trouble was, in a district like ours, the budget for taking on new firefighters was tiny. I’d offered to work as a volunteer, but Chief Hawkins said they still needed a budget for training and insurance. I’d been waiting for two years, but I’d had no luck so far.

The chief never normally rang me, so maybe this was the call I’d been waiting for. I hesitated, torn. I’d been waiting for this opportunity for so long. But the pinstriping. . . .

Screw it. Some things were more important than paint.

I set down the brush and wiped my hands on my jeans, heart pounding as I crossed the garage in three long strides. I picked up the phone, hitting the green button with a shaking finger.

“McCoy here. What can I do for you, Chief?”

“Ethan, I’ve got great news,” Chief Hawkins said, his deep voice crackling through the speaker. “The funding came through. You’re in—if you still want the position, that is.”

I nearly dropped the phone. “Seriously? Two days a week, as we discussed?”

“Yep. Fully paid. Can’t have you giving up all that time for free, not with Ava to provide for.”

I glanced at my little girl. The real reason I wanted to take on this firefighting role was for her. To show her that I hadn’t forgotten what had happened to her mommy. That we wouldn’t let the dark side win. “Great,” I said. “I’m in.”

“Welcome to the team, son.”

I looked over at the paint on the Ferrari. I’d have to take it all off and start again. Still, it was worth the hassle for this new opportunity.

“The training will be intensive,” said the Chief. “The academy is about fourteen weeks, and then there’s the EMT certification, which can take a few months. To begin with, there will be some nights involved.”

“Nights?”

“Right. We like the rookies to get a feel for what it’s like to work here at all hours. Sometimes you’ll be called in at short notice, too. We can’t predict when there’ll be an emergency, and I want you to experience as many of them as possible. Make sure that your evenings are clear for the next few months.”

Clear evenings for the next few months? I looked over at Ava. She grinned at me, clearly following what was going on. Ava knew how important this was to me—I’d chewed her ear off plenty of times about wanting to be a firefighter.

“I’ll have to get a nanny for Ava.”

---