Page 44 of Marry Your Best Friend

King blows out a breath. “I know, Chrissy. I’m going to get him out. I promise. I need you to stay there, and I’ll bring him to you, okay?”

“King, I’m coming there. I want to be close.”

“Don’t!” he demands. “Please, don’t. This is dangerous, and I can’t be worrying about you too. Plus, Gabe will kill me if he knew I brought you up here. Please do as I ask, and I promise you that I will bring him to you.”

“Okay.”

He says he has to go and then I hang up the phone. I’m being paged over the loudspeaker, and I know there are people in the hospital that need my help right now, and there are more people coming in. Somehow, I have to pull myself together and do my job even though it’s the last thing I want to be doing.

I wish Gabe and I had ignored the phone calls this morning and were still wrapped up in each other’s arms in my bed. I would give anything to go back to that moment. Again, for at least the hundredth time today, I think back to when he left and I didn’t tell him I loved him. God, why didn’t I tell him I loved him?

20

GABE

The flames are everywhere. The smoke is thick, and I can barely see anything except for the three men beside me. I take my helmet off and wipe my brow. I’m the captain, and I should be able to figure out a way to get us out of here.

I’m not sure how we got into this mess. Rick and Keaton got separated from the group, and Spence and I went to find them. In that time, the wind picked up even more, and there was no telling which direction to go because flames were shooting up all around us.

These men are depending on me to get them home tonight, but I’m lost on how to do that. We’re completely surrounded, and unless there is a miracle, we’re not going to make it. But I’m not thetype to give up, so I’m going to have to figure out something.

My voice is so raspy, I don’t even know if the men can hear me. “We have to hold. Help is coming.”

I raise my eyes to the sky. The only thing that is going to help us now is God or a miracle.

Keaton coughs. “What the hell are we holding for? We’re done.”

We’ve tried to build a perimeter around us. We’ve done all we could to keep the fire at bay, but I don’t know what our next move is. However, I do know we can’t give up. I promised Chrissy I was coming home to her, and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep that promise.

I pick up my radio and try it again. I hit the button, and there’s only static. We can’t call out, and I’m not sure if the rest of the crews know our exact location. At this point, I’m not sure of anything.

Rick shouts, “It’s over. We’re trapped. No one is coming.”

I point at him, trying to keep my shit together. “Rick, you have kids. Don’t you dare give up right now because I’m not going to tell them their dad isdead. Just give me a minute. I’ll think of something.”

The flames and smoke continue around us. We’re barely able to breathe, and we’re running out of time. Spence, who has been quiet through this whole thing, is just staring at me as if I’m about to have some miraculous idea that will get us out of here.

I can see the hope and desperation on his face, and I’m sure it’s the same emotion on mine.

I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, I hear it. It’s a thumping sound, coming somewhere from the valley.

“Do you hear that?” I ask.

Keaton nods. “What is it?”

The sound gets louder and louder, and it takes me a minute, but when I hear the chopping sound of rotor blades, I know exactly what it is. “It’s a helicopter.”

Spence nods. “That’s more than one helicopter.”

We’re staring up at the sky when the helicopters fly all around us. They hover over us, and I scream at the others, “They’re going to drop. Braceyourselves.”

The first one opens their chute, dumping water down the mountainside. There’s hissing as the water hits the flames. There’s smoke, steam, and charred earth all around us, but we don’t have the time to hesitate. “Let’s go! Follow the path they’re making.”

We take a few steps, and I’m screaming instructions the whole way. “It’s going to be slippery.”

“Work together, the terrain is giving away.”

“Keep moving.”

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