Page 16 of She's Got that Fire

Slamming a few mouthfuls of coffee, I stride over to where the phone sits connected to its charger. This, I'm ready for. Even before I was a firefighter, I've always been ready to jump in and help someone who needed it.

I guess it's just in my nature to feel responsible for the well-being of my neighbors and the town in general.

VFFT: Fire Call. West Stoneburg. 243 Elm Street.

No.

I feel sick.

Opal lives at 241 Elm Street.Right next door.

On my way.

I've never jumped into my truck so fast, starting the engine before the door is even slammed shut. My boot is leaden on the accelerator as I speed down the streets.

Please,I silently mutter.Let Opal be safe. And just as importantly, let it not be her fault. That would destroy her.

I've always been a bit stoic. Able to control my thoughts and keep them in order. Now my mind is a tangled mess of emotion, fear, and determination.

I get to the house so quickly that the gear and water trucks haven't even arrived yet. Jumping out, I survey the house. No flames, thank god. There's only a whiff of smoke coming from the back yard.

I leap over the low, decorative fence and see Josh Wolfe using a garden hose on some shrubs. The barbeque beside them is dripping. "It's fine," he says, as calm as ever. "Dispatch is already canceling the call."

Sure enough, just then my phone beeps from my pocket.

VFFT: 243 Elm Street call canceled. Minimal. Handled.

The siren from the approaching fire truck suddenly shuts off.

"What happened?"

Josh shakes his head. "It's a shitty old barbecue. They had it too close to these shrubs. Some of the charcoal fell through some holes and hit the grass, and the smoldering began to spread." He soaks far more of the area than he needs to, being just as cautious as I would. "Have to say, I appreciate any call where I don't need to put on that huge jacket."

"True." Looking around, I see a woman in an old track suit pacing at the other end of the yard, talking frantically on the phone. Must be the homeowner. "Have you seen a blonde girl around? Twenty-one, big blue eyes?"

"Yeah, she's next door with the kids. The mom wanted them away from this."

I race over to see Opal drawing with chalk on the concrete paving stones in her backyard with two little girls around seven and eight. Pink and purple blooms have overtaken the entire space.

Until this moment, I didn't realize that my ears were buzzing. But the sound clears as I blink, drinking her in. So delicate and sweet, with her hair tied up in two messy buns. Bright eyed and beautiful. Safe.

My Opal.

Her head jerks up as I come closer. "Hi!" She jumps to her feet. "Marnie and April weren’t big fans of the smoke next door, so we're making flowers."

She steps toward me, then hesitates, searching my eyes. "You thought I started a fire, didn't you?"

I can't lie to her.

"I…thought there was a possibility. And I needed to get here immediately to make sure you were okay."

I hate that she frowns as she looks me up and down. "Where's your gear?"

"I got here so fast I beat the truck."

Looking over the fence, I see Josh has stopped watering everything and is now checking the shrubs and trees to see if they were damaged. I holler at him, "Trust a forester to be more concerned about the trees than the house."

He glares at me. "The house wasn't touched. And since you asked so politely, yes – the greenery is going to bounce back just fine, thank you."

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