Page 15 of Too Much Heat

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Lara tucked Sammy in bed and gave him a sedative. He fell asleep almost immediately. Now she had to face her captain. Yanking the tie out of her hair because it was giving her a headache, she walked out of the bedroom.

“Hey. He okay?”

“Yeah.” She sighed heavily and came around the couch. Dropped down. “You must have a million questions.”

“As your captain, I wouldn’t meddle in your personal life unless it interfered with your job. It hasn’t, until today.”

“I’ve been trying to keep my personal problems out of the firehouse. But I’m tired of covering up my life.”

Gently, he touched her arm and said softly, “Go ahead, tell me.”

“Do you want the whole sad story or should I pick up with today?”

“Wherever you want to start.”

“Sammy has ALS. I assume you know about the malady.”

“It’s a degenerative disease.” A horrible, horrible one.

She clasped her hands in her lap. “He was a firefighter in Elmira and I was a secretary in the fire department. Sammy convinced me to go to the academy and become a firefighter, too. We thought we had the world by the tail.”

“What happened?”

“He started to trip over things. And his grip got weaker. When the symptoms first appeared, it took a while to diagnose what was wrong. He kept going and I kept it together. But eventually these two symptoms got worse. The department put him on disability so we had enough money. He also went on the latest treatment, Radicava, but it only does so much. There’s no cure for ALS.” Her voice broke on the last words.

“I’m so sorry, Lara.”

“His muscle mass diminished and started to affect his speech. Eventually, I admitted we were going to need more help. As soon as I finished at the academy, we came home.”

“Home?”

“Sammy’s from Westwood. He’s older than you are so you wouldn’t have known him in high school. In any case, his motherand two sisters said they’d cover my day shifts. When I’m on nights, LPNs come in.”

“Can any of your friends help out?”

“I don’t have close friends—there’s no time. Maisy Kane, Katie Donovan and Annie Rodriguez and I are just getting to know each other.”

Joe sat back and sighed. “What happened today? That woman wasn’t related to you.”

“His sister Jenny, the one who was supposed to come to be with him, had to stay home with her sick son. I have an emergency list for aides. But he’d never reacted to one like he did today.” Her eyes moistened. “He’s degenerating faster than I thought he would.”

Joe was sitting close and slid his arm around her. She leaned into him. Took comfort from his nearness. The woodsy scent of him filled her head. “I’m so, so sorry, Lara. This is a terrible situation.”

“It’s mylife, Joe.” She’d never called him that before.

“I understand that now.”

“I’m not sure where to go from here. He gets disability from the government and my salary is enough to make ends meet, but all the money in the world isn’t going to help him.” When she realized how long he’d held her, how she’d nosed into him, she pulled away.

He faced her. “I have to say something.”

“Please don’t be mean, I can’t handle that right now.”

“Of course I won’t.” Had he been mean? “What I was going to ask was why haven’t you put him in a hospital or home that cares for people with degenerative diseases?”

The notion made her sick inside. “Oh, God, no. I can’t bring myself to do that.”

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