Page 26 of Too Much Heat

“I am, too. You remember what the brotherhood of firefighters means, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So I’m going to sit with you and watch these firefighter videos. Lara has to go out for a few hours.”

“Maybe that’s okay.”

Standing behind the couch, Lara’s jaw dropped. And she almost sank to her knees in gratitude.

* * *

Joe stood in front of the room with Annie Rodriguez, who said, “Listen up, everybody. I told you Captain Romano was coming in today.”

They clapped spontaneously. Joe smiled at the group of kids.

In unison, they said, “Good morning Captain Romano.” He noticed they all wore readable nametags.

Annie laughed. “I guess you’re looking forward to this.” Then to him, “Captain, they’re all yours.” She took a seat in the back of the room.

Joe had prepared the lesson with Annie because this class, this school, was full of troubled boys. They’d been sent to Pathways for one last shot instead of juvie. Joe knew one boy had indeed gone to the correctional facility for breaking the rules.

“Thanks for the warm welcome. I’m told this is career week. I’m here today to talk to you about firefighting.”

“Yeah,” a boy named Bryce said without raising his hand. “We got a lot of people coming in, but you’re the coolest.”

“Wow. What a compliment.” He nodded to their desks. “Ms. Rodriguez told me you wrote in your journals about what you want to learn from me. Would you open them to your questions, please?”

The kids obeyed though one rolled his eyes and another leafed through his journal. “Louis, do you need help finding your questions?”

“I…I couldn’t think of any.”

Annie frowned. “I’ll see you after class, Louis.”

One hand raised.

“Bryce, how about you?”

“How much do you get paid?”

“Our pay isn’t on the level of most firefighters in the state because Westwood is so small.” He told them starting salaries and then what he made. Annie smiled at him. Most men were reluctant to reveal their salary. “What else?”

Harlan Ford was fidgety but raised his hand. “Do you sleep in the nude like most guys?”

“No, we sleep in fleece shorts and T-shirts. We get calls in the night so we have to be prepared to rush to the bay.”

Another hand. “Let’s go to Tim O’Malley.”

“You got any girls on your squad?”

Light blue eyes and blonde hair came to mind. “No girls, but we do have one female firefighter at our firehouse.”

“Aren’t the guys worried about going into a fire with her?”

“Why would they be?”

“She’s a girl. They’re weaker than guys.”

He chuckled. “One day, she was doing bench presses and I was spotting her. I keep track of my people’s fitness. She pressed more than any guy on the squad, except me. And I only matched her.”

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