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“Oh, yeah.” I open the top of the coffee pot to pull out the filter of old grounds.

“You a little distracted there, are ya?” Deacon now stands at my side.

“Maybe,” I grumble, hating that I’ve turned into a grump who mopes around missing his girl. This isn’t me.

Deacon grabs the tin of coffee and starts scooping it into the filter.

He replaces the lid on the tin of coffee and sets it down on the counter. “You know…Lexi’s birthday is next week.”

“It is?” I question. How did I not know that?

“Yeah. Cam was just telling me last night about how she always thought it was so fitting that Lexi’s birthday fell on Halloween since Lexi’s always been a little wild and crazy.”

The last part elicits a chuckle from us both. “Very true.”

“So yeah…take a few days. Go surprise her,” Deacon suggests.

“That would be pretty cool,” I agree.

“Hell yeah, it would.”

Davis and Lee, our paramedics, join us in the common room after finishing their restock of the ambulance.

“Perfect timing.” Stokes claps. “A female’s perspective.”

“Nope.” Hattie Davis shuts him down. “We already told you. We’re not weighing in on your constant debates.”

“Well, that’s hardly fair,” Stokes argues. “What’s the point of having females in the house if we can’t get your opinions?”

Hattie’s eyes go big, and she takes a step toward Stokes.

He raises his hands in defense with a smile across his face. “I’m kidding. You know that.”

Hattie shakes her head as the alarm goes off, and the operator speaks over the PA system, “Truck 12, Squad 6, and Ambulance 21. Vehicle accident at the corner of Main and Cherry Street.”

“Aw, hell,” Tiny says, “That’s Johnny’s corner.”

“What is a spleen?” Cap shouts toward the TV before saying, “Let’s head out.”

* * *

People are congregatedaround the wreck when we pull up in the truck.

I jump from the truck and call out, “Snow, Cinder. Get some barriers up and these people back.”

“On it, Lieutenant,” Snow answers.

A woman in a tight jogging suit runs up to me, “I saw the whole thing. The jerk in the SUV was looking at his phone and blew right through the red light,” she says. “He hit that woman hard.”

“Okay, ma’am.” I hold my hands up, palms toward her. “You can tell the police officers everything you know. Right now, I need you to step back so we can work.”

At first glance, the more severe victim is the woman in the small car. She’s unmoving and covered in blood. The man in the SUV seems to be checking out the gash on his head in his rearview mirror.

Fly Guy and Montgomery are already checking on the woman in the car. “Door’s crushed. There’s a pulse but barely,” Deacon shouts.

“Grab the jaws,” I call toward Tiny.

“Got it, Boss,” he answers.

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