Page 60 of Turbulent Fires

She chuckles. “You were in fear of losing you too?”

I shake my head at her. “You’re quick right now, aren’t you?”

“I’m always quick.”

“It’s one of the many things I love about you.” I kiss her cheek as I rub my hand down her back. “I’ve faced danger many times. I’ve crashed, burned, and been a part of rescues before, but never have I been so invested in the life of another.”

“Why do we wait to share how we truly feel until the last possible moment?”

“Because we’re fools,” I tell her without hesitation. “We’re so consumed with protecting ourselves that instead we cause harm. We’re not meant to be alone in this life, yet we all try to walk different paths. If we simply trusted others, we’d be much better off.”

“That’s easier to say than do. We also believe we have more time than we actually do. This life begins and ends in the blink of an eye. Often we don’t get to experience something that makes us realize how fragile we really are. Sure, we see trauma all around us, but we believe it can never happen to us. We’re foolish.”

“Maybe that’s all part of it,” I say. “We have to figure things out. It’s a journey, and if it were easy, we wouldn’t grow.”

We sit in silence for a moment, then hear a sound outside. At first it’s quiet, but as a minute, then two, pass, the noise becomes unmistakable. It’s the rhythmic chop of helicopter blades cutting through the sky, and it’s clearly coming our way. I’m both relieved and a little bummed our intimate time is coming to an end.

Audrey gives me a smile. “It seems we’ve been found.”

I nod before rising. My clothes have dried enough to put back on without a tremendous amount of effort. Audrey also rises and gets dressed. We move together to the door and fling it open. The helicopter is floating low in the air as a piercing search light roams over the ground. We’re no longer alone.

I move back to the fire and douse it with enough water to put it out ten times over. When I’m sure the fire’s out, Audrey and I leave the safety of the cabin and look up with relieved smiles as the helicopter’s spotlight finds us while the blades whip around in a frenzy. The chopper lowers, and I see Nick Armstrong hanging halfway out the side with a headset on. Cooper peeks out behind him. Damn, am I glad for the friendships I’ve made through the years.

The rescue bucket’s lowered, and I place Audrey in it. I give her a kiss before she’s pulled away from me. My heart thuds as I watch her ascend, and I don’t take a breath until she’s safely pulled inside. The bucket’s lowered again, I climb in, and am pulled up into the helicopter. I quickly take Audrey’s hand as I climb out into the safety of our way out of this mess.

Cooper pats my back hard and looks at me with a smile. I can see clear stress around his eyes. They’d feared they’d be too late.

“You took long enough,” I say as a joke.

He shakes his head. “You scared the hell out of a lot of people.” I nod. I hate that, even though it was certainly not intended. “You really need to learn how to have a nice, calm, relaxing weekend.”

“We don’t want to grow bored in our old age,” I tell him.

“I’m starting to think I wouldn’t mind a bit of boredom. Rescuing the people I love is becoming a habit.”

“Wasn’t it you who did a crash landing in the Pacific?” I remind him.

“Yes, it was. I did that rescue too,” Nick says with a shake of his head.

“Maybe I need to find new people to hang around,” Audrey quips as she shakes her head.

I pull her close. “It’s far too late for that.” I lean down and kiss her as the chopper flies away, then look up, growing serious.

“How much damage?” I don’t want to ask, but I need to know.

“It’s bad. You went down near a hot zone. We have teams in place, but the ridge is flaring. They’re on it, but it’s definitely a battle.” I wince at his words.

“I need to get out there and help,” I tell him. Audrey turns and looks at me with fright.

“What are you planning?”

“I’m gonna fly,” I say.

“Are you sure you should? You’ve been through a lot, and we haven’t had any sleep.”

“I started this, I can’t walk away.” I pray she’ll understand. This is who I am, and I can’t walk away. I don’t know what I’ll do if she asks me to do just that. She gives me a long, assessing look, then nods and takes my hand.

“I understand even if I don’t like it,” she finally says. I let out a relieved breath. More than ever, I know this woman is already home to me. She’s my partner, and we’ll continue to lift each other up, never intentionally pulling each other down.

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