Page 66 of Combust
He slowly pushed himself upright, noticing as he did so that his hands had been thickly bandaged. Another set of bandages wrapped his feet, and he felt yet more taped to his back and shoulders. The rest of him was still naked.
“Welcome back,” Dane said, and held out a bottle of water.
Cade had never tasted anything so good, not even at Elle’s dinners. He emptied the bottle in seconds.
“Austin and Denise Harrier,” he croaked. “They’re the ones who stole all those Christmas trees. I heard ’em admit to it.” He looked round, and saw that the old pickup was missing. “They had a flatbed Ford, gray, looks real old, like maybe 1940s, 1950s. Driver’s side door is missing.”
He felt a spurt of satisfaction at that last part, especially when he remembered how he’d scared the ever-living daylights out of that asshole Austin.
Dane nodded. “I’ll radio it in.” He clapped Cade on his upper arm, carefully avoiding the burned part. “Thank you for what you did for Maggie.” Then his face creased into a smile. “But the next time you dash into a burning structure, please wear your PPE. I’m asking you as your fire chief.”
Cade laughed. It was wheezy and he had to stop to cough, but it came from a place of happiness and relief inside him.
* * *
A lot of things happened over the next few hours.
The paramedic van arrived and administered oxygen to Cade and Emily as the first step in treating their smoke inhalation.
The little blonde-haired girl had regained consciousness, and was busily chattering away to Ash, who listened to her with his full attention.
Annika Tringstad and her partner, Roy Bagweshi, turned up just as Dane was preparing to drive Maggie, Cade, and Emily over to the Bearpaw Ridge Clinic for further treatment.
The two cops reported that they had apprehended Austin and Denise and were holding them in jail while the DA decided what charges to file.
Young Cody’s aunt had taken custody of the boy, and she would be collecting Emily from the clinic once the doctor gave the all clear.
The cops described the Harriers as residents of Charley’s Ford, a tiny town located an hour’s drive south of Bearpaw Ridge, where Austin had a long rap sheet of offenses.
Denise had told Annika that they had been hired to provide the trees to someone in Spokane. While collecting Christmas trees from locations all over the Bearpaw Ridge area, the couple had squatted in the vacant ranch house on the Nelson property.
When the fire started, they’d been awaiting the arrival of a big-rig truck to take the trees off their hands. The payments for previous shipments had come via an online payment service, so they didn’t know who had hired them.
Roy Bagweshi was assigned to the case. He announced that he was going to make inquiries with all of the police departments in nearby communities, and coordinate with the US Forest Service’s law enforcement rangers.
At the clinic, which specialized in treating shifters, Cade was treated for his burns and given good painkillers.
Dane put him on sick leave until early January, to give the damaged layers of skin on his palms and the soles of his feet sufficient time to heal completely. Shifters healed faster than Ordinary humans, so it would be a matter of weeks instead of months until Cade’s raw, blistered flesh smoothed out into a whole new set of scars.
The only good thing about his trip to the doctor’s was the fact that Maggie accompanied him and stayed with him while he was treated. Thanks to her protective gear, she’d escaped the ordeal with nothing more than a few bruises.
Finally, Cade was cleared to leave the clinic. The doctor handed him instructions detailing how often to change his bandages, apply antibiotic cream, and even assigned exercises to stretch the burned areas once they began to scar over, so that the new skin wouldn’t feel unduly tight. There was also a list of all the stuff he wasn’t allowed to do, like walk more than a few steps at a time, ride horses, or drive.
“I’ll drive him around,” Maggie told the gorgeous Dr. Nika Medved. She was Ash Swanson’s mate, and Cade had previously met her at one of Elle’s Sunday dinners.
Dr. Nika nodded. “Good. And please keep an eye on him.” The smooth skin around her eyes crinkled in a smile. “I’ve met his type before. He’ll find it very difficult to rest properly and give his body time to heal.”
“I’m sure I can convince him,” Maggie assured the doctor. She turned to Cade. “I’m staying at your place for the next few days to make sure that you don’t try going on a twenty-mile hike or decide to muck out the stalls because you’re tired of being stuck indoors.”
“I wouldnever,” he protested, grinning. “It would only be a ten-mile hike. And justonestall, for my favorite boy Flan.”
“Naughty.” Maggie punched his upper arm lightly, avoiding the square of gauze taped over a burn. “But you’ll be a good boy forme, won’t you? And let me serve you hand and foot, at least for a couple of days?”
He summoned up a grin for her. “That sounds like a little slice of heaven, darlin’. Now, can wepleaseblow this Popsicle stand and go home?”
* * *
The days were short this time of year, and it was full dark by the time Cade and Maggie left the clinic.
