Page 25 of From the Flames
“Is Kevin all right?” he asked, intuiting a calamity.
Chase hesitated. “He will be. But we were at a house fire and Kevin was inside to bring out the last person when the ceiling collapsed on top of him. He managed to get out, but he’s been taken to the hospital. I thought you would want to know.”
“I do. Thank you. Does he have his phone?”
“No. It’s at the station. When we’re done here, I can bring it over to him.”
Willy ate more quickly. “Thank you. I’ll get the kids in the car and we’ll head over to check on him.” His stomach clenched, and he pushed the plate away.
“Okay. We’re still at the scene here. They took him by ambulance about ten minutes ago.”
“I’ll call you when I get there and find out how he is.” Willy ended the call. “Kids, you need to finish up and we need to go. Kevin has been hurt, and we need to go to the hospital and make him feel better.”
“’Kay,” Grant said and stuffed the last of his breakfast in his mouth, holding some of it in his cheeks like a chipmunk. Once he swallowed and April was done, they got in the car and Willy drove as quickly as he dared through town.
Chapter 10
KEVIN HURTall over. His left arm and neck ached, and he knew he’d been burned, but not too badly, thanks to his fire suit. But damn, it was like he had been hit by a truck. What really bothered him was his breathing. The ceiling collapse had taken out his breathing gear, so his lungs ached if he took a deep breath.
Clair had gotten him out. They didn’t often work together, but she was tough as nails and a great firefighter. She hadn’t hesitated to pull him out and had gotten him on his feet and to safety. Once he’d been taken to the ambulance, he lost track of what was happening with the fire, but that was okay. The other firefighters would do their jobs and make sure the scene was safe.
“How is your breathing?” a nurse asked him when she came in.
“It’s okay,” he said. They had him on oxygen, and he was getting enough air. What concerned him was the way his lungs felt tight when he took a deep breath, and he told her what he was feeling.
She checked all the monitors and the IV that they had given him. “Is it feeling any better over time, or about the same?” He started to speak but had a coughing spasm and closed his eyes. Then, once it passed, he slowly took a deep breath again. This time the tightness came later and wasn’t as bad.
“I think it’s getting better,” he told her.
“Good. Just relax and give your system a chance to deal with what happened. You had a close call.” She pulled out a tray and began checking over his arms and neck. “You got a few smallburns, and I’m going to clean and dress those, but if you ask me, you were pretty lucky.”
“Yeah, I was. My partner did a great job getting me out. Clair is a real badass.” He felt a cough coming on but relaxed and the sensation passed. “Am I going to be okay? I still have the rest of my shift.”
“I think you’re going to be here for a little while.” She worked on his wounds, and he closed his eyes and let her do her thing. They needed to be tended to, but he needed to get back to the station so he could do his job. Lying here in a bed was not helping anyone. She finished up and was about to leave. “The doctor will be in soon to talk to you.” She flashed him a smile and then left his room.
“Shit,” he swore, half under his breath. He should have been more careful, but the ceiling hadn’t looked that bad. Then, damn, it just all came down on top of him. He had been lucky in that there must have been water soaking it from the other side, because the weight did more damage than the actual on-fire part had. Still, he felt like a fool for allowing this to happen. But there was nothing he could do about it now, so he closed his eyes and tried to relax.
“Here he is,” a familiar voice said, and Willy came in the room with April and Grant each holding a hand.
“Are you okay?” April asked, letting go of her daddy’s hand and coming right up to the bed. She then took Kevin’s hand. “Do you have an owie?”
“Yes, I do. But they’re trying to make it better,” Kevin told her. “I promise.”
“Really?” Grant asked. “Did they bring you in an ambulance? Did you get to run the sirens?”
Kevin chuckled but stopped when coughs threatened. At least taking deeper breaths was getting easier. He took anotherone and closed his eyes, relieved that the tightness seemed to be dissipating.
“Chase called me and we hurried over,” Willy said from next to him. “How is your breathing? What are they worried about?”
“That he’ll act like firefighters usually do and try to go back to work too danged soon,” Dr. Rosco Mortimer said as he walked into the room.
Kevin and Rosco had crossed paths quite a few times over the years.
“Don’t tell me you aren’t thinking about how you can go back to work. Just know, it’s not happening.”
“But Rosco—” Kevin began, but he knew it was useless when he got that look.
“Your lungs took in a lot of soot. You’re lucky your partner got you out of there as quickly as she did or it would have been a lot worse.” He used the stethoscope to listen to Kevin’s lungs and heart. “It’s better than it was when you came in, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods.”
