Page 19 of Burning for Alexander
The proposed grilling location is too close to combustible material, including dead trees, dry brush, and, I assume, a Timber-branded napkin caddy.
Finally, as you are aware, the company applying for the permit is currently on a temporary probationary status in regards to fire safety compliance due to previous “incidents”. (See mugshot attached.)
So while I admire your commitment to the “ignore all safety protocols for a good burger” approach, I respectfully deny your permit before I start explaining to bereaved families why their homes burned down because someone needed a flame-grilled mushroom and Swiss.
With sincerest regard (for fire safety),
Judd Kincaid
Chief, Legacy Fire Department
I shot it off without stopping to think about it too hard, which was probably a mistake. But the day ahead was slammed, and I was out of patience with Alex Marian.
After replying to several more emails, making a few follow-up calls, and checking in with the crew on shift, I headed out to SERA to help with one of their wildfire response exercises.
Slingshot Emergency Rescue Academy was a widely known and respected educational school for wilderness emergency response. They taught first responders in wilderness emergency medicine, wildfire response—including smokejumping, search and rescue, swift-water rescue, and helo extraction.
Today’s exercise was a wilderness pump and hose deployment exercise, using portable pumps creekside, running progressive hose lays uphill, and maintaining necessary water flow.
By the time I returned to the station, I was drenched in sweat, filthy with creek mud, and starving. The drill had been delayed twice by pop-up storms, and we’d ended up finishing at dusk.
I walked into my office and closed the door before tossing down the fire-retardant Nomex shirt I’d already taken off, peeling off my cotton undershirt to join it in the pile, kicking off the woodland fireboots, and reaching for the button on my Nomex trousers. My goal was to get into my private shower and stand under the cold spray until my stomach’s complaints were louder than the pounding headache I had from overheating.
“Um, I feel like maybe I should alert you to my presence. But, by all means, continue the show.”
I jerked up and stepped back, tripping over the pile of dirty clothes and boots until I fell against the closed door and landed on my ass. “Fuck!”
Alex Marian stood by a tall filing cabinet, half-hidden in the shadows created by the sunset shooting warm, slanted beams across the floor. From this angle, I could see his muscular calves and thighs exposed by twill shorts, his shoulders and cut biceps bare, thanks to a plain navy tank top, and his long, slender feet in brown leather flip-flops.
I forced my eyes up to his face, where I saw twinkling eyes but also a rosy blush on his cheeks.
“Why the fuck are you hiding in here?” I snapped, hoping my anger would be enough to keep my dick in line. My attempt to stand back up gracefully was less than elegant, and I felt new aches and pains joining the ones from the grueling exercise in the woods.
“I’m not hiding,” he said. “I came to see you, and one of the guys told me I could wait in here since you were due back any minute.”
I made a mental note to kill my entire crew. “Normal peoplewait in one of those chairs,” I said, nodding to the two chairs in front of my desk. I moved to the bathroom, unwilling to let Alex Marian’s inability to understand the word “no” keep me from my shower.
Alex’s voice followed me. “I was too upset to sit still. I need you to reconsider about the Slingshot Showdown.”
“No.”
I closed the bathroom door before he could argue with me, and then I turned on the water before shucking off my boxer briefs and stepping into the shower. The cool water was the sweetest kind of relief, and I let out a groan as I felt it wash away the sweat and grime of the day. The fact that the frigid water also helped tame my dick was just a bonus.
“Hear me out,” Alex said, his shadow appearing through the frosted glass of the shower door.
“No,” I growled. “What the fuck are you doing following me into the bathroom?”
“Don’t tell me you’re modest because I won’t believe you.”
I reached for the bottle of shampoo on the shelf. “Why not?”
“Pfft. The kind of guy who gets naked in front of a local business owner?—”
I barked out a laugh. I couldn’t help it. “I did not get naked in front of a… Jesus fuck, what are you doing?”
His hand appeared over the shower door, empty and making a grabby motion. “Give me that shampoo. I can tell by the smell it’s the same kind my cousin JJ uses. That shit will ruin your hair. Gross. Your hair is way too nice for that discount shit.”
The compliment must have gone straight to my head because that was the only explanation for my handing him the bottle. “You’ve successfully stolen my shampoo. Now, go away.”
