“Once again, firefighters from San Gabriel Station 1 were first on the scene. While some firefighters secured the car, to keep it from being swept downstream by the raging floodwaters, our favorite Bachelor Hero, Firefighter Fred Breen, fought the current and was able to pull Alison Barnstable out of her watery trap. The grandmother of three was overwhelmed with emotion as Breen carried her across the flooded highway.”
Then came a shot of the elderly woman alternately sobbing and laughing as she clung to Fred. He slogged his way through the water, talking to her the entire time, clearly putting her at ease. He was so good at what he did. And yet he didn’t seem to think it was anything special.
“All credit goes to Mrs. Barnstable for her quick thinking,” he told the anchor, Ella Joy, when she stuck the microphone in his face after the rescue. His drenched hair was plastered to his head, which somehow made him look even more attractive. “If she hadn’t called 911 right away, we might not have gotten to her in time. She kept her head and did all the right things.”
“What are the right things to do? Can you explain to our viewers?”
“The most important thing is not to panic. Pay attention to flash flood warnings and if you see standing water on the road, don’t try to drive through it. Every situation is different, depending on how submerged the car is and what the situation is. Sometimes you want to close the windows to equalize the pressure, but in other situations the window can be an escape route. That’s why keeping your head is so important. Getting trapped in a car under water is terrifying, but it is often a survivable situation.”
Rachel couldn’t take her eyes off the TV. Who knew a fireman giving safety instructions would be so sexy?
“This sounds like a subject for a news special,” said Ella Joy.
Fred gave a tired smile. “It would be a real service to your viewers. San Gabriel doesn’t get a lot of flooding, but when it happens, it’s frightening and dangerous.”
“Thank you for talking to us.” Fred nodded and hurried off to join the other firefighters.
Ella Joy turned to the camera. “Stay tuned for more on these freak floods and what you can do to stay safe. I just got word from our producer that we’ll be airing a special on survival situations. And for those who want to hear more from our favorite Bachelor Hero, we’ve been promised that Firefighter Breen of the Urban Search and Rescue Squad will share some tips with us.”
Cindy, Liza, and Feather came over and the four of them, cozy in her top floor apartment, with the rain running in blurry streaks down the windows, watched every second of that news special. Aside from flood and earthquake survival tips, the special also mentioned a new Facebook page dedicated to Fred the Bachelor Hero. It already had over a thousand members, and was growing fast. Not only that, but T-shirts proclaiming “Fred’s My Hero” were showing up all over town. Like it or not, Fred was becoming a star.
Feather immediately went online and ordered them each a T-shirt.
Rachel didn’t tell them about her plans to see Fred on Friday. It felt like a delicious, private secret. Time and again she told herself she should back out of their dog-training session, now that he was such a media draw. But that infamous, headstrong side of her refused to do it. The fact was, she wanted to see him again. It was as simple as that.
Besides, she didn’t want to disappoint Greta.
Everywhere Fred went, someone was sticking a camera in his face. He’d actually started getting recognized on the street. In line at the Lazy Daisy, girls wanted to talk to him. He got requests for autographs on inappropriate body parts and fan mail with invitations to dinner.
Everyone wanted to talk to the Bachelor Hero. Fred had never been one of the attention-grabbing members of the department. He’d always wondered what that would be like, and now that the limelight had hit, he wasn’t sure he liked it. He didn’t like people looking at him differently. Even Mrs. Gund, the crusty owner of the Lazy Daisy, acted starstruck and mixed up his muffin order. His barber asked him to sign a copy of the newspaper article about the crane accident. His dry cleaner made him brownies. It was all so strange.
The firehouse crew teased him about his new fame, of course. Mulligan left lipstick kisses on his locker, and someone mocked up a photo with his face over Justin Bieber’s body as he was mobbed with fans.
He tried to take it in stride, since he was facing an even bigger problem.
Courtney really, really didn’t want to get the message that they were through.
“Fred, just because a girl kissed you doesn’t have to mean the end of our relationship,” she said with an impatient sigh as he walked her to the San Gabriel College parking lot after class. “Couples get through this sort of thing. Sometimes it makes them closer. It’s not like you cheated.”
“But it’s not fair to you. You deserve more.” So much for his hope that the kiss would make her give up on him.
“I forgive you, okay? It’s not like you initiated it. Let’s just forget it and move on.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to.”