Amongst The Flames: A Contemporary Christian Romance (Embers and Ashes Book 1) (17 page)

“Us… How are you doing with things?” I asked, placing my hand upon hers.

She smiled and looked into my eyes as she spoke. “I think everything is good. We’re heading in the right direction. I know I haven’t been in my Bible as much, but I want to change that. I saw Denise catching little moments inside during the barbeque to get a few verses of reading in here and there… It really inspired me.”

I smiled warmly at the thought and took comfort in my wife’s desire to seek out the Lord. “I’ve been feeling like I need to get into the Word more, too. I like Micah and Denise; they’re inspirational.”

She nodded in agreement. “We need more good friends like that in our lives.”

“I agree,” I replied.

“I found your journal earlier today,” I said.

Her eyes widened as her face flushed. “You did?”

I nodded. “Don’t worry though, I didn’t read it all. Just our first encounter at the fire station.” A big smile crept onto my face.

She sighed with a relief. “You didn’t read the Seattle entries?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

Shaking my head, I said, “No… I wanted to read them, but I didn’t.”

“Why don’t you? I have nothing to hide from you.”

“No… I don’t care what happened in Seattle.”

Megan got up and went inside for a moment. Turning I looked back to the patio door and watched her walk back out to me with the notebook in hand. “Here,” she said, handing it to me.

I grabbed the notebook and ripped out the pages from Seattle. Tossing it into the fire, I said, “I don’t care about what happened anymore, love. I care about the future and our family. Your story that you told me that night you came back home while we lay in bed during the thunderstorm is all the story I need.”

She watched as the pages burnt up in the flames. “You’re not curious if I was telling the truth?” she asked, looking over at me.

“I don’t care about it. It wouldn’t change anything.” I stood up and came closer to her. Dropping to one knee, I dropped the notebook and took her hands in mine. Looking into her eyes, I said, “I love you Megan, and I always will.”

Love. Four letters, two vowels and one action. For me, that action was purpose-driven movements to love my wife with all my heart. Loving a flawed person is never easy, but if we marry someone, we are called to love them like Christ loved the church. I never truly did understand how powerful God’s love and peace was until I had to rely on it in my own life.

I fought a lot of fires in my days at Fire Station 9, but I was never ready for the one that took Megan’s dad or the fire that almost destroyed my marriage and life. But God was with me, and helped me when I was amongst the flames. He gave me the strength that I needed in my time of weakness. He gave me peace when I was distraught. He gave me hope when everything appeared hopeless. Being a follower of Christ is not something I do for recognition, or because it’s required of me to get into Heaven. I do it because this is what I was born to do.

The End.

T
apping on the bar top down at the Spark, I made eye contact with Lonzo and he knew exactly what I needed. Another Rum and Coke. I was bumping my head to the rhythm of the music as I waited for him to bring me my drink, when a woman approached me.

“My girlfriend told me that you’re a firefighter… is that true?” she asked as her lip curled up on one side. She had that look in her eye, that same look I had seen a hundred times before. It’s a mixture of drinking a little too much and infatuation.

“Your girlfriend is telling you the truth,” I replied, grinning, as I turned around on the bar stool to face her. Suddenly Lonzo’s hand came over my shoulder with a Rum and Coke.

“There you go, Kane,” he said.

I grabbed the glass and took a sip. “Mmmm… perfect.” Looking back at Lonzo, I nodded and said, “Thanks, Bro.”

He nodded and continued down the bar to help other patrons of the Spark. Looking back at the woman, she suddenly didn’t look so hot as she cupped her mouth and bent over.

“Bathrooms are that way,” I said, pointing over to the corner.

She hurried her steps quickly away to the bathrooms, and I shook my head as I stood up and returned over to the pool table with Brian and the two girls we just had met earlier. The brunette who had been flirting with me all night, moseyed up to my side and grabbed onto my arm. Leaning into my ear, with a seductive voice, she said, “I hope that girl wasn’t trying to steal my man away.”

I laughed. “Sugar, I’m not your man.” I glanced towards the bathrooms as I continued, “But I wouldn’t worry about her. I think the only date she’ll have tonight is with a porcelain bowl.”

Brian laughed as he came over and handed me a pool stick. “It’s your shot, McCormick.” I took a swig of my rum and coke and set it on the table next to me as I flashed a smile his way.

As I walked past Brian, I leaned into his ear and said, “Boys verses girls isn’t very fair for them. Now is it?”

“True, but we are all trashed and nobody really cares,” Brian replied, laughing as he lost his footing for a second.

I nodded in agreement as I strolled around the pool table. I decided to go for the six ball and got into position. I leaned across the worn green felt-top pool table and looked at the corner pocket. Glancing down at the cue ball, I lined up my shot and let it rip. As I stood upright, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out slightly, I saw it was my sister Emily. She rarely called and never at this time of night. Handing Brian my pool stick with a lowered brow, I said, “I’m going to step out for a moment. I’ll be back.”

“Alright, man. Everything cool?” Brian asked.

“Hope so,” I replied. Turning, I headed out of the bar and out to the sidewalk as I answered my sister’s call. “Ems?”

A sniffle came across the line setting my worry soaring and my pulse racing.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s… mom.”

I shook my head as I touched my forehead and looked down at the cracking pavement below my feet. “What do you mean, Emily? What’s wrong with mom?”

She began crying for a moment before being able to squeeze out the words, “It’s back.”

The bar music and noises that were coming from a few feet away quieted as my world began to crumble at the words my sister spoke. My mother’s cancer was back. “How bad?” I asked.

“Bad…” she replied, her words trailing off in her hopeless tone.

I sighed heavily as I looked up the sidewalk that was illuminated by the street lights. I wanted to start running right then and not stop until I reached my mother. “So, she’ll need lots of chemo and more rounds of-”

“No!” Emily snapped, interrupting me.

“What?”

“It’s not like that this time… It’s bad, Kane… really bad. They aren’t going to be treating the cancer.”

I dipped my head and let my back fall against the brick wall that was behind me. “Really? They can’t do anything? Surgery?”

“No… they already tried all they could. She kept it from us when it came back a few months ago. She didn’t want to worry us. She has months to live… if she’s lucky.”

“I’m going to come over,” I said sternly, wiping the falling tears from my eyes.

“No, don’t do that… I’m okay, Kane.”

“Well, I’m not. And judging by the phone call in the middle of the night and the crying, you aren’t okay either. I want to be there for you, Sis.”

She sniffled. “Thank you, but I’m okay. I know I made you feel bad for not being there for me after we found out about Kyle. But I’m older now and I understand. Plus, I’m at work right now.”

“Kane!” Lonzo hollered from the doorway of the bar just a few paces from where I was standing.

Startled, I wiped my eyes quickly and stood up straight. “What?”

“Your friend looks like he’s in trouble,” Lonzo replied.

Turning back to my conversation with Emily, I said, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Take care of yourself, Kane,” she replied.

I hung up with Emily and slipped the phone back into my pocket. As I approached the door, I looked at Lonzo. He looked worried. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know. But the guy doesn’t look too happy…”

“Where are they?” I asked, glancing in through the bar.

Lonzo pointed over to the pool tables as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Over there… I think it’s one of those chicks’ boyfriends.”

I took a deep breath and gave him a nod. “I’ll handle this.” Walking past Lonzo, I made a beeline for the pool tables. I saw a big beefy bald guy cornering Brian. Pushing through the crowd of people, I grabbed onto his shoulder, yanked him around towards me, and said, “Hey! Back off!”

He turned around with a pool stick in his meaty hand and laughed. Smacking the stick against the pool table, he broke it in half. As the broken pieces of the pool stick hit the floor, my heart began to race as adrenaline coursed through me. Holding the busted end of the stick up to my throat, he asked, “What are you going do about it?”

I shook my head and took a step back. “You don’t want to mess with me right now,” I warned.

He laughed again. “Oh yeah? You think you’re a tough guy?”

I reached out and quickly grabbed the stick from his hands and flipped it around smacking him upside the head. He dropped to the ground with a loud thump. “Get out of here, Brian!” I shouted, pointing to the side door.

Brian grabbed his phone off the edge of the pool table and darted for the exit. As the door swung shut, the man I had smacked rose back to his feet. He paused to wipe a bit of the blood from his wound. Rubbing the blood between his thumb and index finger, the man looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot red and eyebrows were furrowed. “Only one other man has ever made me bleed, he’s dead now and you’ll soon join him!”

Worry came over me as I thought about how ugly this could get, I didn’t want anything to happen with my job. I decided to run. As I weaved between the crowd of people, I kept looking over my shoulder as the man pursued me. “Lonzo! Help!” I shouted as I looked over at the bar where I spotted him. Making it to the door, I fell out onto the sidewalk.

The man came outside and laughed as I squirmed to regain my footing. There was something wrong with my ankle and it wasn’t allowing me to put any pressure on it to stand. “Look, dude, I was just trying to help my friend. You were cornering him!” I tried to plead with him.

“You don’t put your lips on another man’s girlfriend. He broke the rule,” the man said as he came closer to me. He towered over me like a shadow of death.

Suddenly sirens came whipping around the corner and caused the guy to run. One of the three cop cars chased the man down the alley while the other two came up to the curb and parked.

I relaxed my head against the cold cement of the sidewalk and breathed a sigh of relief. My racing heart began to settle as the officers approached. Looking at them with an upside down view from the pavement, I noticed one of the cops that I had frequently seen on calls, Fred Foster. Worry came rushing in when I saw him. He hated me more than anyone else I knew in Spokane. Ever since his girlfriend kissed me at a joint Christmas party our stations had a few years back, the guy has been out to get me.

“That you, Kane?” Fred asked, approaching with a grin on his face. I began to attempt to get up. Fred and the officer with him helped me to my feet. Setting me down over at the curb, Fred laughed. “I always knew your lifestyle would catch up to you one day. You’re screwed.”

“C’mon now,” I replied. “My buddy Brian was getting cornered by that guy who went running… there isn’t anything illegal with what I did.”

The other officer who was with Fred went inside the Spark as we continued speaking outside. “Well, that depends on what happened, Kane.”

“Brian was backed into a corner and I interrupted the confrontation! I said that already.”

“Regardless of the outcome. I have to report this to Chief Jensen.”

I sighed and shook my head. “That’s messed up.”

“It’s my duty to report it to your station Chief.”

The other officer stepped out of the bar with the broken pool stick in hand. It had some of the blood from the man I had hit on it. Fred said, “Stand up. You’re going in.”

“C’mon! I was being threatened. He had it in his hand first.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re going in. You aren’t even scratched.” Fred turned me around as he undid his cuffs from his belt and began his spiel, “You have the right to remain silent…”

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Out of the Ashes