Chasing the Fire (Backdraft, Fully Involved, Flashover) (27 page)

As the mother approached them, Nick scooped
up the child and she cuddled into him. And as Nick held her to his
chest and crooned to her, Stacey was overcome with such love for
the man, which then converged with pure rage at how he suffered for
his sins, she could barely contain it.

With the spirit of Christmas surrounding him,
she vowed to help him get over what he’d done.

oOo

Christmas Eve

THE BELLS ON
a church in town chimed
at the stroke of midnight. Simultaneously, Nick’s doorbell rang.
The caller had to be Stacey. She’d promised to give him space on
Christmas Eve and granted his wish to be alone. So what if he hated
not being with her after all they’d shared these last few
months?

The bell pealed again. He knew, he
knew
on the other side he’d find her. Oh, hell. He jumped
out of bed, where he’d been pretending to try to sleep. Barefoot,
wearing only pajama bottoms, he made his way to the foyer and
yanked open the door.

There she was, wearing one of the Santa hats
from the party that had brought them together, a short red coat and
white velvety pants. Her hair, even longer now, sprawled out
everywhere. “I kept my promise,” she said saucily.

“By the letter of law.”

“Still, I did.” She held up a bag. “I have
something in here I want you to see.” When he started to speak, she
put her hand on his mouth. “Hush. I’ll leave afterward, if you
want, or if you’re so pissed I don’t want to stay with you, but
I’ve got something to show you.”

What could he say? Truthfully he was glad
she’d showed up. And also glad she’d let him have his solo pity
party. Because he’d found out it wasn’t what he wanted this
year.

She came inside, whipped off her coat,
beneath which she wore a fuzzy white sweater. Hmm.

His eyes narrowed on her chest. “You don’t
have a bra on, do you?”

“Nope. No panties either.”

“You don’t play fair.”

Instead of answering, she crossed into the
living room, to the TV, picked up the remote and turned the machine
on to DVR. Then she pulled a disc out of the bag she carried.
Sliding it into the player, she went to the couch, sat down and
patted the seat next to her. He joined her and turned his attention
to the screen. Her face came on. He was charmed by the freckles,
the wide-set, hazel eyes, the riot of curls all over again.

“Merry Christmas, Nick. I want all your
Christmases with me to be happy. So I’m giving you this gift.
You’ll know why.”

A photo of a fire truck in front of a high
rise came on. Engine 21. FDNY. His old house, his rig. The camera,
from a TV crew he guessed, panned in close and he could see
billowing gray smoke and flames licking everywhere. Nick came
running out of the building with a baby in his arms. The parents,
who’d already been rescued, rushed to him and grasped on to their
child.

Switch to another screen: I’m April
Cunningham. I’m the baby that Firefighter Nick Evans rescued
fifteen years ago on Christmas Day.

Nick said, “That was the day after…”

Stacey nodded.

The young girl continued. “Your girlfriend’s
making this tape for you and I want you to know, Firefighter Nick,
I’m alive, well and planning to go to Harvard Medical School in two
years. If I ever have a baby, I’m naming him Nicholas after you.
Thanks for saving my life. You moved away fast, so we never got to
thank you properly.”

Another screen came on. The front of Joshua
House. “How did you…?”

“I said, hush. Just watch.”

Next, the video showed him and Kelly and four
girls, ages ranging from twelve to sixteen, making dinner. “Papa
Nick,” one said. “You put didn’t put enough salt in the enchilada
mix.” A second one turned around and smiled at the camera. She was
beautiful.

“Tell me why it’s good to have Papa Nick
here, Mia.” The voice was Stacey’s.

“Because he shows us not all men are
monsters.”

Nick swallowed hard. Reaching out, he took
Stacey’s hand and held it tightly.

The third clip was of a little old woman. She
looked familiar, but Nick couldn’t place her. “Hello, young man.
I’m Mrs. Boynton. You saved my cat from a tree ten years ago. Lots
of men wouldn’t pay any attention to me; I’m old and cranky. But
you did. You got Mindy for me. What you probably don’t know is some
days, the only reason I go on, is because Mindy is here with me.
Don’t know what I woulda done if I didn’t have her.”

“She was a crusty old broad,” Nick said
hoarsely.

Then the captain from his first firehouse
appeared. “Hey, Nicky, I hear you’re a captain now. Remember what a
pistol you were? Always getting reprimanded for staying too long in
a fire. Most times, you got people out the others didn’t, but I
still had to put letters in your file and suspend you once.” He
looked dramatically from side to side. “Don’t tell anybody, but if
I was in those situations, I would have done the same.”

“You bastard. You used to scream at me for
those things.”

“I can’t wait to tell Riley and Lisa Beth
about this.”

He shook his head.

Another clip was a live shot from the news.
It showed Nick shimmying down an elevator shaft in a harness. The
camera was at the top and a reporter spoke. “Here’s one of
America’s Bravest on a daring rescue in a faulty elevator. The
danger is that the lines holding the car in place are frayed and
could break at any time. Nick Evans volunteered to go down.”

The reel went on showing him coming back up
with…ah, now he remembered. “He was the Senator from New York.”

“I know, Stacey told him. “He’s Secretary of
State now. Maybe someday he’ll be president of the United
States.”

Nick got the point.

Embarrassed, he watched as newspaper
clippings came on screen. They were recent.
Above and beyond the
call of duty: Firefighter catches arsonist.
Another read,
Train tracks accident goes bad. America’s Bravest to the
rescue.
The close-up was of Nick—his head bloody, picking up
the woman who’d fallen from the platform.

“Stacey, this is too much. Please…”

“There’s only one more.”

A crystalline shot of a Hidden Cove Lake with
the sun glistening off the water. He recognized Hale’s Haven, the
camp for kids. Nick was seated in a chair by a campfire, with a
seven year old in his lap. He held the little boy, who was dozing
off as Nick told him a story. Before the kid’s eyes closed, his
said sleepily, “Daddy.”

Nick’s eyes filled, and he heard sniffling
next to him. “He’d just lost his father in a bad fire,” Nick told
her. “He was so sad, I made it my mission that week to alleviate
some of his grief.”

Stacey sniffled. “I know, Megan told me when
she gave me this footage taken by the camp photographer.”

Without saying more, she clicked off the
video and the TV. For a minute, he sat there, thinking about all
he’d just seen on the tape. Then he turned to her. “How long have
you been gathering this?”

“Since the Christmas party for the kids.”

“That was fast.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“I hate accolades, fan fair.”

“You don’t think you deserve them. Because of
what you did on Christmas Eve a long time ago. In case you didn’t
catch it, this all happened after that day.”

“I understand.”

He stood and pulled her up.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I have to move before I start bawling like a
baby.”

She looped her arms around his neck. “Don’t
be mad. I love you so much, Nick…”

“I know. You want me to love myself as much
as you do.”

“That’s right. Will you at least try?”

He glanced at the TV. Then back to this
wonderful woman who’d given him so much. Including optimism for the
future. He pulled her close and whispered, “Okay, honey, I’ll
try.”

oOo

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Dear Readers,

Returning to the novella format for these
three firefighter books turned out to be a good choice. I’d
forgotten how tight and succinct the plot and the wording had to be
for a shorter book. The length also forced me to pick and choose
which scenes best showed the characters’ personalities and
values.

I must confess in
Backdraft
I was very
unhappy with Riley’s inability to forgive his father. His dogged
attempt to hang on to his resentment annoyed me as much as it
annoyed Jane. I was glad when he finally saw the light and knew
what he had to do and why—not just for Jane, but for himself. As
for Jane, I adored her. I would have acted exactly as she did
throughout the whole story, even forgiving Riley in the end.

Interestingly, I wasn’t as irritated with
Linc Roberts in
Fully Involved
as I was with Riley. I think
I’m a sucker for a guy who makes a really big mistake, especially
when he’s young, and then is determined to rectify it later in
life. I loved Lisa Beth’s strength (her name was taken from one of
my real life firefighter heroines), her giving nature and even her
wariness toward Linc. I admired her for choosing a future with him,
despite her fears.

Another big confession:
Flashover
was
my favorite of the three. The story seemed to progress on its own
without my permission and I ended up in several pickles because of
that. But Stacey was a real doll, and I kept rooting for her.
Yet…it was Nick who stole my heart! What a good guy, who sacrificed
his integrity to protect his sister. I cried for him, yelled at him
to let go of his guilt and rejoiced when he finally gave himself a
chance at happiness.

I hope you enjoyed all three latest
installments of the Hidden Cove series!

Kathy Shay

If you liked this book, you might want to
post a review of it at

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Visit or Contact Kathryn
at
www.kathrynshay.com
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Other Kathryn Shay firefighter books

After The Fire

After being trapped in a fire, the Malvaso brothers
and sister decide to make changes in their lives. Follow Mitch
Malvaso as he struggles to get closer to his kids and out of a
doomed marriage. Jenn, his sister, wants to have a baby and asks
Grady O’Connor, her best friend, to be the father.
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On the Line

Fire Chief Noah Callahan and Albany Fire
Investigator Eve Woodward butt heads while she investigates the
cause of accidents at Hidden Cove fire scenes. Who knew they’d fall
in love? And watch Zach Malvaso become the kind of man he wants to
be with feisty firefighter Casey Brennan.
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