Chasing the Fire (Backdraft, Fully Involved, Flashover) (7 page)

Jane stepped out onto the deck and both man
and dog halted, though the puppy tripped over her feet. Then she
rolled onto her back as Riley approached her; he scooped her up
with one hand and headed to Jane.

Their first face-to-face in three weeks since
she discovered he’d cheated on her was hard. Really hard. God, she
loved this man so much. She knew she’d never get over him, but she
had to learn to live without him. And she’d have to see him
sometime.

He devoured her with his eyes. “Hi,” he
choked out in a hoarse voice.

“Hi.”

He held up the dog. “Happy Birthday, since I
had to miss the day this year.” Which she’d refused to celebrate
with anybody.

“The first time in all the years we’ve been
together.”

His look was questioning.

“That you missed my birthday.”

“I’d say I was sorry, but I know sorry’s not
enough.”

She took the dog from him. “Hello, beautiful.
Aren’t you adorable?” She peered back up at Riley. “Why did you get
a dog for me? We decided it wasn’t a good idea to have a pet with
our crazy hours.”

“I knew you wanted one, so I made
arrangements for her. The Smiths next door are going to watch her
when we…” He swallowed hard. “When you work. I’m paying both Bobby,
who’ll be responsible every day you’re not here, and Evelyn Smith,
who will take over when he’s in school.” He gave her a half smile.
“And Frank on the other side said he’ll spend some time with her if
they can’t.”

Oh, how thoughtful.
“Wow, thanks.” She
cuddled the dog to her chest and made a show of looking around.
“You fixed the steps. And the flowers look great.”

“Yeah, I’d like to come back again. There’s
more to do.”

“I can do it.”

“No, Janie. Please let me get the house ready
for summer for you. Yard work is about the only thing you hate to
do.”

“All right.” She kissed the dog’s head and
caught Riley staring with a look of such longing, it broke her
heart all over again.

Still, some things couldn’t be changed.

Slowly, she turned from him and walked
inside. She squeezed the pup so hard that it yelped. Jane battled
back her feelings and hurried upstairs.

oOo

Week 4 after the breakup

“
SERIOUSLY, RYE. YOU
sure you want to
do this before we go?” Ben Gallagher sat in Riley and Jane’s
backyard, under a snazzy, blue umbrella Janie had bought.

“Yeah. Jane’s out with Mom for the morning,
and our appointment isn’t until one. It won’t take long.”

“I could help.”

“Nope, I promised Mom you wouldn’t do
anything. You’re still recuperating.” His father was recovering
well, though Riley had noted his ragged breathing at various times
in the past month.

Thinking that some things were working out,
Riley headed to the side of house, and the dog followed him. He
tried not to read too much into the fact that Janie hadn’t named
her. Was she not planning to keep the pup because she’d been a gift
from Riley? Did that mean there was no chance for them? Riley
banished the notion, having already admitted he hadn’t given up
hope of getting her back.

He began digging the footers for the pen that
would stretch the length of their backyard. Doggy would have room
to run and Riley would teach her how to use the space for exercise.
He would locate the pen on the side of the house so the Smiths had
easy access to it, too.

The sun beat down on him as he worked; the
sweat and grind felt good. One footer…two… Finally, one side was
done. He turned when his dad came up to him. “Here’s some ice
water. Drink it. You’ll have sun stroke if you don’t.”

“I already put the hat on you gave me.”
Having his dad do fatherly things again, take care of him as he
used to was weird.

By noon, he’d finished the running pen. “I’m
going to shower,” he told his dad. Most of his things were still in
his closet. Unless she’d given them to Goodwill.

From a chaise, his dad said, “Okay, I’ll
close my eyes out here.”

Riley’s whole body ached from exertion but
not as much as his soul when he walked into their bedroom, where he
hadn’t been in four weeks. He sniffed. It smelled like her—jasmine
lotion, lemon shampoo. He couldn’t help himself. Like some pervert,
he crossed to her dresser, opened one of the jars there and inhaled
her sweet scent.

Jesus. He was losing it! Hurrying to the
bathroom, he stood in front of the mirror. Jane had been right all
along. He liked the man he saw there a whole lot better than the
one he’d seen the morning he’d found her note. More than the man
who’d suppressed so much anger and bitterness for years. It felt
good to be letting go of the negative emotions. If she never took
him back, he planned to always be that man. With those positive
thoughts, he showered, shaved and went downstairs.

His father was in the kitchen. Riley saw the
shadows in his face. It hit him suddenly. “You’re nervous, aren’t
you?”

“Hell, yeah. This thing, you know, between us
is so new. I…” He shrugged.

Riley clapped his father on the back. “Don’t
worry, Dad. Jack Harrison is a good guy. He’ll help us both.”

oOo

Week 5 after the breakup

IT WAS SO
exciting, Jane almost
couldn’t stand it. The officer on a day shift at Ladder 5 was sick
and Jane had been designated as his sub for her first shot at
lieutenant. The only dark spot was that Riley had lost his
officer’s appointment and she could only imagine how he was
feeling.

No, don’t think about him.
She, had of
course in the five weeks since their breakup, but she wouldn’t
today.

Her group had been called to a house fire
right near the station and arrived in three minutes flat. “Ready
for your first foray?” Lisa Beth asked as she swerved the truck
onto the fire ground. She’d been surprised to find Lisa Beth
subbing, too, though rumor had it she did a lot of that.

“You betcha. You gotta have my back,
girl.”

“Of course. We women stick together.”

Jane grinned.

A rescue squad had been brought in, too, but
from the looks of the small house and the gray smoke, the call
would be routine. The captain of that squad came over to her.
“Phillips, good to see you.”

“Thanks, Cap.”

“Your people need to ventilate the roof. When
you’re ready, give me the signal and I’ll send my guys inside.”

Soon, a ladder had been heeled by one member
of the crew, the K-12 saw lugged up by another, and she and Lisa
Beth ascended the rungs one behind the other. Lisa Beth positioned
herself along the cut line the first two had marked off, and, using
halligans, the three of them ripped back the dark shingles as Jane
walked around the roof.

Something didn’t feel right.

She jumped up and down on a section near the
middle.

Just as she heard, “We’re ready, Lieutenant,”
from one of the guys, and the loud buzz of the saw, Jane realized
what was wrong.

“Stop right now, all of you,” she shouted
over the noise. “Head down the ladder fast.”

“What the hell?” one man asked when the saw
suddenly stopped.

“I said go! The roof’s spongy. It’s gonna
cave.”

The two men and Lisa Beth followed her orders
and descended quickly. Jane was right behind them as soon as they
jumped off the ladder. She was four rungs down when the roof
collapsed.

The ladder shuddered under the force.

Jane grabbed the steel railings but lost her
footing and slid downward.

She woke up to pain. “Oh, fuck.” She hurt all
over.

“Hold still.” Lisa Beth’s voice. “You slid
down the ladder and hit your head. Then you blacked out. You’re
stretched out on the ground near a shade tree.”

“C-can I walk?”

“The three of us tried to break your fall, so
I think you’re gonna be okay. No broken limbs. You didn’t even
crack the skin on your skull.”

She braced her hands on the ground to sit up
and pain shot out from every nerve ending. “I can’t believe I’m
okay. I hurt all over.”

“You aren’t gonna be dancing the tango
anytime soon.”

She closed her eyes. “I want Riley.”

Lisa Beth stilled. “Yeah, it’s normal that
you would.” After a minute, she sat back and crossed her legs. “I
don’t know what he did, but I’ll tell you, honey, he’s a changed
man this last month.” She waited. “He even brought his dad to the
firehouse one day.”

“I didn’t know that.” Tears clouded her eyes.
“Shit! Don’t let the guys see me so emotional.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.”

When she finally could sit up, Lisa Beth
helped her, gave her water and some ibuprofen. They stayed in the
shade for a bit and watched the action. Flames shot out of the
house, through the roof, windows, everywhere.

“It’s fully involved,” Jane observed.

“Yeah, somebody missed something.” Lisa Beth
waited. “You saved our lives, you know.”

“Oh, well…”

“So I’m gonna pay you back with a little
advice. I had a relationship once with a guy I was crazy about. He
screwed up and I forced myself to hate him. But in the ten years
since we split, I never found anybody else I could care about as
much. If there’s a chance of making this work with Riley, who’s a
lot better man than this one ever was, go for it.”

The words made their way into her heart.

When the fire was finally out, the two ladder
guys approached them. “Hey, Phillips, how you doin’?” one of them
asked.

“Should we call the ambulance? Go to the
hospital?” the other suggested. “She might have a concussion.”

She looked at Lisa Beth. “No, I want to go
home.”

oOo

RILEY BOUNDED INTO
the house, out of
his mind with worry. Jane had been hurt. Hell, Jane could have been
killed. If it wasn’t for that sharp mind of hers and good sense,
all of the Ladder 5 crew would be dead. The notion chilled his
bones. He hadn’t been able to think of anything but getting to her
after Lisa Beth had called to tell him what’d happened.

“Janie,” he yelled out so he didn’t scare
her. “Janie, it’s me, Riley.” The kitchen and family room were
empty, so he headed to the bedroom.

He found her resting against pillows, dressed
in a T-shirt and shorts, her hair damp. Doggy was cuddled into her
side, her head against Jane’s breast.

“Hey,” she said. Her voice was hoarse.

He rushed to her side. Her cheek was bruised
and her hands covered with gauze. But otherwise she looked
remarkably normal after falling down a ladder. Dropping to his
knees, he ran his hand over her hair before he remembered he didn’t
have the right to do that anymore.

She took his hand away from her head
and…Jesus Christ, held it.

“I was so worried,” he told her.

“I knew you would be.”

“So it’s okay that I came home?”

“Always.”

What did that mean?

He breathed in deeply. “Want to tell me about
the call?”

“Yeah, later. But there’s something I want
you to know first.”

“What, honey?”

“I named the dog.”

“Oh.” Why was she bringing this up now?

“It’s Beeja.”

“Okay.”

“Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“I know this is corny, but I don’t care. The
name means new beginnings. I want one with you, Rye.”

He met her forehead with his. “Oh, baby, me,
too. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I think I did as I was falling down the
ladder.”

It killed him to say it, but he’d learned a
few things in the last, brutal weeks. “Maybe that’s not the best
time to decide your future.”

“It isn’t just that. I miss you so much.
You’ve changed. I can tell and everybody says so. And from what I
hear, you’re on the way to forgiving your father.”

“I’m not done yet,” he said eagerly.

“No? I forgive you, anyway.”

“You mean it?”

“I do, love.”

He couldn’t help it. He buried his face in
her lap and cried. She held him until he could contain his
emotions. Finally he was able to straighten up. “Don’t tell anybody
about this,” he said to break the tension.

“I won’t.” She touched his jaw, cupped her
other hand at his neck. “I’d really like to make love, but I’m so
freakin’ sore, I can’t.”

“I could run you a bath.”

“That would be nice. But before you do, climb
on the bed and hold me.”

“Anything you want, babe.” He circled the
bed, rearranged Beeja, and lay against the pillows. He let Jane
come to him as gently as she could, though she still moaned.

“I’m sorry.”

“No more sorries, Rye. Let’s just be
together.”

“Forever,” he whispered and kissed her
head.

“Hmm,” she said in a sluggish voice.
“Forever.”

LISA BETH DUNCAN
hated humbling
herself. But to have to ask a favor of the man she despised most in
the world pissed her off royally. Still, for her friends, she would
do this. She knocked on the door with a nameplate that read Dr.
Lincoln Roberts and was hit by a sudden flash of memory…

Dr. Lincoln Roberts and Dr. Lisa Beth
Duncan. Sounds good, doesn’t it, babe? We can share a
letterhead.

“Come in,” a rusty baritone called out.

Gritting her teeth, Lisa Beth opened the door
and stepped into the office. Big and spacious. Beautifully
decorated. Even the spring breeze coming through the window was
perfect, all of it befitting a world renowned trauma surgeon. She
said without preamble, “I need to talk to you.”

He held a bag of ice to his jaw and a phone
in his other hand. “I’m about to call the police station to report
your firefighter buddy for assault.”

“Don’t do that.”

He cocked his head and gave her that studied
expression of his. “Why shouldn’t I?”