Home Fires (4 page)

Everything had changed one frosty winter morning shortly after Christmas. Home from college on winter break, Rose had just come downstairs for breakfast as her father came inside from shoveling snow. He sat down at the table across from Rose, smiled his thanks to Irene as she served him a cup of coffee, then suddenly clenched his chest and he grimaced with pain. The massive coronary took him down fast. Michael John Gallagher was dead before his coffee cooled.

They buried him a few days later with the winter morning sunshine glinting like diamonds against the new-fallen snow. Irene stood stalwart at the funeral, her hand clenched tight in Rose’s own as the casket was carried into church, incensed, prayed over, and finally laid to rest. Rose marveled at her mother’s strength as the town mourned the untimely death of one of their own. Irene never wavered, not even when the Judge broke down in her arms. Her mother’s faith held them steady and firm. It was a lesson Rose never forgot.

She’d learned something else that day, too. Life offered up no guarantees. Her father had been a high school teacher and his last lesson, taught one cold December morning, was something Rose kept tucked deep inside her heart. If a good man such as Michael John Gallagher could be shoveling snow one minute, only to sit down and die, it was best to get on with the business of living. Dreams could be gone in a heartbeat.

Once upon a time, she’d blithely assumed she would live out her life in James Bay, practicing law with the Judge’s son Jeff. His unexpected death had sliced her heart open straight down the middle. Jeff would no longer be there like they’d always planned. And she wouldn’t practice law in James Bay, like they’d always planned. This town had turned its back on Jeff. Fair was fair. She’d turned her back on this town. Leave them to their talk. She was a practicing attorney now with a comfortable three hours’ distance between herself and the wagging tongues of the gossipmongers of James Bay. Three hours away… maybe she should take Andy up on his offer. One thousand miles distance sounded even better.

A loud, shrieking buzzer pierced the quiet of the hospital walls, yanking Rose back into the present. “What’s that?”

The Judge’s gaze darted around the room as they came to a stand. “Best grab your purse, my dear. That sounds like a fire alarm.”

“But I don’t see any smoke.” Rose sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything, either. Do you think it’s a real fire?”

“There’s no need to panic.”

She yanked free of his touch. “What about Mom? We can’t just leave her.”

“I’m sure they have standard procedures for this sort of thing.”

Even as he spoke, a harried looking nurse rushed through the room. “Out of the building,” she said in a no-nonsense tone. “It’s only a drill. Take the hall to the left.”

All this commotion simply for a fire drill? No smoke didn’t necessarily mean no fire. Why else would that shrill buzzer still be sounding? Her mother was in the recovery room, groggy with anesthetic, hooked up to machines. What measures did the hospital have in place to ensure Irene’s safety?

Rose stood in the doorway and waved the nurse down as the hallway emptied out.

“Since it’s only a drill, I think I’ll stay where I am. My mother just came out of surgery and she’s—”

“Everyone leaves,” the nurse snapped. “That means you.”

“But my mother—”

“Will be taken care of. You need to leave. Now.”

Rose swallowed down a surge of annoyance at the insolence in the woman’s voice. What did this nurse know about fire or smoke—or her mother, for that matter? Absolutely nothing. Rose backed up and plopped down in the nearest chair. “You can leave if you like,” she said to the Judge, “but I’m not going anywhere until I know Mom is safe.”

“You get out of that chair right now.” The nurse folded her arms and leveled them both with an icy glare.

“My dear, I think it might be wise to do as she asks.” The Judge gripped Rose’s shoulder. “They’ll take good care of your mother.”

“I am not budging.” Rose squinted at the nurse’s identification tag and made a mental note.

“If you’re not out of that chair in the next five seconds, I’ll call security and let them deal with you.”

“Totally unnecessary.” The Judge grasped Rose firmly by the arm and yanked her onto her feet. “We’re leaving, as requested.”

“Did you hear her? That woman threatened me,” Rose complained as he pulled her down the hall. “And what about Mom?”

“They aren’t about to put your mother’s life at risk. And as for whether there is actually a fire, obviously we are on a need-to-know basis. They want us out of here and I suggest we oblige them.”

Rose squinted against the brilliant sunshine as they exited the building into the parking lot. Sirens wailed in the distance as she waited beside the Judge, watching as the fire trucks approached. The trucks were yellow, large, and loud, with air horns blaring and flashing red and white lights.

“Since when do they call out the fire department if it’s only a drill?” she muttered. “Looks like I was right.”

“Stand back, everyone stand back,” came the call as first one, then a second fire truck pulled up in front of the entrance. A short stubby fireman tumbled out of the passenger seat, pulling on his fire gear as he raced past them into the hospital. A second fireman on the driver’s side slid from behind the wheel and strode through the crowd. Rose’s eyes narrowed as she spotted the tall, solid man. His determined face was steeled with resolve. Intense blue eyes filled with concern beneath a scuffed white helmet.

Rose drew in a sharp breath. She should have figured she’d eventually see him again. James Bay wasn’t that big for their paths not to cross. But the sight of him today was somehow reassuring. Her anxiety vanished through the revolving front door along with the fireman.

The wailing alarm ended abruptly, filling the afternoon with an eerie silence. Seconds later, as if on cue, Lillian Gillespie emerged through the hospital main entrance. Rose exhaled a deep sigh as she caught sight of her mother’s best friend. The gleam in Lil’s eyes was a sure giveaway there was no need to fear. The hospital wasn’t on fire. That fact would have been much too juicy for her not to share.

“Spill it, Lil,” the Judge ordered. “What’s going on?”

Lil pulled the two of them aside, far away from the visitors and hospital staff milling about the parking lot.

“This is hush-hush and completely confidential.” She raised one finger to her lips and diamonds flashed on her rings in the brilliant sunshine.

“You’re talking to two lawyers, remember?” the Judge replied. “We’re officers of the court. There’s no need to remind us about the rules of confidentiality. What happened?”

“Well, two doctors—both of whom shall remain nameless, mind you—decided to indulge themselves with afternoon cigars.” The whisper of a smile appeared on Lil’s face. “They were huddled up in one of the offices. It seems that little conference of theirs triggered the smoke detectors and set off the fire alarm.”

Rose frowned. “I thought the hospital was a smoke-free area.”

Lil nodded fiercely. “It is. But obviously those doctors forgot. Maybe all that smoke clouded their minds along with their better judgment.”

“Ladies, as neither of you smoke, I wouldn’t expect you to understand the pleasures of a fine cigar.”

Rose couldn’t help smiling as the Judge patted his jacket pocket. His fondness for cigars was well-known to all. And his taste in tobacco didn’t come cheap. Everyone knew he paid a pretty penny to have his cigars custom made in the islands.

“At least we know Mom is safe. She should be out of recovery soon.”

“Good Lord, where is my mind?” Lil shook her head. “They just took Irene up to her room. Sarah Mae Carter was one of the attending nurses. She grabbed me and let me know when I was coming out the door.”

“Is Mom awake?”

Lil’s head bobbed up and down without disturbing one hair on her perfectly coiffed head. “You can see her once we go back inside.” She clutched Rose’s hand and squeezed tight. “The doctor wants to talk to you, but not to worry. Sarah Mae told me that everything went fine.”

Rose blew out a heavy sigh. Sarah Mae and Lil knew better than to discuss patients’ private medical histories, but confidentiality be damned. This was her mother they were talking about.

The two firemen reemerged into the sunshine.

“Where’s the fire? What’s going on?” yelled an onlooker.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, folks. It was just a false alarm,” the taller of the two firemen called as he pulled off his helmet. “You can go back inside now.”

He turned then, not three feet away from her, and Rose suddenly found herself looking square into his eyes. He halted as their gazes locked and held. Mere seconds, perhaps, though it was hard to tell. She had the sudden sense the world’s eternal timepiece had abruptly stopped ticking.

Then, giving a quick silent nod, he turned and was gone.

“Who was that?” Lil glanced toward Rose, an intense gleam in her eye. A longtime widow, Lil was always on the lookout for a good-looking man.

“Just someone I met the other day.” Rose tried to keep the smile plastered on her face from growing any wider.

“Interesting… very interesting,” Lil replied.

The Judge glanced back and forth between them. “Obviously I’ve missed something. What’s going on?”

“Why, Judge, I thought you knew everything around town.” Lil’s eyebrows raised in high amusement. “For an officer of the court, you seem slightly clueless.”

Rose smiled as she listened to the familiar banter between them that she’d heard all her life. “Come on; let’s go see how Mom’s doing.”

She tucked a hand through each of their arms and led them back into the hospital. For the moment, life was good. The sun was shining, her mother had sailed through the long-awaited surgery, and the hospital wasn’t on fire.

And for the last fact, she had professional reassurance taken on good authority.

Very good-looking authority.

Rose sank into the cozy window seat halfway between upstairs and down, resting her head against the wall. The house was quiet, save for the grandfather clock in the downstairs hallway ticking away the minutes. Fading sunlight filtered through the rose-mullioned window above her seat, casting a rainbow hue on the faded carpet runner. This little crannied nook with its bird’s-eye view of the happenings in the house and neighborhood had been one of her favorite spots as a child.

Outside the window she could see the tree she and Jeff had climbed as children. They’d considered it
their tree
, though its roots were planted firmly on her family’s side of the property line. It had been their private summertime childhood retreat, a cozy haven of shady green leaves offering shelter as the two of them explored the world of Popsicles and comic books. The tree was the one place they were safe from their parents: Jeff from the Judge’s eagle eyes and Rose from her parents’ benevolent gaze. She and Jeff had grown up together in the shelter of their tree, the only thing separating their two houses.

Now she was back home again… and Jeff had been dead so many years she’d nearly forgotten the sound of his laughter.

Rose curled up tighter in the soft cushions and pushed away thoughts of Jeff. He was dead and buried, just like any feelings she’d ever had for this town. The rumor mill surrounding his death had killed any sentimental longing she’d mistakenly felt for her hometown. James Bay wasn’t home anymore. It was simply the place where she had grown up. Bad enough that her mother still lived here. Strategic planning was in order. Winters in northern Michigan could be harsh and unforgiving. Florida sounded nice. And what was the harm in trying? Her mother might prove receptive. At the very least, it would give them something to talk about for the next six weeks.

Her eyes drifted shut. She’d forgotten how comfortable the window seat could be. How long had it been since she’d indulged herself and spent some time in this favorite little spot? So long ago, she couldn’t remember. She sank back farther in the welcoming niche, allowing herself the rare luxury of relaxing. Such a long day, but everything had worked out. The surgery had been successful. Maybe now things would finally begin to settle down…

And maybe someone would turn off that noise. Was it coming from outside? The screeching sound was like a shrieking alarm protruding on her daydreams. Hopefully it would stop soon. Rose sighed and snuggled deeper.

The faint smell of smoke roused her to her feet.

Smoke?

That sound from below was the smoke alarm.

Fire!

Rose flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. Smoke filled the room, acrid and pungent, tearing her eyes and sucking the breath from her lungs. Every hair on her head felt as if it was standing on end. She threw an arm over her nose, fighting against the stench. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the scorched tea kettle forgotten on the stove.

A hazy childhood memory of another smoke-filled room threatened… a hot summer night with the smell of cotton candy and the stink of smoke mingling in the air.

I can’t see! I can’t see! Daddy, where are you?

She snapped off the burner, but it took every ounce of courage she had to make a grab for the kettle. The heat was intense as her fingers connected with the black handle. She gave it a hard yank but the kettle wouldn’t budge. It was melted to the coils of the electric stove.

Rose snatched the cordless phone from its cradle and stumbled out the door. She took deep grateful gulps of fresh air as she made the call to 911.

The fire department was only three blocks away, but the wait seemed interminable before the welcome sound of a wailing siren was finally heard. Rose watched from the front lawn of their corner lot as the first yellow fire truck approached. It filled the side street near the driveway. A fireman clad in full turnout gear slid from the truck and ran for the back porch. Smoke seeped from the kitchen window as a second fire truck roared in behind the first. Thank God she’d gotten out in time.
Stupid, stupid, stupid
, leaving the burner on under the kettle and walking away, sinking into sleep. The wail of the smoke detector had prevented a needless tragedy.