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Chapter 5

Even though he’d rather have sacked out on a couch, Charlie had been relegated to a guest staff room that only had a bed, a desk and wooden chair, and a dresser. There had been something hanging on the wall earlier, but now it was just a hook. Some pieces of picture frame were in the trash can by the desk, but anything else had been swept away.

Alexis sat in the chair, which she’d pulled over to the side of the bed. Charlie had kicked off his boots and sat on the bed with his back to the wall. He could feel his eyelids wanting to close, but didn’t let them.

“Jayne seems nice.”

Alexis said, “Of course she is. She’s great.”

Because he had such good taste in women? Not hardly. She might be the one exception to that trend in his life. But that wasn’t what he’d meant. Jayne had raised one child well already—which he took as a great sign that he’d been right on with his plan.

He was the one who had screwed up fatherhood.

Alexis would be well taken care of.

“She talks a lot about God and the Bible. I don’t know much about that stuff.” She adjusted her seat on the chair. “But it sounds nice, and it means a lot to her to talk about it. You know how people have that…calm about them? They just don’t get ruffled by everything happening in the world.”

Charlie nodded. “I know people like that.” Christians he worked with and was friends with. “They’re good folks.”

She stood. “You need anything?”

Charlie studied her. “I should be asking you that. Considering all the years I didn’t work harder to make sure you had what you needed.” He rubbed a hand on the Backdraft Pizza Grill T-shirt over his chest. “So no, I don’t need anything, Lexi.”

She looked away, her hands gripping the back of the chair. “Okay.”

“Thanks for asking.”

He spotted a tiny smile, and she tucked the chair back under the desk. “Goodnight, Dad.”

Charlie’s eyes closed before he heard her shut the door, but when his phone started to buzz in his pocket, he managed to put it on speaker. “Benning.”

“It’s Houston. Heard you got blown up.”

Charlie chuckled. “Only a little. You fell through a hole in the ground.”

“Doesn’t sound nearly as interesting as a land mine.”

It had probably hurt a whole lot less, though. At least he had his medicine tin in his pocket, or he would’ve been forced to have someone bring him more pills. That would reveal every secret he had and ruin his entire summer plan.

Now that he knew Jayne would do right by Alexis, he was even surer that he was on to something that would work.

Houston sighed. “Anyway, since I’m not back out until tomorrow, I was designated to sit in the office at Ember Fire HQ and call around with updates. So here goes. Orion held the scene until the Trouble Boys showed up, and then the sheriff and the coroner. They cleared the road around the truck, since the mines that exploded were close together.”

“Any more mines?” Charlie hadn’t heard any explosions.

“Nope. They got the body out of the truck and off to the morgue and didn’t find any more explosives. But they also walked every inch of road around the truck and back, so we’re sure the two were all that had been buried.”

Charlie blew out a breath. “Not a job I’d have volunteered for.” He’d probably have waited for the feds or the military to send a working dog that could sniff out explosives.

“Miles is finding a wrecker that can come to clear the propane truck from the road. We also have to ensure there are no unexploded land mines that were buried under where the truck is lying. So that might take time, even after we get something to haul it away.”

“Given the size, it might need a flatbed semi to haul it away.”

“I’ll make a note of that for the report,” Houston said. “Apparently there’s a smokejumper with a connection to the ATF? But they’re also talking to the National Guard. Whoever can get there faster to take care of it. Make sure no one else gets hurt.”

“Good.” The smokejumper was Logan, whose sister Andi had fallen hard for Jude—the ATF special agent. “As long as it’s cleared.”

“Orion reported the fire is out. He’ll be back up at the camp soon. No need to stay out all night.”

Charlie wanted to see his son. But what was he going to say? A hundred things rolled through his mind, each one sounding as dumb as the last.

“How are Alexis and the rest of the kids?”

“They were great today.” He’d been blown away by the caliber of their training. “And Alexis is good. Came by to talk to me without any prompting. Just wanted to sit and visit.”

“That’s great.”

“Hey, later in the summer…will you chat with her? She might have questions about Jesus and faith. All that stuff. Can you answer them for her?” For him too. “Can you make sure she’s on the right path?”

“Sure I will,” Houston said. “But why can’t you do that?”

Charlie tried to think of an answer. He wasn’t as clued in as Pastor Houston James, but Houston wasn’t going to accept that as a good reason.

“Does this have to do with that thing with the nurse?”

“I’ve got it covered.” Those words had become a refrain. Despite what had cropped up the last couple of days: seeing Jayne, finding out about Orion. How things were turning out still wasn’t bad. At least, not as bad as they could’ve been.

“Is that true?”

Charlie said, “Don’t worry about me. Just make sure Lexi is going to be all right.”

“All right.” Houston spoke quietly. “Sounds like Jayne plans to carry on as normal. They wouldn’t be headed to town as a group for a few weeks anyway. We can bring a chopper up there with any needed supplies, or if we’ve got to airlift someone out.”

Jayne .

Charlie’s energy level slipped to the floor. He let out a long sigh.

“What’s going on, Charlie? You good?”

“Just tired.” His eyes were drifting closed.

“Is that really all it is?”

He might as well give the pastor something to pray about. “Jayne and I…it was a long time ago. We were seventeen.” He tried saying it out loud. “I only found out today. Orion is my son.”

“Brother…wow. That’s…I don’t even know what to say.”

Charlie chuckled, not even opening his eyes. “That about sums it up.”

“I’ll be praying for you. Let God guide it. Let Him give you the words to say. After you get some sleep.”

“Thanks.”

“Take care, yeah?”

The phone beeped.

Charlie drifted, not even bothering to slide down onto the bed. He slept propped up against the walls, having fitful dreams where Orion turned away from him, and seconds later, flames swallowed everything.

He woke up in semidark, a little light from the hall spilling under the door.

He took a couple of pills he should take before bed—if he slept a normal schedule—with the bottled water on the nightstand. If the pattern held, he wouldn’t sleep again for a few hours.

Plenty of time to walk off the aches of the day.

He decided to check out the camp, since land mines could mean anything and there was no security up here. Did they have a way to protect themselves? He strode out of the hall and into the common area and looked around.

Gleaming kitchen, visible through the open cafeteria window.

Shiny counters.

Chairs overturned on the table. Clean floor underneath.

He scanned the living area and stopped short. A popular sci-fi TV show he’d never watched but knew plenty about now played on the screen. Jayne lay on the couch, holding a tissue to her nose.

She spotted him and gasped, scrambling up to sitting, and immediately pointed at him. Tears streamed down her face. “Not a word out of you. It’s a good show!”

Charlie lifted his hands. “I happen to have it on good authority that Trek of the Osprey is the best show ever . And I’m prepared to cite my sources.” He shrugged one shoulder and lowered his hands. “Ever heard of Spenser Storm ?”

* * *

Jayne folded her arms. “Spenser Storm? You expect me to believe you know him?”

Charlie grinned. He dug out his phone and came over to show her the screen.

She stared at the picture of four hotshots—including Charlie and Orion—with Spenser in the center. “You know him.”

“Hate to burst your bubble, but he’s crazy in love with Emily.” He waved his phone. “The blonde in the middle. She’s nuts over him too, so it works.”

“Spenser Storm is dating a wildland hotshot?” She absolutely loved that idea.

Charlie shrugged his shoulder. “They were shooting a movie nearby a few weeks ago, with that superstar Winchester Marshall there and everything. Emily was the hotshot assigned to oversee fires on set. They fell pretty hard for each other—out a second story window, actually.”

Jayne chuckled. “I’d like to hear that story.”

“It’s happened a couple more times since. One of the guys, Houston? He fell for Sophie.”

“Sophie Lamb? She runs the horse rescue place just outside Ember?”

Charlie nodded.

“I love her.” She folded her arms. “Is he a good guy?”

“Youth pastor. His brother is my chief. Was my chief. In Last Chance County.”

“Where you worked rescue squad?” Orion had filled her in on some other details when he got back. He’d peeked in on his dad, but Charlie had been sleeping. They’d both decided to leave him alone. Except Jayne hadn’t been able to go to her room and pretend like everything was fine. Her mind had been spinning far too much to rest.

So she’d opted for her guilty pleasure—sci-fi reruns.

“Yep. Fifteen years on rescue squad.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Usually this is when people ask why I never made lieutenant.”

“I’d like to know everything about you. But not because I think you should have hit some arbitrary standard.”

“It’s really just my same job but with a bunch of paperwork.”

Why was he staring at her like that—as if she was some kind of unknown thing? After all they’d shared? He knew her better than he thought he did.

She focused back on what they’d been saying. “Lieutenant would probably be a pay raise too.”

“Money that Helena would’ve had taken out of my paycheck by the court so she could ‘take care of Alexis.’ By going to Hawaii with her friends for ‘self-care’ and leaving Alexis at home. All so she could be the best mom she could be because she was living her best life.”

Jayne frowned.

“Sorry.” He rubbed a hand through his sleep-rumpled hair. “I probably sound bitter. But you always did bring the honest truth out of me.”

“I’d rather have that than a lie.”

“Bad relationship?”

She shook her head. “It’s just been me.”

“Since…”

She nodded. Since him.

“I know we didn’t leave it in a good place. I had to go home, and you were going to high school here. I wasn’t mature enough to handle what we had. But I didn’t want you to be alone all these years.”

“I wasn’t alone. I had Orion.” She sat backward on the arm of the couch, her elbow on the head cushion. “I wanted to be the best mom I could be. Nothing like mine.”

She didn’t want to get into the past. At least, not that part of it. So she said, “I was working here and not going to town much except for supplies. I wasn’t going to waste money on a babysitter just to go out and waste money on food and drink that would make me grumpy the next day.” She shrugged. “Orion deserved better than that.”

Charlie said, “Sounds like you did right by him. He’s an amazing kid. And a crazy-good firefighter.”

Who wanted to be a smokejumper. Someone who fell out of planes. On purpose. The idea filled her with so much dread she wanted to be sick. Enough that she had to turn away so Charlie didn’t see the honest truth on her face.

She spotted her phone on the coffee table and picked it up. Frowned. “Nothing.”

“What’s wrong?”

She turned to him. “There’s a guy staying in one of the hill cabins. I told him about our status update. That he should be ready to leave when they upgrade us to ‘go,’ but he never responded. I’m worried about him. He’s a bit of a loner.”

Charlie said, “Do you want to walk up the hill and make sure he’s okay?”

She hadn’t wanted to go by herself, and Orion had been exhausted. But Charlie had napped. “If you feel up to walking a few miles.”

“I’ve got some in me.” He patted his chest. “I’m not so old and broke down that I can’t sneak out after dark with you like the good old days.”

She giggled. “We still frown on that kind of behavior, you know.” That was how Alexis had put it together that Orion was her half-brother.

“I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

Thankfully the kids all slept within the main house?—girls on the upper floor with the balcony, and boys on the basement level that led out to the hot tub on the back patio. They were all hunkered down for the night, though she knew some of the guys were still watching a movie in their common area. The Masterson twins’ parents were in a different time zone, so they were waiting for their parents to wake up so they could call.

Charlie stopped on the porch so she could click the front door shut.

Overhead, a moth buzzed around the porch light. The smell of wildfire smoke hung in the air. She could hear the river from what she referred to as her “front yard” even though it was the driveway. Or the main drag through camp.

“You could’ve knocked me over with a feather, seeing that fire truck pull up behind me today and y’all jump out.” He grinned.

She went first off the front steps, wearing her muck boots. What was the point in trying to dress up? It was so dark she had to light their way with a flashlight, and it wasn’t like she was trying to impress Charlie by being something she wasn’t. Why wear fashionable shoes?

He’d asked her about relationships, but so what? Now he knew she had no one. About the saddest story ever told. But she liked her life.

She’d raised her son.

Trained group after group of kids.

Seen some of them become firefighters, now friends who emailed her every once in a while so they could catch up.

Charlie clicked his flashlight on. “Smells the same. Sounds the same.”

“Looks a little older, though.”

He nudged her. “Speak for yourself.”

She laughed and shoved at his shoulder. “Oh, I should’ve asked you if you needed something to eat. Were you hungry?”

He shrugged. “I’m good.”

“Alexis did say you’ve lost weight. I get busy and focused and forget to eat.” She maybe should’ve done that more, and then she wouldn’t look so much like a middle-aged mom. Jayne sighed. “It’s this way.”

She strode ahead of him, hanging a right at the old tree and hitting the trail that snaked up the hillside. Anyone that stayed here had to pack in and pack out. No electricity. Running water that was as cold as the stream. The food you ate was the food you carried in. Fire pit. Lanterns that were powered by battery.

It was a great place to be off the grid.

Except when the camp had to be evacuated because of a wildfire.

“There’s just one of these?” Charlie said. “I remember several, is that right?”

“Only one is currently occupied.” She scanned the dark with her flashlight. “And pretty hard to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for.”

“Who’s the guest?”

“Roger Kirkpatrick. He seemed familiar, like I’ve seen him before. He showed up with cash a couple of weeks ago, and I ran his ID. The sheriff didn’t have his name pop with anything.”

“Good call. Can’t be too careful these days.”

Jayne said, “A lot of the time, I just go with my gut. I let the Lord lead me in how I feel about my read on a person. He didn’t raise any red flags with me.”

She reached the end of the trail that opened to the cabin and the land around it. Maybe an acre total, tucked in the woods. A great hideaway—or romantic getaway spot.

Not that she’d ever have need of one. But she was with Charlie. Those thoughts came naturally, and she’d have to work to avoid slipping back there if they spent much more time together.

Neither of them was the person they’d been years ago. Right now she just wanted to get to know her son’s father—which was probably what Orion also wanted to do.

“The front entrance is over here.” She rounded the cabin and saw the door open.

Stopped.

“I’ll go first.” Charlie touched her shoulder, then stepped past her to jog up the four steps and push the door open. “Somebody was here. Looks like they left in a hurry.” He stuck his head out, a dark look on his face. “But they didn’t take their stuff.”

Jayne turned to scan the dark woods around them.

The flashlight snagged on an animal, low to the ground in trees, red eyes in the artificial glow. “I don’t like this. He could be in trouble.”

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