Chapter 13

Bryson

We’re sitting around,shooting the shit and playing cards when the tones drop. Immediately, our hands hit the table as we rush to our assigned places on the trucks and quickly put our turnouts on. In a matter of a minute or two, we’re on the way, sirens blaring as the chief gives us the information we need.

My heart drops in my chest then starts beating even harder when I hear the address.

“That’s where Jory lives,” I murmur.

Doss, who’s been my partner for years now, glances at me and warns, “Keep your shit together, man. We’ll get her out and she’ll be just fine.”

“It’s her second fire, man,” I retort. “The first one nearly killed her. Depending on how bad this is, she may not recover.”

“Focus, Cambridge,” Chief demands. “We have several citizens who are trapped, so we’ve called in Falls Ridge. Our goal is no loss of life today, and that means anyone. Do y’all understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” is called out in unison as I mentally think of the building itself.

“Chief, the fire escape only goes to the third floor, we’re going to need to make sure the ladder trucks are positioned correctly,” I advise.

“Noted, Cambridge,” he says, his voice slightly softer than it was a minute ago.

We pull up to the apartment building and I can see the lower portion is fully engulfed, but it looks like Falls Ridge has arrived and their guys are already hitting it with water. Funny that they got there before us, but then again, I’m glad because it means that it’ll give us a chance to evacuate anyone who’s in the building.

Including Jory.

As we pull up, the chief issues instructions and Doss and I take off at a run toward the side of the building where there’s a fire escape. He’ll radio us when he knows how many souls are inside. The ladder truck repositions so it’s on the side where the fire escape is while I glance up to the fourth floor.

Jory.My heart squeezes as I watch her carefully lower the carrier that I know contains Mr. Whiskers and Cheeto. She appears calm, but at closer glance, I can see a slight tremble in her hands.

“We’re going to get her down, man,” Doss says as we both start up the ladder.

Even during that first fire, I don’t think I was as nervous and scared as I am now. Relying on muscle memory and the rote activities I’ve performed more times than I can count, I yell out her name as I scramble faster.

I’m coming for you, baby. Just hold on a few more minutes.

From somewhere nearby, I hear an explosion and the ladder rocks slightly, causing me to move even faster. I reach her window to see her standing there, trembling all over. Her smile, however, when I reach my hand out to her is tremulous, even as she grabs mine and I pull her onto the ladder with me.

“Come on, sweetheart, I’ve got you,” I say. I’m not sure how much she understands since I have my helmet and gear on, but I see her nod as I carefully maneuver us down to the ground. Once there, I scoop her up and carry her over to the waiting paramedics so they can check her out.

“I can walk, Bryson,” she protests, her purse now clutched in her arms.

“I need this, baby,” I reply, gently setting her down on the waiting gurney.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see Doss bringing another person down the ladder and realize I need to get back to work.

Hitting my mic, I ask, “How many more, Chief?”

“Looks like ten more, Cambridge, but we’ve got them. You stay with your girl and make sure she’s okay.”

“Ten-four, sir,” I reply. Looking around, I see the cat carrier sitting off to the side, out of the way so I walk over and pick it up. “Hey, guys, this has been a scary day for y’all, huh?”

With all the pent-up energy I have, I feel myself wanting to pace, but instead I walk back to Jory’s side and lean down. My mask now off, I lean in and gently kiss her forehead. “You doing okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, honey,” she replies, her voice slightly raspier than normal. “Are Mr. Whiskers and Cheeto okay?”

“Looks like they’re good, but we’ll take them to get checked out once you’re cleared.”

I glance at the pulse oximeter and see her oxygen stats are good so I ask the paramedic, “Can I take her home now?”

Boki, the paramedic taking care of Jory, glances at the stats once more, jots something down on a form, then nods. “She’s good, Bryson. Take her and her cats and get out of here.” Looking at her he says, “Jory, you did a good job staying calm and saving your kittens.”

“I wasn’t calm, though. I was so scared,” she replies. “But I knew I had to do something to give us the best chance to make it out of this alive.”

Chief’s voice comes through my mic. “Cambridge, you’re off shift. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yes, sir. Are we able to get to the parking lot yet?”

“No vehicles survived, Cambridge.”

I grin because it means we’re going to have to walk through town to the fire station where my truck is parked. “Understood.”

* * *

Normally after a fire, our turn outs go into a bin to be cleaned as we have multiple sets for just this very reason, then I shower and put on a fresh uniform. Since my focus is on Jory who’s been strangely quiet, I don’t waste that time. Instead, I grab my keys from my locker, then take her hand in mine with the other holding the cat carrier and head out to where my truck is parked.

Once we’re inside with the cats secure in the backseat, she starts giggling, which sets off an inner alarm.

“Sweetheart? What’s going on in your head right now?”

“Years ago, when I was going through hell with the wound care debridements, and the surgeries for the skin grafts, you saved my sanity. It was your voice, when you told me to ‘hang on, kitten’ that got me through, Bryson. Even though we didn’t know each other back then, and you probably never gave me another thought, it was that simple statement that got me through all of it. Then today, when I realized the building was on fire, my first thought was, ‘Bryson will save me again’ while I was doing what I could to help by getting the kittens to safety and making sure I had my purse, which has the last picture of me and my mom in it. Honey, I have nothing now, and somehow, I have everything.”

Her words are so profound, yet so simple that for a second, I’m caught off guard. Because I did think about her many, many times over the years. She was the one I compared everyone else to, even my ex-wife. While she was young and I wouldn’t have gone there then, I somehow knew she had a backbone of steel.

“I have everything too, Jory. As long as you’re by my side, I have everything.”

She leans over the console and kisses me, it’s filled with hope and promise, one I intend to foster with love, attention, and affection.

“Let’s go home, baby. Get cleaned up and ready for tomorrow.”

“You mean I can still get my tattoos done?”

“I don’t see why not. You didn’t get injured, have no signs of smoke inhalation, and are perfectly healthy otherwise.”

“Good news,” she whispers as I put the truck in gear and head home. Well, first to the vet to get the kittens checked out and then home. Because now that she has nowhere to live, it’s going to be with me.

* * *

I take Peaches out while Jory showers, having given her a t-shirt and a pair of sweats. They’re going to hang on her, but until we can get her some clothes, it’s the best I’ve got. She mentioned calling Desi to see if she could pick up a few things for her, since it’s highly likely not everyone made it out of the fire alive based on what Doss texted me.

Which means my woman is going to have to come face-to-face with people who lived in her building that didn’t survive this fire. I worry about what that will do to her emotionally, then decide I’ll take my cues from her.

“Come on, Peaches, let’s go,” I yell as the puppy noses around the chicken coop. When she growls, I head in that direction, the hairs on the back of my nape standing up. “What did you find, girl?” I ask as I get closer to where she’s standing, her growls growing in intensity.

Seeing the large rat snake, I start to chuckle, then call her to me. “That’s a good one, Peaches. It’ll eat any bad snakes that try to come around our girls, and all it asks for is an egg or two occasionally.” I make a note to mention that to Jory; no sense in her getting scared half to death because she sees a snake around. As Peaches follows me back into the house, I note that the garden is looking good. Jory has been coming out and tending to it whenever I’m on shift. I also noticed that she putters around the house, because my laundry is once again caught up, and I got a text from the dry cleaners that my uniforms are ready for pick up.

Back inside, I close and lock the door, then check the front as well. Satisfied that we’re safe and secure, I grab two water bottles and head back upstairs to see Jory sitting up on the bed, our bed, the two kittens running around. Now I’m glad we set up one of the spare rooms as a ‘cat room’ which means there’s a baby gate in front of the open door so Peaches can’t get into their food or litter box. They also have a cat tree in there as well.

“Here, sweetheart,” I say, handing her the bottle of water. “You want to give Desi a call and see if she can go shopping and grab you some clothes? I’m pretty sure Mr. Grey is going to need y’all in the next day or two and while I think you look adorable, he might not.”

Her giggles are a welcome sound to my ears, that’s for damn sure. I gather some clean clothes so I can take my own shower, grateful to get the sweaty, sooty, uniform off.

“I do have one bit of good news,” she advises before I head into the bathroom.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Well, I have renter’s insurance, so even though I’m positive all of my things are lost, either to fire, smoke, or water damage, I’ll be able to replace what I need. I also need to call my auto insurance company about my car. Pretty sure it’s a goner too.”

“It is.”

“How do you know?”

“Because the explosion we heard was one of the other cars going up in flames and it caused massive, irreparable damage to the rest that were parked there, yours included. Doss let me know.”

“Well, alrighty then. Looks like we’ll be going shopping, huh?” she teases, even though her voice is shaky.

“Whenever you want, baby.”

Leaving her to call Desi, I finally step into the bathroom and close the door, anxious to get stripped down so I can get clean. While I love what I do for a living, the aftermath isn’t all that great.