Dallas Fire & Rescue: Undamaged (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Regina Kammer

Author:Regina Kammer [Kammer, Regina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2016-10-10T18:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

Life into perspective.

A switch flipped inside Royce. An emotional switch. He stood abruptly, then paced.

“The counselors said we should confess,” he said. “Should divulge what sent us over the edge, and apologize for our past conduct to our friends and family. They said it was a step to rebuilding bridges with estranged loved ones.” He faced her. “I don’t have anyone here. I mean, I should say—” shit, this was difficult “—I’ve only made a connection with one person here.” He drew in a breath. “You.”

The color rose in her cheeks. She glanced away, perhaps composing herself. She shifted in her chair and looked up at him. “I’m honored to be here for you, Royce. I’m happy to listen.”

He closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts. He hadn’t worked it through. He assumed it would just pour out of him. Where to begin?

“I failed. I killed a girl.”

The ice clinked in Samantha’s glass then stilled.

“I mean, I watched as a little girl fell through the floor. I let her die. I was dumbstruck in the middle of a burning apartment complex. I’d never had that happen before. But she looked like my niece, Charlotte—Charlee.” His lungs constricted. “My precious Charlee that I had spent a year nursing back to health. Something inside me snapped. What if I lost her?”

He couldn’t look at Samantha. So he looked at the dimming firmament instead.

“Back in California, my crew and I used to get drunk after a fire, you know, let loose. Have a bender for a night to let off steam. Sometimes it would last longer than a night. Working the lines was grueling, demanding the body and soul of a man or woman. We drank to forget and we forgot.”

An ache cramped behind Royce’s eyes. “But it was different in Dallas, different after the…incident. At home every fucking day Charlee was there to remind me of my failure.” Tears burned his lashes. “I love Charlee with every fiber of my being, but instead of joy, seeing her, thinking of her brought pain and regret. No amount of drinking could relieve the pain.”

Shit. There. He said it.

Sorrow and relief overtook him. He turned his back to Samantha as his body convulsed with sobs, his eyes squeezing to dam the tears.

Her arms wrapped around his waist, her warmth instantly consoling. She hugged him tightly, her body melding against his back, her cheek against his shoulder.

He breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly, letting her comfort melt his pain.

“I cannot imagine what you must have gone through,” she said softly.

“I drank for over a week straight after that. Drinking with the crew after a wildfire was a party. In Dallas, there was no celebration. The guilt eats me up every damn day.” He stared at the twilight slowly morphing into night. “I froze, I failed. And now I fear I’ll never be able to return to the lines.”

He turned in her embrace and placed his hands on her shoulders. She smiled up at him.

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