The Fireman's Homecoming by Allie Pleiter

Author:Allie Pleiter
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2013-10-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

They ran.

Clark docked the boat so fast he wasn’t even sure he tied it up, grabbing Melba’s hand as they raced up the landing to his car. She was trying to call Barney as she ran, and he was glad she didn’t put up a bit of resistance when he led her to his car so he could drive. He snapped the radio on to hear it crackling with the dispatcher’s voice and replies from various firefighters. Melba made a choking sound as they gave out her address.

“Dad!” She started to cry. “Oh, what’s happened?”

Clark tried to think of something comforting to say, but all that came to mind was to tell her that it was probably nothing more than toast left in the toaster. He couldn’t lie to her like that. Not when he recognized the codes on the radio. He grabbed the handset and identified himself as online as his tires spun the gravel out of the parking lot.

“Where are you?” came his father’s furious growl. After seeing the three missed calls—all within a minute of each other—on his phone, Clark could imagine his father’s angry face.

“I’m with Melba Wingate. We’re on our way.”

“What in the name of...” Pop never got personal over the radio...unless he was livid.

“Not now, Pop, okay?” That broke all kinds of protocol, but Clark didn’t care.

He slammed at the switch on his dashboard that turned on the emergency lights and grabbed Melba’s hand as he roared through town. Dear God, he prayed even as he heard Melba praying and punching numbers on her phone beside him. Don’t make her pay for this. Don’t turn my stupidity into a giant disaster.

As Clark pulled around the engines onto Melba’s lawn, he knew enough not to be shocked by all the smoke—even the smallest fires made lots of smoke—but Melba lost her grip. “Hang on!” He tried to grab her with his eyes, do that thing he knew was his gift when rescuing, pulling victims to him, lending them his confidence. “Just hang on.”

He flew around the car, reaching her as she tumbled out of the seat, not bothering to shut either door. He grabbed her hand and held it tight, scanning the site and the equipment and the sounds to get the fastest assessment of the situation as he could.

“Dad!” Melba shouted. “Where’s my father?”

Jesse Sykes, his hand on a length of hose, pointed toward an ambulance to Clark’s left. “There’s no fire. He’s okay. He’s over there with Barney.”

Melba pulled out of his grasp and headed toward the ambulance at a full run, and Clark let her, knowing he didn’t belong in that scene right now. Jesse could tell him what he needed to know.

“Outbuilding. Old man was digging through some boxes and the place filled with smoke. Not sure how yet—maybe the wiring. Never really went up, though. The guy’s rattled, got a bit of smoke inhalation, but he’s mostly okay.” Jesse pointed to a shed Clark could now see as they walked behind the house.

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