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I’ll take pleasure in watching the flames dance together, resembling two bodies dancing a waltz. The crackles and snaps grow louder, smoke billowing into the air, filling the night sky.
As it reaches its climax, I’ll be coming close to my own.
I’ve got it down to an exact science.
Everything is timed perfectly to the blaring sounds of the alarm, just before the large red truck comes into sight.
I know they love what I do. They come every time.
Each of them races inside, yearning to be a part of my art.
It’s a high I’ll never get tired of.
Is there anything more beautiful than fire?
Just one. Her. Her beauty far surpasses it.
Chapter one
Alexis
“Alex, can I see you in my office for a minute?” the captain beckons from his open office door.
“Sure, just let me finish restocking and I’ll be right there,” I holler back as I finish supplying the rescue truck from our last call.
“That’ll be fine.” He tilts his head back down, scrutinizing the papers in his hand intensely.
Anxious jitters course through me, anticipating what he could want.
I’m still the newbie, only transferring in about six months ago. I’m also the only woman on the team. A lot of the men don’t like it, especially the old-timers.
When they look at me, they see a petite woman and immediately jump to the conclusion that I can’t hold my own. It also doesn’t help that I let my old captain coerce me into making a calendar, and the more provocative pictures they forced me to take don’t help my credibility.
I hated every minute of it, but when your captain tells you that your job is on the line—well, you do it. It’s in those moments I wished my mom was still around to give me guidance and my dad to kick his ass, but my family died from a carbon monoxide leak in our home.
Hell, I would have too if I hadn’t been spending the night with a friend. I lost not only my parents but my baby brother that fateful night. Living with my grandparents after that put me on the right path for my future.
I worked hard and went to school to be an EMT. It was a certification I knew would give me a leg up at the fire academy.
The days were long and grueling, not just from the physicality of the training but from the taunts and leering looks of my fellow cadets. But, I persevered and now I’m a full-fledged firefighter.
I know my parents are up in heaven, smiling down at me.
It’s also how I met my fiancé.
He was involved in a motor vehicle accident that we responded to. At the time, I didn’t pay attention to his good looks, but a month later, he tracked me down, bringing me flowers, and I fell for his charm.
It was just after I arrived at my current station and now five months later we’re just shy of two weeks from being married. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Lionel Newton.
With the last of the stock in my hand placed in the designated spot on the truck, I head over to see the captain.
A gnawing sensation eating away at my gut has me anxious. Did he see the calendar? Is he upset about it and thinks it will cause trouble at his station?
I’m constantly plagued with the fear of it coming back one day to bite me in the ass. When I put in for a transfer, I purposefully left that off of my request. Maybe that was a mistake and I should’ve been upfront from the beginning.
When I reach his door, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Lifting my hand, I gently knock three times, but the sound still echoes in the station.
“Come in!” he bellows from the other side.
