“I’m sure you’re right,” Doris said. “This is exciting in so many ways. I’ll coordinate bringing the whole family over at once. I think Jack is trying to go back to work tomorrow, but we can get the family over and settled and help them put together a nice family meal for when he gets home from work.”
“I’ll text you.” Natalie walked Doris out to her car.
“Sheila, can you come help me with this?” Tucker scooted a big chalkboard to the door.
“Coming!” She ran over and held up the other end.
“It’s not heavy, it’s just so wide it’s awkward to pick up and get through the doorway.”
“I see that. I’ll get this end and we can come in sideways.” Sheila shimmied through the doorway first, and then Tucker took the weight and set it on the ground.
“You’re a good partner. Ever consider joining the fire department? I’m always looking for people who think fast on their feet.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, but I don’t think I’m cut out to be a fireman.”
“We call everyone a firefighter these days,” he said. “And some of my best are women.”
“Really, well alrighty then. I don’t like to get dirty.”
“I guess I could see that about you.” He lifted her hands, turning them over. “Those nails would be history in a hurry, and your hands… they are softer than a child’s. Very nice.”
“Thank you.” She retracted her hand, curling her fingers in. “I guess when you were a little boy, you always wanted to be a fireman.”
“No. Not at all.” Tucker crossed one long, lean leg over the other. “I grew up in a small mountain town, kind of like this one. Pine Creek. Nature and wilderness are what captured my imagination. As a kid, I dreamed of being a lumberjack.”
“I can honestly say I’ve never known anyone who wanted to be a lumberjack.”
“What? Not a Paul Bunyan fan?”
“Never yearned for a blue ox either.”
He laughed. “I’d roam the woods exploring and climbing trees. Cutting dead limbs. Made my mom a wreck. She just knewI was going to fall to my death by climbing trees. She kept encouraging me to think of something safer.”
“So you chose to be a firefighter.”
His laugh came out like a rattle of small stones. “Hardly. I think she was hoping I’d be a doctor or an accountant or something like that.”
“Oh yeah, not exactly the outdoorsman type of career.”
“Not at all.” He crossed his arms, taking in a breath. “A raging fire swept through the area, destroying acres and acres of land near our house. We had to evacuate, and I remember begging my mom to let me stay and help put out that fire. Watching it burn my trees, that forest. It was part of my home. Part of me.”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve. I watched the brave firefighters as we left with what we could grab. I remembered being struck by their courage and selflessness. They put their lives on the line to save our house. They didn’t even know us. Seeing them so fearless and with no hesitation…” He tapped his fist on his chest. “It changed my outlook on life forever. I knew I wanted to be like them and help my community.”
“That’s an inspiring story.”
“I joined the junior firefighters’ program, but then we moved. I think my mom hoped I’d forget it about when we moved here and they didn’t have a junior program.”
“But you didn’t?”
“I didn’t. I read every book I could get my hands on and as the information became available on the internet, I’d print out reams of paper at school and bring them home to study at night.”
“It was burning inside of you.”
“I see what you did there. Funny.” His eyes twinkled.
She touched her face, self-conscious.
