"I'm going to bottle up that reaction," she says with a soft giggle.
"Do you use magic while cooking?" I ask, pouring us glasses of wine.
"A little with vegetables and fruits. I can punch up the flavor a bit."
"That's really cool, you know."
"Thank you," Joelle says, looking shyly away. "But what you do is cool as well. Well, more than cool. Amazing. Risking your life the way you do."
"I enjoy it. I grew up wanting to be a firefighter, so I guess it is a dream job."
During dinner, the conversation is easy with her. There's something about Joelle that disarms my defenses, and I find it easy to laugh with her. I had that ability with my wife briefly, but it was short-lived. And then I spent the next few years lying to myself that I would somehow find it again, but failing to do so.
On the drive back to my place, I roll down the windows and breathe in the chilly spring evening air. I don't know what to do with myself because it's obvious I am falling for her.
But she's just being kind and doing me a favor.
Laughingat something dumb Jake just said, I take a bite of my sandwich right as the alarm sounds. We drop our food and run to the apparatus bay. I throw on my turnout pants and gear and jump into the truck while tossing on my jacket. Captain Walters confirms the address, and my heart sinks into my stomach when I hear the street name. Bradford.
Shit. That's the same road Joelle lives on.
The truck wails down the streets as I try to focus and not worry about Joelle. When we arrive, I see that it's a house just a few doors down from hers. Our captain makes a quick size-up. We grab our tools and hose lines off the truck, then I mask up with my SCBA face piece, activating the airflow.
Jake forces entry, and we crawl low into the smoky interior following the hose line. My teammates and I search for anybodytrapped, but the house appears empty. Visibility is basically zero with all the heavy smoke.
After twenty minutes, my SCBA low-air alarm sounds, showing just 25% remaining.
Shit. There's something wrong with this unit.
I head back to the front, but I run out of air before I reach the exit and have to take it off, exposing myself to the super-heated smoke. I stumble outside, gripping my tightening chest, and beeline it to Captain Walters.
Immediately, he waves over the paramedics, who work on me in the front yard with the ambulance just a few yards away.
"Rest here. I'm getting you some water," one says as she rushes off.
Waiting, I look across the street, and a familiar shock of auburn hair catches my eye.
8
Joelle
I watch as the paramedics work on Evrard, forcing myself to stand still and not run across the street to check on him. His captain walks over, kneeling down to talk to him. Evrard gestures my way, and I hear him say, "That's the woman I'm falling for."
My heart stops. Did he really just say that? The words echo in my head, and I feel heat creep up my neck. He's falling for me? Not pretending? Not faking it for his grandmother? Actually falling.
After about ten to fifteen minutes, I watch Evrard peel off his turnout coat, drinking water as his fellow firefighters make good work of the house fire. He catches my eye and gives me a small smile and a wave, so I walk over.
"Are you alright?"
"I mean, now I'm totally okay. It can happen. My device failed, so I inhaled some smoke, but it's all good. I promise," he says, giving me a grin that makes my heart slam against my ribs.
"You sure? When they were working on you, I got really worried," I admit.
That was the understatement of the year. When I saw him stumble out of the burning house, watching the paramedics rush to him, my entire world tilted. The thought of losing him, this man I barely know but can't stop thinking about, terrified me in a way I've never experienced.
"I'm totally sure," he says, forcing himself up and brushing off his pants. "In fact, let me walk you back to your house. I should check on the neighbors as well, make sure everything and everyone is okay."
We walk in silence to my house. When we reach the door, I turn to him, a bolt of courage washing over me.
