“Good morning, Tessa,” the older gentleman says as he slides into one of the red vinyl booths, the local newspaper in one hand. I’m fairly certain most of the articles in that thing are about town gossip.
“Morning, Tom. What can I get for you?” I ask, leaning a hip against the side of the table as I force a smile down at him. I don’t think I can handle being asked how I’m doing right now, and if I let the happy facade slip, that’s exactly what will happen.
“Just coffee for now,” he says, setting the newspaper on the table. “Aaron and Leah should be here shortly.” The two don’t typically joinhim for breakfast. Aaron’s either busy with work or volunteering at the station, and his sister, Leah is a stay-at-home mom to two small children.
I raise a brow. “Any special occasion?” I don’t remember the last time I saw Leah come in. Aaron often stops in for coffee, and between the fire station and Luke’s bookstore, I see him pretty frequently.
“Trying to plan a surprise birthday party for my wife.” He chuckles. “But nothing gets past her. Figured it was safer for us to meet here instead of having ‘em come to the house.”
I laugh. “That makes sense. I’ll grab that coffee for you and be right back.” Standing in front of the shelves of colorful coffee mugs, my eyes wander over each one, debating which would be perfect for the retired police officer. Settling on a navy blue mug with white lettering that says “Not all heroes wear capes,” I fill it with coffee and creamer, keeping it simple the way he usually orders.
The bell above the door chimes as Liv walks in, moving her sunglasses to the top of her head. I offer her a tight-lipped smile as I take Tom his coffee. “Here you go. I’ll check back in with you once the other two have arrived.” He thanks me and turns his attention to his newspaper.
I move back toward the counter, slipping behind it as Liv slides onto one of the barstools. “Okay, tell me what’s going on,” she says, folding her arms on the counter in front of her and leaning forward. Her auburn hair is pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head, a few strands hanging down to frame her face. The smattering of freckles across her nose and cheekbones is highlighted by the hint of blush dusting her cheeks. She’s wearing an oversized black logo shirt from The Stampede with a loose knot tied in front. The logo includes a horseshoe sittingsideways to frame the outer edge of the letter P, designed by a local artist in town.
“I haven’t heard from Logan.” The words taste bitter on my tongue, intensifying the feeling of unease. I run through all of my thoughts with her, explaining how he was meant to join us for breakfast and was looking forward to taking Jake to school, but he didn’t show up. I even tell her how, realistically, I know he’s likely been pulled away for work. I’m no stranger to a first responder’s schedule, and this isn’t the first time he has been late for something or we’ve needed to change our plans due to his work, but it’s the first time without communication.
She reaches across the counter and settles her hand on mine. “What can I do to help? I can text Grayson and see if he knows what’s going on, but if he is on duty, I doubt he’ll answer. If they were called out, that means he’s busy too.”
The offer settles something inside of me. I’m not the only person who has someone they care about at Hartridge F.D.
“I’m trying really hard not to panic. I know that odds are, he’s fine. They both are. But—”
“What happened to Ryan was an accident, Tess. I get that it’s something a part of you will always hold on to. But you have to trust that whatever is going on, Logan knows what he’s doing. Just because he hasn’t called or texted back doesn’t mean something is wrong. It just means he’s busy. He likely doesn’t even have his phone on him if they got called out. He would be putting himself and the rest of the crew at risk if he were to take the time to text you back instead of focusing on whatever it is they’re dealing with.”
I know she’s right. But there’s still a piece of me that desperately needs the confirmation. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until I see him for myself.
The bell above the diner’s entry door chimes as it swings open, a woman with dark hair walking over to Tom Mercer’s booth and sliding in on the opposite side of him.
Leah Mercer.
There’s an invisible tether in my chest pulling me back over to their table, my feet dragging along the floor.
“Sorry I’m late, Dad,” Leah says, setting her purse beside her. “Aaron can’t make it. He left me a message a little bit ago saying he was on his way to help with the fire at Rideout Ranch.”
And just like that, every worst case scenario I can possibly imagine comes crashing through my mind—each one hinges on the fear of again losing the man I love.
Chapter forty-three
Logan
Mostcampersdon’trealizethe potential hazard that comes with leaving a campfire unattended. Even one that’s died down to a smolder can be the start of a raging wildfire. All it takes is for one ember to pop or for the wind to kick up and breathe life back into the dying flames.
Rideout Ranch is forty-five acres of campgrounds, riding trails, a main lodge, and a large stable for boarding horses owned by the Walker family, and if we hadn’t gotten here when we did, they could have lost everything. One lone campfire, abandoned with burning coals, reignited last night when the wind picked up. The people camping had retired to their cabins for the night after the flames of their campfire had burned out. Despite the many signs posted around the area and the information packets given to campers at check-in, they opted not to douse the hot coals with water and assumed the fire would burn out completely on its own.
They assumed wrong.
Reinforcements were called in to drop fire retardant around the perimeter while groups worked to dig out a fire line. Thankfully, the Rideout Ranch campgrounds are well-maintained and easily accessible to the trucks our station has. Had the fire been anywhere else, we likely would have needed to call in Hotshots. It took us hours to get the fireunder control, and in the process, Rideout Ranch lost nearly ten acres of land, including a dozen cabins located on that stretch of property. We got lucky that only a few of those dozen cabins were occupied and nobody was severely injured. But Rideout is the Walker family’s livelihood. Losing that many cabins is going to be quite the financial hit, and it all could have been avoided if the people responsible would have paid more attention and followed the rules.
Rules that are set and expected to be followed for a reason.
The ones who caused the fire simply said they didn’t think properly extinguishing their campfire was a big deal and thought this kind of incident only happens in the movies. Now they will likely face charges and forever carry the guilt of what they have done.
Exhaustion and the acrid smell of smoke cling to me as I heave myself up into the brush truck, my body melding into the seat as I place the firecoms on and pick up my phone from where I left it while we dealt with the fire. Cain climbs in beside me and gets the truck fired up. My stomach sinks when I see the countless missed calls and text messages from Tessa. The last text came in not too long ago, so I decide to check those first.
I swipe to her most recent message.
Darlin:I’m at the bookstore with Luke. He seems completely relaxed and says you’re fine. I hope he’s right. I just need you to be okay, Lo. I can’t lose you. We can’t lose you. I will come over there and run through the damn fire myself if it means you’ll be safe. Please, please call me as soon as you can. I love you.
