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Chapter One
Lance
I entered the fire station feeling like I was home again. There was something about the atmosphere of a fire station that really embraced me and made me feel alive. It was as if the time I spent away from there was just an intermission until I could be where I wanted to be. It had been my calling since I was ten years old and I’d never looked back.
“Hey, Lance,” Davey Nelson said slapping me a high five as I entered the building. Davey was a newbie, but he was learning fast. One of the funniest guys around, he could always make you laugh without even trying. Half the time he didn’t even know he’d said something funny. The guy was just happy to have a job. He was newly married with a brand-new baby at home. I did not envy that situation at all.
“How’s it going,” I asked Davey as I half turned to him. I didn’t really care, but I always liked to be polite. We had to operate as a family unit here. You didn’t want to piss off guys who most likely at one time or another would have your very life in their hands. That was the nature of the fire game.
“Good,” Davey said wiping his eyes.
“Ah, you look beat man. When did your shift start?”
“Like an hour ago,” he said.
I raised my eyebrows. “Damn, you better be drowning in coffee soon. You look like you are about to collapse, my friend.”
“Yeah, the baby was up all night screaming her head off. There was nothing wrong as far as I could tell. I let Amy sleep, and I tried everything I could think of; I gave her a bottle, rocked her, sang to her, held her, I even drove her around the block for like a half hour—nothing worked. Finally, right about five this morning she conked out. So, I’m on about three hours sleep.”
He seemed almost proud of it. I tried to sound supportive. “Um… yeah man. That’s pretty rough. But it’s totally worth it, right?”
The man smiled from ear to ear. He looked as happy as anyone I’d ever seen. “Yeah. She’s my angel,” he said.
“Glad to hear it,” I replied quickly. “Look I got to go get ready for my shift. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Take it easy man.”
I walked away from the conversation feeling a bit depressed. Talking to a new father and husband like Davey would do that to you. I was happy for the guy, but I honestly didn’t get the appeal. I was having too much fun being me, to even think about settling down and donning the dad hat. And I especially didn’t want to be anyone’s husband. Half of all marriages end in divorce, with the primary breadwinner paying a ton of cash to the other one, and then there’s child support. It was ridiculous. Plus, I’d seen what my parents went through in their marriage. They yelled and screamed at each other pretty much nonstop the entire time I was growing up. It was awful.
I went to my locker and sat my stuff down, getting settled in. I hung up my coat and I pulled out my gym clothes, squared away for a good workout later, and then I went to the breakroom to grab some coffee. I had to start my morning right. I’d already gone for my morning jog as always, but the station had a great weight room in it. We were very lucky to have such a state-of-the-art gym in our very own firehouse.
“How’s the morning crew?” I asked as I entered and headed for the coffee pot.
A few of them murmured. They all looked unhappy to be there. I didn’t get that. I woke up every day pumped to come to work, but they were all sitting around practically whining about getting to do one of the coolest jobs on the planet where we might actually save some lives that day.
I poured my coffee into one of the large Styrofoam cups. I turned around and leaned against the counter. I watched them all with a bit of pity as they tried to wake themselves up. I had to laugh.
“Wow… you guys look really sad,” I said. “Why am I the only one who loves coming here in the morning?”
Neil Watson grunted. “Because you are the only one who doesn’t have to come here,” he replied.
