AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded. “Sometimes I do. My buddy, Jake, is a better driver than me, though, so I let him drive the engine most of the time.”
“Doesn’t it hurt to be in a fire?” another kid interjected from the front row.
I spent the next five minutes answering the typical questions about my job before wrapping it up and handing out the Minden Rogers Fire Department sticker badges we ordered to give out anytime we interacted with children in the area.
The kids were dismissed to recess, and Ms. Collins came over. “Thanks so much for coming out. The kids really enjoy hearing from you. I think they get tired of listening to me,” she said with a giggle. Ms. Collins seemed nice. She was young and probably fresh out of school.
She was quite a bit different from Mrs. Waverly, the grumpy woman I remembered being my second-grade teacher.
I smiled. “It’s my pleasure.” I glanced around the hallway as she walked me out. “It’s changed a lot around here since I was a student.”
Her eyebrows raised. “You went to school here? How long ago was that?”
I chuckled. “Too long, apparently.” I turned thirty-four last month, but doing the math on that seemed ill-advised. Thirty-four years and the farthest I’d been from Minden was a trip to Florida two years ago. I still felt like I was finding sand in my suitcase from that week.
While my best friend couldn’t wait to get out, leaving Minden had never been on my radar. Since high school, I’d slowly been working my way through the ranks of the fire department, starting as a volunteer and eventually becoming part of the full-time detail. Two years ago, I was named captain of the A shift.
I waved to the secretary before walking out to my truck and heading to the hospital. Greencastle was about fifteen minutes from Minden, and about three times the size. I wanted to see Sharon as soon as I was able to. I knew the chief couldn’t give me any details, but I was still itching for information. How could I know how to help if I didn’t know what was wrong?
I waved to the receptionist. “Hey, Janet. I’m here to see Sharon Daughtry.”
Janet gave me the room number. “Oh, and your sister said to stop by if you were here today.”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t realize you were her personal secretary.”
She laughed. “I’m just the messenger.”
My sister, Monica, was a nurse in the ER. She knew me better than anyone in the world, so it was no surprise that she knew I’d swing by to see Sharon.
I decided to go there first. It was entirely possible Monica would be busy and unable to talk, but then I’d be able to try again later. The nurses’ station in the ER was busy, but not chaotic. That was a good sign. When things were frantic around here, it meant people were in real trouble.
I saw Monica across the open space and ducked by the desk so she couldn’t see me. Another nurse, Jennifer, looked at me with laughter in her eyes, and I put my finger to my lips. I crouched and sneaked along the edge of the round desk until I came to the end where Monica was working on the computer. Then I jumped up, saying her name. I didn’t yell, because I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I wasn’t exactly quiet.
Her hand flew to her heart, and her look of surprise turned to irritation and then happiness. “Geez, Bryce. Don’t do that to someone. You about gave me a heart attack!”
I looked around the emergency department. “If you’re going to have one, it might as well be here.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to see you.”
I laughed. “So, you had Janet tell me you did because….?”
She waved a hand. “I knew you’d be here to see Mrs. Daughtry. Didn’t want to feel left out.”
I leaned my forearms on the desk. “Miss me, sis?”
“Not even a little,” she joked. “But it wouldn’t kill you to call Mom every now and then. She worries. Especially when you are on shift.”
Guilt twinged in my conscience. “I know. I’ll set a reminder to call her at the end of my shift so she knows I’m safe.” Usually by the time 8 A.M. rolled around for shift change, I wanted nothing more than a big meal and to fall into bed. Even on nights with no calls, sleep at the fire station wasn’t the same. Knowing that you could get woken up at any time made it hard to settle in.
“Good,” she said absently as she shuffled through papers.
“What can you tell me about Sharon?”
Monica’s eyes flicked to mine. “You know I can’t share any info.” She paused. “She’s going to be okay. With time.”
I nodded. Even in a small town, the threat of HIPAA violations was serious. Monica wouldn’t break that trust, even for me.
“I’ll go see her, then.”
