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“Oh, Dev, you’re the only person who would say that to me. You’re the only person who understands.”
She reached for his hand, spanning the space between their chairs, a man and woman and two dogs, waiting for a shooting star.
Chapter 5
“Here she comes,” Crystal Kendle whispered. “Be nice.”
“I thought we got three days bereavement from this place, and she’s been off for over a week and a half.”
“Lexie, her husband was killed, for Christ’s sake. Have some compassion.”
“This isn’t a social service agency, Crystal. I’m tired of working extra days because other people are treated differently than the rest of us are.”
“When did you ever need time off that you didn’t get?”
“When my grannie died,” Lexie said, “I didn’t get three days! No, I had to get someone else to cover my shift so I could go to the funeral.”
“And who covered you? Aisling Saint. Now shut the hell up, here she is.”
The nurses at the desk crowded around Aisling. The funeral had fallen on a few of their days off, and the memory of the moving ceremony was still talked about—the honor guard and the twenty-one-gun salute from the army and the bagpipes. Mike had been honored in death.
“How are you doing?” they chorused.
“I’m hanging in there. What’s my assignment? If I’m taking care of Mr. Jacob, that will determine how I’m doing today.”
Laughter rang out. Aisling was a worker bee, and even the recent death of her husband wouldn’t change that. Mr. Jacob was a sick, elderly man who’d been at the hospital long over his discharge time in order to find a rehab center that would take him. He hated the nurses, worshiped the doctors, and made sure everyone knew it.
“Well, I don’t know how to tell you this…”
So while Aisling got a report on her first day back to work, Devon took Tilly and Ralph for a walk about his property. They hiked down an embankment where Ray had built a bench out of the granite rocks that made up the terrain. It was a great place to sit with morning coffee and watch the sun rise over the mountains to the east.
The night before, Aisling had left for her own place. It was sad to see her go, but he had a sense of relief as well. The responsibility to think positively and be upbeat for her sake loomed large, but now that she was gone, he could sink to a comfortable level of despair. Being in constant pain because of the burns, recovery from Mike’s death wasn’t getting any easier. He hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, but he knew that Mike had ostensibly died while hanging over his back on the hike out of the fire.
During several interviews, Devon had repeatedly recalled the details of the flight out of the blaze to the fire investigators from ATF until he broke down and they kindly stopped asking what had happened. If the fire was arson, Devon hoped the person responsible would be punished. It wouldn’t help his grief, however. The memory of crouching over Mike, seeing his burnt helmet and turnout gear, and the condition of his skin from the backdraft popped up in the middle of his dreams, or when he talked to Aisling, or while looking in the mirror. Mike was vain, and burn scars on his face would have made him miserable, but it would have been preferable to death.
On the following Tuesday after Aisling returned to work, Lila took Devon to his doctor appointment.
“I don’t have to tell you that you should be in the hospital,” the doctor said with a stern voice. “I’ll get you on the schedule tomorrow to go to the OR to have a little debridement party.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun,” Devon said. “What does it mean?”
“I’ll take a look at your burns while you’re under anesthesia and clean up any dead skin. We can assess if you need grafts at that time. The visiting nurse is reporting that you look pretty good.” With gloved hands, he picked at a scab. “This area on your face by your ear is a little concerning.”
“Whatever you have to do as long as I don’t have to stay overnight. I have dogs, you know.”
“Devon, I can take care of your dogs. Doctor, do what you have to do,” Lila said, frowning.
“Get dressed and my nurse will coordinate the hospital visit before you leave.”
The doctor left and a nurse came in and rebandaged the burns on Devon’s face.
“I can see why sick people go nuts,” he said, getting his shirt on with Lila’s help. “I’ve never required help to get dressed, and see how I expect it now? That’s crap.”
“Devon, you help people all the time. Accept help when you need it.”
“So if you get sick, are you going to ask me to help you get dressed?” he asked, chuckling.
“Probably not, but not for the reasons you’re thinking. By the way, Charlie called. We’re going out for a drink tonight. He worked all weekend or he would have called sooner.”
