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That night, Honey scarfed down her meal and then climbed on the couch with me. She curled up beside me, watching television alertly. With Tiffany waiting in the SUV on the way back from the rescue program, I’d swung by the grocery store and cruised the pet section for a dog bed, collar, leash, a few toys, and food.
“You’re all set,” I said a bit later as I put the dog bed on the floor beside my bed.
It was a giant fluffy bed. Honey clambered into it, happily nuzzling in after circling several times.
The following morning, I found myself looking over toward Jonah’s place. I knew he was gone, and I couldn’t help but experience a little pang in my chest. I scoffed mentally.He’s just your neighbor. So what if you’ve kissed him twice? It means nothing.
Yet I liked knowing he was there through the trees and missed his presence.
ChapterFifteen
Jonah
A gust of wind blew a blast of heat and smoke toward me. I turned my face away, staying focused. As if on cue, I heard the distinct sound of a helicopter ahead and looked up to see one approaching and dropping fire retardant as another followed with water.
I kept at my work, clearing underbrush steadily. We’d been dealing with this fire and creating a perimeter deep in the wilderness. The fire was threatening a nearby rural community. Although the wind had been fighting us, it was finally changing direction, so we hoped to get a clear perimeter established in the next day or so.
I heard a voice and glanced back to see Chase approaching. He called over, “River up ahead. Let’s keep working until we get across it.”
“You got it.”
A few hours later, I leaned back on my elbows on the ground, looking toward the sky. Rain was falling steadily now. I glanced toward Graham, commenting, “What’s the scoop on this rain?”
He flashed a grin as he dragged a sleeve across his forehead. “It’s gonna do us a big favor. Slow and steady for the next day or so.”
“Nice!” Rowan called from where he sat on the ground nearby.
After days of hard work, smoke, and heat, it was a relief to just relax in the light falling rain.
“We’re actually going to head out in the next hour or two,” Graham added. “I already radioed for a pickup.”
I grinned, pushing off my elbows to sit up and snag a granola bar out of my backpack. A few hours later, I was gritting my teeth and breathing through the pain.
“I fucking dislocated my knee,” I muttered to Graham.
“It happens,” he said laconically.
“Not to me.”
“Would you prefer something else?” Nate asked dryly from the pilot’s seat.
I let out a sigh. “I suppose not. It just seems like, I don’t know…”
“A lame injury?” Russell offered from the seat beside me.
I glanced at him, rolling my eyes. “Maybe not lame.”
Rowan chuckled from where he sat in front of me. He twisted sideways to meet my eyes. “You’ll be fine. It hurts like hell, though.”
“Have you ever dislocated a knee before?” I asked
“Oddly enough, once in high school. I used to do track, and I landed weird over one of the jumps.”
I glanced down at my leg stretched out in front of me. When I’d been helping load the gear in the helicopter, we’d realized one of the gear packs was missing. I had jumped out to get it. My foot landed on a rock, and I stumbled, dislocating my knee in the process. It fucking hurt like hell.
Rowan and Graham had put it back in place, and now it was throbbing. I took a breath, letting it out slowly. All we had for painkillers was ibuprofen. In all honesty, that was all I wanted. I’d heard enough horror stories about opiates to avoid them for the rest of my life. I’d iced it. Graham insisted that I get checked out at the hospital when we got back.
“How long will it be before I’m back up to speed?” I asked Rowan.
