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Rafe set the fire extinguisher down by his feet then used his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow. “I’m out,” he called to his siblings.
“Me too,” Ollie said, pulling back from the fire.
Abby was on to her third extinguisher, a steely look of determination in her dark brown eyes as she bravely attacked the flames. But Wolf had backed away from the car and begun hosing down the rose bushes on the other side of the stone wall bordering his sister’s garden.
Being so close to the fire, they’d started smouldering, and his future brother-in-law had obviously decided a rescue attempt was in order, especially now the fire brigade was barrelling up Bennett’s Road, sirens blaring and lights flashing.
Thirty seconds later, two Land Cruisers pulled to a halt in front of The Forge. The first was Scott’s police cruiser, the second was the local Rural Fire Service vehicle. Rafe stepped back, pulling Abby with him, giving the firies room to move and do their job.
His sister let out a growl of frustration and dropped the empty fire extinguisher on the ground at her feet.
Ollie helped drag her back to the veranda, where she collapsed into Wolf’s arms and watched in defeat at the sight of the fire taking hold again. Rafe chucked her under her chin and offered her a small smile. His baby sister felt everything so deeply.
Scott made his way over to where they sat on the stairs. He wasn’t in uniform though, dressed instead in blue jeans, leather boots and a dress shirt.
Doctor Chen walked by his side with a first aid kit in her hand, her usual doctor’s garb replaced with a flowing floral dress that accentuated her athletic figure. Her hair was down too, and her lips now held a distinct shade of red she hadn’t been wearing when he’d seen her in the clinic.
And Rafe wasn’t the only one to notice.
“I hope our little emergency didn’t interrupt anything,” Ollie said, a hint of…somethingsouring his tone. Jealousy, perhaps? But that didn’t seem right.
“Stop pouting, pretty boy,” Scott said. “You had your chance.”
Marie shot a look at the police Sergeant, one brow raised. “You want a second date?” she said, leaving no room for doubt she’d dump his arse here and now if he said the wrong thing.
“Ah… yeah.”
“Then zip it.” Then she turned to Rafe and narrowed her gaze as she looked him over. “You have glass stuck in your face.”
“Shit. That’ll be from the exploding window.” Gingerly, he touched his cheek where it hurt the most and felt the tiny shard of glass. “Can you get it out before Jane sees it? She’s freaking out enough as it is.”
Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, the doc went to work. Rafe sat as still as possible as she tweezed out the glass and cleaned the wound, which meant grinding his teeth together so tightly he thought his molars would crack.
“You don’t need stitches,” she said. “Steri-strips will do fine. Just keep the wound clean and re-apply the strips if needed.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“Anyone else?” she asked, pulling off her gloves and reaching for a fresh pair. But his siblings all declined the offer, and by the time Marie packed up the first aid kit, Jane’s Jeep was a smouldering heap of scrap metal, broken glass and melted plastic.
But at least the fire was out.
The head of the local brigade strode with purpose towards their little gathering on the veranda.
James Turner had been the co-ordinator of the RFS for as long as Rafe could remember. All the Bennett’s had trained under him at Ulysses’ insistence, and Oliver still volunteered when they needed an extra pair of hands during bushfire season.
He was also the good police Sergeant’s father.
“Evening all,” he said, lifting his hand in greeting.
The older man opened his mouth to say more but the screen door swung open and banged against the wall of the house. Ulysses appeared, carrying a tray of mugs and a large thermos. “Evening, James.”
“Uly.”
Then Jane brought out a tray filled with sandwiches and the tiny honey cakes she’d baked that afternoon and set them down, and suddenly four more firefighters appeared out of the darkness.
“Amazing how fast they pack up when there’s free food to be had,” James said, winking at Jane, then raised his voice. “Of course if it’s not packed away correctly, the whole team while be running suicide sprints for a week.”
A collective groan sounded as the four disappeared again. “Save us some,” one of them threw over their shoulder.
