Chapter 2
“Billy, you can get two things.”
The boy, Caroline’s oldest, smiled up at him. Billy was a parents’ dream: he was easy-going, mature for eight and very pleasant. “Okay, Uncle Joe.”
He handed the boy money. “Go up and order. Stay where I can see you.”
Billy beamed. Joe always treated him as an adult. Today, he’d taken the kid to Syracuse to see the Syracuse Mets play against the Rochester Redwings. A wayward thought hit him. He and Jimmy had season tickets for the team. And there was that hole in his heart again.
Billy waited in line then came back with two hotdogs and gave him change after Joe took his dog. “You okay, Uncle Joe? You look sad.”
“Nah. I’m fine.” He nodded to the food. “Didn’t you want a drink?”
“Nope. One’s for you, one’s for me.” He didn’t tell Billy he wasn’t hungry anymore.
“We gotta have something to drink, kiddo.” Joe purchased two sodas and they made their way to the nearest entrance ramp. The raucous crowd cheered for the team as they reached the rows and the sun was starkly bright.
Billy said, “Wow, this is more people than I ever saw before.”
“The Mets are trying for a three-game sweep over the Redwings. Let’s head up.” They climbed the first set of steps, found their row and slid in.
He was halfway through his perfectly cooked hot dog when more fans slid into the row in front of them. He almost choked on his wiener.
The woman looked up at him. No smile. “Hello, Captain Romano.”
“Firefighter Swanson.”
Billy held out his hand. “Hello, I’m Billy Romano.”
Her eyes widened.
“My nephew,” Joe clarified.
The man Swanson was with tugged on her hand. She said, “This is Brad Marlin.”
He said, “Hello, Billy.” He shook hands with the boy. “Captain Romano.”
“You both can call me Joe.”
Swanson flushed.
Brad took her hand. “We’d better sit, honey.”
Joe’s brows shot up. He was more than her friend.
They took seats and Joe had a bird’s-eye view of her legs. She wore a short skirt with a tank top since the day was hot. But it was her bare skin, silky from sunscreen he guessed, that snagged his attention. And a sexy scent drifted up to him. She never wore perfume to work.
She leaned over and her ponytail bobbed. Her luscious hair, which he rarely saw out of the knot at her neck, was a beautiful shade of blonde. She said something to Marlin, he laughed out loud and slid his arm around her. Hell, was Joe going to have to watch this for three hours? Lord help him.
At the game’s end, they said goodbye to the couple then hurried out of their seats and headed out to the car.
After Joe delivered Billy back to his sister’s house, he went home, changed and hit the road for a run. For some reason, he couldn’t get the sight of Lara Swanson and her short skirt out of his mind. He also wondered about the guy she was with. He was handsome and fit. Blond. Did she like blonds? And fuck, what was he doing ?
Well, he was a guy, wasn’t he? Any guy would have noticed her and how she looked. Who she was with.
Yeah, but you’re her officer on your squad.
The reminder made him stumble.
* * *
After breakfast the next day, Captain Romano announced, “It’s Sunday. What does that mean?”
The group moaned, but Lara had come to see that they enjoyed training. For one thing, the drills were relevant. And they were to the point. Lara also found them entertaining since they were usually put into teams to compete, which the guys loved. Not only did they razz each other but they left her alone.
“We’re set up on the left side of the fire station. Follow me.”
They strode out, talking to each other while they headed to a little-used paved area. The sun beamed down, warming the skin on her face and arms. From behind him, she could see the rays highlighting the chestnut strands in Romano’s hair.
When they reached the blacktop, Pike eyed it. “Seriously, Captain?” A confident paramedic, he always had something to say about the training. He referred to the equipment that was usually stored in the rig but now was laid out on the pavement.
Romano didn’t take offense. “Seriously.”
Connors asked, “When did you do this?”
“I came in early.”
“What if we get a call?” Trent asked. He’d was young and only had a year of firefighting under his belt.
“We’re out of service for an hour and a half. So, Lieutenant Connors, what do we do with all this?”
As an officer, Abe would be familiar with the training. “Find the equipment which is not maintained, Cap.”
“That’d be none,” Deluca scoffed.
“Wrong.” This from Romano. He was smirking. “Your task is to walk around and find the four things that are not well maintained.”
Lara was the first to meander among the items then the guys fanned out. She knew that some things were sacrosanct to maintain so she avoided the axes and halligans because in a fire, the instruments were extensions of their hands. She by-passed the SCBA equipment which could cause death if they didn’t work. The gas-powered saw and hydraulic rescue tools were serviced regularly.
“Found one,” Connors called out.
“Me, too.” This from Trent
“The ladders are a mess,” Pike added.
“Keep searching,” Romano encouraged. “There’s four.”
Off to the side, Lara caught sight of the cribbing. Wooden four-by-four pieces of lumber, they chocked up cars, structures and anything else that needed to be lifted. This bunch looked okay, but Lara toed a block over. She turned and yelled, “I found the last one. The cribbing.”
A big smile from Romano. It made her suck in a breath. “Good work, Swanson. What’s wrong with it?”
“The planks you put out are green and splintered on the underside.” Her voice came out husky from that damn grin.
“We used the cribbing last shift. None of that was true.”
“I know, Gage. I found the bad ones among the pile when I was preparing for this drill. For what it’s worth, I should have checked all the planks and thrown these out before we needed them. Who knows why?”
Pike said, “They could split apart when we’re sliding under a raised car or structure.”
“Yep.” The cap had taken out his phone and read from what he’d called up. “Here’s the official report from our manuals. Cribbing is the single-most overlooked adjunct that we carry on our trucks. Catastrophic cribbing failure is responsible for more than 100 fatalities each year. Greater than 99 percent of those failures involved wood cribbing.”
Trent whistled softly. “This exercise might have saved our lives.”
“Did it?” Gabe was an arguer. “Wouldn’t we notice this if we went into the pile at a call.”
“It’s too late to replace it then,” Lara blurted out. “Seconds count on a call.”
“How’d you know it was too late, Swanson?” Gabe’s tone was curious.
“It’s in the Principles of Firefighting . The training text at the academy.”
“What about the rest of you?” Romano asked.
“Understood,” from Trent and Deluca simultaneously.
“Pike?”
“Got it cap.”
Romano smiled. “Good job, everybody. We’ll get this stuff back in the rig then go inside and talk about all this.”
Hands full, they didn’t wait for her and jostled each other as they went ahead. Lara shouldn’t have spoken up, she thought as she picked up some cribbing. But she was sick of being ignored or criticized. Playing the doormat wouldn’t cut it at a firehouse.
* * *
The message crackled over the PA system. “Electrical Fire in Basement. Engine 1 and Truck 2 go into service.
The group bounded up from the dinner table and hurried to the bay. Once they’d donned their gear, they climbed into the rig.
Joe read from his iPad. “Two story residence. Owner reported that her first floor got hot and she hurried to the basement entrance by the back door because her husband was down there. When she opened it, she saw smoke and got scared. She yelled down and there was no answer. Then she had to get out.”
“Holy shit.” Gage shook his head. “The first floor could ignite at any time. And basement fires are dangerous.”
“Why, Lieutenant?” Deluca asked.
“It’s easy to lose your orientation. Electrical fires often produced a faint, white smoke, but the color varies depending on the component that's overheating.This smoke can also beblue, gray and often called magic smoke.”
“It stinks,” Gage said. “Like burning plastic.”
“Make sure,” Joe said in his sternest voice, “that you stay with your group. Pike, what do you do?”
“Stay with the group.”
“Trent?”
“Stay with the group.”
“Swanson?”
“Stay with the group.”
Just as they arrived at the scene, Truck 1 pulled in behind them. Joe jumped out of his shotgun seat and greeted the other officer who was a lieutenant. His own crew dismounted but stayed back; they took out their halligans and pikes.
“I’m handling Incident Command but give your opinion freely. Make it quick.”
Before he could answer, a woman came up to them. “I called the fire department. I’m Ava Jenkins, and my husband is inside.” He noticed her red eyes and shaky hands.
“We’ll find him man. What can you tell me about the basement?”
“George has an office on the left side of the cellar.”
“Anything else we should know?”
“He’s got a ton of electrical stuff down there. A couple of computers, printer, scanner and a radio.”
“I get the picture. Thanks for the info.”
He called his group to come forward. “Engine 1 will go in first, Truck 2 behind us. I want a line at the front door. Connors, get the ? hose. Use the fire plug on the road.”
“Yes sir.”
“Trent, you’re on the rig. Pull out the 1⒈／⒉ in hose. Pike, make sure everything’s a go with that line and lead us in. Connors, take your hose in ahead of the truck guys and search the house, even though the wife reported that no one else was home.” In life and death situations, Joe learned never to take anything for granted. “Swanson, you’re behind me.”
“Yes, Captain.”
They put on their masks and entered the building. It was full of the eerie smoke and they had only partial vision. Despite their gear, they could feel the intense heat. Luckily, the door to the basement was off to the left. Pike went first then Joe. They took a few steps down. “There’s a railing, Swanson, so hold onto it. For god’s sake, don’t fall.”
They traversed the steps slowly. At the bottom of them, they found the owner of the house slumped over.
“Deluca, get him out of here. I think this place is unstable, at best.”
“Yes, Cap.”
Joe said into his radio, “We need another engine at this scene. The basement’s an inferno. It’s sure to go into the first floor.” To Swanson and Pike, he said, “We need to get to the computers and put out this fire.”
“I think I see a high window off to the left.”
“Yeah, Pike. I see it too. We’ll use it to vent.”
The smoke turned darker and Joe could barely see in front of his face. “We’re here,” Joe said into his radio. “Pike, hit it.”
“I need water,” Pike said into his radio just as an explosion rocked the building. More flames shot out from the origin.
Pike lost control of the hose.
Swanson and Joe were rocked back.
A burning timber hit Romano and he went down.
Swanson’s helmet flew off and she was knocked to the floor. Her unprotected head struck the concrete hard.
Pike found the hose and let it loose on the fire. Then he saw Romano and transferred the stream to him.
* * *
“Where’s Swanson?” Joe asked from his cot in the ER. His back stung like hell even though he laid on his side. Every single cell in his body ached.
Gabe pushed back his helmet. They’d come right from the fire. His face was blackened, like the rest of them. The stink of the fire obscured the hospital scents of antiseptic. “She’s right next door.”
“How is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Pull back the curtain.”
Gabe frowned. “Not until the doctor sees you.”
Joe made motions to get up.
“Hold on. Trent’s with her.”
“I said pull it back.”
Gage sighed. Joe could see the worry on his face.
Once the curtain swung back, he saw Lara had a big gauze bandage wrapped around her head. Her eyes were closed. “Hey, Swanson. How you doing?”
She didn’t respond.
“You okay, Lara?” The name was foreign on his tongue. He rarely called her that.
Finally, she said, “Got a killer of a headache. It hurts to talk.”
“Did you see the doc?”
“Yep.” She waited. “How are you doing?”
“The meds calmed my back but it still stings and I got a shitload of bruises.”
“The husband?” she asked huskily.
“Didn’t make it.”
A doctor entered on her side. “You’re going to be admitted, ma’am.”
“That can’t happen.”
The doc stared her down. “I told you, Firefighter Swanson, that you have to stay overnight. You have a severe concussion.”
She glanced nervously at her group. “My home situation prevents that.”
Trent said, “How come?”
“That’s personal. As it is, I’ll be late so I need to call someone.”
“Where’s your phone?”
She shook her head. “Shit. Back at the firehouse.” Only the cap could take his cell on a call.
Joe said, “Give her mine.”
When Connors handed her the phone, she said, “Bobby, would you step over to Joe’s cubicle and close the curtain?”
The guys talked so they wouldn’t overhear her.
For some reason, Joe worried about Swanson. Did she have somebody to bring her clean clothes? To check on her concussion. He knew nothing about her personal life.
* * *
Joe lifted up Adam and twirled him around. “Hey, big guy. How ya hangin’?
The three-year-old laughed.
“Joey, come see your mother.” Maria Romano sat in a lawn chair under a tree at his sister’s backyard. The big picnic table was already set and the scent of sausage from the grill made his mouth water.
He crossed to his parents. “Happy 4th, Ma.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful in pink with your gray hair.”
His father Dennis, who was still strong and strapping, stood and took him in a bear hug. “My boy.” His only remaining son. Joe used to love these family get togethers before Jimmy died. Now, they were tinged with sadness.
Before it overtook him, he put an arm around both his sisters, who’d come up to him. “Hey, girls.”
Caroline leaned into him.
Julia kissed his cheek. “Good to see you, Joey.”
“Back at ya, sis.”
Billy rushed over. “Go get your suit on, Uncle Joe.”
He plucked his bathing trunks. “Already in it.”
Billy grabbed his hand. “Then let’s go in.”
Caroline drew her son back. “Not yet, Billy, we want to chat with Uncle Joey.”
Billy hung his head. “Aw.” Then he trudged away.
Joe pulled Caro off to the side. “Is Erin coming?” He dreaded facing the woman.
“No.” Then she whispered, “I didn’t invite her.”
Joe chuckled.
His brother-in-law handed him a beer. “Cheers, buddy.”
“Cheers.” He liked Mark Dawson, Caroline’s husband.
“So, what’s going on with all of you?”
They chatted about Caroline’s new kitchen, about Julia’s upcoming job as a teacher. She’d been a stay-at-home mom until her kids were old enough for school. Now that they were, she was returning to work in the fall. Both Mark and Cameron Parish, his other brother-in-law, were executives, one at Upstate Medical Center and one at Syracuse University.
Billy kept coming around and urging Joe to the water, so he finally took off his shirt and headed to the pool.
“My God, Joey, what happened?” Julia screeched.
Caroline gasped and his mother moaned, “Oh, no.”
The group, even the kids, went silent.
Joe had forgotten he still sported black and blue marks on his back from the basement fire.
He stopped and turned. He had to be careful about this. They worried more about him since Jimmy’s death, which was understandable. “I’m fine, everybody. I just got tossed around a little in a fire two days ago. I had a doc check me out. It looks worse than if feels.” Which wasn’t quite true.
When he could see they all calmed, he took Billy’s hand and they did cannon balls into Caroline’s pool. The chilly water was soothing on his back as he sunk to the bottom. And shut down more questions about the fire. He didn’t want to think about the danger they’d faced and about the man they couldn’t save. He had to compartmentalize his life.
* * *
Lara sat at a table in Magnolia’s Restaurant with Maisy Kane, Katie Donovan and Annie Rodriguez. Lara said, “Thanks for the invite to lunch. But…”
“You’re wondering why we asked you to join us.” This from Maisy, whose smile was infectious.
“I am. I’ve never met any of you.”
Annie leaned forward. “We know what happened in the electrical fire. Word around town has it you were knocked out cold from hitting the basement floor.”
Gingerly she touched the back of her head. “It’s not too bad today.”
“Joey was hurt, too.” Katie’s expression turned worried.
“Joey? Oh, you mean Captain Romano. It was a miracle he only ended up with black and blue marks. A timber fell on him.”
Lara had lurched toward him to knock him out of the way but got thrown back by the explosion. “Answer my question about why I’m here.”
“We decided it was time to meet the new woman on Joey’s group.” Annie’s eyes shadowed. “He’s had a pretty tough life. We worry about him.”
“I know he lost his brother. And two little kids. It must haunt him. I can see the sadness in his eyes sometimes before he squelches it.”
“He’s better than before.”
“What exactly happened?”
“I’ll only say he had a rough six months. But he worked his way out of it with his family and my husband. Now, tell us about you.”
Something niggled at her. “Do people in Westwood talk about me? Is that how you heard about me?”
“Sure.” Katie shrugged. “But not in a bad way. Most people admire your grit.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“See! That’s why we called you.” Maisy’s freckled faced beamed. “We want you to know you have support.”
Lara’s eyes narrowed. “Did you hear that my group piled into Joe’s section in the ER but not mine?”
“Yeah. I have a friend who’s a nurse at Westwood Memorial.” Annie frowned. “You know, his guys have been with him a while. They’re protective of him because of Jimmy.”
Katie said, “And I wanted to talk to you about the crew. A while ago, I faced a lot of shit from a couple of patrol officers in the department. They tried to scare me away with some pranks. One nearly killed me.”
“Wow. That’s a lot worse than my group. I’d still like to hear about how you handled them. And to give my guys credit, the youngest came into my side to check on me. Then Captain Romano insisted they open the curtain.”
“Sounds like Joey.”
“Now, tell me about your lives. What you do, why you’re in Westwood.”
“You already know I’m a lieutenant in the police department. And I grew up here.”
“Annie and I are schoolteachers,” Maisy put in. “We both worked at Pathways then I fell for Jackson Kane, who’s the CEO and, by the way, is Joey’s best friend. So I had to leave the school. Now, I teach at-risk kids at Westwood Elementary.”
“You both help troubled kids. Now that’s admirable. How long have each of you been married?”
“Three months for Diego and me.” Annie smiled. “I’m already pregnant. Maisy is too.”
Lara grinned at her new friends. “What about you, Katie?”
“Neither married nor with child, but I live with my soulmate. We’re crazy in love.”
Lara thought she escaped scrutiny until Katie shook her head. “You’ve distracted us from our question about your life. Now spill.”
Lara’s insides froze. What could she say? I got a husband with ALS which drains me. That my dreams of a happy marriage like yours evaporated as his symptoms got worse. That I’ll never have babies like you.
No way could she share her real situation.
“I grew up in Elmira. I was a secretary in the fire department in the Southern Tier for a while. Then I decided to become a firefighter.”
“Why?”
“I saw what they did up close. I admired them so much. And my honey encouraged me.”
“Why’d you come to Westwood?”
Or dear. More lies.
“I finished my training and married Sam, who’s also a firefighter. He wanted to come home.”
“Do we know him?”
“I doubt it. He’s older.”
In reality, when the ALS began to reveal itself, they headed back to his hometown thinking his family could help her take care of him. Which they had. “Now, enough about me. Tell me how all of you snagged great men. And lookers.”
For a minute, Romano came to mind. She wondered if he’d make a good husband.