Chapter 26
Twenty-six
The minutes refused to pass by. Miles sat in the fire station’s kitchen, his legs up on a chair, his hands behind his head, staring at the clock.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
There wasn’t much excitement this shift. A call had gone out an hour prior for a small brush fire, and Sam had taken the working truck and met up with a few of the volunteer firefighters. He thought it would be a good teaching experience.
Miles and Clarissa stayed behind. The mood was odd. Clarissa seemed to be avoiding him, hiding behind a large paperback book.
He assumed she felt sheepish about the Alex situation, but as he’d told her, none of it was her fault. Miles had a talk with Bella about it, and in true teenage hubris, her main response was, “Ew, weird!”
Chief Hank was aware of the situation as well, and the second that Alex stepped out of line, he’d be hauled off to jail and hit with the harshest charges they could muster.
It seemed tidy enough for the time being, but it left him with a lingering, uneasy feeling every time it crossed his mind. Luckily, his mind was preoccupied with someone else.
He let out a long sigh. Annie had been so stunning that night, so elegant and enchanting. All he’d wanted the entire time was to be near to her, to steal a glance of her in that glittering gown.
Yet, for whatever reason, he couldn’t find her, and he could no longer deny that she must not have wanted to be found. It was all fine and dandy when he showed up on her doorstep, but she wasn’t looking for him. She wasn’t longing for him the way he longed for her.
Looking back, it had always been him making the moves. He was the one who had invited her to Thanksgiving and then pulled her into that ridiculous dance. He was the one who took her stargazing and nearly smothered her with a kiss.
Annie was upfront about her life and her situation. She was recovering from a painful divorce. She wasn’t one of those women who sent a resume and a headshot to Bella’s email. She had never even asked him to come over. He was supposed to install a handrail and get out of her life.
He just couldn’t find the way to do that.
The fire bell went off. Miles jumped from his seat, and Clarissa from hers. They ran off and dressed: pants, boots, hoods, coats, air tanks, helmets, gloves, radios. Miles moved steadily with practiced hands, his mind centered by one of the few things that could rip his focus from Annie.
Clarissa got to the firetruck first and the call came over with the address: “Fire reported at the microbiology lab outpost, west side of the island. Call reporting heavy smoke and flames visible. Time out 14:25.”
He froze, ice running through his veins. That was where Annie worked.
“Start the truck now!” he bellowed.
“It won’t start,” Clarissa yelled back.
His chest felt so tight that it was hard to take a breath. “There isn’t time for this. I’ll meet you there.”
Miles grabbed a ladder and a box of supplies, sprinting to his truck, every fiber in his body on fire, working in unison.
His pickup truck ripped out of the parking lot, Miles at the helm. His hands gripped the steering wheel, his breath heaving in his chest. The only sound was the wind gasping into the open windows.
He got on the radio. They’d put out a call for Sam to bring the other fire truck. Good. He’d still beat them there.
Three minutes away. He was making good time, but it was still taking too long. If only his truck had a siren…
He activated his phone with his voice and called Annie – no answer.
He called her mom. She picked up promptly.
“Hello?”
“Clara, it’s Miles.” He kept his voice steady, refusing to allow any panic in. “Is Annie at the lab today?”
“Yes, she is. Why?”
He swallowed. He’d known. The moment that fire bell went off, he’d felt it somewhere deep inside of him, in some chamber of his heart that was forever connected to hers.
It was best to keep Clara calm. “Sorry, I’m in a hurry,” he said. “I need to drop something off for her.”
“Okay, tell her I love her!”
His chest tightened, a crack forming in his stoic resolve. “I will.”
He saw the smoke before he got there – a black column rising to the sky. The building loomed against the absurd backdrop of the sparkling sea, three stories of wood and brick, a sheet of orange flame licking the roof.
His stomach lurched.
Annie’s car was alone in the parking lot.
“Dispatch, be advised this is a three-story commercial structure, heavy fire involvement, ground to roof. Call a third alarm.”
Not waiting for a response, he skidded his truck to a halt and leapt out. He pulled up his hood, pressed his mask against his face, tightened the straps and inhaled sharply before opening the gas canister.
Air flowed. He activated the PASS device on his helmet and it chirped at him. Good to go.
He was not waiting on anyone else to show up. If he stopped moving, they’d hear the device screaming for help.
He kicked the door open and disappeared inside.