Chapter Six
Walker
The crew had already tied the bunting to the fire station and the truck was gleaming in the spring sun.
Walker felt a rush of pride, as he always did, to see it there in the car park.
The local kids loved the chance to touch a real-life fire engine, climb up and into it.
And he loved to see the excitement on their faces – you never knew who might end up wanting to be a firefighter themselves one day.
He could remember the thrill of it – the first time he rode in the truck gave him butterflies; the first time with lights and sirens took his breath away.
It still gave him a buzz every time they were called out on a job.
The difference was that now he was Crew Manager and wore a yellow helmet, with two bars on his epaulettes.
Along with the fancy fashion, he had the responsibility for the local incidents, as well as the training and safety of his crew.
Something that, if he didn’t already have nightmares, might give him them. But he tried not to think about that.
‘Morning, Walker.’ His Watch Commander, Dean Appleby, was there, in full dress uniform. He would be in charge of timing the pole-a-thon and making sure that it was official.
‘Morning, sir,’ Walker said with a dip of his head. He liked the formality, the manners of the service.
‘Good luck,’ Appleby said and then, nodding at a couple arriving with a clipboard and an iPad, ‘looks like the world record officiators have arrived. Excuse me.’ He set off across the forecourt, raising his arm to get their attention. Walker’s phone beeped.
The Brothers from Another Mother WhatsApp group was live. Originally it had just been him, Etienne who owned The Bistro, and silver-haired Fox, the games designer. But now that Etienne’s twin brother had moved to the town – and in with Walker – he was part of the group.
Etienne: Good luck today, bro.
Fox: Hope your pole holds out.
Walker: Never had a problem before.
Alex: Thought I heard someone shout out in the night actually . . . Did you have company?
Walker cringed. He must have called out during his nightmare again.
Walker: Nope. You must have been dreaming! See you later.
He tucked his phone in his backpack with a sigh and set off to round up his crew.
An hour later, the fire station was heaving. All members of the Brothers from Another Mother were present and correct.
Fox came first, dragged along by Dingbat the dog, with human dynamos in the shape of his sons, seven-year-old Reggie and four-year-old George, streaking along beside him. They hit Walker at speed, grabbing a leg each, and Walker reached down to tickle them both.
Alex arrived second, and Walker was again struck by just how similar he was to Etienne.
Their colouring was different, Alex was blond to Etienne’s brown, but their features were remarkably alike.
Alex had his guitar on his back – must be off to rehearsal afterwards, Walker thought.
Alex had taught himself how to play, one of his fixations since he quit poker.
Once an addict, always an addict, he jokingly said, but today instead of being addicted to gambling, it was guitar playing or running cross country.
Walker had spotted them all as they arrived but still found himself scanning the crowd.
He laid out some gym mats beneath the pole, knowing it was usually totally unnecessary. But because today they were going to be acting at such speed, and with repetition and competition thrown in, he’d opted for safety first.
He spotted Wren and Rosie who ran the Lit Lounge bookshop, with Riley their daughter swinging between them by their hands.
Rosie raised her hand in a hello. Wren grinned and raised her takeaway coffee in a cheers.
He watched as Riley ran ahead to see a friend and Wren took the opportunity to wrap her arm around Rosie and pull her in for a kiss.
Funny to think that he’d done the same to Rosie, when they were both sixteen – kissed and hugged and held her to his chest. Before she realised she preferred women, and he decided she was the best friend he’d ever had. He waved at her now and cast his eyes over the crowd for a final check.
At the last minute he saw Etienne and Isabella as they turned the corner to join the fun, entwined as they had been for the past five months.
And behind them, Amber, Jayden and finally Gabi, swinging along on her crutches.
It was only when he spotted her that he realised he’d been hoping she’d come.
He swung the bell. Time to get started.