Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Mac
F riday afternoons into early evening were an interesting time in late August. With school back in session and vacations completed, people were restless. And the citizens of the city of Newman weren’t any different. Traffic in town increased as folks cruised through, looking for their next stop, especially on Friday game nights. Teenagers, and those reliving their teenage years, had a nice one-way, two-lane drag to see and be seen.
Station One, headquarters, located right off the square in downtown, was an old cinderblock building painted a neutral off-white color. The huge parking pad and painted brick retaining wall made the perfect hangout spot for the crew to do some people watching.
“Hey, Captain. What’s up? What are you doing here? You get bored out at Four and miss wall-sitting?” Firefighter Cal Roberts, the one guy who always managed to skip his turn at buying rounds at the bar, hitched a leg on the wall so he was half sitting, half standing .
I shifted the toothpick in my mouth. Biting into it was supremely less satisfying than lighting a cigarette.
“Just came by to drop some paperwork off.” And possibly see the chief before she headed out, since I’d be spending my night at the station. It was little comfort knowing she’d at least be at my house, though she and Rosie would be alone.
Not for the first time did I feel every one of the long nights ahead. Usually this dread was because I was tired already and knew I faced a long night of calls. But even if we had a blessed zero-call night, I would be awake worrying about the two females at my house. A regular day job held more appeal than ever.
Cal’s lips tipped up in a knowing grin as he waggled his eyebrows. “You sure that’s all? Word is there’s a certain person staying at your house.” His eyes flickered up to the area where Olivia’s office would be.
This was exactly the kind of bullshit we didn’t need.
People assuming and making more of this than it was.
I plucked the toothpick from my mouth, shifted my stance, and let my best glare loose. “You realize that she’s been targeted, threatened by the same asshole that put Thoren in the hospital?”
The smug expression on his face faltered, so I drove my point home. “And this same perp killed, excuse me, allegedly killed those kids in that fire earlier this year.” I stuck the toothpick back in my mouth, planted my hands on my hips, and looked at him like the dumbass he was. “If you’ve got something you want to ask me, here’s your chance. Otherwise, you need to quit making assumptions.”
“Sorry, Capt.”
I grunted in acknowledgment of his apology and crossed my arms over my chest, forcibly shifting my focus to the passing traffic.
The problem was, he wasn’t wrong.
I was making more trips downtown than I had in the entire year before she’d come on board. Granted, they were all valid reasons. But still.
Obviously, people were talking.
And where gossip went, attention went, and she had enough on her from administration already, without these bozos adding to it.
A beat-up older-model red Toyota cruised by, a bevy of female voices and loud rock music pouring through the open windows. As they passed, the driver honked the horn multiple times. Cal, like an idiot, tossed up his hand.
“Mistake,” I muttered, watching as the car hit the left lane to make the loop back through town.
“What? I’m just being friendly.”
I shook my head. He’d learn.
Not five minutes later, the red car hit the lane closest to the station, the passenger leaning halfway out the window. “I’ve got a fire… in my pants!”
I chuckled quietly. “See what I mean? That’s trouble, with a capital T, cruising around in that car.”
Cal’s smirk returned. “Yes, sir, it is.”
Tones dropped, echoing from our radios and through the speakers in the bay behind us. We listened to the call-out for Station Four, and I headed to my pickup. The address was familiar.
I beat the engine to Francis O’Malley’s house to find a frantic Leah Miller on the front porch waving at me. Leah was the fiancée of Fire Marshal Mike Harrison, and Mrs. O’Malley had become the adopted grandmother of their group. On occasion, I’d spent time with the sweet elderly lady. She was an incorrigible flirt, loved a good romance novel, and was a staunch supporter of the annual fundraiser calendar.
“Mac. Thank God it’s your crew. Maybe you can deal with this stubborn old woman.”
I mounted the steps two at a time, noting the pinched lines at Leah’s eyes. Regardless of her frustration, she was concerned for her friend.
“What happened?”
Leah led me down a long hallway of the older house, the wood floors creaking in places and our footsteps echoing off the high ceiling.
“She fell. Swears she didn’t hurt herself, but she can’t move. She called me to come help her up. I called 911 when I got here and realized how bad it is.”
“You hush your mouth, missy. It’s not that bad.”
I rounded the doorway to find Francis splayed on the floor, leg jutted at an awkward angle. A hip dislocation at best, broken at worst.
“Hey, Mrs. O’Malley.”
“Hey yourself, Mr. December. And it’s Francis.” She tried to smirk, but pain laced her features.
“Looks like you took a little spill.” I kept my tone gentle, conversational, but my instincts kicked into overdrive. At her age, a fall like this could lead to so many more life-threatening problems. I needed to assess her more thoroughly, but I’d wait for the others before trying to stabilize and move her. Chances were, she’d pass out from pain if I tried.
“Aw, I got tripped up in these silly slippers. This hard floor isn’t very forgiving. I just need a little hand up, if you don’t mind.”
I dropped to a knee beside her and placed a staying hand on her shoulder. “Just hang tight until the others get here, to be on the safe side.”
“Well, don’t get yourself all dirty on my behalf. Leah, get the man a chair, for heaven’s sake.”
From the doorway, Leah made an exasperated noise. If I didn’t get her out of here, these two would start bickering, and keeping Francis calm was key.
“Actually, I need Leah to go make sure the guys know where you live. Leah?” I looked over my shoulder and gave her a pointed look. “Can you go wait for the ambulance for me? I’m gonna hang here and keep Mrs. O’Malley company.”
Leah’s expression softened and she nodded. “Okay.”
“Now, you’re not going to have to cut my clothes off me, are you?” Francis sounded almost hopeful. “Because I don’t want you cutting my good bra. Just unhook it like a good boy.”
I froze, suspended in shock. Pretty sure my mouth dropped open as I stared at my elderly patient. Under any other circumstance, I would’ve been able to hold my composure, remain stoic and professional. But Francis had always had the ability to both take me by surprise and make me blush.
Leah made a sound of disbelief. “No one is cutting any clothes off. Behave, Francis.”
“Leah, medics,” I reminded her and then continued my assessment.
“You seem to be tolerating the pain pretty well,” I stated. Francis really was in a good state considering the circumstances.
“Probably that edible I took this morning,” she replied with a wry grin.
The medics arrived and packaged Francis, and together, we lifted her onto the stretcher and loaded her in the ambulance.
In the meantime, Leah gathered bags, her voice echoing down the hall as she made a series of calls, first to Mike, then to her best friend, Kylie, and then to Jordan, Nate’s girlfriend.
This community of friends, this family they’d built, was unexpected. It was good that they had each other in times like this, and I was fortunate that they included me from time to time.
We met out on the porch, and I walked Leah to the ambulance. Francis was loaded, Nate and Thoren hanging out at the open back doors, watching over the old woman like nervous parents.
“Bye, sweetheart. We’ll come check on you later. Jordan’s on her way already,” Nate called before closing the doors. They each took a step back as the bus pulled away, and Leah sidled up to Thoren, who threw an arm around her shoulders.
“Is it broken?” The concern in her voice turned Thoren’s head.
“Most likely.”
Standing by like this always made me feel like the worst kind of interloper. I should be used to it by now, but this patient was special, and the situation hit the group hard. They all loved this old woman, and it was a damned good thing she had them in her life for situations like this.
A little seed of something unpleasant planted itself in my mind. If I were in her place, who would even know to come look after me? The guys didn’t call me daily to check in on me. Sure, if they needed something, they knew to call because I was always there for them.
But what if the roles were reversed ?
Would anyone come take care of me in the hospital? Or was I in for a long, lonely life in my senior years?
Shoving those thoughts aside, because wallowing never did anyone any good, I ordered, “You guys get back in service. Thoren, see if Mike is available to take Leah.”
“I already talked to him, sir. He’s in the middle of an interview. He said he’d meet her there later.”
I sighed. I couldn’t in good conscience leave her to drive there alone. She was too upset. So even though the command unit was supposed to be city personnel only, I said, “I’ll drive Leah over.”
The drive was mostly silent until I pulled under the awning at the hospital. Leah reached for the door handle and paused, before looking back at me. “I’ve always thought you were the best kind of man, Mac. You don’t have me fooled. You’re this gruff meanie on the outside. But I know there is a heart of gold under that rough exterior.”
What was I supposed to say to that?
“I don’t know why some good woman hasn’t snatched you up. But I hope you find someone who will take care of you as well as you take care of others.”
Then she was out of the truck and disappearing through the sliding doors of the emergency room waiting area, leaving me with a tight chest and a throat I couldn’t swallow through.
Images of Olivia and Rosie flashed in my mind. What would my life have been like if Olivia and I had kept contact over those years? If I’d been able to raise my daughter? If I’d had a family of my own? Would I still feel like an outsider, a fraud, in this found family?
The fire brotherhood was out of my reach even in the normal day-to-day. Sure, we pulled together when shit hit the fan, but largely, it was me calling on my crew when bad things went down. I got it. It was hard to be friends with the boss.
But what would it feel like to have someone care about me? To check in with me daily like these people did with each other?
The thought left me unsettled.
I picked up the phone to call home. Hearing Rosie’s voice might settle some of this unease. I was supposed to be the mentor, though. Not the other way around. I was being ridiculous. It was too soon to feel this invested, to need Olivia and Rosie like I did. I hadn’t had a family in so long, I was grasping at the closest straw. This feeling, this want, was just my tender heart being stupid. I laid the phone back in the truck seat, shifted into gear, and drove back to the station.