Chapter 10
“Sophie Lamb.”
The voice held more of a whine than concern. And even worse, the voice wasn’t deep. It wasn’t Houston who had been sitting beside her hospital bed holding her hand.
The starched bed sheets chafed against her skin. Sophie squinted her eyes open, and a whimper might have graced her lips. It was no nurse with discharge papers. Rather, the nosy Betty Adams.
The clock on the wall ticked past one in the morning. Apparently, gossip research didn’t have a bedtime.
Betty shook Sophie’s shoulders harder. The woman’s manicured nails poked Sophie as Betty’s bracelets rattled more than Sophie’s throbbing head. “Sophie, dearest, you’ve got to wake up.”
Sophie moved her neck to the right. Her wound above her ear scratched against the pillow behind her head. This time she did groan.
The curtain that had been around Sophie’s bed swung open. Marley held a steaming cup of what was more than likely coffee with one generous spoon of sugar. Her brows tugged low. “Betty,” Sophie’s best friend stage whispered. “What are you doing? Sophie and the entire hospital floor need to rest.”
Betty straightened her name badge on her bright red sweater. “The hospital strives to have a five-star customer satisfaction. One of my many volunteer tasks is to make sure everyone is getting the extra care they require.”
Apparently, care didn’t mean sleep. Sophie squeezed her eyes shut again. Couldn’t she be nosy and quiet? “I’ll hand out five stars when they let me go. How much longer will the paperwork take?”
“Let me check. In the meantime, I’ll bring you some water and ice chips while you wait, dear.”
Sophie shook her head but stopped. Her head didn’t hurt if she didn’t move. Or really think.
Marley gripped the cup with both hands as if she forced herself to hold something, or she might wring a certain someone’s neck. “That is…kind of you, Betty,” she said through her teeth. “But Sophie doesn’t need water or ice chips. Not even cookie dough ice cream. She needs rest.”
Betty turned to Sophie and patted her hand. The hand that, an hour or so earlier, Houston had held while Sophie received five stitches in the back of her head. “Ice chips will help you stay awake. After a concussion, you’re not supposed to sleep. Everyone should know that.” She sent a side eye toward Marley. “We can’t have you forgetting every detail of what caused your accident.”
Marley exhaled and made the steam from her mug blow Betty’s way. “And how do you know that Sophie might have a concussion?”
A sheepish expression crossed Betty’s face. “It’s my job to understand the patient’s needs.”
Marley opened her mouth, but Sophie rushed out her own reply. “No concussion.” The quicker Betty got some of the specifics she craved, the sooner she could rest. “They thought so at first but ruled it out. The doctor didn’t say anything about not sleeping. Thankfully, because it’s way past my bedtime.” Was Houston asleep in the hallway somewhere?
Sophie detangled the sheet that had been resting over her legs. She didn’t want to look too comfy here, or they might just allow her to stay. And that wasn’t happening. “Thank you for your volunteer work.”
Betty blushed. “I strive to always be helpful.”
That’s not exactly how Sophie would have worded it. She kept her attention locked on Betty and not her friend, who was more than likely rolling her eyes.
Betty waved a goodbye to Sophie, but stopped as she closed the curtain behind her. “Oh, and I heard that a horse was found wandering down one of the county roads. You’re missing one, right? The Johnsons are caring for it until you can come pick it up. Thought you’d want to know.”
For once, Betty’s nose for gossip was useful. “Yes, I’ll rest better knowing my horse is safe. Thank you, Betty.” That info was better than any ice chips or ice cream. Goldie was okay, but what about Crispin and his phone?
After the curtain closed, Marley slumped down on the edge of Sophie’s bed. “She’s trying to help all right. Help find herself more gossip. Sorry I wasn’t in here when she snuck in. She cornered Houston earlier, asking him an entire game show worth of questions. The man had help me written on his face, and he looked as tired as you do right now.
Sophie fluffed the pillow that had gone flat behind her. “So, Houston’s getting a coffee?”
Did Houston even drink coffee? Their time together today hadn’t been filled with small get-to-know-you-again questions, but rather with real life responses that displayed the true character of someone that often takes months to uncover. Plus the truth about their high school past.
Marley took a sip and wiped her lip. “No, he left.”
Sophie stared past her friend at the mint green curtain. Houston was gone. Of course he was. It was late, and he needed to rest. And there was no real reason for him to stay.
Sophie twisted the edge of the sheet in her grip. No reason except her.
He hadn’t even said goodbye.
Marley scooted more onto the bed, bumping her knee into Sophie’s foot. “I was right.”
Sophie reached back and touched the tender spot above her ear. Her finger pricked the end of one of the pointed stitches, and she jerked her hand away. The first and only other time she’d received stitches, no one had held her hand. When she’d been taken by ambulance after the earthquake, her brother had been stuck across town. He wasn’t there for the car accident either.
Sophie sat up. “If you were right about leaving soon, I’m afraid you can’t trade in your best friend card yet. I need to bum a night’s sleep at your house for whatever’s left of the morning. That is if they ever let me out of here. And did Lewis ever make it home?”
Marley set her cup down on a side table next to the bed. “No. And I’m beyond worried. But this isn’t the first time he’s disappeared for this long. Thank you for worrying about him, but no, I was right that Houston is cute, even for not being my preferred blond, and no, I’m not going anywhere.”
Sophie raised her brows.
Marley waved a finger at her. “Okay. Yes, I’m moving. But not today, and I’m not disappearing from your life completely. I’ll still only be a phone call away.”
Until she got too busy with her new happily-ever-after life, far from Sophie.
“Speaking of phones…”
Sophie’s heart thumped as Marley pulled something out of her purse.
Could Marley have gotten Crispin’s phone somehow?
But Marley only extended a piece of paper. “I told Houston to head home and get some sleep. He was stubborn, but the man was beyond exhausted, and he has to go back to work tomorrow. You wouldn’t have wanted him here if you had seen him. I think it helped that you had fallen asleep. That was, until Betty.” She jiggled the piece of paper. “He left his number.”
Sophie took the number. The area code was from Last Chance County. “My phone’s in my truck, and I’m not even sure it still works.”
Marley grabbed her coffee. “Right. I get it. It’s not like you can get another phone or anything and call Houston later.”
Not the one Crispin had, no, but that wasn’t what Marley was talking about. Sophie turned and dangled her feet over the side of the bed. “It was good to reconnect with Houston. But maybe that’s all we needed. To heal the past.”
Marley nodded. “Of course. Why put him in your future when he’s already been in the past?”
“See, you get it.”
Marley fluttered her free hand in front of her face. “Sophie, no. Maybe Houston’s not the one to partner beside you and challenge you to be the best version of yourself. To encourage your dreams and yet keep your feet planted when you get off track. But, maybe the man who would have held your hand all night while you slept, or survived a fire with you, might be worth a second look.”
Oh, Houston was worth it. But Sophie simply lifted one shoulder. “Not sure the timing will work. He’s got plans outside of Ember. And I want to build more barns here. I’m a horse mom. I have to be practical.”
Marley adjusted the purple headband holding back her curls. “I hear you; I really do. All the logistics that I thought of when Brady and I started dating online. But what I’m not sure of is…what you’re actually afraid of.”
Afraid of?Sophie swallowed. “Today, or rather yesterday, was pretty awful.” And yet, her time with Houston had made her smile.
Marley put her hand on Sophie’s arm. “I think you know exactly what I mean, and you keep hiding from it. You’ve shared enough of your past and your different moves. Don’t hate me, but Sophie, you’re a runner. Sometimes the good things in life are scary at first. God wants you to seek Him when you’re fearful, not hide from Him. Sometimes the bravest thing to do is simply trust Him.”
Sophie tightened her fingers around the end of the sheet and balled it into her palm. She didn’t always run from her problems, did she? And, sometimes, it was God who she was fearful of. Sometimes it didn’t always feel like He was on her side, not with so many loved ones He’d taken from her. She opened her mouth, but a nurse with puppies on her scrubs walked around the curtain with a smile.
She held up a set of papers in her hands. “Looks like you’re free.”
Sophie pushed herself off the bed. She breathed through the tender pain on the side of her head. Yes, she was free from the hospital. But her answer to her friend’s question kept hold of her mind.
One of Sophie’s fears was losing more people she cared for. She’d already lost so many. What if she let herself completely fall for Houston again? It wasn’t like he had a safe job. Could her heart stand letting go of someone else?
* * *
Houston’s phone burned a hole in his pocket. Not literally. Thankfully, the hotspots they’d patrolled in the direction of Sophie’s ranch surrendered without much of a fight. But the fire had headed east instead, which was both a blessing and a curse. And even with his fire ax in his grip, securing the latest fire line, his hands itched to check to see if Sophie had called him.
In over nineteen hours, she hadn’t.
Houston sent the sharpened Pulaski into the ground, widening the trench. The sunset peppered through the hazy air twenty miles from Sophie’s ranch. Houston should have gotten at least five hours of sleep to help with today’s work. Should have, but didn’t. Too much of last night had plagued him. Sophie’s anguish. Her willingness to forgive him. Her physical pain.
Houston rested his Pulaski over his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Please Lord, let her heal quickly.
Orion marched toward the right, probably checking Houston’s work, while Charlie walked up on Houston’s left.
As he eyed Houston, Charlie took a long pull from his water bottle. “Did you run out of water?”
Houston tugged out his water bottle and shook it before taking a drink. “No rookie mistakes to admit to today.”
And hopefully, there wouldn’t be any.
Charlie frowned. “Except maybe a good night’s sleep. You look exhausted. I wouldn’t have had you out on this assignment at all.”
Houston popped his water lid back down. “Fire doesn’t wait for anyone. Tired or not.”
“Exactly.”
Houston locked his gaze on the man who wasn’t usually full of sharp comebacks. At least not ones directed at Houston.
But before Houston could say something his tired tongue might regret, Charlie sighed. “It was weird not having you playing your guitar last night at the barracks.”
Houston huffed. “Even I wouldn’t enjoy a song after one in the morning when I got in.”
Charlie adjusted his backpack straps around his shoulders. “Nah, probably not. But it felt odd without the normal It Is Well hymn you strum nightly. The crew needed the comfort when you were still missing. Logan had to play it on his phone.”
The song was Houston’s favorite old hymn since one of the nurses in the burn unit at the hospital whistled it so often that Houston had asked her what she was singing. The song hadn’t been familiar to him then, but after God had redeemed his life, it had become his anthem. One he too often sang without truly reflecting on the lyrics. Until the wildfire with Sophie.
Charlie kicked at a stick on the ground. “We didn’t go to bed until we heard you were okay. But if I was the chief, I would have let you sleep in this morning.”
Was that supposed to be comforting? “Yeah, well, I got some big shoes to fill out here.”
“Or maybe you need to put on your own boots. I’m not your brother, but Macon was my old chief.” Charlie crossed his arms. “I know he wasn’t happy with you coming out here.”
“That’s one way to put it.” Houston arched his toes in his newer pair of boots. “He said I didn’t need to line myself up for failure.”
After a pause, Charlie said, “Don’t think he meant it as it sounds.”
“Not sure there’s another way to hear that.”
Charlie raised his palm. “I also know that you and your brother are a bit stubborn, and you’re out here to prove yourself. Which is both encouraging and a bit frightening as your teammate.”
Houston wiped sweat off of the burn scars on the back of his neck. “I might be frightening to look at, but I’m not going to freeze up and put you or the other guys in danger.”
Not again.
“I didn’t mean frightening in either of those ways. It wasn’t fair what happened to you back at Last Chance County Church. Eli didn’t have the experience you had with those kids. If I was still in town, I’d give them a piece of my mind.”
Why wouldn’t news travel here? Houston closed his eyes. “Eli called me last night.”
“Please don’t tell me that he’s quitting and you’re leaving us.”
“Not exactly. It looks like I might have an opportunity to stay longer in Ember. I didn’t get into Truth Seminary. I’d planned to maybe attend another one somewhere else, but last night, while I was at the hospital with Sophie, I ran across an elder from Ember First Church. He said that the church had several open positions. Asked me to think about applying.”
“You’re the guitar playing hotshot, right? Heard you humming when I came in.” The white-haired doctor that had checked on Sophie while she was sleeping asked.
Houston offered his free hand. The one not tucked around Sophie’s lying on the hospital bed. “I normally just go by Houston James.”
The man chuckled. “While you’re here in Ember, our praise band could use some new members.”
“I’ve only ever led youth in worship before. Well, and whatever you call playing at our dorms at night. But I thought of that more as a witnessing opportunity.”
“Youth, huh?” The man raised his white brows. “Did you ever happen to teach too?”
Houston traced his thumb along Sophie’s smooth hand. She made a soft sigh. “Used to.”
“Bet you still can. Say, our church has several open positions, why don’t you come on down and?—”
“You probably don’t want me.”
The man tilted his head. “That sounds an awful lot like something Moses might say.”
Houston grimaced. He wished he could say he’d been like Moses. Been given a great task. “My story is more like Joseph’s.”
The doctor nodded. “Been molding you through trials, has He? I’ve had a few past events not go as planned for my life too.” He kept moving his head up and down, slow and steady, as if counting through each memory. “I’ve proved to be a stubborn listener, but looking back, those trials or dreaded circumstances?—or in your firefighter world, an ignited flashover, hot and heated one moment—God used those to make me into the man He wanted for His plans.”
He tugged on his white doctor’s jacket. “I wanted to be a pilot, but my vision at the time was no good. It took me a while to realize why I needed to be a doctor instead.” He winked. “Trust me, God always knows best. Take some time. Pray. Come visit the church and see what happens after that.”
His plans. The words had repeated inside of Houston’s mind all day, behind the backdrop of digging and mopping up.
Now, Charlie’s smirking face erased the memory of the doctor’s thirty-year age difference. “I figured you might be changing your mind about staying in town.” He ran his knuckles over the five-o’clock shadow along his chin. “I guessed there might be another reason why you might want to stay near Ember. You looked a little cozy with Sophie after the smokejumpers picked you both up on the town’s gossip page. Working at a local church here, not sure why you hadn’t looked into that before now.”
Houston crossed his arms over his chest. Because he’d set his mind on his own plans. “Even if I did stay past the hotshot season, it couldn’t be just for Sophie.”
Charlie grunted. “You’d think that since you’ve worked at a church, you wouldn’t lie as much.”
“I’m not sinless…and I’m not lying.”
“If you’re worried about her not liking you, the crew took a poll, and we think she likes you back.”
Houston raced his hands over his bald head. “I haven’t had the best experience with women since all this.” He pulled his collar away from his scars. “Once had a woman leave the moment she’d met me in person after we’d supposedly dated online for four months.”
“Anyone who looks at you and sees anything other than a dedicated, honorable man…sounds like she wasn’t the right one for you.”
Orion jogged toward them, his pack thumping against his back. He checked his watch and pulled out his own water jug. “Good work. The fire trench is spot on. The fire doesn’t look like it will be an issue tonight. The Trouble Boys are almost here to replace us.” Orion squinted away from the sunset and then pointed back toward the unburned trees. “Yep. There they are. Perfect. James, if I were you, I’d call it a night early. Both you and Benning can head to the buggy.”
As Charlie and Houston walked back, Houston pulled out his phone. Not a single missed call notification; however, there was the symbol of a new voicemail.
His fingers fumbled over the phone until he clicked the first voice message. It was the pastor at Ember Community Church, wanting to set up a time to meet and discuss things. Houston didn’t know what God would do there, but this time there wasn’t a sense of dread for the unknown. Maybe Houston had zeroed in on too much of what he’d wanted out of his future without leaving any room for God to have His say.
Houston saved the first message, and then Sophie’s voice brought his feet to a halt.
She’d called.
“Hey, Houston.” Her voice was soft, hesitant. “Sorry to bother you. I’m not sure if you’re working or…”
Bother him? He’d been looking forward to hearing from her. Seeing how she was feeling.
“…I don’t know who else to call. I probably should contact the sheriff, but it involves Crispin, well, his phone, and…” Her heavy sigh made Houston squeeze his phone to his ear.
“My phone stopped working. From too much water. But you kind of already know that story. Anyway, when I got a new one, I had a voicemail from Lewis. He has Crispin’s phone. He was the one who took Goldie and knocked me over. He said he didn’t mean to hurt me…”
The Trouble Boys were right in front of Houston, and he waved and hiked after Charlie.
“He wants to give the phone back. He sounded…a little scared. But he’s not answering my calls. His message said to park where the old one-room school used to be. I have to be there at eight tonight. And I have no way to get hold of Crispin.”
Houston had almost caught up to Charlie when Sophie’s words hit his chest. Hard.
“And I’d really like it if you were there with me.”
There was no other place Houston wanted to be, except beside Sophie.
The message ended and Houston checked the time. Only ten minutes to get there. He wanted to call Sophie to let her know he would be there, but she didn’t leave her number. His phone must have been out of service when she’d called, and therefore it only registered her voicemail and not her number.
Charlie turned and took his own phone away from his ear. “Most of the smokejumpers and a few of our hotshots are eating at Hotline Saloon. I know you’re probably heading to bed early, but you at least want to grab a to-go meal?”
Houston shook his head. He wouldn’t be heading anywhere except toward Sophie. “I’ve got somewhere else to be.”
He prayed he’d get there in time.