Chapter 2
AXEL
“Man, that last drill was brutal,” Tanner says, stretching his legs out as much as he can in the cramped back seat. “I thought Axel was gonna pass out halfway up that ridge.”
I scoff, throwing a glance over my shoulder. “Please. I could’ve run up that thing twice as fast if I wasn’t busy making sure you didn’t fall on your face.”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” Tanner shoots back with a grin. “Next time, I’ll bring a stopwatch and prove it.”
Jace laughs, shaking his head. “Come on guys, we’re a team. We’re not supposed to be bickering like a bunch of rookies.”
“Hey, what’s a little friendly competition?” I say, my eyes still on the road as I navigate another curve. “Keeps us sharp. Besides, you know Tanner lives for this kind of trash talk. It’s what gets him out of bed in the morning.”
Tanner leans back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Damn right. Can’t let you guys get too comfortable.”
Raffle thumps his tail against the seat, as if he’s agreeing with Tanner.
The dog’s always been good at picking up on our moods, and right now, he’s as relaxed as we are.
Yes, the training was absolutely brutal, but that’s what drives me, makes me get out of bed every morning. I know the others feel the same.
Tanner nudges Raffle playfully, and the dog responds with a low, contented growl, thumping his tail against the seat. “You’re lucky you’ve got Raffle here to keep you warm, Jace,” Tanner jokes. “Wouldn’t want you catching a cold before the big day.”
Jace rolls his eyes, grinning. “Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you clowns show up tomorrow to help me out, alright? I don’t want to be dealing with my sister alone.”
“Hailey isn’t a bridezilla,” I say.
“You’re saying that because you don’t know what she can do.” I catch him rolling his eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Any girl, really, when her wedding is threatened,” Ben replies. I’m surprised when he speaks because he’s been quiet for the past half an hour or so. Nothing unusual. He likes to keep to himself.
“Seriously, guys, I need you there, all of you,” Jace says.
“Don’t worry, Jace,” Tanner chimes in from the passenger seat, turning to shoot Jace a smirk. “We’ll be there bright and early. Or, you know, bright and hungover.”
I chuckle, eyes on the road as I navigate another sharp turn. The road’s getting steeper, the trees thicker as we climb higher. “No promises, man,” I say, glancing at Jace in the rearview mirror. “Might just sleep in and let you deal with it solo.”
Jace snorts, but I can tell he’s a little tense about the wedding. Can’t blame him. Family stuff’s always complicated, especially when it’s your baby sister getting married.
“You know,” he says, leaning forward, “I’m just saying, we should be getting hazard pay for the crap we went through today. What kind of sadist puts us through that kind of drill right before my sister’s wedding?”
“Welcome to the life of a Hotshot,” I reply, smirking. “We signed up for this. You’ve been around long enough to know they don’t give us any breaks, even if we’ve got weddings to go to. Especially then.”
Ben rubs his shoulder as if remembering the heavy gear we’ve been carrying up and down. “At least we don’t have to deal with an actual fire today.”
Tanner laughs, the sound filling the cab. “Yeah, because riding up a mountain to drop Jace off for wedding duty is so much better. At least with the fires, we get a little action.”
Jace makes a face. “You get this scenic drive to make up for that.”
“The weather’s changing out there,” Ben says abruptly. I see Tanner and Jace exchange a glance.
“You think it’s going to storm?”
“My sister is going to have a coronary.” Jace winces. “So, I hope for all our sakes that’s not the case.”
“I heard two guys talking about it earlier. It’s going to hit pretty hard,” Tanner says.
I crane my neck over the dashboard to look up at the sky. “I think we’ll make it before the storm hits.”
I’m not particularly fazed by blizzards. I’ve faced it before. I can only think of the poor souls with zero experience with the weather driving up the road alone.
“Most of the wedding guests have made it up, so that’s fine,” Jace says. “And others will come tomorrow.”
“Yeah, anybody driving up so late in the evening would be a fool,” Tanner says.
“A brave fool,” Ben says.
“I’m not worried about the guests, but the caterers don’t get here till tomorrow. My sister needs everything to be very particular and perfect.”
“Everything is going to be fine,” I say, turning up the music on the dashboard.
But it’s not. As soon as the words come out of my mouth, the weather starts to shift, fast. The sky darkens, and I feel a prickle of unease.
Snow begins to fall. At first just a few flakes here and there, but soon it’s coming down hard.
Visibility drops quicker than I expect, and I ease off the gas, focusing on keeping the truck steady.
“Damn, this is coming in quick,” Ben says, squinting through the windshield. “You think we’re gonna make it up there?”
“Of course we are,” I reply, but my tone’s more serious now, eyes scanning the road ahead. “This thing’s built for this kind of weather. We’ll be fine.”
But the blizzard’s hitting harder than I’d like.
The road’s starting to disappear under the snow, and the wind’s picking up, rattling against the windows.
I can hear Raffle shifting uneasily in the back seat, his big body tensing as he senses the change.
The wipers are working overtime, but they’re no match for the blizzard that’s now in full swing.
“Everyone stay sharp,” I say, my voice calm but firm, my firefighter instincts kicking in. “We need to keep our eyes on the road. Tanner, keep an eye on the right. Ben, you watch the left. Jace, check the GPS. Let’s make sure we’re still on the right track.”
“Got it,” Jace says, pulling out his phone and adjusting the GPS. The screen flickers as the signal wavers, but it’s holding for now. “We’re still on the main road, but it’s going to get trickier the higher we go.”
I focus on the road ahead, what little I can see of it.
The truck’s tires crunch through the snow, but even with the F-450’s power, keeping us steady is a struggle.
The wind howls, pushing against the truck like it’s trying to force us off the mountain, and the snow is coming down so hard that it’s like driving through a wall of white.
“Axel, how’s it looking up there?” Tanner asks, his voice more serious now, all traces of humor gone.
“It’s rough,” I admit, steering us carefully around a bend. The road is narrowing, the drop-offs on either side hidden by the snow, but I know they’re there, waiting. “But we can make it if we stay focused. Just keep your eyes peeled.”
The snow is so thick now that it feels like we’re driving in a tunnel, the walls of white closing in on us.
“Jace, how much further?” I ask, my voice tight as I concentrate on keeping the truck from sliding.
“About a mile now,” he says, checking the GPS again. “But it’s going to get steeper. We need to be careful.”
“We’re almost there.” Good. My hands are starting to ache from gripping the wheel so tightly, but I don’t dare relax.
“But what next?” Jace says.
“What?” I say. I hadn’t thought that far.
“The snow isn’t going to blow over anytime soon,” Ben says practically.
“We’re not gonna make it back down tonight,” Tanner says. “We’re gonna have to stay at the lodge.”
“I hate to say it, but Tanner’s right,” Ben says. “Even if we did make it up to the lodge, trying to drive back down in this weather would be suicide.”
Jace nods, his face lit up by the glow of his phone screen. “We’ve got the whole place booked out for the wedding. There’s more than enough room for all of us. We can crash there tonight, wait for the storm to pass, and you guys can head back in the morning.”
“Axel, you hearing this?” Jace asks, glancing up from his phone.
“Yeah, I’m hearing you,” I reply, still focused on the road ahead. “I just don’t like the idea of being trapped up there if this storm doesn’t let up. But…” I trail off, knowing that I’m outnumbered here. “It’s the smart call. Better to be safe than sorry.”
“Exactly,” Ben says, ever the practical one. “Besides, it’s not like we’re roughing it in the wilderness. Mt. Snowlodge’s supposed to be a nice place, right? We’ll get a warm bed, some hot food, maybe even a drink or two. Could be worse.”
“Yeah,” Tanner adds, grinning despite the tension in the truck. “And who knows? Maybe there’ll be some bridesmaids who could use a little company tonight.”
Jace rolls his eyes. “Someone’s got their priorities straight.”
“Hey, we’re just making the best of the situation,” Tanner says with a shrug. “We’re firefighters, right? We adapt.”
“And hey, we’re almost there,” Jace says, relief seeping into his voice as he looks up from the GPS. “Just a little further, and we’ll be at the lodge.”
I nod, feeling the same sense of relief as the snow begins to let up, the storm easing just enough to give us a clear view of the road ahead. We’re nearing the turnoff for Mt. Snowlodge, the last bend before we can finally park this truck and get out of the damn storm.
But then, without warning, Raffle bolts upright between Jace and Tanner, his ears perked and his body tense. He lets out a loud, sharp bark, startling everyone in the truck.
“What the hell?” Jace says, turning to look at Raffle. The dog’s never been this agitated before, not even during the worst of our missions. Raffle’s barking grows more frantic, and he starts pawing at the window, desperate to get out.
“Raffle, what’s wrong, boy?” I ask, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. But Raffle doesn’t calm down; he only gets more worked up, clawing at the window like he’s trying to escape. It’s like he senses something we don’t, something out there in the storm.
“What’s gotten into him?” Jace asks, worry creeping into his voice as he tries to calm the dog down. “He’s never acted like this before.”