Chapter 5
Kindling
Blaze
Back at the base, long after all of our desserts were gone, another day went by of clearing brush and doing controlled burns in spots that needed to regenerate safely.
As I dug fire lines, the trenches that held fire like a perimeter when the winds cooperated, I couldn’t get the girl from the grocery store out of my head.
When we were driving back to base after swapping out with another crew, Nash and Jimmy started asking me questions immediately.
“So, we saw you looking at the pretty redhead...” Nash winked at me, ribbing me with his elbow, and leaning towards me to do so as he drove. I shook my head.
“Focus on the road, please. I’d like to survive the drive if we can help it.” Nash rolled his eyes.
“I’m the best driver in the world. Watch this,” he snickered, as he took his hands off the wheel and started steering with his knee.
Jimmy piped up. “That’s it, man. Let me take the wheel.” I was elated that he, too, had no tolerance for scary driving. “My wife would kill me if she knew that I was a passenger in a vehicle driven by you.” Nash shrugged and pulled over.
“Fine. I guess I get to eat my lunch while you two backseat drivers transport us back safely.” The eye roll that followed was missed by both Jimmy and me, but I could almost hear it.
“Thanks, Nash. I know it’s hard to give up control.” Jimmy patted him on the back as they switched seats, Nash climbing into the back.
“Now, where were we? Oh, that’s right. The redhead from the bakery line.
” Nash opened up the plastic container that housed his lunch, as well as an apple pie crème br?lée, and the scent was intoxicating.
I almost asked Jimmy to pull over to the first picnic area so we could eat our lunches, too, but I held back.
“What about her?” I asked, every fiber in my being wanting to cross my arms, but I didn’t want to look defensive.
“She had a ring on her finger,” Nash said quietly.
My heart sank. I hadn’t realized that, and I certainly was not trying to covet someone else’s wife.
She was a stunning woman, one that I felt unreasonably attracted to…
But it was wrong. And I asked God to remove these feelings that were misplaced.
It wasn’t a missed connection… It was a temptation in the wrong direction.
As we drove back to base that day, I considered the fact that I looked at everyone twice, as I was ready for a relationship, but this really did seem different.
There was something different about this girl.
Something a little more… destined. That sounded insane, especially with the development that she was already taken.
I shifted in my seat, gazing out the window at the dry landscape, where my mind went to fire.
But not even a second later, I remembered that her hair was the color of the flames.