Chapter 5 #2
Even with embarrassment burning her cheeks, his smooth I have a visual on you caressed her like a hand at the small of her back.
To offset her flub, Deanna set a punishing pace her jump squad couldn’t argue with.
Her palms blistered inside her gloves and her shoulders screamed, but she didn’t slow down.
She thrived on proving herself, and today she kicked it up a notch for every naysayer in the gymnasium that morning.
They might gossip about her, but they couldn’t question her work ethic.
“Jeez Louise, Deanna, you’re killing us,” groaned Kylie, her face shiny with sooty sweat.
“Spot fire!” shouted Duffy, pointing to a Douglas fir ablaze near their fire line.
“Kylie, Duffy, get on it now!” ordered Deanna.
They rushed to the spot with Pulaskis and water, attacking the burning tree before the flames spread. More spots erupted as windblown embers found new fuel. They fought each one in a frenzied game of whack-a-mole to contain the blaze.
Deanna shaded her eyes as Colton circled overhead. He laid down a second load of slurry near the homes, insurance in case the fire jumped the ridge.
“Brooks, be advised, this fire is running,” relayed Colton. “If I were you, I’d start a backburn about now.”
He had it right. The fire’s runaway head was a lost cause, but they could starve it from below. Good call.
“Starting burnout,” she returned.
They used drip torches to lay a burnout line, lighting the ground between their containment line and the advancing head to starve it of fuel. The work turned to controlled chaos: managing the burnout, dousing spot fires, and tracking the head all at once.
Colton’s tanker circled overhead, a reassurance she didn’t want to need. But here she was. His voice had crackled over her radio that he’d refueled and reloaded at Bowman, holding for her call.
“The defensive line is holding. Your drops and our backburn prevented the fire from jumping over the ridgetop,” radioed Deanna.
“Good call, Brooks. Your jump crew saved twenty-three homes.” His praise warmed her, his unhurried way of talking calming her.
“Thanks to you. Team effort.”
“More like good leadership on the ground.” Everyone on the radio frequency heard his compliment. Her cheeks heated, even though she loved hearing it.
I’ll take him up on his coffee invitation.
Maybe even share a meal in the school cafeteria. But she wouldn’t be the one to suggest it. No way would she throw herself at him. Those days were long gone. He’d have to make the first move.
As the jumpers mopped up spot fires and strengthened the line, Deanna replayed Colton’s words. Not casual flirtation. Genuine recognition of work well done.
“Hey, Brooks,” called out Thompson. “Not bad for a morning’s work.”
Coming from him, it counted as high praise. “Thanks. You all worked hard.”
“You make a good JIC.” He cracked a half-smile. “You’re good to work with. You know your stuff.” He moved off to help Duffy with a smoking stump.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” she called after him, with the ridiculous impulse to grin like a fool.
They worked another two hours until ground crews showed up to take over for the night.
When the transport helicopter arrived, the jump squad dragged themselves off the line, exhausted and sooty, yet triumphant.
Once they landed at the airfield, the pilot shut down the engine.
The jump squad climbed out into the late afternoon heat and piled into a transport van.
When they rolled up to the fire base, Kylie and Deanna grabbed their gear and trudged toward their tents.
“The Montana tanker pilot has it bad for you. Just sayin’.”
Deanna hefted her fire pack to her other shoulder. “Get out of here, he does not.”
“Colton Davis has a crush on you, girl.”
Deanna snorted. “Give me a break. He offered compliments to our entire jump crew.”
“Uh-huh, right. He only said it twice on the main radio frequency. I counted.” Kylie grinned. “Nobody broadcasts praise where everyone on the fire can hear it, unless they want a certain somebody to hear it.”
Deanna held up her hands. “I swear to God, I did nothing to encourage it. Honestly, I didn’t!” Her own vehemence surprised her.
“That’s the whole point, dummy. You didn’t have to.” Kylie bumped her shoulder. “See what happens when you’re being yourself and doing your job?”
“I like Colton, but I’m afraid I’ll mess things up. He wants to have coffee when we get a hot minute. Sometimes I panic about it and want to chicken out.”
“Don’t you dare.” Kylie smiled. “I watched the two of you talking and the way you looked at each other. Jeez, Dee, I mean really, he’s a keeper. Not to mention he’s drop-your-panties gorgeous.”
“Oh, I haven’t noticed,” teased Deanna.
They reached their tent, and Deanna unzipped the flap, tossing her pack inside.
“Okay, you talked me into it. I’ll have coffee with the tanker pilot.”
“Dinner would be better.” Kylie ducked in behind her with an impish smile. “Aim high.”
“Only if he brings it up.” Deanna laughed. “Goodnight, Ky.”
She crawled into her tent and had one boot unlaced when movement caught her attention.
A figure stood next to the supply cache tent near her campsite, a phone glowing in one hand.
Nothing unusual except he kept scanning the area like he was afraid of being noticed.
The nervous, twitchy behavior didn’t fit a man casually scrolling.
Deanna paused, one boot in her hand.
His head snapped in her direction. Whatever he saw spooked him. He pocketed the phone and hurried off, disappearing between the rows of supply trailers.
Deanna stared at the spot where he’d been, the hair on her neck standing up, remembering Kylie’s comment about missing equipment from the supply cache.
She wrestled off her other boot and lay on her cot, the day’s triumph on the fireline fading under a colder thought.
Who would steal equipment when all they had to do was sign for it with the supply person? She hoped she was wrong about the lurker, and he’d only been getting some privacy to use his phone.
Unfortunately, her gut instinct told her otherwise. She was too tired to care right now. All she could think of was sleep, and Kylie saying Colton had a crush on her.
Yeah, right. And I have a bridge to nowhere to sell.