36. One Thing After Another
Chapter thirty-six
One Thing After Another
Maggie
Running was really not my thing. I read about the health benefits of it long ago and tried to get into it, but downtown Chicago was not really a place to go for a run.
As it turned out, running in the afternoon in the middle of summer in the Midwest was not really a good idea either.
After a few blocks, I was gasping for breath, so I slowed to a walk.
The sun beat down on me, so walking was definitely the better choice.
I still had some water left, so I took a long drink.
Paul’s words swirled around in my head. How he just wanted to have fun. So, what he really meant was that what we’d been doing was just meaningless fun to him? Great.
My sadness quickly morphed into anger and righteous indignation. How dare he reduce what we’d done to nothing? I’d trusted him to do things to my body I never would have done if I thought it didn’t mean anything to him. How many other girls had he just “had fun” with?
I slumped onto a bench as I deflated, knowing Paul wasn’t like that.
He was a true friend and a good man. He wouldn’t go around using me as his sexual plaything.
He was loyal and sweet. As my anger burned off, though, that deep sadness returned.
Cancer was spreading in Mom’s brain, taking away what little time I had left with her and time with Paul was temporary.
No matter how good he smelled, I wasn’t in the mood for anything more than hanging out as friends anymore.
If we reconnected as friends, maybe when I left this time we would actually keep in touch.
That part felt essential when the thought of going back to Chicago without him felt desperately lonely.
The next few days, Mom went downhill faster.
She refused to accept that she was wrong about my age.
She ordered me to my room several times when I tried to gently correct her, and then Father demanded that I leave because I was upsetting her.
I was just trying to help her find her way back to reality.
So, I went to my room to appease her, then slipped out and drove away.
I wasn’t even sure being here was helping her anymore.
She was so confused about who I was that she didn’t seem to enjoy my visits.
Needing a friend, I drove to see Suzie. I fell into her arms where she held me close and soothed me.
During the heat index of over one hundred, Suzie made me hot tea.
When she poured us each a cup, she shrugged. “It’s what you do when you’re upset. Tea fixes everything.”
I took a sip and realized she was right.
Before I could say so, a man entered her store with a dark crease in his forehead. “Babe?”
Suzie stood quickly, going to him. “Kyle, what’s wrong?”
Sensing something serious was happening, I rose to join them. Only then could I see that what I thought was a crease was really a smudge of black soot.
“There’s a fire coming toward our place. Started in the far pasture, so we didn’t catch it until the wind changed direction and blew the smoke our way. It’s heading for the house.”
Suzie’s eyes widened as she gasped. “No.”
I instantly started problem-solving. “Suzie, you go with Kyle. Let me take care of closing the store and getting some people in town to help. I’ll work on supplies and things.”
“Fire department has already started doing their thing, but it’s so dry. Fire’s just consuming everything,” Kyle said, trembling as he held Suzie close. “I need you to come in your own car so we can get what we need from the house before it’s too late.”
Suzie grabbed her purse from under the counter.
“I’ll do everything I can to help,” I told them both.
“Appreciate it,” he said.
“Don’t give up hope, Suzie,” I told her as she handed me the key to lock up. “If we all work together, we can put out the fire and save your home.”
Texting Paul to let him know what was happening, I thought through the places in town I’d need check in with as I locked up behind myself.
The first place that came to mind was next door at the farm supply store.
Quickly, I found Jerry, explained what was happening, and he sprung to action, gathering supplies.
He placed a box full of heavy-duty gloves, rubber boots, and protective glasses in the backseat of my car.
So, then I went to the diner, the grocery store, and the post office to spread the word. Within minutes, Jo Ellen posted about the fire on the social media page and half the town shut down to go out and help fight the fire.
Jo Ellen stopped me before I left the diner. “Wait a minute. Let me send some sandwiches with you for the guys. It’ll take me two minutes.”
I nodded and checked my phone. Nothing from Paul. His dad’s farm wasn’t too far from Suzie’s, I realized, and wondered if he was out protecting his farm, too.
Jo Ellen returned with two large catering containers full of sandwiches and a cooler of bottled water. “If it’s still going at dinnertime, call me, and I’ll put meals together for everyone.”
“That would be really great of you,” I said. “I’ll keep you posted if we’re still going then.”
Before I could get to my car, I had others calling me from the doorways of their shops.
The grocery store wanted to send more bottled water and sports drinks to help keep everyone hydrated, plus snacks to keep people fueled.
The gardening store guy planned to follow me in his truck with extra hoses, buckets, bandanas, and fire extinguishers to protect the volunteers and the house.
The lady at the baby store had a lot of extra wet wipes, so she donated those for people to wash up between shifts.
Loading all of the donations into my car, I raced out for Suzie’s place. I had a pretty good idea of where it was, but so many others were heading out to help that I followed the flow of traffic.
By the time I reached her driveway, a dark, gray cloud of smoke hovered above her house. I had so much to help that I parked behind other cars, blocking them in and the road itself.
Stepping out of my car, I looked around and saw a deputy there who seemed to be directing those who came to help. Approaching him, I realized it was a guy I went to high school with, Connor McDaniel.
Shouting over the chaos, I told him what I had to offer in my car.
Connor looked me over. “Well, hey, Maggie. Thanks for the supplies. Just keep your car doors unlocked and I’ll direct people to it when they need something.
But you need to stay back. This fire is unpredictable.
That’s why Paul and his brothers are out there.
It looks like it’s headed for their place. ”
My heart thundered. Paul was out there somewhere?
I grabbed a box, making an assortment of the donations I’d brought, from gloves to glasses and bottles of water. “No offense, Connor, but I need to get these to the people on the front lines. They need this equipment.”
He gave me a disapproving look, but I didn’t wait for his answer. I grabbed some bandanas from the garden center guy and took off running toward the fire truck where most of the volunteers seemed to be waiting for their orders or recuperating before going back again.
“Here!” I said to the volunteers who were already covered in smoke. “There’s water in my car, so go get some. Sandwiches for fuel, too. Take what you need.”
One of the men I not only recognized, but he whooped as he picked me up and spun me around. It was Josh, Paul’s brother.
“Heard you were around these parts,” he said with an award-winning grin. “Why haven’t you come to see me? You’re wasting your time with my foolish brother when you could have this instead.”
I handed him some gloves, ignoring his question. “You’re a mess. How long have you been out here?”
His face fell. “An hour. We tried doing a fire line and throwing water on it, but it wasn’t enough. Fire departments from three counties have been called. Help is coming, but the crops are dry, the grass is dry, and the wind isn’t helping things. It’s powerful and keeps changing direction.”
Panic gripped me. “Where’s Paul?”
He pointed over toward a large throng of people. “Still battling along with the volunteer firefighters. He pushed me aside and told me to rest. Sawyer and Rob, too. He’s always so worried about us, but we’re grown men.”
“He’s got good reason to worry. You’d just rush in there on the front lines, working to exhaustion, wouldn’t you?”
Paul always worried about his brothers, ever since they were kids.
“Hell yeah,” he said, his eyes intense. “I’ve always wanted to be a volunteer firefighter and feel useful during these things.”
I handed him a pair of protective glasses and bandana. “Well, at least wear these while you’re out there and keep taking breaks. And be careful!”
“Thanks,” he said, tipping his chin to me. “And if you decide my stuffy older brother isn’t your type, you just remember, I’m the handsome one in the family. I’d take you out and show you a really good time.”
I snickered, shaking my head at him, then went to find Paul. Josh was a fine specimen of a man, no doubt, but he wasn’t the Stratton brother for me.
Moving through the throng of people, I handed out some things from my box along the way, but guarded a bottle of water and protective gear for Paul. Since he was going to insist on being on the front lines, he needed to be well-equipped.
When I found him, he was wearing a soot-stained undershirt and coughing into a handkerchief. I waited until he stepped back to let a fire truck angle in to set up another hose before pulling him over to the volunteer area. Away from the smoke, I handed him a bottle of water.
He chugged half of the bottle at once, then furrowed his brow. “What’re you doing here?”
I swallowed down the hurt his words caused. “Helping. I was with Suzie when Kyle came to tell her, so I went around town and gathered supplies. Everything is in my car, food and more water, so help yourself.”
“No time,” he said, glancing back at the fire truck.
While he was distracted, I took one of his hands. The gloves he wore were practically shredded.
“Here,” I said handing him a new pair of gloves.
He downed the rest of the water, tossing the bottle to the ground along with his shredded gloves. When he took the new gloves from me, he tugged the tag off of them and headed back toward the fire truck.
Since he hadn’t taken much of a break, I ran around in front of him, pointing toward the rest area. “Sit!”
His expression was hard. “I gotta get back.”
I placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “Look around. Do you think you’re the only one here who can help? There’s a whole town working to stop this fire. It’s not your crusade, Paul.”
He swiped at his nose, smearing the soot there. “It’s headed for our land. I can’t just sit by when I’m needed.”
“So what?” I said. “Stop it or die trying?”
He grasped my upper arms. “I ain’t gonna die.”
Another firetruck blasted its horn trying to get through.
Paul pulled me aside and pushed my back up against the firetruck already parked.
His eyes flared with intensity, then became resigned.
“Look, I don’t wanna fight. I have to go help.
I’ll be careful, but you stay out of harm’s way.
Can’t be as effective with the fire if I’m worried about you and my brothers. ”
I handed him the pair of glasses in my hand then took the last bandana before dropping the box on the ground.
“Take these. And keep a bandana wrapped around your face like this.” I made a triangle of it and tied it around his head.
He pulled it up and looked like a bandit, but it did the trick. “Be careful.”
He gave me a curt nod, then, without a second thought, he strode back toward the inferno.