A Moment To Dance (18 page)

“This is really important. Do you remember seeing him after the trucks pulled out?”

“Nah. He must have gotten bored and headed home.”

“So you didn’t actually see him walk away?”

The fireman shook his head.

“I need you to radio those trucks and ask them to check if he’s onboard.”

The blond guy gave her a frustrated look. “They aren’t going to take a kid on a joyride when they’re on a call.”

“Is there a place on a fire truck for a small boy to hide?”

He shrugged. “No one’s ever tried before. Do you really think he’d do something like that?”

That little voice inside her was screaming at her that Johnny was in very serious trouble. Though she hoped that she was wrong, she couldn’t afford to take any chances.

The thought of Johnny putting his own life in danger to save the puppy sent a chill of apprehension rushing down her spine. “Yes. I think he’s capable of stowing away. He’s done it before. Please hurry and check.”

“Okay. Okay. I’ll go radio them.” The man rushed into the office.

Ella paced in the empty bay, more certain with each passing second that Johnny was headed for Patch. She hoped and prayed that they’d catch him before he reached the mountain.

A couple of long minutes later, the firefighter returned, shaking his head. “They’re already at the scene. Someone checked the trucks, but they didn’t see any sign of the boy.”

She clasped her hands to keep them from shaking. This didn’t mean Johnny hadn’t been onboard and slipped away before they checked.

“Thanks.”

After she climbed into her car, she grabbed her phone. When she spotted a new voice mail, hope filled her chest.
Let it be good news about Johnny
. Her shaky finger swiped over the touch screen.

An unfamiliar voice came over the line. “Ms. Morgan this is the Golden Nugget. I have that appraisal on your ring. I think you’ll be very pleased with the amount—”

Ella jabbed her finger at the touch screen, ending the message. She didn’t have time for that right now. She had much more important matters to deal with.

She immediately called Melissa. Johnny still hadn’t been located, and Melissa hadn’t been able to reach Tony. Ella finally vocalized her suspicion that Johnny had gone to Roca Mountain. Melissa promised she’d drive over to Carlota’s place and tell her in person what had happened. They both worried about the older woman’s health and that the news could have an adverse effect on her. This way, someone would be with her just in case…

Ella dialed Tony’s cell phone. It went directly to voice mail.

“Tony, I need you. Johnny has gone missing, and I’m afraid—” Her voice crackled with emotion. “I think he’s planning to try to rescue Patch from the wildfire. Oh, what if—please God, not again.” She tossed the phone into the passenger seat.

Dread filled her heart as she raced toward the mountain. What was she going to do once she got to the road block? She could tell the firefighters about Johnny, but would they let her through? Even if they didn’t, she’d find a way to save Johnny and Patch. She wouldn’t let the past repeat itself.

CHAPTER TWENTY

S
he couldn’t be too late.

Not again.

After pushing the speed limit the whole way, Ella braked for the turnoff to Mountain Road. Wooden barricades blocked the roadway, and flares lined the edges. She slowed to a stop behind six cars waiting in line. The officer standing in front of the blockade leaned in and talked to each driver before waving for them to turn around.

Her gaze kept shifting between the clock on the dashboard and the idling cars. Good grief. How long did it take to say the road was closed?

She didn’t have time for this—Johnny and Patch didn’t have time. Wheeling her car into the other lane, she drove forward. The uniformed officer stepped in front of her vehicle and glared at her.

He approached her window. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She ignored his gruff tone. “I need to get through. My home is on the mountain.”

The state trooper leaned farther down to the open window. “The road is closed to everyone but the firefighters. You need to turn around.”

“Do you know Fire Chief Tony Granger?”

The man shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m not from around these parts.”

Not wasting any more time, she said, “Who’s in charge? The Whistle Stop Fire Department?”

“No. This is out of their jurisdiction. The Forest Service is running things.”

Ella frowned. She didn’t know anyone in authority. “I need to get through. This is a matter of life and death. I live on Roca Mountain, and I think a young boy is on the mountain trying to make it to my cabin to rescue my dog.”

A look of concern flickered through the man’s eyes. He paused as though considering the validity of her statement. “Okay, pull off to the side of the road. You’ll have to walk up to the command post.”

“Thank you.” Once he stepped back from the car, she parked.

Glad she’d decided to wear khakis and comfortable shoes that day, she ran past fire equipment, pickups, and cars littering both sides of the asphalt like one big parking lot.

“Hey, you can’t be here.” A firefighter held up his hands, blocking her.

“I—” She had trouble catching her breath. “I have to get to my home.”

He shook his head. “No way. The area is closed off.”

“You don’t understand—”

“The winds have picked up, and the blaze is out of control. We can’t even get planes in the air. I’m sorry, but you need to go to the shelter.”

“You aren’t listening to me. A little boy is up there.”

The man removed his black helmet and ran a sooty hand over his damp forehead. “Are you sure about this?”

“No. But I’ve got good reason to believe the boy’s trying to save a puppy in my cabin.”

“Let me check something.” The man turned and walked between the parked vehicles.

She followed, not about to let him out of sight until she was certain someone had been sent to rescue Johnny. When the firefighter came to an abrupt stop, she bumped into him. He turned and looked at her as though he was surprised to find her dogging his steps.

“Wait here,” he ordered.

She’d stay put as long as he remained in her line of vision.

Ella glanced up at the ominous gray cloud of smoke hiding the sun. The wind pulled strands of her hair loose from her French twist. She brushed them out of her eyes. She didn’t need anyone to tell her the wind was the accelerant turning this wildfire into a huge, horrendous monster. Time was most definitely not on Johnny’s or Patch’s side.

While waiting for the man to return, she overheard a couple of the firefighters trying to assess the situation on the mountain. She took a couple of steps closer, hoping to make out more of what they were saying.

“We’ve got close to a thousand hot acres up there,” a man with grunge and sweat on his face said to another firefighter. “With the wind kicking up, it won’t be long before the fire doubles in size.”

The other firefighter with his back to her said, “These gusting winds are making everything difficult, especially since all of the planes are grounded. This thing has the potential to evolve into a badass blaze.”

The increasing blare of a siren drowned out the rest of the men’s conversation. She glanced over her shoulder to find men headed for the approaching fire truck.

She wrung her hands while searching out the man who had gone to get help. He was talking to another man, hopefully about Johnny and Patch. While she waited, she glanced around for Tony, praying he’d appear. He would see that action was taken, that everyone was rescued. If only he was here.

The fireman returned. “All of the residences have been thoroughly searched, and the evacuees were relocated to the gym at Whistle Stop High School. You should check there.”

Johnny wouldn’t have arrived at the cabin by the time the firefighters ushered the people down the mountain. She shook her head vehemently. “You don’t understand. I can give you—”

He held out a hand, halting her flow of words. “I know you’re upset, but I’m sure he’s safe in the shelter. I don’t have the school’s number on me, but I’m sure information can give it to you.”

The firefighter had disappeared into the crowd, and she was left on her own. She grabbed her phone, looked up the phone number for the school and called. It took a bit but eventually she spoke with a person with a comprehensive list of evacuees and Johnny’s didn’t appear on it. No way was she heading back to town, not with her gut screaming out that Johnny was in trouble.

“Excuse me,” she said to another firefighter.

“The chow line is that way,” he said as he kept walking.

He thought she was there to make food? Oh, what was the use in wasting any more time?

For an instant, she was swept back in time, once more a scared child trying to save her mother and little brother. Regret clawed at her. She’d been too young to save them, but she was a grown woman now. If no one would help her, she’d rescue Johnny herself.

If I’m wrong, and he’s not up there, that’d be a relief. But I can’t stand here and do nothing if that little boy needs me.

She walked to the edge of the bustling group, and quietly slipped into the trees. She paused. Her fingers trembled as she reached for her cell phone. Not knowing what she might face on the mountain, she wanted to get word to Tony of what she’d discovered. But when she dialed his number, nothing happened. She held the phone in front of her and found she had no signal. A frustrated groan rose in her throat.

Her gaze rose above the distant tree line. The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air as it marred the blue sky. Her heart pumped faster. She had to keep moving. Johnny needed help.

She switched between running, stumbling, and slowing down to navigate over rocks and fallen tree limbs. She wanted to run up the road, but she’d be stopped by firefighters being transported to and from the fire. She knew if they spotted her, they’d demand she be taken to the evacuation center. Dread clawed her chest as she headed farther up the mountain, but a deeper, more primitive protectiveness drove her onward. She wouldn’t let the past repeat itself. She refused to lose another loved one.

The toe of her shoe struck a rock, which sent her stumbling forward. Her leg caught on a fallen limb. Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them away. There wasn’t time for a pity party. She sucked up the pain and stood. A glance down at her legs revealed a cut in her pants. Blood stained the material. Nothing major. She continued onward—toward Johnny and Patch.

A low-hanging branch caught her hair and pulled it loose from its pins. She ran her hand over her head, pushing the annoying strands away from her face.

Smoke stung her eyes as she swiped the back of her hand over her sweaty brow. Her mouth was dry, and grimy dirt already caked her lips.

The rising temperature made her feel as though she were in a sauna. Shoving up the long sleeves of her T-shirt, she forced one foot in front of the other. Johnny and Patch were counting on her.

♥♥♥

Tony had just returned to base camp. He moved away from the crowd in order to touch base with Melissa and check on Johnny. He checked his cell phone and found nineteen missed calls. Nineteen? A chill of apprehension inched its icy fingers down his spine. For a man who didn’t spend much time on the phone, this was a record number of calls.

Something is wrong. Something is very wrong
.

Ella’s voice caught his immediate attention. Panic laced her words. “Tony, I need you.” He grew heartsick at the realization that she’d reached out to him and he hadn’t been there for her.

When she mentioned Johnny, Patch, and the wildfire all in one breath, his chest tightened with alarm. Johnny had run off again. What would make the boy think he was any match for this roaring inferno?

He tried to call her back, but the call went to voice mail. After a brief conversation with Melissa, he learned that his troubles had doubled. Ella, believing Johnny was headed for the cabin, had chased after him. Hopefully she got help from his fellow firefighters instead of charging up the mountain to go after him on her own.

Tony hustled over to the large map attached to a dry-erase board. He refused to give in to the fear clawing at the back of his throat. He swallowed hard. He had to remain clear-minded if he was to mount a successful rescue.

“Planes are grounded until the winds die down,” Charlie Lucas, head of the Forest Service, was saying to a group of firefighters. “So we’ll be working this fire from the ground.”

“Listen up, people,” someone bellowed from up front by the map.

Tony waited and listened. He needed more details about this monstrous blaze before venturing back into it to save the people who meant the world to him.

“The latest report states the fire jumped our break on the north ridge.” Charlie pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s headed straight for quadrant C3, which is over here, and has a number of homes in the area.” Someone approached the man and whispered something in his ear. The color drained from his face. “A crew is trapped. Two merging fire lines have them pinned down.”

Tony’s chest constricted as though a vise grip had just been ratcheted tighter. Not only were his nephew and Ella in the middle of this disaster, but now his buddies, the same guys who had covered his back numerous times, were facing the most harrowing moments of their lives.

“This is going to be dicey,” Charlie continued. “With the planes grounded, we need every available man—”

Tony had heard everything he needed to know. Ella’s cabin sat in quadrant C3, and he didn’t have time to waste.

He hitched a ride with the next ground crew headed up the mountain. Without help from the sky, the inferno would be nearly impossible to contain. It’d take every bit of manpower to free the trapped men.

“Let me off here,” he called out.

“Why here?” the driver asked.

“I’ve got a report of some lost hikers in the area. I’m going to check into it.”

“We can go with you,” one of his fellow firefighters from Whistle Stop volunteered.

“Thanks, but I’ve got this. The fire hasn’t reached this far. Take care of the guys who are trapped. They’ve got families waiting for them.”

After the men headed farther up the mountain, Tony called into home base to let them know his location before he set off to face the unknown. The one thing on his side was the fact the wildfire was still at a higher elevation. Since fire traveled slower going downhill, that would hopefully give him the time he needed.

Dried twigs and leaves crunched beneath his boots as he rushed toward the cabin, trying to avoid sticks and rocks. The stench of smoke hung thick in the air as he bounded over downed trees and scaled boulders. He refused to be deterred or slowed down. The temperature soared as ash rained down from the darkening sky. His pulse raced, both from the physical exertion and his fear about Johnny’s and Ella’s safety.

He envisioned sweeping Ella and Johnny into his arms and getting them to safety. He ached to tell Ella how sorry he was for being so short with her, but he feared those words would never have the chance to cross his lips.

When her cabin finally came into view, Tony breathed a sigh of relief that it was unharmed. He sprinted the rest of the way.

“Ella! Johnny!”

He took the steps two at a time and burst through the unlocked door. He scanned the room and found Johnny, who sat in the far corner, crying.

Tony rushed to the boy and held out his arms. “Hey, little man, everything’s going to be okay. I’m here now.”

Johnny hurled his body into him and burrowed his head in Tony’s neck. The boy clung to him as though afraid to let go.

After a few seconds, Tony held the boy at arm’s length to get his attention. “Are Ella and Patch here?”

“I couldn’t find Patch. Then I got scared with all the smoke outside.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“Maybe Ella took the puppy into town.”

Johnny vehemently shook his head. “I heard her. She didn’t.”

Why had the cabin been empty when Johnny got there? It didn’t make any sense. Tony recalled his conversation with Melissa. She was certain Ella had gone after Johnny. So where was she? Surely she wasn’t lost on the mountain—the same mountain about to be taken over by a blazing inferno.