Married For Jeremy (Under Fire Book 1) (3 page)

“I’d like to understand it. She talks like it’s the real deal. I’ve never met anyone who believed like her.” Ellen finished her sandwich and crumpled up the wrapper.

“Well, she’ll tell you all about it if you ask. She likes to do that.”

Ellen could tell James didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so she dropped the subject. It was strange that something Anna was so serious about was of no interest to her grandson. “Are you coming to the garden party tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll stop in for a bit. Grandma would be mad at me if I didn’t.”

              “Thanks for coming. I know this isn’t your thing,” Anna said the next day. James was sitting beside her wheelchair, trying not to fidget. No one had told him this thing was black tie. Or rather, he’d been too stupid to read the posters that had been plastered around the home for the past few weeks. He was paying for it now.

              He’d thrown his baseball cap back into his truck when he saw everyone else, but it still didn’t change the fact that he was sitting here in jeans.

              “I’m glad to be here Grandma.”

              “That’s a lie if I ever heard one,” she said wryly. “How about you push me over to the snack table?”

              “Okay.” He got up and wheeled her over to the table and watched her place three crackers and a piece of cheese on a Styrofoam plate. The home had really gone all out for this. Every year, they planned some sort of family event, and as usual, it was well attended.

              “Aren’t you going to eat James?”

              “No, I’m not hungry,” James replied. He’d probably end up spilling coffee on himself and feeling even more like a fool.

              He sat back down with his grandmother and tried to feel less out of place. He knew most of the residents, but not enough to talk much to them. He glanced around and saw Ellen walking gracefully into the room carrying a tray. She was dressed to the nines like everyone else. He watched her set the tray down, then stop to talk to a resident for a moment. She put her hand against the door and laughed at something the man said. She didn’t see Katie rushing through the door with a fruit tray and her hand was slammed in the door hinge before she had a chance to move.

              James jumped to his feet and headed over to her. Tears were already streaming down her face.

              “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Katie apologized.

              “It’s okay,” Ellen managed to say. She saw James coming toward her. Of course he’d have to see her like this. She hadn’t meant to cry, but the sharp pain had caught her totally off guard.

              “Com’ere, sit down.” James put his arm around her and led her to a chair. “Let’s see what you did.” His gentle fingers smoothed out her palm and felt each of her fingers. She winced when he touched her knuckles.

              “You’re going to have some good bruising for awhile,” he said quietly. “Can you move your fingers?”

              She found that it was painful, but she could move some.

              “Can we get some ice maybe?” James asked the crowd that had gathered around them.

              “I’ll go find some,” Katie agreed.

              “The good news is that your fingers don’t seem broken,” James said with a reassuring smile.

              “It feels like they are,” Ellen said quietly.

              Katie came back with the ice and James held it to Ellen’s hand for a few moments, then instructed her to hold it with her good hand. “Leave that on there for awhile, then ice it again when you get home.”

              “I’ll do that,” Ellen said. She sniffed. Her hand didn’t hurt as bad as it had initially.

James reached over to the nearby coffee table and pulled a handful of tissues out of the box then handed them to her. “You’ll be okay.” He stood up and turned to cross the room to his grandmother.

“Is she all right?” Anna asked.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

“She’s had a good medic.”

“Anyone else would’ve done the same thing.” James brushed off the compliment.              

A familiar beeping alarm brought James sharply awake. He sat up and tried to shake the sleep from his head as the tone went off a second time and the dispatcher started speaking. “Darcy-Creek Fire Department, you have a report of a two vehicle MVC, Highway 17 just north of Highway 4. No other information at this time. EMS has been dispatched.”

              James got out of bed, dressed in a hurry and headed for the door. He was the first firefighter to the hall and wasted no time in putting his gear on and climbing into Pumper 67. Moments later, Reg was climbing in beside him. “Do you want to drive?” James asked, knowing Reg would probably operate the truck if they needed it on scene.

              “You’re already there, let’s go.”

              James put the already idling engine into gear and reached onto the dashboard to hit the master switch for the lights.

              James saw the flashing green light on Mack’s pick-up truck as they pulled out of the hall and knew the Rescue would be rolling momentarily. He picked up the radio. “Fire Dispatch, Darcy Pumper 67 responding with two.”

              “Roger Pump 67.”

              Once they were on the main road, James hit the siren. He liked to think it scared off any moose that might want to cross in front of them.

              The junction of Highway 17 and Highway 4 was in the northern corner of their district, on the edge of nowhere. James had no idea why someone would be up there at this time of night.

              “Pumper 67 Dispatch.”

              Reg picked up the radio. “Go ahead Dispatch, this is 67.”

              “Be advised, Firefighter Ferguson is on scene, and has advised us that extrication is required, and there are multiple critical patients. I am advising EMS that more ambulances are needed.”

              “Roger Dispatch,” Reg said, placing the radio back on its holder. “Poor Sam.”

              “I shoulda stayed in bed,” James said flatly.

              James ran to Sam the moment their truck was parked. Reg would see that a hoseline was pulled and charged in case of fire. “What have we got?” he asked.

              “It’s bad. Guy in the truck is stone drunk, stuck in there like a sardine, but he’s singing, so I think he’s okay. It’s this Mom and little girl I’m worried about.” Sam checked the pulse on the mother again. “She was awake when I got here, but not anymore.” The look she gave him told James that Sam didn’t think the mother was going to make it.

              “Is my Mommy okay?” James looked into the backseat of the SUV to find pleading blue eyes filled with tears. With the appearance of luggage in the back, he assumed they must’ve been returning from some sort of trip. He tried the back door of the car and found it unlocked and able to open. “We’re going to do everything we can to help her,” he said, hoping they could do enough. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

              “My tummy.”

              “Okay. Can you sit nice and still for me?” Regardless of the adrenaline coursing through his system, James had to sympathize with her. His stomach hurt too.

              More crew arrived, along with the first ambulance.

“What do you think Sam?” Captain Kelly put his hand on her shoulder.

“I think the Mom first, then the girl.”

In short order, the mother and little girl were loaded and headed for medical attention. The crew started work on the pick-up’s driver, but Captain Kelly sent James to check the area for more patients, just in case.

              All James could see was the face of the little girl as they loaded her onto the rig. If he was a praying man, he’d be praying now. He absently shone his flashlight around the truck, then continued in a further sweep of the area. No amount of training could’ve prepared him for what he found next. “Hey guys! We’ve got another kid over here!” he screamed.

              Sam came running and together they carefully turned a near replica of the other girl over onto her back. Her leg was badly broken and her face bloody. Sam felt for a pulse. “She’s alive.” The girl’s breathing was laboured. Sam called for oxygen and was soon placing the oxygen mask over the girl’s face.

              “This just gets better and better,” she said, sending a pleading look in James’s direction.

              “Oh my goodness.” Captain Kelly was behind them now. “I guess we need another ambulance. Are you two okay here?”

              “Yeah, and let’s just hope they hurry.” Sam began to feel the girl’s chest, looking for other injury as Captain Kelly walked away. She felt the girls ribs then brought her hand up, finding it covered in blood. “Get me some bandages James.” She said as she took scissors from her belt and began to cut away the girl’s jacket and shirt. The girl moaned and whimpered as Sam bandaged a serious chest wound, but didn’t wake up. “There, I think that will do,” Sam said, smoothing her gloved hand over the girl’s forehead, the gash on her head was bloody, but not deep.

              They watched the girl’s chest rise and fall, willing her to keep breathing.

              “Okay Guys, EMS ETA is at least 15 minutes.” Captain Kelly came back to them, carrying the defibrillator case.

              “Great,” Sam said in frustration. She put her hand on the girl’s chest, and her lips moved silently as she counted the breaths to get the respiration rate again. Suddenly, the look on her face changed. “Jimmy! She’s not breathing anymore!”

              “Here, take the pads James.” Captain Kelly flipped the case open and handed the defibrillator pads to James. James put them into place while the Captain started up the machine.

              “I hate dealing with kids.” Sam slumped into a chair at the hall.

              “Me too,” James agreed, sitting across from her.

              “Especially when they die.” Sam’s eyes were glassy from fatigue and stress.

              “I think I’ll make some coffee,” Captain Kelly said quietly. He started the pot, then came back to the desk to slowly fill out the call log.

              Reg got some cookies out of the freezer and set them on the table. No one wanted to go home, so they stayed, and slowly began to talk it out, but they all knew they wouldn’t soon forget the crash.

              James finally headed home around 4am, he called the store, leaving a message to say he wasn’t going to be in until later, if at all. He got undressed and back into bed, then tried to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the little girl, lying on the pavement and Sam’s determined face as she administered CPR in hopes of reviving the girl.

              Multiply defib shocks had done nothing so James knew it was over even as he helped load the backboard onto the stretcher that would carry her to the ambulance. He knew she’d be DOA once she got to the hospital. She’d never get the chance to go to college, fall in love, have a career, children, nothing. And it wasn’t even her fault.

              Another face swam before his eyes. The other little girl. A girl who was going to wake up in a strange place to find out that her sister was dead and her mother was in critical condition, if not dead herself. Sometimes, he hated his job.

              Knowing better, he got up and went down into the cellar for a beer. Sitting at the kitchen table in near darkness, he pulled the cap off. He knew better than to drink after a call like that, but right now, he didn’t care.

Chapter 3

              Ellen decided to stop at James's house on the way to work. She wanted to thank him for helping her with her hand. His truck was in his driveway, so she assumed he was home.

              She parked and headed up the walk to the front door. It took him several moments to come to the door after she knocked.

              "Ellen?" He looked like he hadn’t had much sleep.

              "Good morning James. I thought I'd stop in on my way to work so I could thank you for yesterday. You knew exactly what to do."

              "I'm an EFR, if I didn't do it right, I'd be worried," James said laughing. "Com'on in."

              "I can't stay long, I have to get to work."

              "Okay, have you had breakfast yet?"

              "Yes." Standing closer to him made Ellen realize he smelled like alcohol. She glanced past him and saw beer bottles on the kitchen table. "James, why are you drinking?"

              "It was a rough night and I haven't had any sleep yet."

              "So you’re going to get drunk instead?"

              "I'm not drunk, I just need a couple of beers to take the edge off so I can sleep."

              "That makes a lot of sense," Ellen said sarcastically.

              "Ellen, a mom and little girl died in a car wreck last night because a drunk decided to go out on the road. You don't need to tell me about drinking."

              Ellen watched his eyes get very dark and backed away from him. "I'm leaving James. You're freaking me out."

              His eyes softened. "I'm sorry, it’s okay. I’m fine."

              “I don’t like seeing people drink.”

              “I didn’t say you had to stay and watch.” She’d obviously touched a nerve with him.

              "Just go to sleep James. I don't want to see you like this. It's wrong."

              “Okay so I had a couple of drinks. What’s the big deal?”

              “I don’t like being around alcohol.”

"Then rain the hellfire and brimstone on me. I don't really care."

              "That's your problem. You don't care. You can't just cruise through life not caring about anything."

              "I care Ellen. About a lot of things. I wouldn't be a firefighter if I didn't care."

              "I mean about God."

              "Whatever. I know the Bible Ellen. And I know that Paul told Timothy to take some wine for his stomach. That's all I'm doing."

              "You're lying to yourself, but I guess that's your choice. Goodbye James." She spun around and stormed down the walk without a further word.

              James sighed as he leaned against the doorframe, watching her leave. She was probably right.

              He went into the kitchen and cleared the empty bottles off the table. He almost got out another, then changed his mind. Maybe he'd try sleeping again.

              “Is something the matter dear?”

              Ellen had come in to help Anna get dressed and the older woman had noticed she was depressed. “I’m just thinking about something.”

              “Would it help to talk about it?” Anna patted the edge of her bed and Ellen sat down gratefully.

              “Does James drink often?”

              “More than I’d like.”

              “Is there something we can do?”

              “Not really. He has to decide to come back to God before he can stop. And it’s not as bad as you might think, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him intoxicated, it’s more of a social thing.”

              “I don’t drink. My mother used to, and it always ended badly. So I don’t.”

              “That’s good. Did your mother take you to church?”

              “Yes, we went to mass pretty much every week. I still try to go. I want to be a good Catholic.”

              Anna smiled. “I’m not going to discount your faith, but being Catholic isn’t the only thing that matters.”

              “You’re not Catholic, are you?”

              “No, not at all. But it really doesn’t matter what church you go to. What matters, is what’s in here.” Anna placed her hand over her heart.

              “What do you mean?” Ellen asked, puzzled.

              “All of us have a very important decision to make. We each have a hole inside us that can only be filled with Jesus. Some people try to fill it with drugs or alcohol, some use jobs, or even families, but the hole remains until they let Jesus in.”

              “I’ve never heard of that before. Is that why you read the Bible so much, because you’re trying to fill yourself with Jesus?”

              “Partly, yes. I read the Bible because it allows me to get closer to God, and learn more about Him, but my hole has been filled up with Jesus for many years now.”

              “I don’t understand. How does He fill this hole?”

              “He comes in when you ask.”

              Ellen found herself dwelling on Anna’s words for the rest of the day. She’d seen Anna reading her Bible, and knew there was something different about the older woman, but this whole concept of God being in a hole in her heart was mind boggling. The more she thought of it, the more she realized there probably was a hole. Even being here in Darcy Creek was evidence of that. She’d come because she wanted to escape the past that haunted her. To escape the secrets she didn’t want to share with anyone. The problem was, the past hadn’t left, and the emptiness inside that she carried had come along for the ride.

              When she finished her shift at work, she went home to change into hiking clothes. A cloud cover had moved in, but she decided that a little rain wouldn’t matter. She’d go back to the Beaverdam trail and go for a nice long walk. Maybe she could sort out some of her feelings.

James woke up to the sound of rain pounding on his steel roof. His head hurt. He glanced at the clock and saw that it read 5:30, then he flung his arm over his eyes to shut out the light. On the one hand he was starving and knew he should get up and eat something, but on the other, his entire body ached and he didn’t feel like moving. The ringer on his phone was way too loud.

              He got out of bed and managed to pick it up on the sixth ring. "Hello?"

              "James, it's Grandma."

              "Hi. What's up?"

              "I'm worried about Ellen. She said she was going for a walk on some trail after work, but this storm came up, so I tried to phone her house to make sure she got home and there's no answer."

              "I see. What do you want me to do?" James rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

              "I wondered if Ellen had a cellphone I can call."

              "If she does, I don't know her number." She was lucky enough to even have obtained Ellen’s home number. It wasn’t like he’d been able to do that yet.

              "All right. I wish I knew what trail she was on. She said it was the only one she'd been on."

              "Beaverdam," James said flatly. "Someone had better go look for her, that's a tough trail in bad weather."

              "Are you able to at least go check the parking lot and see if her car is there?"

              "I guess." James really didn't feel like getting mixed up with Ellen again.

              "I'd appreciate it. And James?"

              "Yeah."

              "I can hear the headache in your voice. Take some aspirin, and try some green tea next time you're upset."

              "Okay." She knew him too well.

              James collected a couple of granola bars, knowing he’d feel better if he actually bothered to eat something, then headed for his truck and started out. His windshield wipers slapped against the glass, fighting to keep the heavy rain from blocking his vision. Despite the time, the cloud cover made it seem like late evening.

He swore softly when he saw Ellen's silver car in the parking lot of the trail entrance. Maybe she was in her car waiting out the storm. James unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed his door open. The wind caught the door and nearly blew it out of his hand. He slammed it and headed across the parking lot to Ellen's car. He didn't need his flashlight to see that her car was empty.

              Heading back to his truck, he climbed back inside. Rubbing his forehead, he reached into the center console and retrieved a bottle of water. He unscrewed the top and took a long drink while deciding what to do next. He made a mental note to put a bottle of Advil in the compartment later.

              He knew the trail like the back of his hand. He'd have to go look for her. Reaching into the back seat of the truck, he picked up his medical backpack. The backpack was a source of pride for him. His fire department buddies joked that it was better stocked than the Rescue, just without the defib. He checked the pockets quickly, then dug out his rain pants from under the passenger seat. He was going to need them. Shouldering the backpack, he headed for the trail head.

              The trail was muddy and slippery. The first part was easy, then it sloped off steeply. James had to put his hands on the trees to keep from falling headlong down the hill. At the bottom, there was a fork in the trail. When he'd brought Ellen, he'd taken her to the right, and hoped she'd gone the same way this time. He shone his flashlight at the ground and saw obvious footprints going toward the left. If the tracks were hers, it looked like she had been coming up from the right side of the trail and turned at the fork.

              James felt his heart beating faster. The left fork was a barely marked, narrow trail. It was very easy to get lost if you didn't know the area. Reality was, in this weather, it would be very easy for him to get lost. He couldn't leave her out here. Even if she was still mad at him. He smiled thinking of how furious she had been that morning. She was sure serious about some things.              

              He pressed on. This part of the trail was drier and not as hard to walk on. "Ellen?" His voice was carried away by the wind, but yelling for her made him feel less alone. "Ellen?" He tripped on a tree root and swore. Rain was still coming down and his hair was plastered to his forehead, even with his baseball cap on. He pulled his coat tighter, thankful he'd thought to wear the rain pants and hopeful that Ellen was wearing warm clothes.

              Ellen shivered against the cold. She never should've come out here. Especially not this late. She had wanted to get a closer look at one of the beaver dams and look where it had gotten her. The rain had slowed dramatically in the last few minutes, but she didn’t know which way to go to get back to her car.

She heard movement and froze. A twig snapped. A flashlight shone in her eyes. She screamed.

              "Easy." An irritated but familiar voice said, directing the flashlight beam out of her face. "You okay?"

              He looked soaking wet but she'd never been so happy to see someone. "James, how did you find me?"

              "Grandma called and said you'd gone hiking. When it started storming, she got worried." He hunkered down in front of her. "You're freezing."

              "Yeah."

              James pulled his backpack off and set it on the ground. Rummaging in it, he pulled out a blanket and put it around Ellen's shoulders. "Besides being cold are you all right? No broken bones or anything?"

              "I'm fine."

              "Good." James surprised her by stripping his wet coat off and slipping under the blanket with her.

              "What are you doing?"

              "Warming you up. Take your coat off."

              "James?"

              "If you were a guy I'd make you strip more. Your coat is soaking wet, and you’re likely in early stage hypothermia."

              She hesitated for a moment, then tried to unzip her coat. Her fingers were too cold to manage.

              "Here." His arms came around her and the zipper came loose. He helped her out of her coat and tossed it on top of his. "Is the rest of you dry?”

              "I think so."

              "Good. Getting wet will lower your body temperature like nothing else." He shifted her so she was sitting on his outstretched legs with her back against his chest. His large warm hands found hers. "As soon as you're kinda warm, we're going back before we both get wet," James said. “How does your hand feel?”

              “Better than it did yesterday, that’s for sure.”

              “Good.”

Ellen unconsciously snuggled closer to his warmth. She felt his breath on the back of her neck. Something told her that this probably wasn't right but she was too cold, too grateful to argue and he wasn’t acting like he thought this was romantic.