Frontier Inferno (7 page)

“Oh yeah, I am.” She was so wet, he filled her with only the slightest push, stretching her to accommodate his much-bigger-than-she’d-ever-expected-any-man-to-be girth. The smattering of hair on his chest grazed her nipples as he drove in and out of her. She held on for the ride, her heart pounding in her ears.

All worries faded and her world shrank to the two of them, fitted together as if they’d always been that way, in his big bed. She rose higher and higher, then he brought one hand to her clit and pressed and she flew apart.

Her inner muscles rippled around him and he roared and surged deeper, once, twice…and came in a shuddering climax, sending her into another of her own and she bit down on his shoulder in sobbing ecstasy.

Chris rolled to his back and she lay over him, his cock still inside her, and she liked that. Liked the closeness, the connection to him. He dragged the top comforter over them and she curled against him until buzzing began.

No…not a buzzing, a siren.

“Oh, shit.” Chris struggled to sit up and set her aside. “I have to go. That’s the alarm.”

“What?”
Alarm?
  “Is it time to get up? It’s still dark out.”

He hopped to his feet and threw the closet open. “Fire alarm. That’s my call. I’m off duty, so if they want me, it’s serious.”

By the time Heather managed to pull on the shirt he’d discarded, Chris had dressed. Someone banged at the door and she ran to answer it.

Paul waited, in the same jumpsuit Chris had donned, his truck running in the lane. “Let’s go. It’s a few miles up the mountains and headed this way. Damn dry lightning.”

Chris kissed her, fast but deep. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Take the truck to the lodge. Just go slow and be careful, okay?”

She tried to be brave, but a sudden awareness of the situation he was going into terrified her. “Are you…are you jumping?”

“I don’t know anything yet, I have to get to the station and find out what’s going on.” He paused and smiled down at her. “You know I’ll be okay, right?”

She straightened her spine and offered a wobbly grin in return. “Of course you will. But you be careful, too.”

“Always am.” Then he was gone, Paul’s much newer truck rocketing down the dirt road, the cloud of dust rising behind it reminding her how dry things were. While she still watched them leave, Andie and Billy came running down the path between their houses.

“Rex is a ranger, so a fire puts him on duty, too. Let’s head for the lodge. We can get updates there.”

Billy piped up. “Heather, that’s my dad’s favorite shirt. If he let you wear it, he must like you.” But she didn’t have time to worry about explanations, not that he seemed to need or want any.

“I like him, too, honey. A lot. But give me a second to put on my own clothes and we can go.”

***

Twitching with nerves, Heather kept stalling Chris’s truck out…. In the end, Andie drove them to the lodge. And it had been all Heather could do to keep from crying anyway, worrying about Chris, and Paul and the huge plume of black smoke rising from the mountains behind them.

“I thought there was too much snow up there to have a wildfire.”

“Not this year,” Andie said, parking next to the kitchen door. “We need rain, badly.” Dark gray clouds boiled overhead, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled, but not a drop of moisture released.

The three of them headed into the lobby of the lodge and Kathryn and Nick Castillo stood there, heads close together, the baby in her mother’s arms. “Andie, Heather, we heard.” Kathryn handed Madelyn to Nick and hurried to them as another rumble shook the walls. The storm sounded so close, right over them. “Are the men already on duty?”

Andie nodded. “Since the school is closed, being right at the base of that mountain, Billy came to keep Maddie company.” Or, as she’d whispered,
to keep Billy distracted
. He was brave, but the scent of smoke in the air could be unnerving to anyone.

“How nice. She’ll love to play with you. Why don’t you run upstairs and bring down a few toys and we’ll spread a quilt out right here in the lobby? Does that sound fun?” After he ran off, Kathryn said. “I want them close by. Is that silly?”

“I don’t blame you. But I’m going to bake something so I don’t go crazy. And make some food we can take out to the men at the base camp. If that’s okay?”

“You know it always is. Heather, if you want to help, I’ll hang with the children. My flight today has been cancelled.” She frowned. “This fire is close enough to be a danger to both us and the town, if the wind changes. They’re holding the train at the station in case of a town-wide evacuation. First time…and I must admit, it frightens me.”

Kathryn, the bush pilot who had no fear of a snowstorm, was frightened.

As they started toward the kitchen, Nick, phone at his ear, waved them to stop. “They’re going to have to jump. The fire is in a dead-end canyon with no easy way in or out. If it gets out of there, we’re all going to have to leave. There’s enough room on the paddle wheeler for the staff and guests.”

Andie paled. Then she nodded. “Thanks for the information. Come on, Heather.”

After the doors swung shut behind them, Andie sank into a chair and dropped her head between her knees. Heather leaned against the counter and waited until Andie lifted her head, took a steadying breath and determination shone in her eyes.

“Ham and cheese, peanut butter, and we can carve that turkey in the walk-in. Sandwiches are best, but I also have soup in the freezer we can heat and put in thermoses. They always have MREs out there, and some basics, but fresh food is welcome.” She began slicing loaves of whole-grain bread.

The image of Chris dangling from a parachute over a flaming landscape filled Heather’s mind. She didn’t know a lot about smokejumping, only what she’d seen in movies, but it had to be insanely dangerous. A well of panic surged from her toes to her scalp and she couldn’t breathe.

Andie dropped the knife, strode over and shook her, hard. “This is what it’s like, okay? If you want to be a firefighter’s woman, you have to be every bit as brave as he is.”

She sucked in air. “I don’t know if I can. I don’t…I’m not his woman.”

Andie chuckled and pulled her into a hug. “Right. You keep thinking that. Chris hasn’t brought anyone home since Diana left. Any dating he’s done has been far, far away from Billy. And the connection between you two is obvious to all of us.” She eyed her. “If you weren’t serious about him, you wouldn’t be trembling. Now, the best way to get through these times is to keep busy. They need us to be strong for them.” She laid out a row of bread slices. “Get the meat from the cooler. The sooner we have these made, the sooner we can get out there and find out what’s going on.”

Oh…. “But, what about the kids? I’m on duty.” She laid slices of Black Forest ham and Gruyère on the bread and held up a jar of mustard. “Do I put this on now? Or let them add it?”

“Simple as possible for them, no fuss. Add it here, but no mayo. I don’t like that to be carried around too long, makes me nervous. Sometimes they stuff sandwiches in their pockets and eat them hours later.” While Heather wrapped the sandwiches, Andie carved turkey for another batch. “And Kathryn will watch the kids. We won’t be long…they won’t let us all the way in. But the guys at base will give me more info that official channels.”

In a half hour they had coolers filled with sandwiches, apples, oranges, and grapes stashed in the bed of the old truck, as well as every thermos in the kitchen and a half-dozen bags filled with oatmeal cookies they’d baked the day before. Then they headed toward the fire.

She jumped behind the wheel before Andie could say a word and drove like a bat out of hell along a rutted track even worse than the one between the hotel and her home.

Andie clutched the dashboard. “Hey, slow down or you’ll bounce the coolers out onto the road. We want to feed these guys, not the bears.”

Easing back on the gas, Heather shook her head. “I want to get there.”

“You won’t see him.” Andie said gently. “And they may not tell us much.”

She downshifted up a hill. “But I want them to have food. I want to do what I can. I….” Tears blurred her vision. “I want to know he’s okay.” A plane flew past them, disappearing over a foothill.

The plume had thickened and rose in a wide swath toward the black clouds overhead. Every few minutes, lightning streaked overhead and thunder cracked and rumbled. Smoke grew thicker in the air and ash blotted the windshield. If they choked on the result miles away, what were the firemen experiencing? Had Chris already jumped?

“Was that a smokejumper plane?”

“No, it came from the inlet to dump water on the fire. Their ride comes from the airfield south of here.”

They fell into silence, driving along a hillside before dropping again. A cluster of vehicles and men milled around at the base. Not wanting to be in the way, she parked a short distance from them and Andie hopped right down and grabbed a cooler. Heather lifted a box filled with a dozen thermoses and followed.

Two firefighters in yellow gear approached and one shouted, “Food. From the Lodge, too. Do you need any help?”

Andie shrugged. “You bet. If someone can grab those coolers and the rest of the soup, that would be great.”

Another man, older, with a white mustache drooping on either side of his mouth waved. “Thanks, ladies. But we need you to get back now. This fire is fast-moving and we don’t know what it might do next.”

Andie handed her load to another man. “We’re going. Can you give us a heads up on the jumpers, though?” She waved Heather forward. “This is Chris’s girlfriend.”

Girlfriend?
  The pronouncement sent Heather’s anxiety level to the sky. Overnight, she’d become a smokejumper’s woman with her man in danger. What a baptism of fire.

“Now, you know I can’t give out anything but the official information, Andie.” Someone handed him a sandwich and he unwrapped it. “But if I could, I’d tell you that they are among the bravest men I have ever met.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “And as soon as they resume contact with us, I’ll have someone call you.”

Resume contact?

Andie stared at him. “Thank you, Captain. We’ll get out of your way.”

“They know what they’re doing, but the fire and the weather it creates can make communications hard.”

“It does,” she agreed and extended her hand to Heather. “Keys. I’m driving. I want to get there alive.”

Handing them to her, Heather climbed into the passenger side. In seconds, they squealed away, rolling over a big rock and bouncing her head into the side window. “Hey, ouch. Slow down, you said you wanted to get us home alive.”

Andie eased off the gas. “I do. I just…I just…no matter what he said, being out of communication is a bad thing. And it scares me, okay? I try to be brave. But sometimes it’s hard.” Reaching the bottom of the hill, they started across flatter terrain, when a grinding noise was followed by a thunk. They coasted to a stop. Andie twisted the key again and again, but nothing. Then she glanced in the rearview mirror and whispered, “Oh, shit.”

Heather spun around and gasped. On the ridge behind them, a rim of red advanced. “Isn’t it moving awfully fast? I mean, it’s not even windy.”

Andie slapped the steering wheel. “Remember the captain talked about fire creating its own weather? It may be gusty there.” She blew out a calming breath. “Now is not the time to panic.”

Lightning blinded Heather for a second, the flash imprinting on the back of her lids when she closed her eyes, the deep rumble of thunder following almost instantly. “If not now, when?” she squeaked. “If Chris’s classic truck gets burned up, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Andie choked out a laugh. “That’s the least of our problems. We need a plan. How to survive. The truck is on its own.” She sat for a moment while Heather, her fingers clutched the door handle, waited to hear how they could survive the flames that were now so close the fire’s roar filled her head. “I guess we run.”

“That’s your plan?” But she’d already jumped to the ground.

“You got a better one?” Andie grabbed her hand and they tore down the track.

“No, but I hope this works.”

“Yeah, me too.” They raced down the track they’d come up while black and gray clouds roiled above them, thunder clapped, lightning flashed and the fire gained ground. Choking smoke made breathing difficult and ash settled on and around them, as if they weren’t moving at all.

Andie stopped, clutching her side. “It’s no use.” Terrified, they clung together, gasping.

“We can’t stop. We can’t give up.”

Andie’s lashes were laced with ash, her flushed face smudged. “It’s not going to matter, it’s gaining too fast,” she cried.

“I will not give up. Not this time. Not now. Come on.” With tears stinging her eyes and her heart pounding, she dragged Andie until she also ran, and they pounded across the dry, dusty ground. She could cry later. When they were safe. But the flames had circled them, and she couldn’t get air. None at all, and it was so hot and….

Strong arms circled her and flung her to the ground. A hard, unmistakably male body wrapped around her before a sheet of stiff fabric was pulled over them both. “Heather, stay still. Don’t move until I tell you to, okay?”

It had to be her imagination. Was he there with her? The roar of the fire grew, the loudest clash of thunder yet shook the ground, then a new sound joined it. Thumping and thudding on top of them. The smoke smelled different, acrid…like wet ash.

Chris’s lips moved against her ears. “Sweetheart, that’s rain. We may make it yet.” He raised a corner of the sheet covering them, peered out, then pushed it away. A sweet downpour rained over them.

She tipped her head and let the drops hit her face, not caring if she drowned. Way better than burning to death. Heather struggled to her feet and scanned the area. “Oh, God, Andie! Is she okay?” A few yards away, held in the arms of her very own firefighter was her friend, safe and sound and filthy. “You’re a mess.”

Andie laughed shakily. “Yeah, you’re not ready for the solstice ball yourself, honey. But we’re alive. And so are our guys.” She buried her face in Paul’s chest.