Her Guardian Angel (Fire and Snow) (4 page)

She found herself back in their field. Tonight she really needed to see her
chaton
, needed him to reassure her she was doing the right thing by leaving. It was strange but it just felt right to share her secrets with him and seek his approval of her plans. Maybe it was because he was an animal and couldn't talk, couldn't reject her, that made her feel safe to tell him everything. She hadn't told him anything about these plans yet. She was saving it until now, the eve of her grand adventure.

She was so filled with nervous energy, she couldn't stand still and walked around looking for him. She stopped still when she found him and put her hand over her mouth as a giggle escaped; apparently, he was feeling playful today. He was on his back with his paws in the air, squirming back and forth, rubbing his back on the grass and sunning his tummy. He stopped squirming, tilted his head back so he could watch her upside-down with his ice blue eyes. She jogged over to him laughing.

"You want a tummy rub, my
chaton
?" She said as she knelt down and ran her hand over his tummy and up his chest. He rewarded her with a rather loud purr.

"Like that huh?"

She allowed herself to get lost in the sensation of his fur on her skin for a few moments before she dropped her bombshell:

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

The purring stopped suddenly as he quickly rolled over and sat up in front of her, head cocked to the side. She chuckled.

"You really can understand what I'm saying can't you?"

His reply was a little growl sound.

"Don't fret, I'm not trying to change the subject on you."

He made the noise again while giving her a hard stare. What was his problem? Oh crap surely he didn't think...

"Don't tell me you think I mean I'm leaving you?"

He gave her a slight nod of his massive head. She sat up on her knees to get up to his face level, took his head in her hands, threading her fingers through the thick fur around his jaw, she planted a firm kiss between his eyes.

"Never, my
chaton
, I'd never leave you or this place we have. I'm leaving my home, the one I shared with my
Maman
. The memories are too much for me. I need to start over and now I've finished with Uni I need to find a job. There are a few in Tasmania that would be perfect--"

He cut her off with a lick up her cheek and a loud purr.

"Well, I guess that answers the question of whether or not you approve of my decision then." She said on a chuckle as she wiped her cheek dry on her shoulder.

"That tongue of yours tickles something fierce you know that?"

He dipped his head and licked up her neck then nuzzled her.

"Cheeky." She stated, shaking her head as she rubbed his ears.

~ * ~

Jake sat back watching his team enjoy their New Years Eve. Twelve years ago the Government panicked, thinking the dreaded ‘Y2K bug’ would blow up all the country's computers or some such garbage. In their panic, they demanded all fire stations be manned for the entire night of NYE 1999. Totally stupid really, nothing came of it, aside from a few thousand computers crapping out because they couldn't cope with the year change. Certainly, nothing blew up, much to many a fireys' disappointment. However, what it did do was create a tradition. Every NYE the Rosebery fire station was party central for his team, their friends and family and he liked nothing better than to sit back and watch the festivities.

The twins were out front setting up their fireworks. Apparently, they'd had too much spare time lately and decided learning how to blow stuff up while making it look pretty was a good investment of their time. Not that he minded, hell of a lot cheaper than buying the things in, plus there was the added entertainment of watching Joel and Jordan--identical six foot three muscle bound firemen--finishing each other’s sentences and rushing around like excited five year olds on Christmas morning. It was one of the funniest things he’d seen in quite a while.

Just as he finished his can of Coke, his eldest son, Dominic brought him a new one. NYE at the station was family friendly, no alcohol required for them all to have a great time--and if they got a call-out they would be fine to go deal with it.

"You're looking pretty happy there son. Anything you want to share with your old man?"

Dominic turned to his father with a massive grin and a sparkle in his eyes. Jake felt sorry for his oldest son, he'd been dreaming of his mate for just over four years and had yet to meet her. Every year he got a little more down, smiled and laughed a little less. It was heart breaking for a father to watch.

"Hell yeah I'm happy, you would be too. My mate pulled me into a dream last night. Told me that today she was catching the ferry over here to look for work and to begin a fresh start."

Jake slapped his son on the back as he smiled broadly with happiness for him.

"That does sound promising, son. Good to hear the new year is looking up for you."

"Yeah, it is. I hope it doesn't take too long for her to find her way to Rosebery. Tassie's a big place and I can't wait to meet her for real."

Jake chuckled at his son's enthusiasm, oh to be young again!

"It shouldn't take too long now. Once she starts towards you, she'll feel drawn to you. The feeling will get stronger and pull her harder until she gets here. Just watch yourself when you meet your mate. Remember you aren't meant to know what she's told you in your dreams."

"Yeah, that could be fun to explain. Especially since she already has issues with men."

Jake smiled at his son. Oh it was going to be fun watching Dominic win over his mate. He just knew it.

~ * ~

Adele sat outside a divine little cafe, sipping her coffee after having eaten her breakfast. She looked out over the ocean toward where Melbourne hid beyond the horizon. She'd arrived at six last night and crashed at a budget motel here in Devonport to get a good night sleep. Now freshly showered and eager to start her new life, she looked down at the map in front of her. She had an interview at the Devonport Hospital in an hour, then she was free for a few days to find her way down to the other towns. She closed her eyes as she took a deep draw of her flat white. She had simple tastes and didn't go for all the fancy coffees. Give her a good hot cup of old fashioned plain coffee with a dash of milk and a spoon of sugar and she was a happy lady. She glanced back at the map; what was the best way to go? Strahan was her next interview, then Rosebery and onto Hobart.

Two hours later she was driving down the highway. The interview had been short and sweet. They were keen to have her on board but were happy to give her two weeks to attend the other interviews before she gave them her answer. They had a good set up with four teams that rotated shifts. She was a little concerned about the large area the hospital was responsible for, but the manager had assured her, with the four teams in place, the hospital handled it well.

She started to tap her fingers against the steering wheel to the radio. Gwen Stefani ‘If I was a Rich Girl’ came on and Adele chuckled to herself thinking you and me both girl! The country side of Tasmania was impressive. She would have loved to have had enough money saved so she could just simply explore for a few weeks before having to focus on her job hunt, but most of her mother's savings went into covering medical bills and funeral costs. Adele hadn't been able to save much while she was at Uni, even with dropping back to part time so she could work more hours. The small amount she did have wouldn't keep her going much more than a week or two at most. Finding a job was sadly at the top of her to do list at the moment, not relaxing and exploring her new island home.

She came to a fork in the road. Decision time, again. Turn left and continue on the highway toward Queenstown and onto Strahan, or detour closer to the coast on smaller roads down to Strahan. The sign said ‘Rosebery’ so she guessed she could check out the town on the way down then come back this way after her interview. Maybe she could stop there for lunch and get a feel for the place. As she hit her indicator and began turning down the road, the next song was introduced, Rob Thomas ‘Lonely No More’. She frowned down at her radio--was the damn thing possessed? Each song that came on seemed to hit just a little to close to where her head was. Maybe she should paint her Corolla yellow and black and start calling it ‘Bumblebee’. With the Transformers theme song now stuck in her head, she shifted her focus back to the road, just in time to slam on her brakes to miss the mess in the middle of the road. Damn, Tassie had big ass logging trucks which apparently, created a big ass mess when they fell over. There were logs all over the place and when she saw the crumpled cab of the truck, her instincts took over. She grabbed her first aid kit and got out of her car to head over to the cab just as a fire truck pulled up on the other side of the accident.

~ * ~

Xander drove Jake and Dominic in the truck out to the accident. Nick and Kit were in the Rescue Vehicle behind them. Dominic was still riding high from knowing his mate was coming closer to him. As they pulled up at the accident and saw the crumpled cab, he hoped it didn't involve any injuries. Just at that moment, Rosebery was short a paramedic, their one and only ambo was otherwise occupied today so they were it for emergency call outs. His Dad really didn't do well with blood and gore and was much more comfortable with putting out fires. His heightened empathic senses easily overloaded with other people's emotions and made him sick.

Xander pulled the truck up as close to the wrecked cab as possible. Nick and Kit pulled up behind them and were the first out as they rushed to get the jaws of life, stretcher and first aid case out the back of the Rescue Vehicle. While they were getting the equipment, Dominic jumped out the cab. As soon as his feet hit the road, his head snapped up as his instincts went nuts--he froze to the spot. His father jumped out after him and all but bowled him over.

"What the hell Dominic? Get moving boy, times-a-wasting."

"It's her, Dad." Dominic breathed out. He couldn't believe it. Her first day on the island and she'd come straight to him! He stood in a trance-like state as he watched her all but dance around the fallen logs, clutching a first aid kit, trying to get to the cab. A thump to his shoulder knocked him back to reality.

"Head out the clouds son, you can see to her later. We got a victim to help and a job to do first." Jake left him to head over to the wreck, throwing back over his shoulder "Remember, she doesn't know you and you can not let her know that you know her. She'll freak out and run, then you'll really have your work cut out for you."

Dominic and his team met up in front of the wreaked cab. Kit and Nick headed off to start cutting the driver from the wreck. He watched as Kit leaned in the broken window to check for a pulse. She gave them the thumbs up to indicate he was still in the land of the living. It would take a few minutes for them to cut the cab apart enough to remove the driver so Dominic moved his focus to his mate. Watching her come closer to them, she was focused on her feet so as to not trip. She looked up as she reached them and stumbled out of shock. Dominic caught her elbow before she went over.

"Easy there, beautiful, we don't need to go adding any more injuries to this accident." He noticed his voice sounded deeper, smoother than it normally did and he'd felt the shiver that ran over her as he'd spoken. She quickly righted herself, turned to him with a slight smile that faulted. Her eyes went wide, as she took him in. She frowned slightly as she focused on his eyes. No doubt she thought they looked familiar. She had been seeing them for the last four years in her sleep. She closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Thanks for the save. I saw the accident and thought I could help. I've just finished my degree in nursing and para-medicine and have been a volunteer paramedic for the last nine years. So I thought you might like help with the driver, you know, only if you need it. I don't want to tread on anyone's toes." She finished nervously, her voice was so sweet and sent shivers down his spine turning his brain to mush. Thankfully his Dad's brain still functioned and he quickly brought the situation back on track.

"That sounds great, we could sure use a hand in that department. I'm Jake White by the way. The captain of the TFS here in Rosebery. The man who caught you would be my son, Dominic, then there's Xander. The two over at the cab are Nick and Kit--what's your name?"

Dominic watched as she firmly shook his father’s hand.

"Pleased to meet you Jake, my name's Adele."

Adele. Dominic rolled the name around his head, finally after four years he knew her name--it was as beautiful as her.

"Well, Adele. Lets get this job done shall we?" His Dad led the way over to the wreck that Kit and Nick had now finished opening up.

~ * ~

Five long hours later Adele found herself having a wonderful time, in the local pub having dinner with all the people who either helped the truckie or helped clean up the mess. The owners of the pub had offered them dinner on the house in thanks, which was sweet. Rosebery was a fairly large mining town but it seemed to still have a ‘small town’ feel to it. Most of the crowd were male so Adele was grateful Kit sat next to her. Her single mother taught her well to stay clear of men and she agreed with her mum. She did not need a man in her life. Adele was enjoying getting to know Kit though. She was totally different to her. On first meeting her, Adele was taken aback, she was so serious, and to be honest, scared the hell out of her, but now she was relaxed and off the job she was warm and friendly. Kit had to be over six foot tall and now she was in casual clothes Adele could see she was built slim but muscular. Her flame red hair pulled back in a high ponytail made her green eyes stand out; they looked almost feline with their slight angle. She was flat out gorgeous and Adele had trouble believing the woman was single. In a mining town of mostly men she'd thought a woman like Kit would be snapped up in no time. That said, Kit did have an air about her that said loud and clear she didn't take shit from anyone, even while relaxed. Adele kind of envied her a little. Kit seemed like she knew her place in the world and was happy with it; kind of where Adele wanted to be.