No Easy Choice

by Kathryn Shay

  Before he could say anything to the victim, fire flashed inside the room and the door he’d come through slammed shut. He hoped the others got out.

  Colin took off his glove and tested the handle. It was warm. He yanked on it anyway, but the door was stuck shut. Stifling the notion that his guys could’ve gotten hurt, Colin turned around. It was then the heat of the night and heat from the fire enveloped him. He shook it off. Assessed the situation. The reluctant man gripped the railing, his back to Colin.

  “We’ll get a ladder up here, sir. You have to come down with me. The exit though your apartment is blocked.” He was surprised his voice was so calm.

  The guy half-turned toward him. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere!”

  Knowing that he had to take control, Colin went to the edge and yelled over the railing, “Truck 1, get a ladder up here.”

  “All right stand back. Ladder coming.” It was Banks’ voice. He and Mac would tie the rungs into place, then raise it. The noise of the steel-against-steel grated as the ladder’s rungs were released and it raised up, then Banks appeared, his ladder belt already secured to the top rung of the railing. The four-inch-wide padded canvas long enough to go around a firefighter’s waist with a big clip on the end. It was a valued piece of equipment.

  Colin turned to the man. The guy swung at him. The punch landed on Colin’s facemask, knocking it and his helmet to the ground.

  “Man, don’t do that!”

  The guy kept his strong-hold on the wrought iron railing and shouted, “Leave me alone.”

  Colin whipped his ladder belt off his coat, ducked to the side, and clasped the big steel clip onto the ladder, too. Banks took a carabiner from the end of his own ladder belt and tied it onto Colin’s clip.

  Pivoting quickly, Colin circled the guy’s waist with his belt, attaching him to the ladder. “You’re coming down, mister.”

  The guy got even more agitated. He swung his arms and kicked the rungs of the balcony.

  Colin had to do something else to up the stakes. He got a glimpse of his helmet. “Listen, you gotta calm down because I have a baby girl at home and she has to have a dad.”

  The guy settled a bit. But still gripped the railing.

  “What’s your name?”

  “G-Gus.”

  Colin scooped up his helmet. “Well, Gus, I’m gonna show you a picture of little Bridget that I keep with me all the time.” He slipped out the photo inserted in the lining of his helmet and stuck it in the man’s face. She was smiling, the red tuft of her hair sticking up. “So, what do you say, Gus? Are you gonna make this one fatherless? Cause I’m not leaving without you.”

  Gus waited. And waited. Finally, he said, “I’ll go.”

  A huge sigh of relief. “Now, Gus, you can keep hold of the railing, but slide over to where the ladder hits it.”

  Miraculously Gus obeyed.

  “Lift your leg over the railing and onto the ladder.” Haltingly, he raised his leg, put it over the railing, and Banks helped stabilize it. “Now, do the same with the other. My friend Banks will get you down.”

  Once Gus was on the ladder facing the apartment, Banks flanked him with his arms and flattened him against the rungs. “We go down slow. Just you and me. Nothing can happen to you.”

  They descended and the sound of Banks’ voice drifted downward. Mac stood at the bottom to help with Gus. Then Colin grabbed his SCBA, put it on with his helmet so he could follow them down. Their medics, Pearson and Anderson, took Gus, got him onto the gurney and wheeled him away. When Colin hit the ground, Landry came up to them, so Mac and Callahan stepped back.

  Colin yanked off the headgear and he swiped his turnout coat arm across his forehead. His shoulders ached like hell from the tension. “How’s Ben?” he asked the BC.

  “Callahan got him out before your room blew again. Still don’t know why that happened.”

  “Thank God.”

  “You did real good, O’Shea. How’d you get him to settle down?”

  “I had a picture of my new baby in my helmet. He calmed when he saw her. I told him the apartment was on fire, and we had to go down the ladder.” He ducked his head. “So I could see my daughter again.”

  “Quick thinking when the Red Devil is clawing out at you from windows and beneath the door.”

  “Thanks, Chief.”

  Landry was called away by Fire Chief Redman.

  Pearson returned. “We’re taking the guy right to the hospital, maybe the psyche ward. You okay Colin? Are you hurt?”

  “Not hurt.” Shaken maybe, at the close call. “I’m fine.”

  “Great save,” she said, punching him in the arm.

  Colin grinned. It was a great save. He couldn’t wait to tell Annie about it.

  As he walked to the rig, Mac caught up with him. “You going somewhere, buddy?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I heard Landry tell the chief about what you did and Redman said they found their guy. That you could have it!”

  “Have what?”

  “You tell me. An officer’s position?”

  “Yeah. They talked to me about it.” Colin’s mood shot up even more. “I have to decide on my end, too.”

  “Is there actually something to decide about?” she asked.

  “More than you know, Trish. More than you know.”

  * * *

  Annie lifted a glass of champagne. “To my brave and clever husband.” Both lay naked in bed with the sheets drawn up.

  Colin sipped his bubbly. This morning when he got home—he was off shift for three days—he filled Annie in on all the details of the rescue and went to sleep for a while. “Thanks, babe.”

  Sighing, she lay back into the pillows. “I can’t believe you showed him Bridget’s picture so he’d trust you.”

  “Yeah, it just came to me.”

  When the baby began to fuss, Colin slid off the mattress and scooped up his daughter. Man, he still looked good out of his clothes with his long lean body and muscles he spent time strengthening. Tearing her gaze away, Annie rose too and went out to the fridge for breast milk. “Hungry baby?” she heard him say as she came back with the bottle. Though she was still nursing three times a day, Colin fed her from a bottle when he was home.

  All of them returned to the bed. Colin grabbed a pillow onto his lap, settled Bridget in the crook of his arm and stuck the nipple in her mouth. She sucked noisily. Annie was overwhelmed with love for this big man and tiny baby.

  She cleared her throat. “What did Ben say about the rescue?”

  “That I did good. And Landry said he didn’t know if he’d thought of something so clever.”

  “Landry? The BC who doesn’t give out compliments?”

  He didn’t respond. Which was odd. Instead, he bent down to Bridget.

  “Colin?”

  “The attention makes me uncomfortable.”

  She practically snorted. “Since when? You loved it all through high school and in the academy.”

  “I’m older and wiser now. I know what’s important.” A vee formed on his brow. Deeply. “You and Bridget are.”

  “Not your job? I know I asked you to cut back at the garage, but firefighting is our life, career-wise.”

  “Annie, I—”

  Bridget pulled away from the bottle and squirmed, her little face reddening, her fists tight. Having seen this before, Colin put her over his shoulder, kissed her neck and made Annie sigh. The baby gave a loud belch then pooping noises.

  “Give her to me. Annie stood. “I’ll change her.”

  As she lay Bridget on their low dresser that functioned as a changing table in this room, Colin asked, “What’s on her schedule next?”

  “She’ll nap again. A short one.” The diaper was full. She scrunched her nose at the smell. “Pee-ew, baby doll.”

  “Nap, huh? How long?” His voice had lowered to a sexy baritone. She glanced over to see his raised brows and his cocked head.

  “Maybe thirty minutes.”

>   “Then get going, woman. We can use it to our advantage.”

  Annie giggled and finished up.

  * * *

  “Come on kiddo, you can do it.”

  Bridget raised her head from the mattress so she looked at Colin.

  “Here, I’ll show you.”

  He pressed on her hands, then lifted one, eased her body up and over.”

  From the bed, Annie laughed. “You can’t force her to roll over. She’ll do it in her own time.”

  “She has to be shown how to do things.”

  “No, she doesn’t. It’ll come naturally.”

  He settled Bridget back onto her stomach. Watched her for a minute. “Oh, Lord, Annie, come quick.”

  Annie bounded off the bed and flew over. Sure enough, the baby raised up her arms, pushed and rolled to her back. “Good job, sweetheart.” She turned to Colin and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you got to see that.”

  “How glad?” He asked, hiking her up and going to the bed, where he tossed her down. Her hair was still wet, and he opened her bathrobe.

  “Hmm,” She murmured. “That glad.”

  Around noon, Cora came to the door, knocked gently, then walked into the kitchen. Colin was sitting at the table, reading from his tablet. “Hello, son.” She kissed his cheek. “Good to see you.”

  “You too, Mama. Thanks for coming.”

  “What will you two do today?” she asked.

  “We’re going for a run right now. Then we might grab a bite to eat, if that’s all right.”

  She smiled. “I’m happy to see you rested. And since Annie decided to stay home two more months, I won’t be getting my granddaughter any time soon.”

  “You wish you were?

  His mother poured herself some coffee, then sat. “Of course.”

  “Then how about watching her tomorrow night? It’s my last day off, and I’m helping Pa all afternoon but I’d like to take Annie out.”

  “Of course. Your dad can tag along.”

  He stood and headed to the bedrooms. Then turned. “Hey, Bridget rolled over.”

  “From her stomach or back?”

  “Stomach, why?”

  “Going from the back to stomach took you another month.”

  He shrugged. “I’m enjoying this stage. But I can teach her that, too.”

  And he was enjoying being home, experiencing the baby with Annie. Having time to love her. The only shadow over his head was the promotion he was still keeping from her.

  * * *

  Lakeview Restaurant, near where Brooke lived, glowed with dim sconces on the wall. The tablecloths were black tonight, and the waiter had offered Annie a choice of napkins, white or black, depending on what she was wearing.

  “Wow, I never had that happen before.”

  Colin scanned the dimly lit room. “This is a pretty snazzy place. You enjoying yourself?”

  When the waiter returned, they ordered a bottle of Chardonnay.

  “I am enjoying myself.” She frowned. “Except I know this was one of Brooke and Zach’s favorite places.”

  “Aw, I’m sorry. Did I pick the wrong place?”

  “No, I’m glad we came. But should we be splurging?”

  “We’re not remodeling the bathroom this year. So, we can use some of that money.”

  “The house is nice enough, after ten years of gradual redoing.”

  “I agree.” Leaning over he kissed her gently. His lips were soft and his scent spicy.

  Annie whispered, “I love you so much, Colin. These days have been magical.”

  “They have. In some ways, I wish I didn’t have to go back to work tomorrow.”

  “Me, too.”

  The waiter returned, popped the cork on the Kendall Jackson bottle and poured a portion. They clinked glasses. “To us.”

  “To us. It was cool seeing Bridget—”

  Annie shook her head. “No Bridget talk tonight. Only adult conversation.” She took a sip of wine. “How’s everybody at work?”

  “They all seem good. Lou and Al have their business to run, and it’s booming.” He gave her a run-down of the others.

  “Did I tell you Elena Cortez came over last week.” Her coworker from Truck 3.

  “No, you didn’t tell me. What do they all think about the two-month delay?”

  “They’re fine with it. They don’t want me back when my head isn’t in the game.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.”

  They talked some about work, then switched to his family. “Patrick called me when I worked my last shift. I forgot to tell you.”

  His older brother in Dannerville usually asked them for money. “Did he ask again?”

  “Yep. I told him no. Explained about your extension. He seemed pissed off.”

  “Why doesn’t he have enough money to live on?”

  “It’s hard to exist on one salary and retail doesn’t pay much. We’ve always had two jobs each, so we have a pretty decent life.”

  “I don’t stop to think about that often enough. I will now, though.”

  “Annie, you’re near perfect. Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

  “Thanks, hotshot.” She used to call him that in high school.

  God, she loved this man.

  * * *

  Colin thought back on the last three days and his heart filled with love, remembering Bridget, rolling over in her crib, batting the mobile of little animals that played music and went in a circle. And he and Annie had spent a lot, and he meant a lot, of time in bed. Even now, when he walked into the firehouse, the memories stirred him. Until he recalled something else. She still didn’t know about the promotion.

  He could rationalize his silence: he hadn’t been offered the position officially and most importantly, he hadn’t accepted anything. But he knew that wasn’t why he held off. He didn’t want to spoil their time together.

  After he learned more today, he’d confess everything.

  He heard his group in the kitchen, where they usually gathered at the beginning of a shift. “Surprise!!” they shouted as he reached the room.

  Colin stopped in his tracks. They’d hung up streamers, and the table was full of pastries, donuts and breads. His stomach growled at the scent. “What’s this for?”

  Ben came up to him. “The brass picked you for the new fire house lieutenant. I tried to tell them you hadn’t accepted anything yet, not even passed the exam, but they wouldn’t listen.”

  “Geez, who wouldn’t accept?” Jody Pearson, the medic, asked.

  “I, um, I don’t know. It’s a big commitment.”

  “So? You get more money and you can boss people around.” This from Callahan.

  “How come you never took one, Al?”

  “Because of the business I started with Banks. I wanted something more in my life than the fire department.”

  Banks nodded. “Me, too.”

  “Anyway,” Ben said. “Since they did this,” he pointed to the pastries and coffee “let’s celebrate the honor.” He lifted his cup. “Congratulations, Lieutenant O’Shea.”

  Man, he should have told Annie.

  * * *

  Annie arrived at Brooke’s house late, as usual, for this unscheduled Sisters of Fire meeting. Her boys were with their grandparents and Lynne planned the get together last minute because she and Brooke cleaned out Zach’s clothes earlier in the day and Brooke was sad. Despite that, Annie was floating on a cloud of love and wanted to share it with them. She walked over to the porch, enjoying the scent of the grass and trees coming inside through the walls of open sliding glass doors. “Hi, everybody.”

  “Hey, girl.” Brooke ducked her head. “Thanks for coming to be with me tonight. I thought I didn’t need support, but I did. Today was terrible.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

  Tess added, “David cried when we cleaned out Hope’s clothes.”

  “Yeah, but you guys got to fuck.”

  A bit shocked, Tess reddened. “I didn’t mean
to make a false comparison.”

  “Geez, ladies. I’m not that bad off. Tess, I was trying to lighten the mood.”

  Trish said, “Hey, Annie. Big congratulations for Colin, huh?”

  She didn’t understand. “Because he all but quit the garage?”

  “No.” This from JJ. “Because he’s getting a great lieutenancy.”

  “Excuse me?”

  The women exchanged looks. Trish got up and pulled Annie to the couch. She sat. “You didn’t know about this?”

  “W-When did it happen?”

  “He was told after the fire where he talked a guy down from the ledge.”

  A black feeling of betrayal besieged Annie. Colin had willingly kept this from her and instead, practically courted her for three days. “Let me get this straight. Colin’s known all week he got a job with more responsibility. And he’ll have to study and train for the exam. And he didn’t tell me?” While he’d kept her in bed for three days. But she couldn’t voice that.

  The air in the room deflated.

  “We assumed you were in on the decision.” Trish grasped her hand. “We, um, had a party for him this morning at the station house.”

  “A party?”

  “Annie, you can see this whole thing another way.” JJ sat forward in her seat. “Wouldn’t you have wanted him to have this opportunity? You always do what’s best for him.”

  “Maybe I would have. Maybe I do. But not without discussing how this affects us.”

  “All that’s true. And needs to be dealt with.” This from Brooke. “Do you want to go home to talk to him?”

  Annie had left the baby at his mother’s house since Colin sent her a text he’d be late coming home.

  “And rip his head off? I don’t think so. I need a beer.”

  JJ bolted up, retrieved one from the ice bucket, and handed it to her.

  Annie sat sipping the beer. But she wouldn’t cry into it. She’d stay mad.

  “What can we do, honey?” Tess asked.