Wanted- Fire Chief

by Parker J Cole

  Had to protect Eulalia and the children.

  After five days, he knew that he wanted to marry Eulalia and continue Josiah’s legacy with his children. Though he did nothing besides come and see the children and go for a walk in the park or have a picnic, he found himself becoming impatient.

  Now, a fire threatened all he held dear, and it was up to him to do what he could to stop it. “Born in fire to stop fires,” his mother told him.

  Flames started to leap all around him, a hellish sight which he fought against. Men from all different directions came. His training came to his aid. Men and women came from all directions, their eyes frightened and full of fear but willing to help.

  Nic went into a mode, barking orders, assessing the fire for containment, and making sure to keep everything from going up in smoke.

  Throughout the long night, he along with the rest of Silverpines fought to contain the fire. By morning, they had extinguished most of it. And the devastation from it reminded him of a scar

  At some point, Eulalia had joined in the efforts to save the town. He could see her handing a bucket to the next in line and then going over to where the doctor was, working with those who had injuries. Tabitha and Winston were safe on the other side of town.

  Bone weary, he surveyed the damage, including a part of the mercantile, the gunsmith shop and few other businesses. Besides a few minor injuries, there had only been one casualty.

  Fannie Pearl. He sighed. The old woman had been found in her bed, having passed away in the night. He was going to miss her but now, she was there with her husband, Josiah, and Guinevere, having the time of their lives. Forever.

  “Nicander.”

  He looked up from his seat in the Inn dining room to see Eulalia running in his direction. She fell to her knees beside him, and he caressed her face. “I know you’re okay but it’s nice to know you’re really okay.”

  Her eyes watered. “You’re okay, too.”

  Nic twiddled with the ends of her hair. “Remember how you said, how a single moment could change your life in an instant?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, I had more than just a single moment. I’ve had the entire night. I’m not going to wait any longer. I want you to be my wife, Eulalia. I want us to marry as soon as we can so we can be a family.”

  “But I thought you said it was too soon.”

  “Well, the fire burned that thought away. It’s never too soon to be happy, is it?”

  Eulalia gave him a wide grin. “No, Mr. Fireman, I don’t suppose it is. All right, Nicander. I’ll marry you.”

  He grinned. “Can you arrange everything in two weeks?”

  “Two weeks?”

  “When Guinevere passed away, I sent a letter to my family. They wrote back saying they would be coming to see me. But, if you don’t mind, I’d like to wait until they get here before we marry. If that’s all right?”

  “On one condition?”

  He frowned. “What’s that?”

  “Kiss me, just once, Nicander.”

  How could he say no to something he’d wanted to do since he returned to Silverpines? This time, he stood and dragged her up from her kneeling position and into his arms. Their lips met with a joyous reunion. No grief, no guilt, just the love they shared for each other.

  He kissed her with all the passion he’d held back. Oblivious to anything and anyone but her. Finally, when some of his desire was slaked, he pulled away.

  But the look in her eyes, the dewy, slumberous invitation which called to him like a siren, he had a hard time controlling himself.

  “Kiss me like that again, Mr. Fireman, and you’re likely to start a whole other fire.”

  Her fingers coiled in his hair, sending delightful shivers down his back.

  “Fortunately for you, putting out all kinds of fires is what I do.”

  “I hope that means what I think it means.”

  Nic turned around to see the tired but welcome figure of Marshal Sewell standing before him. The mayor hovered behind him, watching as well.

  He grinned. “Well, gentlemen, you got yourself a fire chief.”

  EPILOGUE

  Two weeks later…

  The church overflowed with people as they prepared for the entrance of the bride. Nic tugged at his tie and then gazed back down the aisle.

  “She’ll be here, son,” his father, Sterling said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Be patient.”

  “I know, Vader,” he answered, dropping the Dutch word as he always did whenever his parents were around.

  His parents and grandparents had come down when they heard about Guinevere’s death. After they went to Wickwell Springs and paid their respects, they accepted his wish to marry again and after they met Eulalia, they fell in love with her.

  “Your aunts and uncles are going to be upset they missed this,” Moira, his mother, said with a smile.

  Nic groaned. He thanked the Lord for small favors. His aunts and uncles made life difficult on a normal basis. A wedding would give them carte blanche to wreak havoc.

  A movement to his peripheral vision drew his attention to Mrs. James, Pastor James’s wife. With a small smile, she began to sing along with the organ player.

  The doors opened and Tabitha came down the aisle, her head adorned in a wreath of pink and white flowers with a pink frock on her person. Nic felt his heart swell and thanked the Lord once again for giving him the opportunity to be a father to his best friend’s children in his absence.

  “Am I all right, Uncle Nic?”

  Quickly, Nic turned around and bent to straighten the tie around Winston’s throat. Though unorthodox, it felt absolutely right to make Winston his best man. Josiah’s essence by his side. “You look good.”

  The boy grinned and Nic straightened just in time to see his daughter-to-be drop the last of her flowers and make her way to the side.

  Eustacia came down the aisle next, her blue gown flowy and long. She gave him a wink, one he returned. All the animosity that had existed between them faded away during the time they spent together taking care of Guinevere. He welcomed her now as his sister and looked forward to seeing what the future held for them as a family.

  When Eustacia took her place by Tabitha’s side, the attendees stood and then Eulalia entered the doorway.

  No one walked with her but they had secretly spoke between them that symbolically, Josiah, with his earnest wish to see her happy, would be walking her to him. Nic felt his chest expand as he took in the vision of loveliness that was his soon-to- be wife. Dressed in a pink gown with a high neck, tight sleeves and decorated with lace, she looked as lovely as anything on Earth. Her veil covered her face but when she’d come to stand before him, he lifted her veil to behold her shiny locks of chestnut brown hair and her bright, blue eyes. Handing the bouquet of flowers to her sister, Eulalia gripped his hand in hers and then they both turned to become man and wife.

  In a fanciful way, Nic imagined that off to the side somewhere, Guinevere and Josiah stood, gifting them with their blessing.

  “You may now kiss the bride,” Pastor James said.

  Eulalia turned to her new husband, a tightness from all the joy in her chest threatening to steal her breath. How many women were gifted with a second chance to have another great love? So many of the women of Silverpines had been granted another chance at love and now, the Lord saw fit to give it to her, too.

  Nicander’s unsteady hands cupped her face. Within the depths of his blue-gray eyes, she saw love. Pure, simple, heady love.

  “I love you, Nicander,” she whispered.

  “I love you, too.”

  He bent his head and captured her mouth. Gently he kissed her. With each brush of his lips, he made a promise to love her and care for her. Without warning, the tone of the kiss began to change, becoming deeper and more passionate. Nicander’s hands drifted from her face and his arms went around her waist to draw her closer. Her hand rested on his chest, feeling the pounding of his heart. Without conscious
thought, her arms went around his neck and tightened as if to lock him there. Flames leapt between them and the church disappeared. Only she and Nicander existed, caught up in a kiss that steadily threatened to rage out of control.

  “We may need to get the fire brigade.”

  Laughter penetrated the fog which had encapsulated her. Nicander drew back and rested his forehead on hers. “Later,” he promised with a look of such want she wondered if it would be all right to skip the well-wishing and head for the honeymoon suite at the hotel.

  “I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Nicander Montgomery.”

  The well-wishing went on for a while as she stood in the cusp of Nicander’s arms and welcomed everyone’s congratulations. The children ran around excitedly, glad to spend the evening and the next day with their aunt at the house. Nicander and Eulalia, along with the children, would live in the home that they used for now but later on in the year, they would look for a new place to stay.

  “I hope you’ll join us someday in Holland, Eulalia,” Nicander’s grandmother, Lavinia, said. “We’d love to show you around.”

  “Speaking of showing you around,” Nicander said with a quick kiss to her temple, “let me show you something.”

  He nodded to his grandfather and father and they disappeared around a building. “It’s so hard to keep things secret in this town, but we managed it.”

  “Managed what?”

  A horrible, awful sound pierced the air. Horses nearby whinnied in apprehension, while everyone shuffled nervously. Eulalia jumped, her bouquet of flowers falling to the floor.

  Then, silence fell like a cloud over the entire crowd when the source of that awful noise came before them riding to a stop in front of them.

  Eulalia couldn’t take her eyes away from it.

  “What on Earth is that?”

  Sterling and his father, climbed out of the monstrosity, with huge grins on their faces.

  “It’s a motorcar. An Oldsmobile.”

  Her mouth gaped open as she stared at it. Gleaming and bright, with wheels and a curved dash. A small narrow window and a seat big enough to fit herself and Nicander.

  “Uncle Nic!” the children cried. “Can we—”

  “Of course,” he grinned hugely.

  “Well I’ll be,” Jeremiah Henderson came from the back of the group, his eyes staring with an almost greedy look. “A motorcar!”

  “What do you expect me to do with that thing?” Eulalia asked.

  “I expect, Mrs. Montgomery, to come with me for a ride.”

  “You must be joking!” She wouldn’t set foot into that thing. Even the horses were terrified of it.

  “Come along and try it. I promise, with every breath in my body, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She gazed up into Nicander’s eyes, filled with the certainty that he would protect her as he said he would. “All right, Mr. Fireman. Let me see what this contraption can do.”

  Nicander grinned and then kissed her. “Eulalia, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  She grinned back. “Of that, I’m sure, Mr. Fireman.”

  THE END

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Parker J. Cole is an author, speaker, and radio show host with a fanatical obsession with the Lord, Star Trek, K-dramas, anime, romance books, old movies, speculative fiction, and knitting. An off and on recovering Mountain Dew and marshmallow addict, she writes to fill the void the sugar left behind.

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  WORKS BY PARKER J COLE

  Edgy Christian Romance Novels

  The Sins of the Flesh Series:

  Many Strange Women (Book 1)

  The Other Man (Book 2)

  Vengeful Vows (Book 3)

  Sweet Inspirational Novels

  Michigan Sweet Romance Series:

  The Cure

  Time to Say Goodbye

  Contemporary Romance

  Java Cupid Series

  Java Blend

  Sweet Historical Romance Novels

  Silverpines Series:

  Wanted: Man of Honor

  Wanted: Stonemason

  Lantern in the Window Series:

  Lantern of Hope

  Lantern of Charity

  The Proxy Bride Series

  A Bride for Sterling

  A Bride for Valentin

  The Pinkerton Matchmaker Series

  An Agent for Arielle

  An Agent for Brielle

  Short Story Collection

  Wish Upon a Strawberry Shortcake

  Thriller Novel

  Dark Cherub

  Anthology Works

  Birds of Passage Anthology: April and Mr. Grim

  Realms of Our Own: Godforsaken

  WRITING AS PARKER PAYNE

  Ascent of the Gem Bearers Series

  The Druid’s Spear (Book One) with Lee Thornton III

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