The Fireman Who Loved Me

by Jennifer Bernard

  “It’s the aftershock,” he said briskly. “I’ve seen it many times. You’ll feel better in a few minutes. Just rest until we get to the hospital. I have some extra socks in here somewhere too.”

  Right. She was still barefoot, and her feet had little bits of wet grass all over them. She leaned her head back against the headrest. A sudden thought jerked her upright again. “Oh! I should call my dad.”

  “I already did. He’s meeting us there.”

  Brody had taken care of everything. He’d thought of everything. Melissa let her eyes drift shut. It felt like being on a magic carpet. She had absolutely nothing to worry about.

  Except Grans.

  She spent the rest of the ride praying for her grandmother.

  At the hospital, Brody quietly took command. He shepherded her through the reception area, got an update on Nelly’s condition (critical), and settled her into the waiting area with a cup of coffee. Cream, one sugar. How on earth could he remember how she liked her coffee at a moment like this? But she was beyond questioning anything about Brody. If someone had asked her, she would have said he must be a superhero with mystical powers.

  After making another call on his cell phone, he eased into the seat next to her with a sigh.

  “I just called your father again. He’s about fifteen minutes away.”

  “Thanks.” She felt suddenly guilty for taking up so much of his time. “Is this . . . I mean, is there anywhere else you should be?”

  “No, nowhere. But . . .” He hesitated before finishing. “Is there anyone else you want me to call?”

  She searched her mind. “I can’t think of anyone,” she said with a shake of her head. He gave her a probing look. “Her husband’s long dead, I told you that, right? It’s just me and Haskell. Dad.” This seemed to satisfy him, since he sat back with a little smile. She gave him an offended look. Was he smiling because poor Nelly didn’t have more surviving family members?

  Then the light bulb turned on.

  Brody had been asking about Everett. He wanted to know if she wanted to call Everett. She nearly laughed out loud. Even when she’d been in love with Everett, she never would have expected him to rush to her side in a crisis. Besides, Nelly hated Everett. “That man is no good for anyone” had been her mantra. Nothing would be more guaranteed to upset her than Everett showing up at her bedside. She could just imagine Nelly bolting upright on her hospital bed, giving Everett a big old roundhouse slap on the cheek, and falling back into unconsciousness while nurses and doctors buzzed around her.

  Brody, on the other hand, had earned Nelly’s approval almost right away. Almost. “Remember Nelly’s first words to you?” she asked him.

  “Sure. Something along the lines of ‘Who the hell are you, and how come you’re dating my granddaughter and not that handsome blue-eyed hunk I paid for?’ ”

  Melissa winced. “I guess that’s about right.”

  “We never took her money, you know.”

  “What do you mean? What about the widows and orphans?” She eyed him, sitting so comfortably next to her, as if there were no place he’d rather be than in this fluorescent-lit, disinfectant-scented waiting room.

  “Don’t worry, they got their donation. I took care of it.”

  Melissa’s face flamed with embarrassment. Had Brody refused to take Nelly’s money because they’d slept together? Or had he made the donation out of guilt, after he’d ditched Melissa for his ex? The whole thing was humiliating.

  Two white-coated doctors with grim expressions came through the door of the treatment room. Melissa and Brody both jumped to their feet. She grabbed Brody’s hand. As the doctors approached, he hugged an arm around her shoulder.

  “You must be Melissa,” said one of the doctors, shaking her free hand. “I’m Dr. Daughtry. I’ve been treating your grandmother for some time now. This is Dr. Swenson, the emergency room doctor.”

  “This is Harry Brody, my . . . fire captain.” God, she sounded like an idiot. The two doctors were a blur. She hoped she wouldn’t have to identify them in a lineup later. “Is Grans okay? Is she going to be all right?”

  “Your grandmother is awake and wants to see you, but she wanted me to tell you the full extent of her situation first.”

  “Situation?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

  “How much do you know about your grandmother’s condition?” he asked.

  “You mean the heart attack?”

  “No, the stomach cancer.”

  “Cancer?” The word sent a cold shock through her. Brody’s arm tightened around her.

  “Your grandmother has terminal stomach cancer. Her heart attack was the result of pain and extreme stress. She’s known for some time that she’s in her final months, and has refused radical life-saving measures.” The doctor adjusted his glasses and looked down at his clipboard.

  “Say it so we can understand,” said Brody, in that commanding voice no one ever disobeyed.

  “I’m sorry, but we don’t expect her to survive the night.”

  No. No. The words sank into Melissa’s numb brain. Feisty, ornery, bossy Nelly, not expected to survive the night? Life-saving measures. What had the doctor said about life-saving measures? “Let me talk to her. I’ll convince her. You can do something to save her, right?”

  “Honestly, very little, even if she accepted treatment. The cancer is quite advanced. She’s been living in nearly constant pain for the last few weeks.”

  “Why didn’t she . . . why didn’t she . . . ?” Tell me, she wanted to say, but couldn’t get the words out. The waiting room spun around her, and she heard Brody say quietly, “Give us a moment, please,” and then the doctors left, she buried her head in Brody’s chest, and his arms closed tight around her as shuddering sobs shook her body. She fought to get control of herself, but the grief had a life of its own. She gave herself over to it. After some time, when the sobs had subsided into hiccups, and she lay trembling in Brody’s arms, she came back to herself enough to hear him whispering in her ear.

  “Nelly needs you now, Melissa. She wants to see you. Can you do it?”

  She nodded, and pulled back to wipe her face. Her hands were shaking too much to have any effect, and Brody gently drew them away to take over the job himself. With the sleeve of his soft flannel shirt, he patted the wetness from her cheeks. “The bathroom’s right over there. Go in and wash your face. It’ll upset Nelly to see you like this.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Melissa took a deep, shaky breath. “She’s probably going to be cracking jokes and bossing me around.”

  “This is her time. Let her do as she likes.”

  She clung to the calm command in those dark gray eyes, to the strength in the hand that still held her shoulder. “Will you go in there and tell Grans I’m coming? And tell her Dad is on his way too.”

  “Of course I will. Don’t take too long though.”

  She didn’t have to be told why. Melissa hurried into the bathroom.

  Brody followed the doctors into Nelly’s room. Nelly certainly didn’t look like the end was near. She sat bolt upright, a scowl on her face, a rubber electrode clutched in her fist, a nurse flailing helplessly by her bed.

  “Oh, it’s you.” She greeted Brody. “What’s this crap they’ve got all over me?”

  “The usual. They’re trying to keep you alive for a few more hours.”

  “But I told them—”

  “They know. This is just for monitoring. Now let the nice nurse put it back on.”

  After measuring the calm authority in his face, she grumpily handed the electrode back to the nurse. Brody gave her a surreptitious scan while she lay back and allowed it to be taped to her chest. Her bones looked so frail, her skin nearly transparent, as if her body was halfway to heaven already, with only her fierce, eaglelike gaze left behind. As soon as the nurse left, Nelly turned tho
se eagle eyes on Brody.

  “Where’s Melissa? Where’s my son?”

  “Haskell is on his way. Melissa’s in the bathroom. She’s had quite a night, what with saving you from your own stupidity. Why’d you set that fire, Nelly?”

  She didn’t bother to look guilty. “I should have known you’d figure it out. Does Melissa know?”

  “No. She has enough to worry her.”

  “You’re a good man, Captain Brody. Are you going to come through?”

  “Come through?” He frowned. “This isn’t about me. What were you up to, Nelly? There’s going to be an investigation, and I don’t want Melissa hurt by the findings. I need to know the truth, so maybe I can help you.”

  “I’ll tell you. If you tell me something.” When he gave a short nod, she continued. “Who told you about the fire?”

  “Ryan. He paged me.”

  “And he told you Melissa was trapped?”

  Brody nodded.

  “And what did you feel?”

  That he would have thrown himself into the flames to save her. That if he couldn’t save her, there would be no reason to save himself. That the entire world centered on one house, one bedroom, one irreplaceable woman who needed him.

  His face must have given away his emotions, since she gave a satisfied grunt. “That’s why I did it.”

  “What?” Brody strode over to her bedside and loomed over her. “Are you telling me you risked Melissa’s life to . . . to . . .”

  “Get you to admit you love her. Worked, didn’t it?”

  Brody clenched his jaw. “If you weren’t already . . .”

  “Dying? But I am dying. If I weren’t, I could have let you two bumbling kids take care of your own business. But you left me no choice. Hand me that water.”

  Brody, kicking himself for nearly losing his temper with a woman in her waning hours, poured her some water and carefully brought it to her. She sipped from the glass, and a few drops of water spilled down her face. Brody found a box of tissues on the bedside table, and used one to gently dry her chin. At his touch, she closed her eyes.

  “You know, when I met my Leon, I couldn’t stand the sight of him. I thought he was arrogant, pigheaded, irritating. He came to a dance at the community hall. I grew up in a tiny little town, you know, and our little dances were the only thing to do on a Saturday night. I went with another boy, but Leon just cut right in. I thought it was mighty high-handed of him, but what I hated even worse was when he cut in on my friend Alice May too. Alice May was my best friend, but right then I could have slapped her right into the ground. He called me Nellikins, like I was a little girl. I was only seventeen, but I thought I was all grown up. After that, I could never stop thinking about him. Sometimes I hated him, sometimes I didn’t.”

  She paused to take a deep, raspy breath, and Brody wondered if she was going to fall asleep. But after a few moments, she continued her story. “When he asked me to run off with him, I didn’t know if I loved him or not. But I didn’t see how I could marry anyone else if all I could think about was Leon. So I said yes. And we sure had a lot of fun times. He wasn’t always a good man, my Leon, he lived on the shady side of the street a lot of the time. There were plenty of times I kicked myself for linking myself up to such a character. But I knew I never really had a choice, not if I was going to be honest. I never stopped thinking about him, you know. I still think about him today, even though he’s dead these ten years. So I guess I do love him.”

  “He was a lucky man,” said Brody, which made her chuckle weakly.

  “Oh, he would have given you an argument about that. According to him, I was the biggest trial any man ever saddled himself with. Stubborn as a rash, he used to say. Never did as I was told. I ran him a pretty dance. But then he’d turn around and tell me his life wouldn’t be worth a gob of spit without me, and I thought that was a very pretty thing to say, for a rough man like him.”

  “Sounds like you made a good match.”

  “I guess you could say that. Back in my day, we just fumbled and stumbled around. Didn’t know what we were doing. Someone came along who had a nice-looking nose, or maybe you liked the way his smile lifted up one corner of his mouth, and the next thing you knew, you were married and churning out babies. Today, you young people think you got all the time in the world to find somebody. Tell me the truth, now, Captain Brody. Is that ex of yours back to stay?”

  Taken by surprise, Brody hesitated. Things with Melissa were nowhere. He didn’t want to give Nelly false hope.

  “It’s a simple question, Brody,” said Nelly sharply. “Yes or no?”

  “No,” he finally said. “She’s gone.”

  “Ah.” Nelly breathed deeply, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Did she leave on her own, or did you give her some assistance?”

  “I got the man she really wants to come back.”

  Nelly glanced up at the ceiling with a triumphant glare. “See that, Leon? You gotta understand, Brody, if I had set my girl up for a heartbreak like that, I’d never forgive myself. And Leon would scold.”

  “I do see that,” said Brody, gravely. “I have no intention of breaking Melissa’s heart. Her heart is taking her in a different direction.”

  “Everett?” snorted Nelly. “If you think that, you’re even more of a bumbling fool than I thought.”

  Brody ignored the insult. “Last I saw of him, they looked pretty darn happy to see each other.”

  “Are you going to argue with a dying woman?” said Nelly indignantly. “I’m telling you she doesn’t give a hoot for him. You’re the one she can’t stop thinking about.”

  “But . . .”

  “Ah!” she held up a forceful hand. “No backtalk. Now, do you love my Melissa or not?”

  If a meteor would just crash into the hospital and hit her on the head, Melissa would be forever grateful. What did Nelly think she was doing, putting Brody on the spot like that? Nelly knew he’d gotten back together with Rebecca. And Brody was taking a long time to answer the question. He was probably trying to think of the most tactful way to let Nelly down.

  “Grans!” she said from the doorway. “Take that back!”

  Brody spun around at the sound of her voice, but she couldn’t look him in the eye.

  “Why should I take it back? It’s a perfectly good question.” Nelly gave her the feisty glare that meant anything could come out of her mouth next.

  “Brody, I’m sorry. My grandmother has no manners.”

  “You’re going to insult a dying woman?”

  “Low blow, Grans.”

  “When you’re dying, you get to say anything you want!” Nelly popped up in her hospital bed like a jack-in-the-box. “Brody, answer the question!”

  “Brody, don’t say a word!” Melissa felt her face flame. How had this gone so wrong? In the bathroom, she had schooled herself on the attitude she should take with Nelly. Loving, tender, but not sentimental. No gushing tears. No sobs. And certainly no angry yelling.

  “Ladies,” Brody said, obviously trying to calm them down. It didn’t work. They both turned on him.

  “Stay out of it!” ordered Melissa. Brody began to back out of the room.

  “Where are you going?” Nelly demanded. “You stay put and answer my question.”

  But if anyone could stand up to Nelly, it was Brody. He met her eagle stare with his own calm gray one. “I think you two need some time alone. I’m going to track down Haskell. He just paged me. I’ll be right back. Just don’t kill each other in the meantime.”

  When he was gone, Nelly sank back into her pillows. Melissa’s anger melted away. She stepped to Nelly’s bedside, and saw the way the pulse fluttered in her throat. Her cheeks looked so sunken, her eyes feverish and exhausted. “I’m sorry, Grans.”

  Nelly reached for her hand and squeezed it. She seemed too exhausted
by her outburst to say anything more. Melissa was shocked by the dry, clawlike feel of her hand. “I got so scared when I saw you lying out in the yard. Why didn’t you wake me up when you saw the fire?”

  Nelly shifted on her bed. “Well, I . . . I just wasn’t thinking clearly, honey. All’s well that ends well.”

  Ends well. The phrase made Melissa’s tears threaten again. She fought them back. “I won’t scold you this time.”

  “I should hope not,” sniffed Nelly. “Scold me, indeed.”

  For a moment they held hands in silence.

  “You know I’m proud of you, right, Melissa?”

  “Don’t, Grans, please.” She’d never be able to keep the tears away if Nelly talked like that.

  “I just wanted to say that, before I get into what I really want to say.”

  Uh-oh. If this was about Brody, Melissa didn’t want to hear it. She tried to draw back, but Nelly clung tightly to her hand. “Listen to me. Don’t be a damn fool idiot, you promise me? If I have to die thinking you’re going to toss away the best man I ever met in my life, and I’m including Leon, since he wasn’t always a good man—I’ll be mad as a preacher at Mardi Gras. Before I die, I want you to say you love him, and you’ll marry him, and start making me some great-grandbabies.”

  Melissa fought to keep her voice calm. She didn’t want to spend her last hours with Nelly fighting. “He’s not mine to toss away, Grans. And even if he were, it’s not fair to pull this on me. Brody and I never talked about love or marriage or anything like that. It was just a fling. If it weren’t, he never would have gotten back together with Rebecca. Without a word to me about it.”

  Nelly groaned and laid her head back on the pillow. This was never going to work. She shut her eyes, blocking out the stubborn green-eyed gaze of her granddaughter. In its place, the image of Leon danced in front of her. In her mind’s eye, she saw Leon give a little shake of his head. He was telling her the dying couldn’t have everything their way. And she knew he was right.

  “I’m sorry, Melissa love,” she whispered. “Guess I get a little carried away now and then.”