“I’m happy it worked out this way.” Emily went to smooth the quilt on the queen bed. “You’re actually an answer to my prayers.”
There it was again. Answered prayers.
“Oh,” Emily said, “I forgot to say something when we talked before. I hope this isn’t a deal breaker, but Lucas left his cat.” She stuck her head out into the hallway. “Lucky? Here, kitty, kitty … You’re not allergic or anything, are you?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve never had a cat.” She’d never had a pet, but she didn’t tell Emily that.
“Well, Lucky’s around here somewhere. He usually hangs out in Lucas’s room. He mostly makes himself invisible, but if he bothers you, you can put him out in the garage. He’s used to being outside when it’s not too cold.”
Closing the bedroom door behind them, Emily clucked her tongue. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with that cat if you find an apartment before Lucas gets back. Geoff’s not crazy about the idea of having a cat, and the girls can’t have pets in the dorms, of course. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” She sighed, then brightened. “Well, I guess I’ll see you in Springfield in a few days.”
Jenna was glad Emily seemed happy about the fact.
“I’d offer you a ride, but I’m heading down there this evening.”
“Oh, I don’t mind driving. I’m looking forward to it.”
“The wedding? Or seeing a certain tall, dark, and handsome fellow who will be in attendance?”
Jenna felt a flush creep up her neck. “Um … both.”
“Good answer.” Emily’s wink put her at ease again.
They finished the tour of the house, and Emily showed her where everything was, advising her about trash pickup day and where Lucky’s food and litter were stored.
Walking through the tidy house with Luc’s mother, Jenna began to see it in a different way from the first time Lucas had brought her there.
Perhaps it was the fact that Emily had moved some of the furniture and decorative items to Springfield and rearranged the rest in a scaled-back style that was more Jenna’s taste. But for whatever reason, what had first appeared a mite shabby and out-of-date now seemed only warm and inviting.
It probably also had something to do with her memories of spending Christmas here and of the warmth she’d felt from Luc’s family. But it was something more. There was a spirit about this house that was gracious and welcoming and embracing.
Of course that spirit was embodied in the people who lived here, but those qualities lingered in her memories, and even in the fragrance of the house—a heady mixture of cinnamon and coffee and something piney and clean.
She could easily picture herself coming home to this place after a hard day at Hanson’s. She could set up her laptop at the dining room table and work her eBay sales. Or do some baking in the large kitchen—a hobby she’d enjoyed at the Brookside house but had scarcely thought about since she’d had to let it go.
She sighed. She hadn’t even moved in and she was dreading the day she’d have to move out of the Vermontez home.
Slow down, Morgan. She had to get out of Bryn’s apartment first. Her friend had been so gracious to let her stay all these weeks, but she knew Bryn was getting nervous about “kicking her out.” Lucas had jokingly called her a “sofa surfer.” Ordinarily she liked his teasing—and she knew he hadn’t meant anything by it—but it had hit a little too close to home.
On top of that she was starting to feel a little like a fifth wheel now that Garrett was spending more and more time at the apartment while he and Bryn worked to get ready for their wedding and plan their honeymoon.
Weddings. It seemed as if everyone she knew was headed for the altar.
“I’ll go ahead and give you the key now,” Emily was saying.
Jenna shook herself from her reverie and took the key Emily held out. It was on a little plastic house-shaped keychain, and Jenna read the fancy script beneath the logo: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
She shook her head. She was starting to think Someone was trying to tell her something.
Still, a heavy truth weighed him down whenever he stopped long enough to turn it over in his mind. …
37
Friday, February 13
How’s it going, Vermontez?”
Lucas wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his T-shirt. His ankle throbbed and his back was in spasms, trying to compensate for the trauma he’d put his leg through, but he and Sparky had performed well and he was feeling elated in spite of his pain. “It’s going good, Wyatt.”
They were on Day Five of the program and already Sparky was alerting on two new substances. He’d had to unlearn a few bad habits that Lucas had unintentionally reinforced working with Sparky at home. But they’d both adjusted quickly to this facility’s training methods.
“You let me know if you need to back off a little,” the director said. “No sense in you getting injured again. It’s not like this is life and death or anything.”
“Not today maybe, but someday it could be.” Who knew that better than him?
“Okay. I’ll trust you to know your own limits, Vermontez.”
He hadn’t worked this hard since he and Zach were going through training as rookies with Station 2. It felt good, even if he was discovering muscles he’d forgotten he had.
He liked Wyatt Barnes, the guy who ran the program. Barnes had a good reputation and good connections to place the dogs he trained. Lucas was finding it fulfilling work, and Sparky was doing him proud. The dog was eager to get out to the field every day and was undistracted by the other animals—at least after that first day, when it had been a zoo.
He leaned down and scrubbed his buddy’s head. “Good job, Spark. Way to show ’em out there today.”
A couple of the other guys in the training program walked by, headed to play their usual round of noon-hour pickup basketball. “You coming, Vermontez? We’re going for pizza after.” Barnes had given them an extra hour for lunch today.
“No, man … thanks anyway. I’m beat. Think I’ll just get a sandwich out of the vending machine.” Oh, for the day when he could have worked this hard all day and still gone to play some ball.
His ankle was holding up pretty well, but he knew his limitations and he was pretty close to the edge of them right now. About all he was up for was a hot shower, a handful of aspirin, and a nap. Maybe he’d call for a pizza later. If he could stay awake long enough to eat it.
He was grateful for times like these that allowed him to come back to his room and crash. Any day that left him with an ounce of energy he only burned up worrying about the future. About whether he’d be able to find Sparky a working gig when this was through, about whether that would mean giving Sparky up.
The first few days he’d worried about whether he could even finish the course, but he’d managed to keep up with the rest of the handlers pretty well. The instructors had made a few minor concessions for him—he hadn’t had to climb any ladders or scale any walls—but that was more a concession to his most recent injury than to his permanent disability. He was encouraged by what he’d accomplished, even if it had cost him some major pain.
He’d had nothing to offer Jenna before. But this training program had the potential to change that. And he was starting to think that once his ankle healed completely, he’d be able to hold his own in any detection exercise, real or staged, or in any fire scene inspection.
Still, a heavy truth weighed him down whenever he stopped long enough to turn it over in his mind: he would never again be in the physical condition required to be a working firefighter. Those days were over, stolen by the Grove Street fire and his own stupidity.
Here in Tulsa, alone in a drab dorm room, Lucas found the dreams of that terrible night returning, the tape rewinding and playing again and again, always with the same outcome: Pop dead. Zach and the others dead. Lucas done with firefighting. For good.
The difference now was t
hat he was able to wake up and shake it off. Then he gave himself a different version of the same lecture he’d given Jenna about being grateful for the blessings, the advantages he’d been given.
He’d thought a lot about his blessings here. He’d had a father who’d loved him and sent him out into the world with all the tools he needed to make something of himself—even now, after tragedy had stolen so much that he valued.
Even though it had been short-lived, he’d been blessed to have the experience of being a firefighter. Even of saving a life or two in his brief career. Not everybody got such a privilege in a mere twenty-seven years of living.
Remembering the day he’d chewed Jenna out, he cringed, even as he chuckled to himself. She’d deserved it. He probably could have been a little more diplomatic in his delivery. Still, he was grateful they’d ended on a rather sweet note.
He needed to remember to e-mail her tonight. She’d asked him to send directions to the chapel in Springfield. He’d see her tomorrow. Now there was a seriously cheerful thought.
She’d asked him for pictures, too. Of the training facility and of him and Sparky. “I want to be able to picture where you are, and to see you and Sparky in action,” her e-mail had said yesterday. He hadn’t gotten around to taking any photos yet. Maybe he’d have one of the guys take some shots during training drills this afternoon.
His energy returned in a surge and he decided to get out of there. Maybe go for a burger and fries. And he could use a haircut before tomorrow. He grabbed the leash from its hook. “Come on, Sparky.”
His loyal sidekick gave him a look that said he was up for anything.
Lucas stowed his gear in a locker, snapped the padlock shut, and headed out to his pickup with Sparky at his heel.
He hadn’t left the parking lot yet when his phone buzzed. He looked at the caller ID and smiled. “Hey, Ma.” They hadn’t talked since he called Sunday night to let her know he’d arrived safely in Tulsa. He knew it had taken everything in her to wait this long before calling him again.
“How’s everything going? Are you liking the school?”
“It’s going good.” He told her a little bit about his days, trying not to let her hear the weariness in his voice.
After making small talk for ten minutes, he made excuses to hang up. “I’m headed downtown for a haircut. I should probably let you go.”
Ma hesitated on her end, then blurted, “Have you been hearing our news? About the shelter.”
“The homeless shelter?” Something in her tone put him on alert. “No, what’s going on?”
“There was another fire.”
“You have got to be kidding me! When? Was anybody hurt?”
“Last night. Nobody hurt, but they were saying on the news this morning that they’re probably going to shut the shelter down.”
“Was it that bad?”
“No, I think once again they caught it before it did any serious damage. But it’s obvious somebody is setting these fires, and the Hanover Falls police don’t have the manpower to watch the place twenty-four/ seven. It’s not safe to have people staying there when the place has been a target so many times now. I don’t see how they can keep it open.”
“Yeah, and that’s probably exactly what the sicko doing this is hoping—that they’ll shut the place down.” He let out a growl of frustration. “Why can’t they catch this guy?” He wondered what his buddies at the station had to say about it. The old longing came back with a vengeance. He would have given anything to be back at Station 2 with his crew right now.
Ma must have read his thoughts. “You have more important things to worry about, Luc. I hated to even say anything, but I figured you’d hear it anyway. For now, you just concentrate on that training. Except for tomorrow,” she added quickly. “Then you just concentrate on getting to the church on time.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be there.”
She couldn’t remember when she’d been so nervous.
38
Saturday, February 14
Jenna put the car in Park, quickly changed into a pair of heels, then climbed out of the car, searching the parking lot for Lucas’s truck.
Emily was being married in the chapel on the campus where Geoff taught, and Luc had said he’d meet her here, but she didn’t see any sign of him yet.
She locked the car and straightened, smoothing out her suit jacket. She tried unsuccessfully to pinch pleats back into her wool pants, but they’d suffered from too many days in the cramped closet at Bryn’s, and she couldn’t afford to take them to the cleaners. She caught her reflection in the car window and hoped she was dressed right for a chapel wedding.
She couldn’t remember when she’d been so nervous. It had been years since she’d darkened the door of a church. Early in their marriage she and Zach had let Bill and Clarissa talk them into going to church with them a few times, but once Zach figured out that his father was mostly there to troll for clients, that had been the end of it for them.
Using the car’s side mirror, she rearranged the silk scarf around her throat.
“Hey, beautiful.”
She jumped and whirled around to see Lucas walking toward her. He looked handsome as all get-out in a dark suit, crisp white shirt, and baby blue tie that complemented his olive complexion. He was off the crutches and back to using his cane. She didn’t think she was imagining that his limp had diminished.
“You don’t clean up bad yourself,” she said, unable to stop smiling.
He held out his arms and she walked into them for a much-too-brief hug. Her heart revved uncomfortably and she took a deep breath, trying to get it under control.
“You didn’t bring Sparky?”
“A buddy agreed to watch him for me tonight. Why? Do you miss him?”
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say that.”
Laughing, he glanced around at the complex of buildings. “Have you figured out where the chapel is yet?”
“Didn’t you have a rehearsal last night?”
“No. I just drove in from Tulsa. Ma said it’s going to be pretty low-key. I guess they decided they didn’t need to rehearse.”
She pointed to a sign across the parking lot. “That looks like a directory.” They walked together over to the map and figured out where the chapel was.
The air was chilly, but she quickly forgot about how cold it was as they caught up on each other’s news.
They found the chapel, and Geoff and Emily greeted them just inside the foyer.
“Oh, good … you found it,” Emily said, giving Luc a hug. “The girls are already here … and Abi and Baba.” She pointed toward the sanctuary. She reached for Jenna’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m so glad you came, Jenna.”
“You look beautiful,” Jenna said, genuinely admiring her elegant street-length dress of ecru lace.
Lucas shook Geoff’s hand and nodded his way with a smirk. “Nice tux.”
Geoff rolled his eyes, and he and Emily laughed along with Luc. Jenna looked on with a weak smile, not getting what was so funny.
“You guys go on in,” Emily said, herding them toward the sanctuary. “Don’t forget, we’ll see you afterward for dinner.”
“Don’t worry, Ma, we’re not about to miss dinner.”
Jenna counted about twenty people scattered throughout the tiny chapel. As they walked down the aisle, Lucas quietly greeted several people before leading her to the pew where his grandparents and sisters were already seated.
She gave a little wave to Victoria and Gina and slid in beside their grandmother. Luc put a hand lightly on Jenna’s back, leaning across to speak to his grandparents. “Abi, Baba, you remember Jenna—from Christmas?”
“Of course.” Mrs. Vermontez patted Jenna’s knee. “Don’t you look pretty today.”
Jenna felt herself flush. “Why, thank you.” She glanced up at Lucas, grinning. “Your grandson looks pretty spiffy, too, don’t you think?”
Luc’s grandfather winked at her. “We Vermontez men
make a point of always trying to look spiffy.”
Jenna laughed, charmed by Luc’s Baba, and nursing a pang of envy that she’d never known her grandparents. She hoped Lucas Vermontez realized how very lucky he was.
Music spilled from the speakers at the front of the small chapel, and a hush fell over the group. A young man wearing a clerical collar came through a door at the right side of the low stage, followed by Geoff and Emily. She carried a simple bouquet of lilies, and Geoff had a small leatherbound book in his hand.
Jenna gave a little sigh. There was just something about weddings … no matter the age of the bride and groom.
Lucas must have felt the same stirrings because he reached for Jenna’s hand. She glanced up at him. He kept his eyes to the front of the chapel, but he laced his fingers with hers and gave her hand a little squeeze as the minister began reading from a Bible on the lectern.
Watching his mother standing beside Geoff, smiling up at him that way, Lucas felt a lump in his throat.
I miss you, Pop. Man, I miss you. …
Ma’s face glowed with joy. How could he not be happy for her? But so many memories flooded his mind. And a haunting sense that things would never again be the same. Ma would make a new life with Geoff, and memories of Pop would fade.
The minister finished his reading from Song of Solomon—a rather racy passage for his mother’s wedding, Luc thought. But as he recalled the entire book, he supposed the guy could have chosen worse. Acutely aware of Jen’s hand in his, he listened as the minister shared a few words on marriage.
After the couple had made their vows, Lucas was surprised to see his mom and Geoff turn to face their guests.
Geoff picked up a microphone and looked over the audience with the confidence of a professor. “Emily and I want to thank you for coming to share this day with us. As most of you know, these past couple of years have been very difficult for both of us.” He took her hand, smiling down at her. “We have been blessed to enjoy long, happy marriages—and in Emily’s case, the gift of children.” He nodded at Lucas and his sisters. “We’ve learned the hard way that the Lord does give, and sometimes take away. But we are grateful that He also restores happiness after sorrow. Emily—” Geoff’s voice broke and he lowered the mike, composing himself.
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