The Firefighter's Thanksgiving Wish

by Anna J. Stewart

  Except he did care. He knew what it was like to have a dream deferred because of someone else, and the idea he’d been an unintentional coconspirator in that happening to Frankie did not sit well with him. At all.

  “Would’ve been nice to have had some warning about the storm I was walking into,” Roman told the mayor. “It certainly hasn’t made my first few days in town easy.”

  “Gotta love small towns.”

  Yes, Roman thought. Small towns. “Just goes to show you really can’t keep anything secret for long, huh?” Roman let out a low whistle. “Take the BHFD budget, for instance. I bet Bud Granger just took you at your word about the lack of funds for the department and didn’t scrutinize those budget reports too closely. If he had, he might have noticed the steadily decreasing funds you’ve allocated for not only the fire but the sheriff’s department, as well. Money that was actually approved by the town council, if my reading of the board minutes is correct. Money that should have been used to improve public safety on both fronts.”

  Gil’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you don’t like the politics game.”

  “I don’t. Doesn’t mean I don’t know how to play. It’s been remarkable, learning about this whole small-town way of life,” Roman went on. “I have made so many new friends in just a couple of days. For instance, I had breakfast the other morning with Mrs. Hastings. Now there’s a woman with her ear to the ground. Wasn’t she your high school principal? Actually, if I didn’t know better, I’d think people didn’t like you very much.”

  A flicker of disappointment caught Roman’s eye before Gil glanced away. “Goes with the job. Anything else?”

  “Yes. I thought you should know I’ll be requesting Jasper O’Neill come work at the department. Just a lateral transfer from the sheriff’s department as he earns his probationary status with us.”

  Gil’s jaw tensed. “I don’t see an issue with that.”

  “Great. Really, it’s funny. Frankie and I were discussing our staffing situation, and given that I’ve become quite familiar with the budgeting numbers, it’s a good time to increase our employment allocation.”

  “Contrary to what you think,” Gil said, “the department hasn’t suffered in any way. In fact, just recently we upgraded all the necessary equipment.”

  “Mmm.” Roman nodded. “Yep. All that is in tip-top shape. You’ve also had Bud and Frankie running on fumes for at least two years. They’ve both become so used to being overworked, they don’t even realize that’s actually helped turn a profit for you and the town.”

  Gil’s lips twitched, but Roman suspected he was more irritated than amused. “Your point?”

  Roman shrugged. “Well, it would ease a lot of pressure if we were able to hire another one, maybe two full-time employees. Not right away, of course. I’m only just beginning to evaluate how things work, but maybe by the next fiscal year?”

  “I underestimated you.” Gil seemed to be considering his question, but Roman knew he was only playing games. The mayor was stuck. He’d been caught manipulating the town’s money. And he knew it. “I’ll consider it. But you aren’t earning any bonus points with me by starting off like this, Roman.”

  “That’s Chief, Mr. Mayor. And I’m starting off on the foot I always start on. The right one. I’m not some mouthpiece or weapon for you to use against people you don’t like in this town. I also have no history with you that might act as protection for you. Bud Granger’s a good guy, but it’s pretty obvious he goes out of his way to avoid conflict. I am not Bud Granger. Butterfly Harbor might just be a stop for me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take the responsibility of this position seriously. You hired me to keep the people in town safe, and I’ll do that for as long as I’m here. Now you’re just giving me the means to do that.” He heard a siren in the distance, growing closer. His entire body went on alert.

  The siren screeched over the hill and up and into the construction site. Roman flicked open the blinds in time to see Frankie climb out, lights still spinning on the top of Dwayne. She stood up on the running board, pulled her glasses off as she looked around. “Good talk, Mr. Mayor,” Roman said. “I’ll be in touch about those amended budget numbers.” He pulled open the door. The relief in her eyes when she saw him let him know she was here for him.

  “What is it?” he called out to her.

  “Car accident. I can’t handle it on my own. Bud’s—”

  “Let’s go.” He jumped down the steps and dived into the car.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “FILL ME IN,” Roman ordered as Frankie U-turned and headed back down the road into town. “What do I need to know?”

  “Single-car accident reported to the sheriff’s station just outside town. Rugged area. Lots of woods and unpaved, narrow roads. Twisting paths and ravines.” Frankie pushed her glasses back on and, after turning right on Monarch Lane, took another immediate right and floored it. “Description of the car sounds like it’s Oliver Hideman. Longtime resident. He was old when I was a kid.”

  “I know the type.”

  “Lost his wife about eight years ago.” She kept the lights spinning. Once they reached the end of Wasp Tail Road, she hit the sirens and took the winding road up toward Gray Marble Way. “He keeps to himself mostly. Daughter and her family moved in last Christmas to help, but he’s never been able to quit drinking. Comes and goes. Got so bad last time, his daughter hid his car keys. Caused enough of a row, Luke—that’s Sheriff Saxon—and one of his deputies were called in. They locked him up for a weekend, wanted to get him dried out. This is the first time we’ve heard anything since. Not surprising, though. Holidays can be tough for some people.”

  “Who called it in?” Roman kept his eyes on the road, memorizing signs, looking for obstacles and turnoff roads.

  “According to Ozzy—he’s the junior deputy—a couple of tourists saw the car after they took a wrong turn. Once they were back in town, they found the station and stopped to report it. Ozzy called me when he couldn’t get any of his fellow deputies over there fast enough. Hold on.” She took the left onto Checkerspot Drive, which went from pavement to gravel, two lanes to one. She gripped the steering wheel as the tires spun.

  Her cell phone rang through the car. She tapped the icon on the steering wheel. “Yeah, Oz. I’m about three minutes ETA. Kendall’s on her way with the engine. What do you have?”

  “Laura just called.”

  “Hideman’s daughter,” Frankie said. “Sorry, Oz. I’ve got Roman with me.”

  “That was fast. Yeah, okay. Laura was taking a nap with the baby, and when she woke up, Oliver was gone. So was Parker, her five-year-old.”

  “Okay.” It was always worse when kids were involved. “Okay. How long ago did she call?”

  “Not two minutes. I called you as soon as I hung up.”

  “Deputy...” Roman glanced at Frankie.

  “Lakeman.”

  “Deputy Lakeman, this is Roman Salazar.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Deputy Lakeman, are you alone at the station house?”

  “No, sir. Deputies Knight and Bradley just got back.”

  “It might be good to have someone stay with Mr. Hideman’s daughter until we know what’s going on. Can you handle that?”

  “Sir, I can tell Deputy Knight—”

  “I want you there. You’ve already spoken with her, you know what’s going on. You get over there now, okay? We’ll keep you apprised of the situation.”

  “Yes, sir.” Surprise echoed through the car. “I’m on my way right now. Matt and Fletcher are on their way to meet you. Frankie?”

  “I’ll call you on your cell when we know something.” Frankie glanced at Roman as he reached over to disconnect the call. “You sent him out there.”

  “Yes. I’ve read the regulations. I’m authorized to pull from the sheriff’s department during an
emergency. Besides, Ozzy is one of our volunteers, correct?”

  “Yeah, no, I know.” Frankie took a curve a bit too hard and the back tire came up off the ground. “I’m just surprised is all. Luke usually keeps him tied pretty close to the desk.”

  “Why?”

  Frankie winced. “It’s not my place to say.”

  “It is if I say it is. Is Lakeman not up to the job?”

  “Quite the contrary, Ozzy’s a great deputy. When he’s given the chance. Luke tends to be a bit overprotective when it comes to him, is all.” She didn’t think now was the time to fill Roman in on Sheriff Luke Saxon’s personal history with those under his command. He took their safety to heart—probably more than most would.

  “I read Ozzy’s file last night,” Roman said. “He’s determined and tenacious. I also read where he’s dropped over sixty pounds in the last eighteen months. Any idea why?”

  “You’d have to ask him that. There!” Frankie whipped off her glasses and caught sight of the front end of the ancient Chevy Impala sticking out from the overgrown brush. She slammed on the brakes and was out of the car in an instant, her boots crunching in the gravel of the road as she raced to the car. “Oliver!” The car’s passenger side had plowed into the tree, uprooting smaller trees around it. The driver’s door was open, the two front tires flattened. A heavy branch had dropped on top of the car and lay like a hot dog in a metal bun. The windshield and back window had shattered and collapsed, completely obscuring the back seat. Blood soaked the driver’s seat. “Roman! He’s not here.”

  “H-help.” The small cry burst against her ears. “I’m stuck.”

  “Parker?” She waved Roman over from where he was searching the surrounding brush. She stepped back, and as she did, her foot slipped. She almost hit the ground before she caught her balance. The car tipped, the front wheels inching off the ground. Her stomach lurched, but she remained calm, her training kicking in. She held out her hand as Roman reached her, stepped carefully to the side and felt the edge of the ground give way. “Hey, buddy.” Frankie looked into the back seat and found the little boy curled up on the floor beneath the tree and caved-in roof. “That doesn’t look very comfortable. How about we get you out of there?”

  The little boy sobbed and shook his head.

  The car trembled and tipped another inch. “Okay, that’s okay, Parker.” Frankie held up her hands, urging him not to move. In the distance she heard the distinct rumbling of the station’s engine making its way up the road.

  “You know what? Can you do me a favor and just stay really, really still? I’m going to talk to my partner over here about the best way to get you out and back to your mom, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Frankie grabbed Roman’s arm and drew him to the side. “We’ll have Matt and Fletcher start looking for Oliver once they get here. As far as Parker, part of the problem with roads like this is they’re so overgrown we can’t know they’re dangerous until they are.” She motioned to the thick shrubbery hiding the sharp drop-off leading to a creek bed thirty feet below. “That car’s about to go over. We need to try to brace it with something.”

  “Can he really not move?” Roman asked.

  “I don’t—”

  “Hey, Parker.” Roman pushed past her and walked over to the window. “Hey, little man. My name’s Roman. I bet you’re pretty scared, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. My grandpa almost hit a deer. He didn’t hit it, did he? I begged him not to.”

  Frankie took a deep breath. Maybe the situation wasn’t as tragic as she thought. Maybe Hideman hadn’t been drinking after all.

  “I don’t see a deer, so I bet it got away just fine,” Roman said as he leaned over to examine the area, bending down to check under the car. “That was so nice of you, Parker. To be worried about it.”

  “Mama says all creatures are precious. Even the creepy-crawly ones.”

  “Your mama sounds like a smart woman. Parker, can you do me a favor?” Roman called. “Without moving too much, can you tell me if you’re hurt? Your arms? Legs? Do you think you can move them okay?”

  After a moment, came a tremulous “Yes. But my head hurts. And I’m dizzy.”

  “Probably has a concussion,” Frankie whispered and glanced back as Kendall, one of the department volunteers, brought the engine to a stop behind the SUV. “I think I can wiggle myself underneath to get a tow chain hooked onto the front axle for stability. Long enough for you to pull him out.”

  Roman didn’t look convinced. “Maybe I should—”

  “I’ll be in and out, real quick.”

  Roman nodded. “Right now I’m not seeing another option, since with every move Parker makes that car tips. Okay. Do it. Just be careful. Most of this ground doesn’t feel stable.”

  Frankie had already felt the dirt and mud shifting under her. “I know. You keep him talking, okay? And be ready to yank him out. Kendall, hey.”

  “What do we have?” Kendall, who was former Army, fell instantly into emergency mode by examining the scene.

  “We need to hook the car to the engine for stability. Can’t use Dwayne. The Impala will just drag both of them over.”

  “Right.”

  After a quick discussion with her friend, Frankie climbed back into the SUV, radioed in and, after some frustrating maneuvering in the narrow road, moved Dwayne completely out of the way of the engine. Frankie hurried around the back and pulled the large metal case out of its custom housing beside the spare tire.

  “What’s that?” Roman called.

  “My dad had this made years ago. Makeshift towing cable. Like the ones tow trucks use?” She opened the lid and dragged out the auto hook, attaching it to one of her belt loops before dragging the rest of the chain free and handing off the other end. Kendall ducked under the engine and locked it securely to the undercarriage.

  Frankie turned to the Impala. “Okay. You need to be ready,” she told Roman. “I’m not sure it’s up high enough for me to get in clear. I might need to push it up a bit.”

  “We’re ready. Right, Parker?” Roman called.

  “I’m scared.”

  Frankie tried to block out the little boy’s fear as she dropped to the ground, putting her back to the slimy, leaf-strewn mud. She pushed slowly, carefully, until she was under the car.

  “I know you’re scared, little man,” Roman’s voice echoed in her ears. “But we’re going to get you out and back to your mom real soon, okay? You know Frankie out here is kind of a superhero?”

  “She is?”

  Frankie almost smiled at the disbelief in the kid’s voice.

  “She is,” Roman insisted. “She even has a not-so-secret lair. Have you been to the town firehouse, Parker?”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “Well, we’ll have to fix that. I was thinking about having some of you kids come by to see how we do things there. Do you think you’d like that?”

  Frankie only half heard him. Mud and grime sank into her clothes, coated her hair, slicked her arms as the vehicle loomed over her. The car vibrated, moving up and down as the pressure from the sagging back increased. She didn’t see a sturdy place to hook in. She’d need to go farther. She braced her feet and pushed the top of her body deeper into the mud, trying not to jostle the car as she reached down and removed the hook from her belt loop. Frankie stretched her arms over her head, the chain dropping heavily onto her chest and legs. Her knee hit the car, and it creaked and tipped another few inches. Frankie’s breath froze at the sound of Parker’s cry.

  “Hey, there. It’s okay,” Roman said. “Can you reach out and take my hand?”

  Frankie couldn’t see, but she did hear Parker’s slight sigh of relief.

  “Frankie? You doing okay?” Roman called.

  “Yeah! Just a little bit...more.” She tugged on the chain and gained some slack as she stared at the u
ndercarriage for the strongest place to hook into. Another few inches back, right...there! She pushed the hook open, but it wouldn’t hold. She took a deep breath, gave it a quick tug. The hook slipped against her palm. The car creaked again. She tried again but had to hold it in place.

  “Frankie!” Kendall yelled.

  “It won’t hold on its own!” She heard sirens, tires screeching, doors slamming. And voices. “Get him out!” she yelled at Roman.

  “Not until you’re clear,” Roman said.

  “I’m okay! Get him out!” Her arms burned, but the hook remained in place. Barely. If the car went, hopefully it would tip up enough for her to roll free.

  “Hey, Frankie. What ya doing under there?”

  Frankie laughed as Fletcher Bradley’s friendly face dropped down beside her. But she saw it, even as she sputtered mud. He was worried. “Is he out?” she managed to ask.

  “Door’s jammed. Gonna have to yank him out through the window, but that means he has to crawl onto the seat first. You got a hold of the car? You bench-press more than this, right?”

  “Stop making me laugh, you clown.” But she could feel it—between the car and her grip, the car felt...steadier. At least for now. “You here alone?”

  “Nah. Brought my wonder twin. Hey, Matt!”

  Matt Knight leaned over to look under the car.

  “One of you needs to help Roman get Parker out,” Frankie ordered. “The other can go look for Oliver. He must be nearby given the amount of blood in the car.”

  “On it.” Matt elbowed Fletcher and off he went to search for Parker’s grandfather. “Look, Frankie, we can’t tow the car back up. It’s too far gone. We’ve got another idea, though. You have some give with that mud? Cause it’s going to get tight under there.”

  Frankie understood immediately. They were going to let the car go. “I’ll be okay. You do what you need to and get Parker out.” She squeezed her eyes shut, took a few calming breaths as she spotted Matt and Kendall moving into place.

  “Gotta do this fast. Frankie? When we give the word, you unhook that hook. We don’t want it taking you with it.”