Forged

by Piper Stone

  “You’re afraid?” She could see such conflict in every line on his face.

  “I’m terrified.”

  She rubbed his cheek, the touch gentle, nothing more than a reminder. “I was afraid every day. There wasn’t a month that went by I didn’t worry, afraid I’d turn around and everything I’d worked so hard to achieve was destroyed. You helped me realize that living in the past or worrying about what might be isn’t any kind of life. If you believe in God or just karma, then you know when your time is up, there is nothing you can do. Enjoy every moment. Share love and joy. That’s the best medicine.”

  Cocking his head, he pressed his forehead against hers. “You’re good for me. You know that?”

  She smiled at the thought. “Remember, I’m right here.”

  He gave her a doleful look before grabbing his keys and opening the door. His head lowered, he walked around the truck and took her hand, kissing her fingers. “You’re absolutely right. There will be better times. I promise you that.”

  “There already have been. You are my star.”

  The words seemed to comfort him and as they walked toward the brick building, she pulled her collar up over her neck. The chill might never leave, at least not for months. Or years.

  “Hey,” Stoker said as he gave her a smile. “Glad you’re here.”

  “I’m so sorry for the loss,” Laney said as she remained close to Garcia, her hand gripping his arm.

  Jessica reached out, touching Garcia then inching closer, kissing his cheek. “How are you doing?”

  “As good as I can be,” Garcia gave a half smile. “We don’t know Jimmy, but we can celebrate his life, together.”

  Stoker nodded as he wrapped his arm around Jessica. “We can get through anything together.”

  “I found out Jimmy has a brother. He’s coming in from Boston for the funeral,” Boone said as he sniffed and glanced up at the sky, studying the tiny flakes of snow falling. “Damn winter.”

  “I heard the group from the Rattlesnakes isn’t thrilled about the outcome of the meeting,” Sawyer said quietly as he nodded toward the group waiting on the other side of the parking lot.

  Riker kicked his boot against the pavement. “None of us are.”

  “Let’s just get through today,” Garcia suggested. “They’re going to be members of the team.”

  “I think Laney might be good for our boy,” Stoker teased.

  Laney blushed and as she listened to their banter, she knew Garcia was lucky to have such amazing friends. “I think I’m the lucky one.”

  Sawyer looked at his watch. “Time to go in.”

  Garcia lingered behind. “I wish things were different.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “Come on.”

  Landen inched beside Garcia. “You still think the fire at the Hatcher place was set on purpose?”

  “Yeah, just a gut feeling and no one else believes me.” Garcia kept his voice low.

  “Well, that may not be true. Stoker asked me to check on the land records.” Landen moved in front, his eyes twinkling. “I wouldn’t go spouting this off, but Mr. Hatcher does have a daughter. They’ve been estranged for years. The land records were a bit spotty, but given my influence with some of the ladies at the administration building, they filled in some of the blanks.”

  “Influence with the ladies? Something you want to tell me?” Shannon popped him on the arm.

  “Don’t leave me in suspense,” Garcia admonished.

  Landen winked at Shannon. “Being popular has its perks, sweet cheeks. Seems the son-in-law has been hungry for all of Mr. Hatcher’s holdings. Tried to buy out his bed and breakfast from him more than once.”

  “Bed and breakfast?” Garcia narrowed his eyes. “The one that burned down?”

  “The very one. Like I said, ownership only a few people know about. I guess this son-in-law hired some attorney in town to finish the deed, if you know what I mean,” Landen growled.

  “Attorney?” Laney half whispered.

  “All I know is that he’s from out of town. Came in a year or so ago. The girls didn’t know much else, but I thought the information was very interesting. I doubt the sheriff has any idea of the two connections.”

  Garcia turned to face him then gave a darted look in Laney’s direction. “That’s way too much of a coincidence.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Landen gripped his shoulder. “I photocopied a couple of things in case you want to take this any further with the fire investigator. I’ll grab them after the service.”

  “Thanks.” Garcia remained quiet as Landen walked away. “An attorney from out of town. Sounds remarkably familiar.”

  Laney grimaced. “I can’t believe that Troy would be involved. He’s not that kind of man.”

  “Are you certain about that?”

  At this point, she wasn’t certain of anything. “I don’t know.”

  “We can’t worry about it right now. Come on.”

  “Wait,” Stoker pulled his arm. “There is one more thing. I talked with Frederick Nelson. He wouldn’t tell me anything, but I gathered there is more to the fires. Just let him do his job.”

  Garcia shook his head. “The tangled webs we all weave.”

  Laney nodded and followed behind him, the chill from the concept creating a wave of nausea. As they neared the building, she heard the ringing of her cell phone and stopped long enough to turn the ringer off. When she looked at the recent caller, her legs began to shake.

  Unknown…

  Chapter 12

  As the snow continued to fall, leaving a fresh blanket of white, the entire group of Missoula smokejumpers, almost eighty strong, stood in formation. Every man and woman in uniform, they stood behind the casket, their bodies fanning out behind the majestic trees, whose icy limbs had succumbed to the pull of the earth.

  Garcia and the rest of the Jackals stood in back, but everyone had a bird’s eye view of the burial service. Sadly, Antonio stood to the side, as if he was no longer a respected member of the team. Perhaps, he needed to break the ice with the man who seemed to have no real friends. They all had to stick together. He remained numb, more disturbed about Jimmy Martin’s death than he wanted anyone else to discover. Any death was horrible, but this one weighed on his mind. Shoddy parachutes, family members who’d do anything to get a piece of property. What was the world coming to?

  He held his position as a group from the local Marines folded the American flag. Jimmy had served his country for several years. He watched Stoker’s expression as the flag was presented to the older man sitting alone, his sallow complexion and haunted eyes highlighting his sadness. A single family member. He held his breath as the thought resonated too deeply in his own soul. His father was ill, his mother living somewhere else. How had he not noticed? The team had become his family, especially Stoker. He could never repay the kind of friendship they’d built, the amount of strength his buddy had given him.

  Stoker was noble, honorable as were so many of the others on his team. He’d never considered himself any kind of hero. He’d never served in the armed forces, never even saved a human life, not alone any way. But he was an excellent team member or at least he could be. He shook away the self-doubt as the service continued.

  Words were said then the Marines saluted, he turned his attention to Laney. She was sitting with what few members of the town had come, bothering to sit in the blustery weather in order to pay their respects to a man who’d done nothing but try to protect and prevent. She seemed so small, but she’d garnered a heightened level of strength just in the past couple of days. In fact, she was his rock at the moment. He noticed she remained saddened, almost haunted. The sixth sense had never left him. The attorney was lying about something. Then again, he couldn’t get his mind off James Hatcher. Everything was getting muddled.

  The information Landen had passed on remained disturbing and he definitely wasn’t finished investigating. Mr. Hatcher deserved answers. Or maybe he merely wanted to be a part
of a resolution. Either way, he was going to talk with the sheriff.

  Stoker looked in his direction, his expression laced with his own memories. He nodded, the look one of reverence as the older man stood, interrupting the minister and whispering in the man’s ear.

  The brother stepped forward, acknowledging the crowd, tears in his eyes. When he spoke, his words were clear, a deep baritone resonating from his throat. “Thank you all for coming. Very few of you really knew my brother. Jimmy was a kind man, but he’d lost his way until a few years ago. He and I hadn’t spoken in almost ten years when I received a phone call out of the blue. He said he was joining a team of smokejumpers. I admit to you that I had my reservations. Jimmy had been involved in so many careers during his life. He’d been a scholar in school along with receiving a football scholarship. But he never wanted the fame he received after the NFL came calling. He just disappeared for almost a year. He floundered after leaving school, finding work wherever he could. Then he joined the Marines.”

  Garcia held his breath, hearing the heartfelt words as if a telling of Stoker’s life.

  “I was proud of him, the man he’d become, and I honestly thought Jimmy would be okay. After he left the Marines, something died in my brother. He’d lost his verve for life. That’s when I lost touch. Five years passed, and he called me one night. I listened to what he said he was going to do and after our call, I told my wife that this was just another wild goose chase.” The old man faltered, wiping tears from his eyes. When he lifted his head, he looked up at the sky. “I was wrong. He was the happiest I’d ever seen him. I know Jimmy well enough to be able to say, he died doing what he loved. I’ll never forget his words during our last phone call.” He paused and eased his head down, his eyes locked on the entire smokejumping team.

  “He said you were his family and I can see why. Thank you for loving him and caring about him these years. You are a remarkable group of individuals and I am proud to stand here today, in place of Jimmy. God be with all of you.”

  The words seemed to hang, floating amongst every one of the men and women who served. As Jimmy’s brother sat down, hugging the flag to his chest, the minister held up his arms.

  “Let us pray.”

  Garcia heard the words, the beautiful prayer meant to comfort and perhaps keep all of them out of harm’s way, but his heart continued to remain heavy.

  Minutes later, the Jackals stood in a semi-circle, a quiet embodiment of a collective spirit. The majority of the other smokejumping team left, but the three men who’d been reassigned hung, as if waiting for an invitation.

  Riker nodded in their direction, a pensive look on his face. “I guess they want our okay.”

  “They want to be a part of the team,” Boone said under his breath.

  “Then we should give it to them.” Garcia took a step away from the group. “They are our team now. Period.”

  “Garcia is right.”

  Riker glanced at Landen. “Yeah, I know.”

  Garcia took the opportunity, moving toward the three men. Although the same perceived arrogance remained, he could tell they were unsure of what would be expected. They all were. “Moose, Zane, Steel. Glad to have you on board.” He extended his hand, his eyes looking directly into every man’s.

  Moose shook his hand first. “I know how close your team is, how proud.”

  “We are,” Garcia stated, conviction laced in the two simple words. “We’re all glad to have you on our team.”

  “Yeah, well, my guess is not everyone,” Moose said as he shot Riker a look.

  “His bark is worse than his bite. However, don’t cross him.” Garcia grinned. “The man has been through a lot in his life.”

  “Haven’t we all?” Steel’s words were soft spoken.

  An awkward silence settled in.

  “Hear anything about the parachutes?” Zane asked.

  “Just that there is an investigation. I’m sure that’ll take a while.” Garcia looked over at Laney, who stood with Shannon and Jessica.

  “Damn well better not. The only chutes the Rattlesnakes have are those pieces of shit,” Steel huffed.

  “Yeah, just damn lucky it’s the off season.” Garcia watched Antonio move toward his car. The jumper might have a nasty attitude, but one of his many attributes was having worked with demolitions during a previous career. If his hunch was correct, Antonio might offer some answers. He was also a man few others would bother to talk to. Why should they? Antonio refused to allow anyone to get past his suit of armor. “I’ll talk with you guys later.” He moved toward the brooding man, cutting him off just before he got into his car. “You have a few minutes?”

  “What do you want?” Antonio kept his voice even but the tone edgy.

  “To talk.”

  “You going to rake me over the coals too?”

  “Hell, no. That isn’t going to do either one of us any good. I know why you split the team. You were trying to make certain the fire didn’t collapse on the firefighters. Right?”

  Antonio gave him a harsh look before nodding. “Yeah. As if anybody listened or gave a damn.”

  “Did you tell the captain?”

  “Couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He heard from Riker what happened. Bought his story over mine.”

  “You need to tell him. Explain.”

  Shrugging, Antonio closed his door. “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. Stop getting in my business.”

  “It’s my business too, in case you forgot. We all risk our lives. Together, but of course you seem to forget about the fact you have a damn team behind you.” He allowed the stinging words to linger.

  Exhaling, Antonio looked away, shaking his head. “As I asked before, why are you bothering? Did some of the guys put you up to this?”

  “Hell, no. They couldn’t care less if you throw away your career. To answer your question, because you don’t let anyone in. You’re a hard-headed ass.” He could tell his team mate was debating, as if trusting anyone was the last thing he wanted to do. If he knew anything about Antonio it was that the man needed a mission.

  Antonio snickered. “Yeah, I guess I am. I have my reasons.”

  “We all do. Every one of us has a history, some horrific moment driving us to this point. If you fall into despair, you’ll never get out.” Garcia rolled his eyes. The statement was directed more at himself.

  He finally shook his head. “I hear you. I’m glad you didn’t quit.”

  “You know what? I am too,” Garcia said and this time with conviction. “Can you take a drive with me? I need to get your opinion on something. Maybe your expertise.”

  He shrank back and hesitated. “Sure. Why not?”

  “I’ll be right back.” He knew Stoker and the majority of the team couldn’t care less about the Hatcher fire, but he refused to let it go. From what he’d heard, Stoker knew the deputy, Carter Worth very well. They’d gone to school together. Maybe Antonio would be able to tell if the guy knew anything. Then again, maybe he had no business meddling. He made his way over to Laney, thankful Shannon had remained. “Shannon, do you mind taking Laney back to my place?”

  “Not a problem at all. That way I can really tell her all the sordid details about the group. You know, Burnout. That secret society you guys hold so close to your breast or should I say beast?” Shannon winked.

  “Do not listen to a word this woman says. She’s a troublemaker,” Garcia admonished with mischief in his voice.

  “I think I know bullshit when I hear it,” Laney mused, nuzzling next to Garcia.

  “When you love birds are ready, my car is over there. Landen and I came separately. Give us time for some girl talk.” Shannon laughed.

  Laney waited until she’d walked away. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, just a tough as nails smokejumper who needs a kick in the ass.” Telling her the truth wasn’t going to give her any comfort, especially if she found out he’d been shot at.

  “Sounds like someone else I know.” She gri
nned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I need to do some things anyway. I won’t let a substitute teacher take over forever.”

  “No hot dates or else.”

  She gave him a feigned look of horror and took two long strides back. “Or what, big he man?”

  “You know what.” He laughed and waited until she was out of sight. He could see the service had affected her and spending time together tonight would be healing for both of them.

  At least he hoped so.

  When Troy didn’t see Laney at school that morning, he nearly panicked. The single conversation he’d overheard had led him to a series of conclusions that he refused to get in the middle of. The damn favor was out of the question. He was an attorney for Christ’s sake. He could lose his license or worse. The fires in the community, the businesses and houses that had burned down, could they be the product of his client and the man’s goons? The thought was horrifying, but something he had to consider. And there were more planned? This was outrageous. Still, he had to plan this carefully, figuring out what to do. The phone call stating in no uncertain terms the money was going to be returned had resulted in the thugs paying him a visit. He touched his eye and winced. Assholes.

  His thoughts had immediately drifted to Laney. Yeah, he knew she had another life. He had figured it out early by looking into her past, she’d moved around a lot. Further digging and he’d been led down a path of disappearance. He’d been an attorney long enough to put pieces of the puzzle together.

  When he’d found out she wasn’t sick, he’d asked everyone he knew until he realized she must be with her new lover at the funeral. Sure, he remained bitter. However, he didn’t want to see her get hurt. Not by anyone. He was determined to find out any additional information before he made what might be career ending decisions. No, life ending decisions. Shit. What was he going to do?