Smolder (Firefighters of Montana Book 1)

by Tracy Solheim

  But it wasn’t Bryce on the other side. It was her father, looking grim. She heard the sound of horses pacing in their stalls below. “What is it? Is Mom okay?”

  “Fire. In the west pasture. Lightning must have hit something out there last night. Help is on the way, but I need to get the horses loaded up.”

  Laurel had slipped her feet into her boots and pulled a sweatshirt from its hook before her father finished his succinct explanation. She clattered down the stairs toward the barn. The two stable hands were already placing halters on the horses and leading them out to the hauler. They’d wait in the horse trailer just in case Laurel had to quickly drive them to safety.

  She dashed into Tabitha’s stall and quickly placed a halter over the mare’s head. Tabitha was skittish, aware of the danger animals seemed to innately sense. “Shh, baby.” Laurel tried to sooth her. “You’re gonna be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” There wasn’t time to wrap the horse’s legs, so Laurel clipped on the lead rope and led the horse to the truck.

  Bryce met her at the entrance of the barn. “What can I do to help?”

  Laurel nearly kissed him. Bryce didn’t have much expertise around animals, but here he was offering to pitch in a crisis. Deep down, she could count on him to be there for her and Tyson. “You can take Audrianna, my mom, and Tyson into town. Things are likely to get crazy here and if we have to leave in a hurry—” She swallowed painfully. The thought of losing the ranch made her chest ache. As much as she’d always wanted to get away, Whispering Breeze was her home. The place she wanted to raise her son.

  Bryce hugged her. “It won’t get to that.” The sound of sirens racing up the drive refocused their attention. “You go get Tyson and I’ll get your mother.”

  Laurel raced back up the stairs surprised her son hadn’t already made his way down. The chaos below was creating a lot of noise, not to mention the arrival of the sirens. At the very least, Oreo should already be yipping. She slid the door open to her son’s room and her breath seized in her lungs. His bed was empty. There was no sign of Tyson or his dog anywhere. Had he slipped downstairs while they were loading the horses?

  She turned to grab his boots and his jacket, but both were missing. Laurel tried to call to her father or Bryce, but just like in those horrible dreams, she couldn’t seem to make her voice work. On legs that were soft as noodles, she stumbled down the stairs to the barn.

  “Tyson!” she cried, panic nearly choking her words. “Where are you?”

  Her father caught her at the bottom of the stairs. “What is it? Where’s Tyson?”

  Laurel’s heart was thundering painfully in her chest. “Tell me you put Tator Tot on the trailer?” She stumbled to check the pony’s empty stall.

  Her father was questioning the grooms in rapid-fire Spanish. Both shook their heads and Laurel suddenly felt very cold. She flew across the yard and nearly ran into Bryce as she tore through her parents’ house. “Is Tyson here?”

  “He’s not in the loft?” Bryce asked.

  “No! Oh, God, Bryce,” she cried. “I think he’s out there somewhere.”

  She ran back out of the house, her ears roaring and her mind numb. Black smoke was billowing in from the west. The stable yard was awash with firemen from the Glacier Creek fire department.

  “Tyson!” she screamed as tears streamed down her face.

  Strong arms wrapped around her and she breathed the familiar scent of Sam. He turned her to face him but she tried to pull away. She had to find her son.

  “Laurel,” he shouted above the noise.

  Sam gripped her upper arms and gave her a shake. When she stopped struggling, he relaxed his hold and tipped her chin up with his finger so her eyes met his. That calm competence she so loved about him was reflected back at her. Despite the pandemonium in the stable yard, she suddenly felt as if they were the only two people in the world.

  “I’m here,” he said. His voice soothed her. “Take a deep breath.”

  She blew out a breath that sounded more like a sob.

  “Good girl. Now take another one.” His fingers were massaging her shoulders. “Now slowly, I want you to tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I can’t find Tyson. Or Oreo. Or Tator Tot.” Despite his efforts to sooth her, Laurel’s words were punctuated with gasps.

  “When and where was the last place you saw him?”

  “Last night. In his bed. I looked in on him about midnight.”

  “Where the hell could he be?” Bryce asked from behind her.

  Sam’s eyes never broke contact with hers. The compassion she’d seen that night in The Drop Zone was back. “We’re going to find him, Laurel. I need you to tell me if he said anything unusual last night.”

  “He said he had a plan,” she choked out.

  “A plan?”

  “Yes! We were talking about Bryce’s wedding. He said he had a plan.” Laurel nearly crumpled to the ground. “I didn’t ask him what it was though,” she sobbed.

  “Laurel,” Sam was using his captain’s voice. “I need you to stay with me here. Is there somewhere he might go to hide? Somewhere on the ranch?”

  “He has a fort,” her father said. “Out toward the lake. It’s an old abandoned storage shed.”

  “How do I get there?” Sam demanded.

  Her father swallowed harshly beside her. “It’ll be on the other side of the fire line.”

  “Holy shit,” Bryce murmured.

  She grabbed at Sam’s fire suit. “Sam, please. You have to go get him. Bring him back to me.”

  He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “I told you, Laurel, whatever you need from me.”

  And then he was shouting something at Liam about taking a crew and digging a line. The fire chief sought his guidance on where to position the hoses so that they could wet down everything between the fire and the buildings. He barked into his radio at Miranda to bring the helicopter to the ranch. Sam was a model of efficiency; a natural born leader. He continued giving orders and bringing organization to the chaos all the while holding Laurel’s hand. Her father reached for her, but Laurel clung to Sam, refusing to let go. If anyone was going to find Tyson and bring him home, Sam would.

  Five minutes later, Miranda was landing the helicopter in the south field. Sam made a motion like he was going to hand Laurel off to her father.

  “No!” she cried. “I’m going with you.”

  Sam got that steely look in his eyes. “Not gonna happen, Laurel. You’re a civilian. I can’t take you into a fire.”

  She was behaving irrationally and impulsively, but she just didn’t care anymore. “You and Tyson are the two people I love most in this world. If you’re both going to be on the other side of this fire, you’re not leaving me behind. You can’t run away from this anymore, Sam. You can’t run away from me. Now take me to get my son.”

  He swore savagely, but Laurel held her ground. “I swear I ought to have your father tie you up.”

  “The wind could shift at any minute,” she cried. “We have to get Tyson.”

  “Damn it.” He dragged her the hundred yards to the helicopter. Miranda gave her a wide-eyed look as Sam lifted her into the chopper and handed her a headset.

  “You’d better strap her in tight, Cap,” Miranda said through the headset. “She’s afraid of heights.”

  Laurel gripped Sam’s hand tightly. “I’ll be fine,” she told her cousin. “Let’s just hurry and get Tyson.”

  Miranda flicked a switch and suddenly they were going up.

  *

  Miranda surreptitiously turned off Laurel’s headset and addressed Sam.

  “The wind’s shifting. The fire could change direction rapidly. We’re going to have to get in and get out quickly.”

  “Ten-four,” Sam said. The noise of the rotor was loud enough to drown out his words so Laurel couldn’t hear their conversation. “I’m going to need you to keep her here.”

  Miranda snorted into her mouth piece. “She’s a lot like
her mother with that iron will of hers.”

  Sam looked down at their fingers. Laurel had both her hands wrapped around his left one in a death grip. She was breathing deeply through her mouth as she peered down at the fire below. Sam had been awakened at five-thirty this morning with a call from the base that a team was needed to fight a fire sparked by lightning near Whitefish. Kingston had taken a crew out while Sam made his way to the forest service station. He’d been monitoring other fires in the region when the call came in from Whispering Breeze. Sam told himself it was concern for Tabitha that had him jumping in his truck and racing to the ranch. But he knew it was Laurel and her family he was worried about.

  When he’d arrived and seen her so distraught, he had only one singular concern and that was to take care of Laurel. To right whatever was wrong. He didn’t give a thought to the fire or his crew. Hell, he’d even let her come on a mission with him. Sam would lose his job for sure. But when she’d told him she loved him, he couldn’t bear to leave her behind. Screw the job. The only thing of importance right now was finding Tyson and getting both him and Laurel safely home.

  Laurel squeezed his hand. “There,” she mouthed at him. She pointed to a small red shed about two hundred feet from the lake.

  Miranda switched Laurel’s microphone back on. “It that big enough for the pony?” Miranda asked.

  “It would be tight, but Tyson would want all the animals to be together,” Laurel replied.

  The chopper hovered next to the shed. Smoke from the fire had begun to billow back in their direction, lowering the visibility. Laurel reached for her seatbelt, but Sam grabbed her hand.

  “I need you to stay put, Laurel. You wanted to come along, but I’m in charge,” he told her. “I’ll go get Tyson and bring him to you.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but Sam leaned into kiss her instead. “I’ll be right back.”

  He pushed open the door and jumped on the landing skid before leaping to the ground. Covering his mouth to keep from inhaling the thick smoke, he ran to the shed.

  “Tyson!” Sam called. “Are you in there?”

  “Captain! I’m here!”

  Sam gave the thumbs up sign to the women in the chopper. He tried to shove the door open, but it had been bolted from the inside.

  “Tyson, open the door.”

  “I can’t,” Tyson cried. “Tots is scared of the fire and he’ll bolt if I open it.”

  Swearing, Sam braced himself to catch two hundred pounds of amped-up miniature pony. “I won’t let him get away. Open up, Sport.”

  Tyson cracked the door and Sam slid inside. The pony’s eyes were wild, but fortunately Tator Tot was frozen in the corner of the room. Oreo yipped excitedly. Tyson jumped into Sam’s arms.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, burying his face in Sam’s neck.

  Sam could hear the fire in the distance. He scooped up Oreo so he could make a run for the chopper. “What are you doing out here, Sport?”

  Tyson sniffled next to Sam’s ear. “I wanted to run away. To make Daddy mad. But then the fire came and I got scared. I couldn’t get back home.”

  Glancing through a crack in the door, Sam assessed the direction of the smoke. He continued to ask questions of Tyson in order to distract him from the scene awaiting them outside the shed. “Why did you want to make your father mad, Tyson?”

  “Because he’s marrying Audrianna. And he’s not going to come live with us.”

  “Cap,” Miranda called over the radio. “We need to expedite.”

  Sam hugged the little boy tighter, preparing to run. “Tyson, you and I are going to have to save this man-to-man talk for later.”

  “I can’t leave Tots!”

  “He won’t fit in the chopper, Tyson.” Sam looked over at the frightened pony. “I’ll make sure he’s safe. I promise.”

  “I get to ride in a helicopter?”

  “Don’t get too excited. Your mom is waiting in there for you.”

  Sam pulled the boy’s jacket over Tyson and Oreo’s noses before slipping out the door. The wind had shifted and the flames were now seventy-five yards from the shed. He ran through the thick smoke to the chopper and pulled open the door.

  “Tyson!” Laurel cried when Sam tossed the boy and his dog inside.

  “Mama!” Tyson jumped into his mother’s lap and buried his head against her shoulder.

  “Thank you!” Laurel called to Sam over the whirring of the chopper blade.

  He nodded before grabbing two shovels and a respirator from the gear stowed in the back. “Get them out of here,” he called to Miranda.

  “No!” Laurel cried. “We’re not leaving you here!”

  “Damn it, Laurel, you can’t tell me you love me then not trust me to do my job! Take Tyson home and wait for me there. I can handle this.”

  “He’s gotta save, Tots, Mama. He promised.”

  Tears were streaming down Laurel’s face. “I do love you, you know.”

  “I love you, too,” Sam said without hesitation.

  She grinned broadly as she swiped at her tears and Sam wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

  “Cap,” Miranda called from the cockpit. She gestured at the flames licking closer.

  “Tator Tot and I will see you back at the ranch.” Sam closed the door and gave it a slap with his palm, indicating to Miranda that she should take off.

  Sam pulled his respirator over his face and began digging a fire line. The wind had shifted again, giving him room to work. But he needed to get the line dug as quickly as possible just in case the wind shifted back. Two minutes later, an ATV came hurtling across the pasture from the west. Dex McCoy, one of the rookie recruits, and Molly Rivers jumped off and began digging a line on either side of him.

  They worked in silence for the next thirty minutes, each of them competent at the task, until they’d made a line across the two acres. With no fuel on either side, the fire was beginning to burn itself out. Sam looked at his two crew members. “Nicely done.”

  McCoy looked behind him. “I had a little bit more incentive than usual. That’s my family’s property on the other side.”

  Sam let his mind wander to Laurel and Tyson. He’d had more motivation than normal for getting this fire out, too. He was in love with Laurel. And her son. Putting his heart out there again was a risk, but Sam knew now that it was one he had to take. He’d deal with her reservations about his career somehow. Even if it meant he had to make sacrifices. Sam realized his love for Becky hadn’t been as deep as the love he now felt for Laurel. Their marriage had been doomed from the start despite both their best intentions. He hadn’t failed Becky. They’d simply married for the wrong reasons. Sam had a second chance with Laurel, and he was going to do everything in his power to make it work.

  “Glacier-one to Captain Gaskill.” Jacqui Edwards’ voice came over the radio in Sam’s pocket.

  He mentally shifted gears back to his job. “Go ahead, Jacqui.”

  “The incident coordinator of the Whitefish fire has lost radio contact with Vin.” Jacqui’s voice broke as she spoke the words. “The rest of the crew has been unable to locate him.”

  Sam’s gut clenched. Everyone on the crew carried a radio just for these circumstances. Best case scenario, Kingston’s radio was malfunctioning. Sam didn’t want to even consider the worst case scenario. Unfortunately, it sounded like Jacqui Edwards already had.

  He’d suspected something was up between Jacqui and Kingston for weeks now. Both were discreet and professional while on duty, so Sam had looked the other way. A part of him had been happy the young widow had found comfort with a solid man like Kingston. He only hoped for everyone’s sake that history wasn’t repeating itself.

  “Sit tight, Jacqui,” he said into the radio. “Miranda and I will bring the chopper back to the base. We’ll head out to Whitefish right away.”

  McCoy and Rivers’ faces were solemn as they stared at Sam.

  “We’ll find him,” Sam reassured them. “In the meantime, the
re’s a frightened pony in that shed. I promised Tyson I’d bring him home. How are you with horses, McCoy?”

  “Tator Tot and I are old friends, Cap. He’s as much of a Houdini as Tyson is,” McCoy said with a laugh. “I’ll get him back to Whispering Breeze. You just concentrate on bringing Kingston home.”

  *

  “Thanks for staying through bedtime,” Laurel said as she slid the door to Tyson’s bedroom closed. “We probably should have both sat down with him together initially. Then things wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

  “I get why you wanted me to tell him. I’m sorry I tried to stick you with delivering news that would upset him.” Bryce dragged his fingers through his hair. “This whole parenting thing is about as tricky as executing an Ollie for the first time.” He looked over at Laurel. “You’re really good at it, though. He and I are both lucky to have you.”

  She laughed. “Thanks. I think.”

  “I’m serious. Tyson is a great kid and it’s because of you. I know it hasn’t been easy. I haven’t made it easy. But if they gave out gold medals for best moms, you’d get one for sure.” Bryce reached down and picked up her sketchbook. A pencil sketch of Sam was staring back at him. “Soldier Sam is a pretty decent role model for a boy to have, too.”

  Laurel snatched the sketchbook away. “It’s a little early in our relationship, Bryce. I don’t think Sam and I are to that point yet.”

  “Aren’t you? He seems very into you. And I don’t remember you ever looking at me like the way you look at him.”

  She sank down on the sofa, not wanting to have this conversation with Bryce Johnson, the ultimate adrenaline junkie. He thrived on danger. He wouldn’t understand her fears.

  Bryce crossed his arms over his chest. “How many times do I have to tell you this, Laurel? You can be a great mom to Tyson and still have a life of your own. Sam seems like a standup guy. One who will stick it out for the long run. And he already knows if he treats you poorly, he’ll have to answer to me. Out with it, Laurel. What’s holding you back?”

  Laurel would have laughed at Bryce’s protectiveness except something in his words rang true. She was holding back. Despite telling Sam she loved him earlier, she was still frightened of moving toward a future with him.