Page 11 of Burning Skies
Does Trish not appreciatethat I have a live rattlesnake in this container? There’s a lid, but I’d prefer to transport it using two hands. With the way she’s yanking on me, she’s not acting like the person who was screaming her head off twenty minutes ago.
I peel her off my arm and hold the reptile between us. “Thanks for the escort, but duty calls.”
She twirls her finger through her hair and gives me a nutty smile. “Is there any way I could thank you? Maybe make you dinner?”
“Thanks, but things are pretty busy right now.” My attention drifts to the door Honey just shut in my face, and for the millionth time, I kick myself for not having the right words. Literally everything I say around that woman pisses her off.
Fuck, she looked gorgeous today. Sitting on the table, calm and composed, while everyone else lost their shit.
Sometimes I wonder, if she wasn’t a McAllister and I wasn’t a Walker… and then I come to my senses.
My co-worker Melissa jogs up to me as I exit the high school. “Let’s go find a nice field for this guy.” She gives me a sideways glance. “Are you free fora thinglater?”
I thought we agreed our situationship was over. “Sorry, Mel. I have a lot of stuff going on at the ranch.”
She glances around the parking lot, making sure no one can hear her. “Come on, Beau. What’s one more time? For old times’ sake.”
I don’t want to hurt her feelings. When we started sleeping together last year, we both wanted the same thing. No-strings sex. That’s it. We weren’t supposed to have sleepovers or get chatty about our personal lives. We agreed if either of us started feeling more, we’d break things off. In fact, we were both free to date other people because this was not supposed to be serious. And we agreed we wouldn’t tell anyone about thisthingbecause it would cause too much drama at work.
Except she started making hints that I should stay the night at her place, which, to me, was a clear sign this was moving in the wrong direction. So I broke it off.
I unlock our utility fire truck, secure the snake in the back, and then slide into the driver’s seat while Mel hops in the passenger seat. “Where are Loving and Coop?”
She lifts her chin, and I watch our co-workers Frankie Loving and Jack Cooper cross the parking lot.
“This doesn’t have to be over, Beau,” she whispers.
I called it quits over a month ago, but I don’t want to get in an argument at work, so I hold my tongue. When the guys join us, Frankie leans forward and pats my shoulder. “Hey, Studly. Did you know that the firemen’s calendar from last year is still hanging in the copy room? Guess whose photo is featured?”
“It was for charity,McLovin,” I remind him. If anyone’s the stud around here, it’s Frankie. I can’t keep track of all his girlfriends. “We raised ten thousand dollars for families in need.”
After we release the snake, we get a call to do a wellness check on an elderly resident, Elaine Delgado. Her neighbors said her mail is piling up and no one has seen her for a few days.When we get there, I knock on the door and call her name, but no one answers. I turn to my co-workers. “Coop and I will take the left side, and Mel and Loving, take the right. We’ll meet in the back. Check to see if you can spot anyone through the windows.”
As we trek over the tall grass and try to peek in, I make a mental note to see if I can get someone to help me mow her lawn. The woman has to be eighty, and as far as I know, she doesn’t have much family nearby. That has to be tough.
When we near the back, several dogs start barking from the bedroom. I’m tall enough to see in. The dogs are going crazy, scratching on the windows like they’re trying to escape. Beyond the animals, I spot what I think might be a head of white hair on the ground, on the other side of the bed.
“Mrs. Delgado! This is the fire department. Can you hear me?” I motion for Coop. “She’s on the ground.” After I radio that we found her, I slide into the house through an unlocked window and open the door for my co-workers. When we make it to that back bedroom, we’re rushed by dogs and several cats. “Loving, get them some water.” Who knows how long they’ve all been locked back here.
I kneel down to check Mrs. Delgado’s pulse. “She’s alive.”
“The paramedics just pulled up,” Mel says.
“Great.” I pull an oxygen mask over our patient’s mouth. “Get these animals corralled so we can get her to the hospital.” Her eyes crack open. “Take it easy. Everything’s going to be okay. Can you tell me what happened?”
“Fell. Hard.” She puts her frail hand on my wrist and mumbles something else, but I can’t make it out, so I lean closer. “The kittens. Help the kittens.”
“I’ll make sure your animals are safe while you recover.”
She pats my hand and closes her eyes again. After theparamedics transport her to the ambulance, I take an inventory of her pets. Three dogs, two cats, and four kittens.
Mel motions to the box of angry kittens. “Who do we call? Animal control?”
I wipe the sweat off the back of my neck. “She’s allowed five pets, but the kittens might tip this over into a hoarding situation.” Especially if anyone sees the filth in this bedroom. The litter box is overflowing, and there’s crap everywhere. “If we call animal control, she might lose them all. Why don’t we see if her neighbors can help? I’ll put out a call to social services to check on her to make sure she can handle everything once she’s feeling better.”
Fortunately, it’s a slow afternoon, so we have time to find volunteers to care for Mrs. Delgado’s pets. They all get homes except the kittens. She must’ve rescued them because the two adult cats are male.
I hold up the box to my colleagues. A little paw reaches up and swipes my hand. “This is who we have left.”
