Page 20 of Code Name: Ember
“So,” she says finally, glancing sideways at me.“Did you ever have any luck finding the safe girl?”
“The safe girl?”
“The one who doesn’t run toward explosions.”
I study the skyline before answering.“I dated safe.An accountant.An elementary school teacher.A nurse who liked yoga retreats and weekend farmers’ markets.”
“That sounds incredibly stable.”
“It was.”I let out a slow breath.“I kept waiting for uncomplicated to feel like peace.”
“And?”
“It felt like absence.”
She doesn’t look at me at first, but I see the shift in her shoulders.“And Josie… you two seem… close.”
I glance at her.There’s no way I heard jealousy within that question.“Nah… we’re just teammates and friends.”I almost laugh when I see her shoulders relax.“What about you?Any reckless smoke jumpers sweep you off your feet?”
She shakes her head faintly.“Like you, I dated.Another reporter for a while.A legislative aide who thought my job was ‘cute.’”
I wince on her behalf.“Let me guess… that went over well.”
“It did not.”She looks back at the skyline.“But… he never asked me to be less.”
There it is.The wound we never quite sutured.
I prepare to defend myself with the same old arguments, but Tessa turns to face me fully, head cocked in curiosity.“You were still smoke jumping when we broke up.Why did you quit?”
Change of subject… probably for the best.I rest my hand on the ledge and stare at the lights as memory pushes forward.“There were some lightning strikes in Eastern Washington.Late summer.Dry conditions.”
“Typical season,” she murmurs.
“Yeah… typical.Except then it wasn’t.The wind turned volatile.We had jumped in to contain what looked manageable before it could spread toward a residential corridor.”She doesn’t interrupt, merely listens with the same awe and respect she always gave me for my career.“Anyway… we established a line along the ridge, but the wind shifted harder than predicted.It crowned fast—faster than it should have.”Her eyes soften as she knows this isn’t going well.“We had two guys on the eastern flank.Good men.Experienced.I made the call to reposition and pull back from the ridge before it jumped again.I sent them right instead of left.”
Her hand stills on the stone.“I’m sure a good judgment call with the information you had.”
There she is… protecting my conscience like she always did.“The fire crowned again,” I continue.“Came over the ridge and dropped embers in the draw behind them.They were cut off before they could reach secondary containment.We found them the next morning.”
The city noise feels distant.Tessa places a reassuring hand on my arm.
“I don’t regret the call,” I say, glancing down at where she’s touching me.“It was correct based on the data we had.But correct doesn’t mean painless.”
She turns toward me fully now, eyes softer than I’ve seen in years, but her hand falls away.“I’m sorry… I know that must have been tough.”
I lift a shoulder.“I stayed another season, but it never felt right after that.I had a buddy tell me about Jameson and it seemed the right direction to take.”
“Your life has changed so much,” she murmurs.“Are you happy?”
The wind pushes her hair across her face again.This time I reach out without thinking and brush it gently away.My hand lingers a fraction longer than necessary and she doesn’t step back.“I’m content,” I allow myself to admit.“And I’ll be a lot more settled if we can get you through this safely.”
“It will be fine once I publish,” she says confidently, but I’m not so sure.
“You don’t do it alone.”Her eyes search mine, measuring tone more than words.“This isn’t an ultimatum,” I add.“It’s partnership.Speaking of which, I have something for you.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out the bracelet that one of our tech wizards finagled for me today.Tessa sees it and lifts an eyebrow.“That’s my bracelet,” she says dryly.
It is indeed.I’d pilfered it off the dresser in the guest room.It’s one of those charm bracelets that also has rounded beads and baubles, made of unpolished sterling silver.
