the scene, it quickly became obvious to Gabe that the first responders knew what they were doing. They worked efficiently and effectively beneath the direction of the man he recognized as the owner of the local lumber yard.
“There’s Celeste. Thank God.” Nic grabbed her medical bag and hopped out of the Jeep before Gabe switched off the ignition. As she rushed toward the elderly woman seated on the tailgate of a pickup truck, Gabe braced himself, then went to offer his assistance to the lumberyard owner, who was barking orders into a radio. “What can I do to help?”
“You ever done this before?”
“No.”
“Then stay back. Help move the hose.” He pointed to a man who had the fire hose slung over his shoulder and who moved in coordination with the two men in front at the nozzle. Over the roar and crackle of the fire, the leader shouted, “Cyrus, go spell Frank for a bit. This fella will take your place.”
Heat hit Gabe like a body blow as he moved closer to the fire. From the top floor of the grand old mansion, fingers of flame stabbed into the night sky. Gingerbread decorating the eaves flamed, blackened, and disappeared. An attic window popped and men scurried backward as glass rained down onto the yard.
Once the glass settled, firefighters moved forward with their hoses again, water roaring from the nozzles. Gabe hauled and hoisted and hefted. Sweat cascaded down his face and reminded him of a hot Texas summers of his youth. He turned his face away as a cloud of smoke rolled over him and stole his breath. He started to cough, so hard that he bent over double.
It was as he straightened that he recognized the potential for disaster. With the wind blowing the heat and flames away from them, a pair of knuckleheaded boys had kept inching forward, and they now stood too close to the burning house for Gabe’s peace of mind. He yelled to catch their attention and tell them to move back, but between his smoke-filled lungs and the chaos of the moment, no one paid him any attention. Who are the idiots who allow their kids to run loose this way?
He heaved a grim sigh and set down the hose, indicating his intentions by gesture to the man in front of him. He hurried toward the boys, and he’d just captured the boys’ notice when the boom of an explosion ripped through the night. Burning debris launched like missiles into the air above the boys’ heads, and Gabe launched himself at the pair.
The boys cried out as they all went down in a heap. Flaming rubble rained down around them. Something hard and hot struck Gabe’s back just as a scream alerted him to the fact that one boy’s fleece jacket had caught fire. Gabe frantically went to work smothering the flames, and soon other arms reached out to help. As panicked voices rose all around him, he climbed slowly to his feet, breathing heavily.
Someone shuffled the kids off for Nic to check over, but Gabe ignored the instruction that he should do the same. Instead he went back to the fire hose, back to work. The minor burns on his hands didn’t rate a break, and he could tell that they were gaining ground on the fire.
All in all, the incident with the boys didn’t last a minute. The fire itself hadn’t burned for more than twenty. The volunteer fire department had it whipped in half an hour. When the lumberyard owner ordered the hoses shut off, a huge cheer went up from the crowd. Everyone in town must be here.
Gabe stepped away from the fire hose. The townspeople surged forward to inspect damage to a home now lit only by moonlight. Gabe remained stationary, and as a result, he soon stood at the periphery of the crowd. Scraps of conversation drifted over him.
“How did it start?”
“Who was the fella who knocked the boys to safety?”
“She bought the place lock, stock, and barrel. I heard it’s still packed full of Cavanaugh stuff. Hope it wasn’t all destroyed.”
“Well, Celeste can’t stay here. Wonder who will take her home?”
“Looks like the damage is confined to the north addition. Lucky break there.”
“Who’s that man who came with Dr. Nic? I’ve never seen him before.”
“You know, Hank, we dodged a disaster by the skin of our teeth. We have to get the pump truck fixed. Got it running tonight on a lick and a prayer. Hell, the