in the area, and before you know it, there’s a chopper here for him. To be right honest, I may have lied to the other fellow without knowing it. He asked about a Mrs. Wheeler, and we didn’t make the connection. There weren’t no Wheelers on the tenant list.”
“That’s because it’s listed under my maiden name. You said another Wheeler?”
He flipped through his book. “Walker?”
“His brother. Did he go with him? Can we go now? I need to get to the hospital.”
I jumped up in my flurry of questions, my head spinning a little as I did so. He reached out to steady me as he nodded, and we walked slowly over to his patrol car. Even after asking a dozen times, I knew he still wasn’t sure about letting me go without being checked again by the paramedic. The only thing I had working in my favor was my new last name.
We raced through the streets, my heart moving as fast as the police cruiser. As soon as we entered the emergency room doors, a pair of familiar faces met me. Natalee ran to me, wrapping me in her arms. I could see that she’d been crying. Walker put a kind hand on my shoulder.
“Are you okay? They said they couldn’t find you,” Natalee blubbered. “This whole thing is such a terrible tragedy. Thankfully, they’ve said that no one was seriously injured…”
“I’m fine. What about Jackson?” I quickly interjected.
Walker cleared his throat. “We don’t know anything yet. They said he breathed in a good bit of smoke. He’s stable but not awake. They can’t tell us much.”
“What the hell was he doing there?” I stammered.
“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Natalee said. “The important thing is that you are both okay.”
“He isn’t out of the woods yet,” Walker muttered.
She shot him a look of pure anger. “I wasn’t talking about Jackson. Why don’t you mind your own business.”
“Natalee!” I hissed.
We both turned to Walker, who seemed blissfully unaware of everything that Natalee had just said. As it often did, my hand moved protectively to the small bump, a hot flush reaching my cheeks. I cringed as Walker’s eyes grew wide, the true meaning of Natalee’s words finally dawning on him. His face lit up into a huge smile.
“A little Wheeler?”
I nodded, the smile contagious. Without warning, my brother-in-law let out a bellowing whoop of approval, sweeping me off my feet and twirling me around in a bear hug.
“Awe, man! This is just downright amazing! Jackson…” his smile faded.
I took a ragged breath. “He’s going to be okay. I know him. He is a fighter.”
“Did they tell you what happened?” Natalee asked as we sat.
I shook my head. “No but I was there. The paramedic seemed to think it was an electrical short, but it started with my microwave. If anyone got hurt, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself.”
“Don’t talk like that. It wasn’t your fault. But did they tell you what Jackson did?”
“No,” I said.
Natalee looked to Walker and back to me. “He saved everyone, Hailey. After he brought you out to his truck, he went back in there and cleared out the top two floors by himself before the firemen got there. They are calling him a hero.”
I couldn’t hold back the tears as they started to fall, a little chuckle slipping out. “Oh boy, you know that’s going to go right to his head.”
They both laughed.
“He’s strong, Hailey,” Walker reminded me. “Not only that, but he’s been a volunteer firefighter for going on ten years. We all joined up when he did. Makes sense when you’ve seen as may hay, field, and barn fires as we have in our day.”
“Mrs. Wheeler?” someone called.
I jumped to my feet. A tanned woman with auburn hair and a lab coat smiled at me. Walker and Natalee were close behind as I approached her. She stuck out her hand and introduced herself before going over what we already knew.
“He inhaled a lot of smoke, but it looks like he’s got strong lungs. Right now, we are just worried about the oxygen level in his brain. Passing out isn’t uncommon during or after a fire like this, but it can be bad. He was in there for a long time. I’ve seen patients wake up after ten minutes. Some people take a little longer, though.”
“Oh my God.” I was dizzy.
Walker wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him as he kept me steady. It was