and the fear of losing him. He was no longer visible and her heart leaped. Had the roof caved? She dropped the bucket and ran around the side of the casita. Relief flooded her as she saw his head. He crawled over the roof top, and half-fell, half-jumped to the ground below.
“I left…the hose…on top,” he said hoarsely, and rolled over onto the grass, gasping.
She pulled him away from the building toward the pool, and switched on the outdoor pool lights. His hair was singed, and she doubted he had any eyebrows left. His face was dark with soot but it didn’t look like he was burned. His body was hot to the touch, and it felt like it was baked. He was so weakened, he could barely stand.
She looked back. The fire was almost under control. They’d made great progress, but the slightest breeze, the tiniest spark—
“Get in the water,” she said, and pulled him toward the pool steps.
She sat him on the edge, went in first then eased his body into the cool water. She washed his face, cupped the water for him to drink. A little chlorine wouldn’t kill him.
Two fire trucks pulled up, and the firemen jumped the side gates, just as a new surge of flames lit up the sky in the trees beyond the casita. The wind had pushed the fire in that direction. Thank goodness. Trees could be replaced.
The fireman dragged long hoses behind them, and yelled directions to each other.
“Stay here,” Dena said to Zeke, who had tried to climb out of the pool. She hurried toward one of the firemen.
“There’s nobody in there,” she called out. “But there was a crime committed here earlier.” She knew it was dumb to say, probably the place would be gutted, or flooded. “If you don’t have to go inside the front door, well, that would be great.” She shrugged. “Evidence.”
“Sure. Gotcha’ ma’am,” the fireman said kindly. “We’ll do what we can.”
More orders were given, a couple of men climbed onto the roof as Zeke had done. She noticed they had heavy boots though and grimaced at the pain Zeke must have felt.
Manny ran down from the house toward her, rubbing at his eyes. He was also dressed in boxers. It seemed to be the uniform of the day.
“I heard the sirens.” He stared around at the chaos. “Where’s Zeke?”
“In the pool.”
“What?”
Manny took off at a run, and Dena allowed herself a tiny smirk. It was a funny thought, the owner of the place swimming laps while his home burned to the ground. She followed, and an incredible tiredness washed over her. Zeke still sat on the edge of the pool, soaking his feet. He looked a bit better.
“I’m going over to the casita, see if I can help,” Manny said, and began to move away.
“Don’t touch anything,” Dena said, and collapsed onto the steps beside Zeke. “They might sweep for fingerprints. Or make footprint images.”
“Yeah, Zeke told me what happened,” Manny said. “Are you okay?”
Dena nodded.
“Better still,” Zeke said, and winced as he stood. He motioned toward the casita. “Look.”
Huge billowing clouds of dark smoke curled above the building. “Flames have died down. We should all stay away,” he said. “The guys have got the fire under control. Let’s sit at the table.”
****
When they were seated, Zeke searched Dena’s face. Her eyes were wide, fear-filled, she shivered and he realized she was in shock. She’d been through her own trauma, and yet kept on going to help save the place from burning to the ground. He hadn’t even heard fully what had happened to her.
Everything was under control. He could hear the firemen’s yells, and saw the last flicker of flame turn into plumes of thick black smoke.
Dena shivered. He had nothing to give her for warmth, and it was cold.
“Let me get you a blanket, and then you can tell me what happened. Will you be okay if I run up to the house?” His eyes scanned the shrubs surrounding the pool. What the hell was he thinking? Of course her attacker was long gone.
Dena shook her head, mumbled something about his feet.
Manny looked down at Zeke’s feet, and then over at Dena. “I’ll go,” he said. “Tell me what you want, blankets, anything else?”
“Open the courtyard gate, and the front door,” Zeke said. “Leave it wide open, for the cops.” He felt unbelievably tired, and put his arms on the table. He rested his head on them for a moment.
“Are you…you…okay?” she