Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(118)

Joe slipped out of bed in the predawn, the sun barely rising. He thought he’d start the coffee, make love to her again while it brewed, and they could watch the sunrise together. They could talk about when they’d see each other next. He started the coffee. He stared at the coffeepot while it began to brew. The smell of the pot was suspect—he wondered if it was old. Then he lifted his head. He looked at the clock on the microwave. Nine-thirty. He sniffed the air. Oh shit. He unplugged the coffeepot and ran out onto the porch, naked. He thought it was predawn because the sun streaming through the windows was so dim—but it was smoke in the air. “Nikki,” he yelled, running back into the cabin. “Nikki! Wake up! Fire!”





Eighteen




The town had become a base camp for firefighters and the acrid odor of smoke hung in the air. When Joe pulled into town, he had to park back beyond the church. He held on to Nikki’s hand and ran with her to the center of town. There were many Cal Fire trucks, Hot Shot transports, Cal Fire firefighters and dozens of firefighters who Joe knew at a glance would be inmates trained in firefighting. There were flatbeds loaded with gear, water tenders and trucks for hauling firefighters, paramedic rigs, dozens of men in hard hats and yellow turnouts, boots, packs of gear on their backs, and a tent pitched in the middle of the street, beside it an ambulance. The street was wide enough for a helicopter to land for medical airlift.

On the porch, among many men Joe had never seen before, were his friends. Jack was pulling on yellow turnouts, slipping the suspenders over his shoulders.

“Joe,” he said. “I wasn’t sure you were still here. I knew you intended to leave for Oregon at the crack of dawn.” He glanced at Nikki and couldn’t suppress a quick grin. He gave her a nod.

“Still here. What’s happening?”

“Wind shifted. It’s headed this way.”

“What are we doing?”

Zeke stepped forward and handed him some gear, which he took. “We’re getting in it, bud.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been watching it from Fresno. Just after midnight it looked like it could threaten my favorite hunting grounds, so I fired up the truck and started driving.”

Stephens walked out of the bar, already dressed out, a big doughnut in his hand. “Not before he got everyone out of bed,” he said.

Joe immediately started getting into his gear. He pulled the suspenders over his shoulders. Zeke and Josh were professional firefighters and paramedics, the rest of them trained volunteers—Cal Fire could use them. It would be a lot of fetching and carrying, digging, removing vegetation, but every hand helped.

“What are you doing?” Nikki asked Joe.

“I’ll do what I can to help. You want to go home? Go out to Vanni’s?”

Before she could answer, Mel stepped onto the porch. She was wearing a white doctor’s coat, something Joe had never seen her do before. There was a stethoscope around her neck. “What’s this?” he asked her, lifting his chin toward her as he pulled heavy gloves out of the pockets.

“We’re helping in the first-aid station set up here. Since these guys don’t know us—me and Doc—we have to be identifiable by uniform.”

“Where are the kids?” he asked.

“Little ones are having morning naps in the back,” Jack said. “I think Christopher is standing watch. Paige is in charge of the kids while Mel works medical and Brie attempts to keep the food and water coming.”

“I’ll help her,” Nikki said. She put a quick kiss on Joe’s cheek and whispered in his ear, “I love you, too. Please be careful.” Then she headed quickly into the bar while he followed her with his eyes, a stupid grin on his face.

“There’s help from Cal Fire if Brie and Nikki can’t keep up with it,” Jack said. “If necessary, they’ll evacuate the town. We’re hoping that won’t be necessary.”

Before long, Preacher was on the porch, already dressed in his gear. Paige was beside him, holding their new baby. He bent down, kissed his wife and daughter, and headed down the porch toward the waiting truck. Jack walked after him, snagging his arm. “Maybe you should stay, Preach. In case these women and children have to be taken out of here.”

“There are people to help them out of here. I don’t let you go in anywhere alone.”

“I’m a big boy,” Jack said.

Preacher straightened and glowered. “Me, too.”

Mel walked off the porch and toward the truck that would carry the volunteers away. She watched as the marines climbed on—Zeke, Phillips, Stephens. Mike, Paul, Preacher, Joe and Jack followed them. A truck came flying into town, horn honking. Corny, also a professional firefighter, climbed out and yelled, “Hey! Forget anyone?”

Greetings ripped the air. “What about that new baby?”

“Aw, she’s not so new anymore. We had her two days ago.”

“And your wife let you out of town?”

“You’re kidding, right? She told me to get my ass down here and help.” He grinned, pulling his own gear out of the truck bed. “She’s got her mother—I’m just in the way now. I have years with those kids.”

“Another girl, huh?” Jack said.

“Yeah, but I know I have a boy in me. I just know it.”