Page 7 of Ink and Ashes

Colson

I t takes another six days of BCWS helicopters dousing the blaze and ground crews tracking hotspots for us to get the fire fully extinguished.

We’ll continue to monitor it over the next few days to make sure no spot fires pop up, but thankfully, Ember Grove’s sixth fire stayed controlled and has officially been declared out.

This was our biggest one of the season so far, and it took the longest to put out. It’s been nine days since the first report, and we’re lucky it didn’t spread further. Now we just have to hope that we get a bit of a break before the next one—whatever the cause of it may be.

I say that because, ever since Holland showed up almost a week ago, I haven’t been able to get the idea that there is more to these fires out of my head.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there isn’t, but she put the thought in my mind, and now I can’t stop looking over my shoulder, wondering when the next one’s going to happen, or what we’ll find when it does.

I wasn’t planning on telling anyone aside from Beau and Dom about her, hoping she’d just pack up and leave. I haven’t seen or heard from her since, but based on her tenacity in our one interaction, I still have a feeling she’ll be back.

She was so adamant something’s going on here, even though she doesn’t know anything about fires or this town. It didn’t make sense. The only explanation I’ve been able to come up with is that she’s pouring everything she has into this in an attempt to cover something else up.

Since that night, I’ve had a gut feeling that she’s trying to escape something and just using our town as a place to hide out. But being on the run is never a good thing, and I’ll be damned if I let her drag us into whatever the hell it is.

It’s been keeping me up at night, knowing she could show back up at any moment and disrupt everything. Between the fire and her, I’ve been on the lookout constantly, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

I’m tired of waiting.

Which is why, on our way back to the station, I turn to Dom.

“Let’s make a quick stop at The Scarlet,” I tell him as we drive the main road through town. The Scarlet Inn is the only place available to rent a room from in Ember Grove, which means that unless she’s staying out of town, Holland Rhodes will be there.

Dom glances at me with curiosity, but he doesn’t question it. A few minutes later, we’re pulling up outside of the old Victorian. I don’t see any unfamiliar vehicles in the lot, which gives me hope that she took my advice and left.

“What are we doing, boss?” Adler asks from the back seat of the engine.

“Just gotta talk to Mary for a sec,” is all I say before I hop out of the truck and make my way up the driveway.

Mary and Emmett Montgomery have owned The Scarlet Inn since long before I was born, and they were good friends of my grandparents before they passed.

I pull open the front door, the bell above it chiming as I do. Mary glances up from her spot at the front desk, a warm smile filling her face when she spots me.

“Colson, so lovely to see you. ”

I smile back at her. “It’s good to see you too, Mary.”

Her face falls slightly as she asks, “How’s the fire coming along?”

“We officially declared it out this morning.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” she cheers, her smile returning. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I had a quick question for you, actually.”

“This about Holland?”

My brows furrow. “How did you know?”

“Why, she mentioned she’s looking into the fires. I figured she would’ve come down to talk to someone there.”

“She did. Is she still here?”

Mary tears her gaze from mine briefly. “Not at the moment, but yes, she’s still checked in.”

“She say how long she plans to stay for?”

“She was originally only booked until today, but she extended her stay indefinitely.”

I grit my teeth. I fucking knew it. “Alright. Thanks, Mary.”

“Is she causing problems?”

I swallow. “Not yet, but I get the feeling she will soon.”

Mary’s brows pull together. “You say the word and we’ll kick her out.”

I force a smile through my frustration. No matter how badly I want Holland Rhodes gone, I would never ask the Montgomerys to turn away business, especially in a time when they’re getting so little.

Nonetheless, I thank her before heading back out to the truck.

It’s time to fill in the rest of the team. Holland may not have shown back up yet, but I want to get ahead of it before she does.

“Hey, Whitty,” I say as I knock on our fire chief’s door when we return to the station. “Can I talk to you about something?”

He looks up from his computer, gesturing for me to enter his office. “What’s up, Caldwell?”

I take a seat across from him. “There’s a journalist sniffing around about the fires.

She showed up last week after we got the fire controlled.

I sent her away, but something about her rubbed me wrong.

I hoped she would’ve left by now, but I checked with Mary at The Scarlet and she’s still here.

I don’t think she’s going anywhere anytime soon. ”

Normally, when we send the press away, they take the message pretty quickly. They all try to get information out of us, but once they find out we have nothing to give them, they move on.

Clearly, Holland Rhodes won’t be that easy.

“You tell the crew yet?” Chief Whitlock asks.

I shake my head. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to, but since it’s clear she’s not leaving, I wanted to fill you in first. How do you want me to go about this?”

He blows out a breath, leaning back in his chair. “Did she say what she wants to know?”

“She thinks there’s more to the story .”

Chief hums. “What does she mean by that?”

My jaw flexes. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Just that it probably isn’t good.”

“Alright.” Whitlock stands from his desk.

“Call a meeting. I’ll be up in ten. We’ll just let them know the basics and tell them to keep an eye out and be careful what they say.

We can’t do anything to stop them from talking to her, but we can at least give them the heads up.

They don’t have anything to share anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem. ”

“Sounds good,” I say, then turn and leave Chief Whitlock’s office.

One thing about this department is it’s always been family-operated, so everyone who works here full time is either directly related to me or may as well be.

The career firefighters include myself, Beau and Dom, my cousin Liv Campbell, and Chief Whitlock, who’s a close family friend.

My sister Cass and her childhood best friend Sam are the two lead paramedics.

My grandfather was the fire chief of this station for decades until he retired thirteen years ago.

My dad had been the team’s engine lieutenant up until that point, then he took my grandpa’s place.

Unfortunately, my dad’s career as Chief was cut short four years ago, after an on-the-job injury sent him into an early retirement.

At the time, I was twenty-seven and had only just made lieutenant after a year-long leave-of-absence, so my dad hired Pierce Whitlock to hold the Chief position until I’m ready to take it over. By the time I am, Whitlock will be close to retirement anyway, so it’s worked out well.

Whitlock had moved to Ember Grove about six years prior to becoming Chief, and he’d been volunteering here since he arrived.

He’d been captain at his previous fire station, but he has family in this area, so he decided to move here to be closer to them.

We were all shocked that he was willing to give up his captaincy to be a volunteer for EGFD, but it worked out for him in the end.

Whitlock is the only career firefighter who isn’t as close to my family. But despite the decade between them, he’s become one of my dad’s closest friends, so he’s one of us now too. He’s a great guy, and a hell of a firefighter. He’s proved himself to be a good leader for the crew.

I always knew he would—my dad wouldn’t have hired someone he didn’t have faith in.

“Hey guys,” I tell the few crew members who are in the bay. “Meet me in the conference room in ten. Let the others know too.”

“You got it, Lieutenant,” the three volunteers call back.

Since we got the fire controlled, we’ve been alternating shifts out at the scene.

We don’t need the entire team of sixteen firefighters tracking hotspots at once, so right now only the four full-time staff and half of the volunteers are here.

We’ll have to fill the rest in at some point, but considering Holland could show back up anytime, I want to tell everyone else about her now.

Especially since Hayden and Ethan are in today. Those two are like animals in heat around pretty women, and I have no doubt Holland knows how to work her charm.

Ten minutes later, all the career staff and six volunteers—Ethan Langley, Hayden Adler, Kelsey Monroe, Caleb Newman, Travis Hart, and Brian Finnegan—join me in the conference room.

“What’s up?” Finnegan—or Finn, as we all call him—asks once everyone takes their seat.

“Lieutenant Caldwell had a run-in with a reporter a few nights ago,” Chief says, looking to me.

I take that as my cue. “She’s here looking into the fires. I didn’t get many details from her, but she strikes me as the kind to jump to extreme conclusions.”

The crew nods in understanding, not needing me to explain further.

“Why are you telling us now?” Newman pipes up.

“I had a gut feeling she’d be back. When we stopped at The Scarlet, Mary told me she extended her stay indefinitely.

” I blow out a breath. “We can’t stop you guys from talking to her, but be careful what you share.

We know reporters can be bad news, and I’m not sure what it is this woman is looking for.

If you do speak to her and have any insight or opinion on what she says, please let me, Lieutenant Madison, or Chief Whitlock know as soon as possible.

You know how rumours spread in this town, and we want to avoid that. Got it?”

The crew nods again, a low hum of voices filling the room.

“Good. Any questions?”

Langley raises his hand, unsurprisingly. “What’s she look like? You know, so we have an idea of who to be on the lookout for.”

His question doesn’t faze me. “Trust me. You’ll know her if you see her.”

He falls back in his seat, smirking.

“Anything else?” Chief calls from the back of the room. No one says anything more, so we dismiss them.

Everyone heads back to finish the various jobs they were working on, and I make my way to my office to finish up some paperwork. Now that most of the crew knows, a bit of the weight has been lifted. But I still get the feeling that something bad is looming.

And my guess is that Holland Rhodes will be the cause.