Page 6 of Rescued Dreams (Last Chance Fire and Rescue #8)

SIX

R idge turned to Amelia. “You wanna?—”

He saw the look on her face. She wanted to find that child. In fact, she already had her tank and mask on.

“Yes.” Amelia took off running toward the house. So maybe it was better for him to be the lieutenant right now.

If she were in charge of this scene, she would need to stay outside and be the commander on site.

Something about this being her childhood home meant she was on alert. Everyone wanted to find a missing child, a tender-age victim, but her knowing the layout of the house would be an asset.

He turned to Izan and Della, already hooking up the hose. “Get water on the front rooms.”

“Ask her what happened. Ask where the kid will be hiding.” Amelia’s breathy voice filled his comms earpiece.

Ridge turned back to the mother. “Can you tell me what happened?”

The mother had curled blonde hair that hung past her shoulders, and she looked to be about forty, maybe a little older. Slacks and a blouse, over which she had pulled a wool sweater with the collar of the blouse flipped over the neck. Flat black shoes. Smartwatch.

She sucked in a shaky breath. “I was walking around, picking up before we left for Karlie’s piano lesson. Waiting on her to grab her other shoes. There was a boom. It was so loud, and I ran out the front door. The windows shattered. There were flames everywhere. Karlie isn’t answering her phone.”

Ridge looked at the house with its wide bay windows downstairs. Manicured lawn. The kind of place that had an above-ground pool out back in the summer. Brand-new-looking white van in the drive and a basketball hoop.

This was where Amelia had lived?

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it probably wasn’t this. He hadn’t grown up destitute, but he certainly hadn’t lived in a neighborhood like this.

Amelia said, “I need the room.” Her breath washed over the channel. “I’m almost to the end of the hallway.”

“Copy that.” Ridge turned to the homeowner. “Which room is Karlie’s, and where would she hide?”

“The last room on the right.” The mom pressed her fist to her lips for a moment, then said, “She makes forts in her closet. Or she’ll be under the piano in the den, if she made it that far. Sometimes she kicks off her shoes under the piano, so she might’ve gone to the den to find them.”

Ridge turned away slightly. “In the closet in her room, last on the right. Or under the piano in the den.”

The mom frowned. “Don’t you need to know where the den is?”

Ridge said, “The firefighter who went in knows the layout of the house.”

She shook her head. “How could she know that?”

Amelia interrupted what he’d been about to say with, “I need to focus. This chatter is distracting.”

Ridge watched Della and Izan fight with the hose, spraying the blown-out front window to the right of the door. Smoke poured out of the left side. He turned back to the mom and said, “Hang here.”

She nodded, likely too distracted by her child being in danger to worry why a firefighter knew the layout of her house.

Ridge strode across the lawn, still unsettled by the fact that Amelia had lived here.

This place was where people who had brand-new leased cars, went on cruises every year, and skied all the time in winter lived.

He didn’t mean to be prejudiced about people with the money to enjoy their lives, and he didn’t resent that some had more than others—it was simply the discrepancy between this place and Amelia.

But then, when they’d never seen even a glimpse into each other’s private lives, why wouldn’t he be surprised by what he found?

“ Lieutenant. ”

Amelia was back on comms.

Ridge said, “Go ahead.”

“I have her. Back door is the closest, so I’m coming out that way. If you’re not busy right now.”

Ridge frowned. Amelia and her abrasive edge. He knew it was a front and she felt deeply. She treated the job with the utmost respect because she cared so much. She only got mouthy when someone’s life was on the line and they were able to do something about it.

When the situation turned and there was nothing they could do, when saving a life was impossible, she would get very, very quiet.

That worried him more than her hard edges, which he’d been determined to soften with a relationship.

Only, she hadn’t let him. She’d shut it down because it was safer for her to live in her little protected space where she called the shots and everyone was better because she held them to a high standard.

“I’m coming around.” Ridge picked up his pace and jogged around the side of the house, using the gate to make his way back there. A dog greeted him with barks and suspicion.

Ridge held his gloved fist out for the dog to sniff and closed the gate so the Lab didn’t get loose.

When the dog calmed a fraction, he rubbed the animal’s flanks and assessed him for injuries. “You seem okay. Come on, let’s go find them.”

The dog understood his intent. The animal led the way to the back patio with his tail wagging. At the corner, he glanced back at Ridge, who was a couple of steps behind him.

The dog would still need to be checked out by a vet, even just for smoke inhalation. It hung thick in the air like a cloud, coming out of all the vents in the walls and the crawl space.

He climbed up the stone steps to the back patio and spotted the above-ground pool. Not where he’d have put it, but no one asked his opinion about that stuff. He slid the patio door open and spotted Amelia in the smoke, coming toward him with a tween girl in her arms.

The dog went inside.

Amelia stopped walking. “Get that dog out of my way.”

Ridge whistled. “Hey, puppy. Come here.” He waved the dog over. “Come on. Outside.”

The dog came out, turning around to watch Amelia leave. She walked tentatively, like she was scared the animal would attack her.

“Give me the kid. I’ll take her.”

Amelia snapped out of it. “I’ve got her.” She stepped outside and headed around the house with Ridge following. He glanced back at the dog, but movement at the end of the yard caught his attention.

“Get her to the ambulance.”

Amelia was already out of earshot, but he heard her “Copy that” in his earpiece.

The dog turned, his ears pricked. He darted across the lawn to where Ridge had seen the movement, then disappeared into the trees. Ridge ran over.

He heard barking, then a yelp, like the dog had been injured.

Kicked.

Ridge chased after him. Two of his team members were fighting the fire, and another had rescued the victim. While he was running for…what?

He might not have worked on Truck for a while, but he’d been on rescue squad for more than a year, and coming back hadn’t been a demotion. He was in charge.

Qualified. Trained.

Why did he feel like he had no idea what he was doing?

He’d been certain he would be fine. He knew how to do this. Amelia wasn’t mad at him. At least, he didn’t think she was, when in reality, she had every right to be furious that her position had been taken away and given to someone else.

The dog scurried out of the trees, limping slightly.

Ridge slowed. As he reached the rear of the yard, he spotted a guy disappearing over a fence behind a line of trees.

Just a flash of dark clothing. Considering Ridge had his turnout pants and coat on, it wasn’t surprising the guy had escaped.

In this getup, he’d never beat someone wearing civilian clothes in a footrace.

The dog lay on its belly on the grass, ears up, panting hard.

Ridge left him and went back around the house.

It would be faster to walk through the structure and see the state of the fire, but he didn’t have his air tank or mask.

He’d wind up with early retirement and a list of health problems a mile long if he didn’t follow procedure and take the necessary precautions to keep himself safe.

If he was injured or incapacitated, he couldn’t save anyone—and he couldn’t effectively lead a team.

A guy in a suit stood by the mom, close to the back of the ambulance. Ridge jogged over. “Your dog is in the backyard. He’s okay for now, but he needs to get checked out. How is Karlie?”

The guy put his arm around the mom. “She’s being treated. You guys saved her life.” His eyes were a little glassy. His dark hair, streaked with gray strands, was mussed as if he’d run his hands through it.

Ridge said, “We’ll take care of securing the house. You guys only need to focus on Karlie, all right?”

The mom barely nodded. Dad turned away to the back of the ambulance. Ridge watched them start to climb inside and then turned away. “Nixon, Lewis. How’s the fire?”

He found himself face-to-face with Amelia, flushed cheeks and anger in her eyes.

Instinct had him reaching for her elbow while Della said, “This is Nixon. We’ve got it under control.”

“Copy that.” To Amelia he said, “Are you all right?”

“What took you so long to get back to the front of the house?”

Ridge said, “There was a guy in the yard. The dog spotted him first.”

She flinched.

“Are you…afraid of dogs?”

“I can do my job. Don’t worry about me.” She lifted her chin.

“It is okay to admit when you’re scared of something.”

“Then tell me what you’re afraid of.”

Ridge walked himself right into that one, didn’t he?

“Old orange juice. Once, when I was a kid, the juice had gone bad, and I took this giant mouthful and it was fizzy.” He made a face because it made him nauseous just thinking about it.

“I hesitate every time I drink some now.” He shuddered. “You saved that girl.”

Amelia stared at him like he’d grown two heads.

“You found the closet okay? No problems?” He scanned her face.

Just another day. Just another callout. Except he was the lieutenant now.

Why did that give him an odd sense of satisfaction?

It was what he wanted, but not at the expense of her job.

He didn’t like that it had been taken away—even if it wasn’t him who’d ousted her.

Okay, so there was a whole lot to unpack there. But was she going to give them the chance to talk it through, or was she going to ignore it and pretend things were fine?

Amelia shrugged.

“When the shift is done, can we go get something to eat? Or just get coffee, or tea, somewhere?” It would be six in the evening, so dinner seemed like a normal, casual thing to do at that time of day.

“Really?” Her expression hardened. “You’re my boss now, bigshot. We can’t date. ”

The only way to fight fire was with…okay, not fire. But it fit right now. “Who says it’s a date? Unless you want to go on one?”

She let out a bark of laughter. “As if I have time to worry about having a love life. I’ve got to study for the lieutenant’s exam.”

“Why did you lose your rank, Amelia?” He softened his tone. “Macon didn’t really say why you’re not a lieutenant anymore.”

“It’s my business. Why don’t you just worry about your job, and I’ll worry about mine.”

Ridge shook his head. “You should know by now that’s not how this works.” He motioned between them with his gloved finger.

“There is no ‘this’ between us.” She took a step back. “Never was. Never will be.”

She was a little too emphatic, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

That was the only thing that gave him a semblance of hope that things could be different.

But she was so determined to keep him out of her life that she was practically shoving him out of the door to take a job in Benson.

Ridge was about to rethink his entire life. Which would start with who was going to be the truck lieutenant when she got her rank back.

And where that would leave the two of them.

Because whether she liked it or not, she’d have to deal with having him in her life.

After all, the girls didn’t want to leave. He wasn’t sure he wanted to fight them when it seemed like he had everything he wanted.

Amelia turned and stomped away. Ridge caught Della and Izan looking at them and saw flashes of smiles shared when they glanced at each other.

Great.

His first day as truck lieutenant was going just great.