Caught in Flames Read online

  Chief stopped by the door as he walked by. “You almost done?”

  “Yup, everything’s set for tomorrow.” She rolled her shoulders and checked her watch. “I need to head out to meet the landlord to get my rental place.”

  His eyebrows popped up. “You’re staying in a rental?”

  “Yeah, Chief. You seem surprised.”

  “Last time you just stayed with one of the boys.”

  It was the Chief who was winking at Becca now, causing her to slap his shoulder. She tried to hit a little harder to get her point across, but light enough that she didn’t actually hurt the 58-year-old man. “I remember.”

  “Really?”

  She tried not to smile. “I just don’t remember his name.”

  “One of these days, Becca,” the Chief said in a friendly, fatherly tone, “someone’s going to set your heart on fire.”

  “Until then, I’ll just keep burning down bridges, Chief.” She smiled. “I’ll catch ya tomorrow.”

  She headed out, noticing that both the pump and ladder trucks were out. She’d heard the bell go off earlier and knew they were out on a call. She climbed into her truck, turning the ignition a few times to jump-start her beast of a vehicle. She opened her window as she backed up and pulled out of the fire station lot, heading out onto the empty street following the GPS in the direction to her rental house. Becca hummed along to the radio, watching the street signs and many houses, stores, and apartment buildings pass her along the way. The more she saw of Phoenix fading to outskirts, the more she missed her brother.

  Chapter 3

  A single tear fell down her cheek when she pulled into the driveway of her rental, surprisingly greeted by the landlord renting out the place.

  “Ah, are you Mrs. Taylor?”

  “Miss Taylor. Mrs. Taylor is my mother.” Becca smiled at the older man.

  “Well perhaps you can stay with her, yeah?”

  “What’re you talking about?”

  The landlord started heading inside, gesturing with his flailing hand for Becca to follow him. Once inside, he led her into the back room, revealing to her the large lake that was once the master bedroom.

  “What the hell happened?”

  “Best I can guess, the main water pipe burst somewhere underneath the floor.”

  “Is it reparable?”

  “Oh yeah, I have some guys coming in to take a look in the next day or two.”

  “When will they have it fixed?” This wasn’t good. She’d have to do a few days in a hotel.

  “The pipe itself won’t take too long, but then we have the entire floor to rip out and replace. All that work is going to take a month at least.”

  “A month? I can’t wait that long. Where am I supposed to stay until this is all cleaned up?”

  “Don’t know. Wish I had another rental for you, but I don’t. I’d suggest one of the hotels back in town until this is all done.”

  “A hotel is too expensive. I’m staying for two months!” She knew it wasn’t the landlord’s fault, but she couldn’t hide her exasperation.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Taylor. I wish there was more I could do for you. I did try and call the number that was written on the agreement, but I couldn’t get through to anyone.”

  “Shit. Must have been my office number. Are you sure it won’t be fixed any sooner?”

  “Wish I could say yes, Miss Taylor. But this is an older house, it takes forever to fix once it’s broken.”

  “Alright, well, please call me at this number when it’s done.” Becca handed the landlord her business card, making sure it had her cell phone number on it.

  The landlord just nodded, tucking the card into his shirt pocket and leading Becca back out of the house to the driveway. He continued to watch her as she left, letting her see his staring eyes in her rear view mirror as she drove off. She banged her hands against the steering wheel and cursed the whole way.

  As she made her way back toward town, her truck decided to take a detour along the outskirts to an older, quiet cemetery. Parking her truck against the giant, black metal fence and climbing out, she then walked up the hill covered in dead grass toward Corey’s grave, wrapping her arms around her chest as she went.

  She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh as she came face to face with Corey’s tombstone, a single tear slid down her cheek when she noticed fresh flowers surrounding the engraved stone. She was glad someone other than her remembered her brother and cared enough to visit him. She knelt down on the ground and cleaned up the flowers, removing the dead ones and the weeds on the ground surrounding the stone. Becca reached into her pocket, pulling out a quarter, a small golf pencil, and a toy firetruck. She placed them neatly on the flat part on top of his gravestone, then she leaned herself against the side of it.

  Holding back tears, she began to speak to Corey, filling him in on all the things he missed out on since the last time she had come to visit him. It didn’t take long for the tears and exhaustion to overwhelm her. She sat down, her back to the stone, and as she closed her eyes, she rested the back of her head against the marble slab. She let the tears fall, lost in the memories of the past, one in particular pulling her out of the heat of the day.

  “Put me down, Corey, put me down.”

  “Can’t put you down, I’m rescuing you from a blazing inferno. Nobody gets off my shoulders till their outside and safe.”

  “We’re already outside!”

  “I gotta practise, Becks, you’ll be thankful when I’m a real firefighter.”

  “Practise on, Sam!”

  Becca kicked and squirmed playfully, pounding her fists against Corey’s shoulders. He had been sneaking up on Becca throughout the day, tossing her over his shoulder and walking around the yard. Corey and Sam had been practising their fireman’s carry all day long, taking turns showing off the skills they had already perfected.

  “Why would I rescue Sam? He’s a fellow firefighter.”

  “Maybe he was injured while rescuing someone else?”

  “Good point.”

  Corey let Becca slide off his shoulder, turning his body around to face Sam. Corey ran full speed to tackle Sam, tossing him over his shoulder and stomping around the yard.

  “Oh please, save me, Mr. big, hunky fireman, save me, save me.”

  Sam was mocking Corey, laughing as he was spun around. When he spun around enough to lock eyes with Becca, he winked. Becca rolled on the ground laughing and grabbing at her stomach. Sam always made her laugh so hard it hurt. Her brother and his best friend continued to carry each other, leaving Becca alone and letting her watch them make fools of themselves.

  “You guys are crazy.”

  “Better to be crazy than boring, right?”

  Corey was smiling bright and winking at his sister, still trying to tackle Sam down to the ground.

  Becca shook her head back and forth, not wanting to lose the memory but being distracted from something bringing her back to the present. She sniffed. The smell of smoke drifted through her nostrils. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked up to see a single white rose aflame against Corey’s tombstone. She jumped up and quickly threw it on the ground to stomp it out, looking around frantically to find the culprit walking, or more likely, running away.

  The cemetery was empty, filling Becca with a painful, uneasy feeling. She ran down the hill to her truck and jumped in, rushing off from the cemetery, tears swelling in her eyes as she drove. Deciding on the only place she wanted to stay, she headed back to the firehouse. She had always felt safe when she was in the firehouses, ready to work as soon as the bell chimed.

  As she drove back, her racing heart settled. Maybe the flower had caught on fire from the sun. Off a piece of glass. It was nearly impossible to come up with a believable reason. Except, as she ran through people in her mind, people who would do something as horrible as burn Corey’s grave, or leave a horrible gift like that for her, she came up empty-handed. That seemed even more impossible. She couldn’t t
hink of anyone in town who would do such a thing, but perhaps one of the guys at the station would have a few names of people crazy or cruel enough to do it.

  When she returned to the station everyone was out on another call, so she parked and grabbed her luggage bag and headed inside, making her way up to the overnight rooms. She claimed the far cot that was unmarked and tucked her bag underneath it. Throwing herself onto the cot, back first, she lifted her head and rested it on her arms crossed above her head. She could feel her body aching for more sleep, but she wanted to keep everything fresh in her mind when the crew returned back to the station.

  Chapter 4

  Becca heard the firetrucks return and the low voices followed by laughter of the guys as they came in to the large room below the bunks. She watched through half shut eyes as Sam and another firefighter walked to the bunks and grabbed a change of clothes out of their lockers. Sam stripped his wet shirt off and tossed it in the laundry hamper at the end of the row. He was talking to the guy beside him who had grabbed a towel and toiletry bag. Becca couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she enjoyed the view through her eyelashes.

  As the other firefighter disappeared, Sam turned around and walked over to her cot, kicking it gently as he stood beside her. “You okay, Becks? Saw your truck outside. I didn’t know you were coming back to the house.”

  She sat up and stretched. “Yeah, yeah... I’m fine.” Becca resisted the urge to snort. Of course Sam would think that. She couldn’t remember the last time she actually called somewhere home, other than a fire hall. “Well it’s going to be home until the rental place I’m supposed to be at gets fixed.”

  “Oh shit, what did ya do?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Nothing!”

  “Really?”

  She grinned despite his teasing. “I haven’t seen you in nearly forever and your first assumption is that I started the problem?” She shook her head. “I showed up to find a lake in the master bedroom, and ponds throughout the rest of the place.”

  “Like, a real lake? Ponds, too? Any good fish?”

  Becca could see Sam was trying to hold back his laughter. She smacked him on the leg as she glared at him. “It’s not funny, really.” She pressed her lips together as well so she wouldn’t smile. “I’m going to have to stay at the station for at least four weeks or until I find another place to rent.”

  Sam sat down on the cot next to Becca, smacking her knee playfully as he looked at her. “You still remember how to cook those amazing homemade pancakes?”

  Her eyebrows shot up. He was thinking about food again? “Yeah, why?”

  “Sweet! Then come stay with me. For the cost of pancakes.”

  Her heart sped up with the thought, and low in her stomach another feeling sent a warm sensation through her. “D-Don’t you have a roommate?”

  “I did. He met a girl, so I don’t have a roommate anymore.”

  “Good for him.”

  “Yeah, and I guess good for you, too.” He winked. “I’m close by the station and it won’t cost you. Except the pancakes.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive. I’ve got a spare room.”

  He leaned back, as did she, her head automatically dropping toward his. Their eyes met as his breath tickled her lips. They both quickly pulled away and Sam stood up beside the cot.

  Becca grinned and hopped to her feet, grabbing her bag from under the cot and slung it over her shoulder and looked at Sam expectantly. “Shall we?”

  “Whoa, I can’t go just yet, I still have a few hours here.” Sam patted at his thighs, looking down and around at his pants. Digging into his knee pocket, he pulled out a large set of keys, tossing them at Becca.

  She managed to catch them between her laced fingers.

  “Why don’t you head on over, I bet you are tired as hell.” Sam moved over to the desk and quickly jotted down his address and handed it to Becca. He gave her a quick hug. Walking with her out of the overnight room and down to the front door of the fire hall, he squeezed her against his side in another hug. “Make yourself at home. Your room’s going to be the one to the left of the living room. Kitchen’s got beer and hopefully some food. I’ll be home in a few hours to harass you for food.”

  “Then I’d better buy flour, eggs, and milk.”

  “Really? Not a premade mix?”

  Becca stuck her tongue out at Sam, and noticed Chief Titan in his office. She waved at his surprised face and called out, “See you tomorrow!”

  Sam laughed. “I’ll fill him in for you.”

  “Thanks.” Once again, she hopped into her truck and headed off down the road. She stopped at a grocery store and grabbed the ingredients needed to make pancakes. She had to pay attention to road signs this time. Sam had said he lived close, the reality of exactly how close he lived shocked her when she had to slam on the brakes before she passed his apartment building. Becca’s fell forward, hitting her forehead against the steering wheel.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  She rubbed her forehead as she pulled her truck into a parking spot against the curb in front of the apartment building. Stepping out of her truck and tossing enough change to cover parking until midnight, she headed for the building’s front door. She tried several times to tug the door open, frustrated when she couldn’t find the keyhole to unlock it. Just then, a man from the lobby came out to assist her, smiling as if he knew her. But Becca couldn’t place him for the life of her.

  “Rebecca?”

  “Hello.” She smiled politely, trying desperately to remember who he was. He looked around her age, maybe a few years older.

  “Strange seeing you back in town.”

  “I’m working down at the fire hall for a few months.”

  “You’ve no idea who I am, do you?” He smiled and chuckled as he shoved his hands into his pockets and casually leaned against the wall.

  She gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I just can’t place your face.”

  “It’s okay. I get that a lot from ol’ Buckeye High School people. I look a lot different.” He stepped toward her and offered his hand. “It’s Trevor, Trevor Sinclaire.”

  She blinked in surprise. Trevor? He’d definitely changed, in a good way. “Trevor! You look totally different—I mean, you look great!” She switched the grocery bags to her left hand and shook his.

  He laughed as he straightened and rolled his shoulders, pretending to flex. “Yeah, I discovered the gym.”

  “And a sense of humor,” she teased. Was she seriously flirting with him? They walked together to the elevator.

  “You here to see Sam?”

  “You know Sam?”

  Trevor chuckled again. “Who doesn’t know Sam? He’s a very popular man in Phoenix these days. Superhero fireman. Carried his reputation the thirty miles from Buckeye and built it up here some more. He’s a great guy.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know that.”

  “Yeah, anyway,” Trevor said and checked his watch. “He’s still at work, I believe, might have to come back later.”

  Becca looked at him as she shifted her weight. She didn’t think some random guy from her high school eight years ago would know Sam’s work schedule. Maybe they were good buddies.

  “Thanks, but I already know. I’m his new roommate for a while.” She shrugged.

  “What happened to Mike?”

  “Met a girl, fell in love, the usual.”

  “Aw, damn! Lucky guy!”

  She smiled and shifted one of the heavy bags of groceries to her right hand to even out the weight. “Can I ask you a secret?”

  He blinked in surprise and glanced around the lobby. “Okay...” he said slowly.

  “Can you tell me the secret of getting into the door?”

  Trevor burst out laughing. He covered his mouth and caught his breath. “Sorry, just wasn’t expecting that.” He held his key up. “You have to swipe the fob, the chunky black thing against the lock mechanism. Same with the elevator.”

  “
Ohhhh! Thanks!” Becca swiped the fob by the elevator and grinned at Trevor when the light turned green. The door slid open a second later. “Well, I’ll see you around, I guess.”

  “Definitely.”

  Becca moved quickly into the elevator before the door closed and she fobbed herself up to the twentieth floor. It was funny bumping into Trevor. However, if he was buddies with Sam, it wasn’t that strange. Buckeye, the town she’d grown up in, was about thirty miles from Phoenix. A lot of people moved to the big city, and Trevor had been in the same class as Sam and Corey.

  Not wanting to think about the past, Becca power-walked down the hall to Sam’s front door. Shoving the key into the lock and ducking inside, she closed the door and locked it behind her. She couldn’t run from the past, but she spent a lot of time trying.

  It felt strange just walking into Sam’s apartment without him there. Even more awkward was knowing he wasn’t going to be home for several hours. She felt like she was imposing.

  She dropped the groceries off in the kitchen and laughed at the nearly empty fridge, aside from the beer. Setting the eggs and milk container inside, she appreciated how clean he kept the apartment. It was modern, and definitely a guy’s pad, but it was livable. A lot better than the rental she had back by headquarters.

  She headed through the living room to the room Sam said she could use. She opened the door and laughed as she tossed her bag into the corner. The room was completely bare—the bed didn’t even have sheets on it.

  Upon closer inspection, she realized the bed did, however, have a note on it, which made Becca laugh even louder as she picked it up and read it out loud:

  Dear Sam or Sam’s new roommate,

  The girlfriend liked these sheets better than hers, so we have stolen them for our new apartment. I left twenty bucks and a six pack of beer in the fridge. Enjoy the beer, buddy.

  PS. You probably would have wanted new sheets anyway. The girlfriend was over a lot—if you know what I mean.

  - Mike

  Becca took the note out into the kitchen and used a magnet to stick it to the fridge. She pulled open the fridge door, and sure enough, below the six pack of beer lay a twenty-dollar bill tucked underneath the bottles. She pulled a single bottle out and shut the fridge door with her foot, moving out into the living room that separated the two bedrooms.