ChapterOne
BRYCE
Iadjusted my Minden Rogers Fire Department cap to keep from snapping the pen in half. It was chained to the desk and didn’t deserve my frustration. That was reserved for the well-meaning but overstepping bank teller who’d known my family since I was in her Sunday School class. The last thing I wanted to do was make a scene, but running on interrupted sleep from last night’s shift made for a shorter fuse.
“Look, Gladys, I’m just not interested in–”
“Of course, you’re interested!” the middle-aged bank teller interrupted me from the other side of the counter. I winced at her shrill tone. “My Trina is a lovely girl. You’ll see. I’ll tell her to meet you at the bistro on Friday night.”
Gladys handed me my receipt with a wink, and I quickly pocketed it. “Sorry,” I said, even though I wasn’t, “I’m on shift that night.”
Before she could reschedule the unwanted date, I turned and walked out, a hand in the air as a farewell. I heard her stammering behind me, but I pretended not to hear.
All I wanted to do was deposit a check. Instead, I spent five minutes being grilled by Gladys Pinkman about why I was still single and then attempting to set me up with her daughter. I thought Minden was overly involved before, but ever since I was named captain of the local fire department? It was like the women in town had a secret meeting and decided their sole mission was to find me a wife.
My phone rang as I got into my truck. I closed the door to shut out the icy wind before answering.
“Hey, Chief. What’s up?” I started the truck, cranking the heat way up and kicking on the seat warmers. Despite the generous balance of my savings account – courtesy of my grandfather – there were very few luxuries I was willing to pay for. Heated seats during an Indiana winter were definitely on that list.
Now if only we could get them in the fire engine.
“B Crew took an EMS call this morning. I thought you might want to know.” The fire chief’s voice was gravelly and completely calm–like always. I remembered how Danny’s cool demeanor had intimidated me as a rookie. Now, I recognized the value of a chief who didn’t let his emotions get the best of him.
“Who?” I ran through the people I cared about. There were certain names I always prayed I’d never hear over the radio. My thoughts immediately went to my sister. I hadn’t heard from Monica this morning, since she was at work. Or she was supposed to be.
“Sharon Daughtry slipped and fell on the ice while getting the mail this morning.”
I leaned back into the seat as though physically pushed. “Is she okay?”
Chief Bergman hesitated. “She’s at the hospital in Greencastle. She’ll recover, but it wasn’t a soft landing.”
Sharon Daughtry was like a second mother to me. At least, she had been, until her daughter, Krystal, left town. After that, it was hard to pretend everything was the same. But I still saw Sharon at church, and she was especially involved in the ‘Friends of MRFD’ organization that helped raise extra funds for our department.
“Thanks for the heads up,” I managed to say before hanging up.
I guess my plans for the day needed to change. I glanced at my watch. I had to be at the school in thirty minutes, but then I could head to Greencastle and see Sharon. Maybe it wasn’t necessary, but I still wanted to go see her.
I tapped a quick text message to Jake. We usually tried to work out in the afternoons on our days off, after we had a chance to catch some sleep.
Bryce: I’ve got to bail on our workout this afternoon. Tomorrow?
Jake was probably still asleep, like I would be if I hadn’t agreed to do career day for the second graders, so I didn’t wait for a response.
On my way to the elementary school, I stopped by The Rolling Pin bakery and grabbed a small box of cookies for the office staff. Some of the same ladies who’d been there when I was a kid still worked in the front office, and the others were ones I’d graduated with. With the exception of a few who couldn’t escape fast enough; it seemed most of us had stayed around the area.
I loved that about Minden. We were teaching in the same schools we’d attended or serving as Deacons in the same churches we’d been baptized in as teenagers.
Twenty minutes later, a room full of tiny faces stared blankly back at me from tiny desks. Did I really used to fit in those chairs? This classroom had seemed a lot bigger on career day when I was a kid.
Even back then, I’d known exactly what I wanted. The firefighter who had come to our class had been the father of a classmate. In his helmet and boots, he was the closest thing I’d ever seen to a superhero.
I smiled as I worked through the simple talking points I had planned. “By doing all the things I mentioned, I get to help people and serve our community through my job as a firefighter. We also have a lot of volunteers who serve as firefighters, too. Most of them have other jobs, like farming or working at a store, but they come when they are needed to help in an emergency.”
More blank stares. I looked at the teacher, and she nodded reassuringly. I was ninety percent sure I was messing this all up. Were they even hearing me?
“Umm, do any of you have questions for me?”
A few hands shot up, and I pointed to a blonde girl with long pigtails. “Do you drive the firetruck?” she asked.