My mom was nothing if not feisty. It was probably where I’d gotten my stubborn streak. I’d taken mine with me to California, and it had been enough to keep me pushing through the dark years where callbacks were nearly nonexistent. I always knew that Mom had once dreamt of moving to New York and performing on Broadway. I wasn’t going to temper my own ambition the way she had. I may have inherited her pigheadedness, but it hadn’t been enough for her to go against the grain of small town expectations.
Perhaps that was one reason I was so determined to do it. Because she hadn’t.
I looked back at the flyer. “Let’s talk about food.”
A loud alarm interrupted me, and I looked at Bryce in concern. He frowned and said, “That’s a fire call. Let me see what’s up.” His face was serious but calm.
In a flash, he disappeared into the living room.
My heart was racing from the sudden interruption, and I pressed a hand there to settle it.
I jotted a few notes down about the auction, but every few seconds I was straining to see what was happening in the rest of the firehouse.
I heard the siren blaring as the fire engine pulled out of the station. I stood to watch them go. Bryce appeared back in the doorway, his face serious.
“What’s up?”
“Greencastle needs us on a big factory fire. They’ve got some pretty nasty chemicals burning. I’m going to take my truck and meet some volunteers at Station #2 to get Engine 47 to lend additional aid.”
My head spun with the details, but I got the basics of it. Bryce was leaving. “We’ll get together another time. You go, I’m fine.”
He flashed a grateful smile and nodded before grabbing his hat and disappearing back out the door.
“Be safe.” The words came too late–he was gone. One minute the guys were cracking jokes, and the next they were geared up and headed to face a nasty chemical fire. It was a lot to process. My head was reeling, and I’d just been watching the situation unfold.
I said a prayer over him and the rest of the team. I probably didn’t have a right to be, but I was worried for them. For him.