“Just a minute,” I say, realizing my hands are shaking. “And I’m Hattie.”
“Everything’s gonna be just fine, Hattie. Fires like this aren’t common, but they aren’t impossible to contain. We can handle this. You look like you could do with a bottle of water and a seat.”
My dizziness is pretty strong, but what’s stronger is my need to see if Holt and Jimbo are okay.
“He’s in there,” Shepard is calling over. The firemen nod and surround the house, getting ready to head inside even though it’s probably far too dangerous when a triumphant silhouette appears in the smoky doorway and out strides Holt.
He’s carrying his healthy, conscious, confused-looking old dog in his arms. Dirt streaks his face, and his piercing blue eyes are squinted enough to form lines. He looks like… an action figure. I feel my stomach flip at seeing that he’s okay. And then it flips again because damn.
He falls, then, to his knees. The dog is safe, grabbed by the firemen. Behind Holt, wind swirls the embers and I cover my face and eyes, and the sheriff and I cough. I want to run to Holt, but my knees are buckling and he’s losing consciousness.
“Holt!” I try to scream, but there’s nothing I can do. The smoke is choking me. Us. In a flurry, a panic, we’re all being bundled back into cars and trucks, and sirens scream as we fly down the mountain away from the flames. My head is foggy, but one word is clear as a bell, louder than all the others.
Holt.
Nine
Holt
My eyes open and I’m hit with a wave of confusion when all I see is white. I have to adjust — this definitely isn’t my bedroom. And then more confusion hits me when I feel the space next to me and it’s empty.
Even before I realize this is a hospital room, I feel a tug of loss. Shouldn’t I be waking up with Hattie in my arms? And then as I sit up, it comes back to me. The forest fire. The smoke in my lungs. The ground rushing up at me when I finally made it out of the cabin.
The room is bare, except for a couple of cards and flowers from the townspeople already waiting for me, which brings a smile to my face. A smile that falls when I see no sign of Hattie.
She’s probably on the plane home, or maybe she’s already arrived back in LA. I’m not exactly sure how long I was out, but I’m certain I missed her leave. For a second, I let that feeling settle all through me.
I met the perfect woman, and then nature itself conspired to let her get away.
Just when I’m tossing the sheets off my body and pulling on my smoky clothes, the door opens and I glance up, expecting a nurse to argue that I should stay in bed.
But it’s her.
Hattie’s eyes sparkle when she sees me up and about, and she presses a finger to her lips, shushing me. I’m already struck dumb by seeing her beautiful face when I’d expected her to be gone. She pats her thigh, and with a merrily jingling collar, a big old black lab waddles inside.
“Jimbo,” I laugh, bending over and scratching his ears until his tail starts to swing. “How’d you get him past the doctors?”
“I have ways,” Hattie says mysteriously, and then with a happy squeal, she throws her arms around me. Then she pulls back, looking me over. “Sorry — are you all right? Should I be more careful?”
I pull her back into my arms, kiss the top of her head. “No, no, you don’t have to be careful of me. I’m fine. You can knock me around all you want.” She stifles a laugh, and I notice her eyes are shining. She drags a finger underneath her eyelid.
“I thought I’d lost you. Everyone was panicking and yelling and… I was really worried, Holt.”
“You were?”
She looks confused. “Yeah.”
“I just thought you’d be on the first flight out of here.”
“No. No, I actually just got off the phone with my father. I told him about the fire, and I thanked him, actually.” She presses her pink lips together, summoning up the courage to relive their conversation. “I thanked him for sending me here, to you. I was out there thinking I already don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
“It takes more than a little fire to get rid of us, huh, boy?” I address that to Jimbo, who starts furiously wagging his tail again. Hattie sniffles, but she’s smiling ear to ear.
I tilt her chin upwards and press my lips against hers. Then suddenly that isn’t enough and we’re kissing passionately here in this hospital room. Reluctantly, I break away. There’s more to be said, and hopefully plenty of time to do what we want with each other in the future.