Back in town Patsy crawled out of The Box and into the shower. Eight days on the first fire of the season. She’d slept…hmm, she was sure she’d slept at some point. They’d coyoted for much of the fire, lying down in their gear right where they finished a shift—usually twenty-four to thirty-six hours long—and slept until the fire made an aggressive move and you were on your feet again—usually way too soon.
She plunged into her first shower in all that time and let the stink wash down the drain with the char. Clothes in the wash.
She came to, standing upright and staring down at her bunk. Yes, she should just do a faceplant and hope nothing burned in the next twenty-four hours. But she didn’t want to.
Instead, she was halfway to town before she knew what she wanted. Her brain was definitely moving slower than her body.
Eight days.
All Sam Parker had gotten from her in eight days was silence. Would he still want to see her? She thought so. She hoped so.
It was amazing how much he’d been in her head through all that time.
Instead of just living the moment of the fire, she wanted to tell him about it. The little victories, the staggering defeats, and the return to battle until it was won. There was no option, winning is what hotshots did, engaging the fire until it was down and done.
She didn’t think that Sam would need a bribe in order to want her back. But she wanted to take him something to let him know she’d been thinking of him.