“That was a blast,” Sheila said as they drove back toward town. “My heart is still pounding.”
“I’m worried you might be cut out for a life of crime. Fast cars and getaways and all that.” Tucker gave her the once-over.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ll always be one of the good guys.” She crossed her heart. “Promise.”
“I’m glad to know that.” He looked at his watch. “I think we could head over and get to work on the boxes if you like. The folks bringing in all the food to be packed up should have cleared out by now.”
“That sounds great. We can get an early start,” Sheila said. “Let’s head that way.”
“Do you want to stop and switch out to my truck?”
“No. We can drive this. We don’t need to move anything, do we?”
“Nope. Everything will be right there at the fire station.”
“No reason not to just go straight there, then. I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” she said. “Take me to your leader. Wait. No. You’re the leader.”
He laughed. “I suppose I am.” He drove to the firehouse, and parked her car around back by the second-floor entrance to the community room.
They walked upstairs, and he held the door for her, and then moved past her to turn on the lights. “Sorry it’s so cold in here. I’ll bump up the heater a couple degrees. They must have had the doors open while they were bringing in the supplies.”
“That’s okay. It’ll warm up.” She jogged in place.
Cardboard-box flats lay in a neat stack with a yellow band around them.
On the other side of the room, cases of food lined the wall, filled with all the makings of a full Christmas dinner, from stuffing to green beans to jellied cranberry sauce, and everything in between.
“This is a lot of food,” she remarked.
“We have a lot of families in need. Our town is small, but the county is big. It’s been a hard year for a lot of these people. If it weren’t for this effort, they might go without. You’d be surprised this food doesn’t go as far as you’d think.”
“Let’s be sure that won’t be a problem this year.” Sheila took off her jacket and hung it over a chair. “Where do we begin?” She rubbed her hands together, looking like she was hoping it would warm up fast.
“I have a sweatshirt in my office. I can get that for you. I need to go downstairs and get all the documents anyway. Why don’t you cut the band on those boxes and start putting them together, that would be a big help. There are scissors, tape, and markers in the supply locker over on that wall. It’s labeled.”
“I’m on it, or ten-four or whatever the right lingo is,” she said.
He shook his head. It didn’t take him long to go downstairs and gather everything. By the time he got back it was evident that Sheila hadn’t wasted a moment.
With the sleeves of her black turtleneck pushed up on her forearms, the table full of supplies, and two boxes already assembled, she smiled when she looked up and noticed him.
“How do these look? Do we pass the quality inspection?”
He acted like it was serious business, pacing up and back, lifting the box, thumping it on each seam. “I believe … this is a perfect ten.”
She curtsied. “Thank you kindly.”
Tucker dragged a chair over to the table. “Okay. This is the list of all the families. There’s also one page per family, so we can kind of cross-check and be sure we don’t leave anyone out. We’ll need to tape one sheet to the front of each box. It has the name, address, and any allergies on this sheet. Then take one of those big, fat, permanent markers and write the last name in block print across the top with this alphanumeric combination next to it.”
“What’s the code stand for?”
“It’s the map grid coordinates. It’ll make it easier to assign them for delivery. That’s how we’ll line them up against the wall over there.”
She nodded. “I’d suggest we sort the papers down by code first, then, as we put the boxes together, they’ll be presorted. Easier than sorting big boxes later.”
“That is so simple, I’m embarrassed to say I never thought of it.”
“I’m known for my organizational and planning skills.” She pressed her lips together. “Guess I earned my pay today.”
“I did tell you there’s no pay.”
“Maybe I should get a bonus. You think?”
“I’ll come up with some kind of compensation, it being Christmas and all.” He gave her a wink. “Why don’t you sort the papers, and I’ll keep making boxes.”
“Sure.” She started flipping the papers down on the table in piles, shifting them down as she discovered new combinations, but keeping them in alphanumeric order.
He watched her assemble boxes, folding them down, securing the seams with tape, and then doing it all again.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“At this rate, this is not going to be an all-nighter.”
“But you promised me one.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I never break a promise.”
He watched her take in a hitched breath, then wipe her brow. It was cold in here, was she sweating?
She lifted her gaze to his. “Good. Me either.” With a flirty wiggle, she picked up a box, taped the sheet to the front, and then added name and code and looked to him for approval.
“Very nice.” He nodded. “And the box is well put together too.”
She eyed it with a sultry smile, looking like she was happy with his comment.
The two of them found a rhythm, working quietly. Sheila was almost as quick as he was at putting boxes together, and he considered himself pretty fast.
“Are you getting thirsty?” he asked. “I’m going to go get a drink out of the machine.”
“I’ll take water.”
He jogged downstairs and came back. He lifted two bottles in the air. “H2O anyone?”
“Here!” She reached for it, but he toyed with her, raising it over her head out of reach and then swooping the icy-cold bottle against the back of her neck.
She screamed. “That’s freezing!”
“Oh sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“You are in for it, mister.” She took one of the empty boxes and playfully tossed it at him. He juked to the left, laughing as it slung past him.
Then the alarm went off, mind-numbing and wailing. He stopped, still breathing heavily from the game play.
“Gotta run.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“Fire.” He grabbed his radio from the table. “It’s at the tree farm.” He hit a button on the wall, and the huge garage doors below rumbled up. “Sorry.”
“What should I do?” She spun, asking as he rushed past her.
“Keep working. I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Um, I can do that.” But Tucker was already running down the stairs when he heard her call out a goodbye.
Not a minute later, the Bull Mountain Boys were on the road.
Volunteers were already on the scene when they arrived in the tanker truck.
The team dropped to the ground and everyone spread out, working quickly to assess the situation and contain the fire.
Jesse and Joe ran over to Tucker.
“Any idea what happened?” Tucker asked.
“The back gate was compromised. Guessing some kids were hanging out back there. Wish they’d have done it somewhere else. Those are the biggest and most mature trees.”
Tucker thought about how much pride Joe took in those few huge trees he sold each year to shopping malls and private estates. Even the White House that one time.
“We only sell three to six a year from that lot.” Joe shook his head. “It’s gonna be a huge financial hit.”
Jesse patted his brother’s shoulder. There were no words that would comfort tonight.
“We’ll do our best to get it managed quickly and save them.”
“I know you will.”
Tucker responded to an update from one of the teams, then waved in the second truck, directing them to the far side. Two vehicles carrying volunteers parked, and Tucker directed them to work the outer perimeter to contain the fire.
Tucker turned just as one of his rookies pulled the hose down toward the trees closest to the blaze.
The team from the neighboring county radioed in their estimated arrival.
Tucker’s keen sense caught the unusual movement from the corner of his eye. The rookie was caught up in the ground cover. He was too close to the blaze, and Tucker saw it coming. He darted toward him, hoping to call him off before he fell, but it was too late. He’d fallen right at the base of one of the burning trees.
Tucker raced over and helped him get back on his feet. “Get back to the truck, and take a break. You’re okay. It happens.”
The rookie jogged off, but the top of the tree broke free and fell across Tucker’s shoulder, knocking him off-balance.
Searing pain ripped through Tucker’s right ear. Trying to stay focused on the immediate dangers, he scanned the area, and called Tommy Newton on the radio for assistance, then called for the EMTs to meet him near the tanker.
Tucker’s heart raced. Despite the pain, he knew he had to make sure the team stayed in control. He clambered to his feet and ran to the clearing.
Tommy Newton came over. “What’s up, Chief?”
“I need you to take over.” Tucker lifted his helmet from his head.
Tommy hesitated, then saw Tucker’s injury. “I’ve got it,” Tommy said, not missing a beat.
Tucker met the EMT halfway.
“Did it come down on your shoulder?” the EMT asked.
Tucker nodded.
“Okay. Can you walk?”
“I’m fine.”
“Well, you’re not fine, but we’ll get this taken care of.” They treated the burn and checked his shoulder.
Tucker gritted his teeth through the pain. It wasn’t the first time he’d been burned, but it would’ve been worse had he not gotten that rookie out of there when he had.
His ear throbbed so badly that he couldn’t hear clearly. I can trust Tommy. They are in good hands.
“We’re going to take you out of here, Tucker. It’s not bad, but you know the drill.”
“Who has a truck? Leave the emergency vehicle here in case something else happens. I’ll get someone to take me.”
The EMT made a dash over to talk to Tommy, and the next thing Tucker knew, he was being loaded into Sully’s pickup truck.
“You okay, Chief?” Sully asked.
“I will be.” Tucker clenched his teeth. As the adrenaline subsided, the true impact of the burn became more painful. The tender skin on his neck and ear felt like it was already blistering away from his skin.