Page 52 of Burning Escape

After hiking three miles, then a long bus ride, it was good to see the Midnight Sun Wildland Firefighting crew sign.

When they pulled up to the equipment hangar, they unloaded gear. Tori glanced around as she dropped off her chute. No sign of Orion.

Walking over to the women’s cabin, she continued to look for him. The grassy areas surrounding the buildings and hangars hadn’t been mowed.

It wasn’t like Orion to shirk a duty like that. Tori tried to shake off the dread growing as she showered and changed. Something must’ve come up. She didn’t bother with a hair dryer, just slipped her stocking feet into her Birkies and headed to the mess hall.

Orion stood in the kitchen, his arm in a sling again. He was talking to Logan, who hefted a big pot of sloppy joe mix to the serving counter. Orion brought bags of buns in his good hand.

“What happened?” Tori took the bags from him.

“A mishap at the hardware store. I dislocated the shoulder this time.”

“But how?”

“Not sure, but I think someone is out to get me. You know those big bales of cedar shavings? A tower of them suspiciously toppled and knocked me over. I tripped over a pile of bird seed and landed on the same shoulder. It’s not as bad as it looks. It popped back in on its own.”

Like that made it better? Tori bit down hard, ready to pummel someone.

“You think it was on purpose?” Logan asked.

“Someone was there. They wouldn’t show themselves, but I heard them. The store doesn’t have cameras, so I don’t have proof.” Orion grabbed a serving spoon and jabbed a chunk of meat in the pot. “Doctor thinks I’ll need surgery, but I’m gonna put it off until the season is done.”

“You can’t possibly be thinking of fighting fires like this.” Logan nodded at the arm in a sling.

“Why not? This is why I’m here. We’re not even halfway through the season. A couple weeks, and I’ll be good enough to jump.”

Would he? This was the third time he’d injured his shoulder.

And who would want to hurt Orion? It had to be connected to her. Razor must’ve seen her out with Orion. He was always the jealous type.

And this was why she shouldn’t start anything with Orion Price. His last name said it all. He would pay for her mistakes.

The rest of the crew came in a group, rowdy and hungry. Tori waited her turn in line and sat between Cadee and JoJo at one of the tables.

“What happened to Orion?” JoJo asked.

Tori told her and promptly bit into her sloppy joe.

“Why aren’t you with him? Don’t you want to help nurse him back to health?” Cadee waggled her eyebrows.

Considering it was her fault he was in this situation to begin with, she was probably the last person Orion would want to be around.

Tori quickly changed the subject. Orion and Vince joined them at the table with their plates.

“How was the fire?” Probably Orion wanted to steer the conversation away from his injury. She would’ve.

“This one wasn’t bad. It wasn’t out completely, but the night shift will hopefully wrap it up.”

After the meal, the crew broke off into pairs and smaller groups. Tori scraped her plate and left the mess hall.

Orion was waiting for her outside. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Of course.” She glanced over at him as they walked across the runway to the firepit.

“You don’t seem okay. Did something happen while you were at the fire site?”

“Yeah. You got hurt.” She stopped, jammed her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

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