Page 66 of Burning Escape

I’m sure your mother and your grandfather, if he were alive, would be proud of you, even if you weren’t a smokejumper. They’d be proud of you because of the kind of man you are, not because of the rescue work you do.

Tori’s words came back to him, choking him up a little.

And what was it his father had said to him?

The legacy that is most worth achieving is a life surrendered to God. It’s not all up to you.

But this was Tori’s life on the line. Shouldn’t he be doing more?

Oh, this trust thing was hard. To surrender and wait rather than relying on his own ability and achievements.

Okay, Lord, this is all up to You. All I can do is sit here, be along for this ride. I have to trust this rescue. This mission is in Your hands. Please protect her.

“Looks like the fire jumped the river up ahead,” the pilot said.

Orion squinted. Below, in the river, Amos and Abraham were in the canoe. And farther upstream, a column of smoke rose from the north side of the river.

“Weird. There’s nothing else on fire there. Just one cluster of birch trees.” A woman in a rescue jumpsuit sat next to another rescue worker across from Orion. “There’s a canoe upriver. Is that her?” She pointed out the window.

Orion searched the water ahead.

The canoe was farther than the one Abraham and Amos paddled. And it only had one occupant. With that build, it couldn’t be Tori.

“It’s not her. But I think that’s Damian. The one who kidnapped her.”

What had Damian done with her? Orion fisted his hands around the straps holding him in.

He studied the fire in the trees again. A bright red bandanna waved in the air. Blonde hair blew in the wind.

Orion’s heart stopped. Tori! “She’s in the trees! The ones on fire! Tell me there’s water in this tank.”

“No, but it only takes forty-five seconds to fill,” the pilot said.

The helicopter lowered until it hovered over the river, the rotor wash spraying the windows. It had to be the longest forty-five seconds in history, but soon the helicopter was back in the air.

Hold on, Tori.

The Firehawk rose and then released the water right on top of the trees. A cloud of steam hid everything for a moment.

Orion couldn’t breathe.

“Oscar, you got a basket ready?” the pilot asked the man sitting across from Orion.

“Got it.” He stood, harness already strapped, and within seconds, the woman helped guide the drop.

Strapped to the helicopter seat like he was, Orion could only watch. Oscar and the basket descended into the steam and smoke.

Please, Lord, let her be okay. Please.

Wind blew in from the open door. Still no sign of them.

Finally, Oscar’s voice came through the comms. “Ready to hoist.”

The winch moved, rolling up cable. The rescue worker stood in the doorway, a thick-belted harness around her waist anchoring her as she leaned out.

Coming out of the gray cloud was Tori in a basket, her face covered in ash and blood, but she was very much alive as she coughed. Oscar was right behind her. Together with the other rescue worker, he transferred Tori out of the basket. As soon as she was free, she was in Orion’s arms.

“I was so afraid I wasn’t ever going to see you…that I’d never be able to tell you—” She sobbed, wiping tears and soot from her face.

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