Page 72 of Embers in the Outfield

“Love you, and I promise I will,” I say and then call out, “Keep me updated on the babies and Sam.”

The elevator chimes, and I head in, blowing a final kiss her way. I’m officially a lovesick puppy because as I make my way out of the building, I’m already counting the hours until I’m back in her arms.

* * *

My brother and I are on shift together, and we’re both digging into our dinner, nodding our heads at the same time. I doubt it goes unnoticed by the guys that some twin things are just hard to explain. We finish each other’s sentences, move our bodies in the same way, and even answer things at the same time by gesturing with our bodies.

Out of nowhere, Rios comes strolling in, and I can bet money he’s going to bring up the whole Kennedy and my dad connection again. He hasn’t stopped talking about it.

“Dude, I’m still shocked with that story about your dad and Kennedy. I mean, what are the chances? It’s wild. I can’t believe it.” He whistles at the end, bewildered by the news, even all this time after I told him the first time.

Now that he’s made comments left and right about the fact Kennedy and I share a deeper connection, I sort of shrug because Rios is like a broken record.

It’s hard to ignore what a busy night it’s been so far, with a call coming in right when we came on. We barely had time to put our things down before we heard the call, sending us out.

I’ve gotten a few notifications from Kennedy regarding Sam and her care. It turns out the babies are still not in the right position to try a natural birth, so the last text I got was that they were prepping Samara for surgery. The babies are coming earlier than expected, but nothing uncommon for twin deliveries. Luckily, the hospital is one of the top ones for delivering multiples; they’re in good hands.

Ashton texted me once, all with GiFs of characters freaking out. The last one was of that movieAirplanewhere the pilot is sweating bullets. I can’t lie: that one made me laugh out loud. The last text I got from Kennedy, she was preparing to head to the hospital once Ash gave her the go-ahead.

It’s getting close to midnight, but the last text was about two hours ago, so she should already be there. Sam’s parents arrived before Ash and Sam did, so Kennedy was planning on hanging out with them while waiting for the surgery to end.

I can’t help my mind drifting to this big moment for my best friends. The day they become parents is finally here. This pregnancy felt long for me as an onlooker because we knew about it quite early on. Now that the babies are coming, I can’twait to meet them and to watch Ashton handle this new chapter in his life.

Rios is still mumbling to himself, and it causes my brother and I to turn to one another and smile. Clay was pretty quiet when Kennedy explained the connection we had, and it took some time for all his feelings to settle. It wasn’t that he was mad about it; it was just unexpected.

We finish up, and I clean our dishes while he grabs us more water. It’s then we hear the breaking news on the television of a fire that broke out right outside of town. Right then, Rios grabs the remote and turns the volume up.

From the look of it, this is going to take a lot of manpower to stop. It’s an old factory, one that hasn’t been functional in decades, yet a fire is taking over the structure.

We get the alert we are needed, and we run toward the truck, pulling our outfits on and preparing for a long night ahead.

* * *

The moment we reach the call, we see the building engulfed in flames. Our captain is barking orders at all of us, everyone making sure their gear is set to walk into the flames.

I take in the disaster in front of my brother and me as we prepare to make our way in. The heat is immediate, and my body kicks into gear to get further into this place and check for anyone who might be injured or trapped.

We have a blueprint of the place to inspect each location. Although this building was abandoned, kids liked making their way inside, and from what some of the teens who were being cared for by paramedics in front were saying, there are two unaccounted for in their group.

I break off with my group to move through the large area, my brother going with Rios and a few other guys, and I hang back to assess some portions of the foundation below. We make good time inspecting downstairs, realizing no one is hidden in any corners, nor did anyone call out.

We make our way upstairs, going through an area my brother and the others haven’t gone. I hear a faint sound and then see movement to my right. I call out, making sure they know help has arrived. I reach the teen, who now has his shirt covering his face. I pull the face mask onto him, watching him take deep breaths of fresh air. His buddy is nearby, a gash in his leg.

One of the guys in my company, Bently Denko, is caring for the friend while I make sure the kid in front of me can get up and walk. He’s limping after hurting his leg, but with the amount of smoke engulfing the room, I can’t wait for him to walk slowly through the place. I have no option but to carry him out. A further inspection of his wounds will need to be done once we get outside.

We had communicated we had found the two missing teens; however, it took longer than either of us would have liked, and now we are hustling to get out. I look over to see Denko picking up the other kid, the gash in the teen’s calf deeper than I imagined.

We give each other the signal to move out, the need to move fast very much at the forefront of our minds. That’s when I hear the creaking take over. We begin to move faster, knowing this building is unstable and might start to come down on us.

Our radios begin to project my captain’s voice, telling us to move out. I hear my brother, along with others from the station, call out that they’re headed out of the building right then. We are making our way downstairs, but the stability of the wood in this portion of the building is weak. I can feel the ground beneath my feet giving out a little more with each step I take.

We’re finally close to the exit, and that’s when we start to see more debris falling from above us. Denko is able to get the kid out, and when I get close to the entrance we initially came through, I hand the boy off to some other firefighters from another station. Elation overwhelms me with the fact the teen got out of the burning building and should be okay. In the next second, there’s a shift in the atmosphere around me, and before I can process what’s going on, everything behind me gives out, and I’m engulfed in darkness.

CHAPTER 32

Kennedy

I’min the waiting room, the anticipation of meeting these little ones causing me to pace around the small room. Sam’s mother is no better, going up to the nurses’ station every few minutes to ask for an update.

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