Page 25 of Smokin' Situation

“Let me find that radio. Hopefully, it will still work. I was monitoring the dispatch traffic earlier. That’s how I found you.”

She nodded, reaching up to squeeze the back of my hands before she let me pull away. Turning back toward where Seraphina was still waiting patiently on the opposite side of the barn, I reached into my saddlebag, pulling out the radio I’d shoved in there when I pulled out the bandana earlier.

The low battery light blinked at me, but I hoped I’d have enough left to get a message to the dispatch office. I was sure the civilian emergency lines were a shit show now that the fire was threatening the populated area.

“Got it,” I said, awkwardly holding up the radio before I urged her to sit down. The last thing I needed was for her to pass out now that her adrenaline was wearing off. “Where is your cabin?”

“Cypress Lane, it is—was,” she said with a grimace. “On the other side of the highway.”

Sitting down next to her, I reached for her hand, interlacing our fingers as I pressed the button on the side of the radio with my other hand. “Dispatch, this is twenty-seven checking on the evac in progress along Cypress Lane.”

“Go ahead for dispatch, twenty-seven,” a feminine voice responded. I was still learning all the first responders, but it sounded like the former Deputy Chief’s daughter, Kate.

“Stranded motorist on county road twenty-four bypass has been recovered. Female, possibly late twenties, with mild smoke inhalation is inquiring about a residence on Cypress Lane in the evacuation plan.” Rhey frowned, shaking her head, but the dispatcher responded before I could ask her why.

“Stranded motorist from the earlier call has been recovered? What’s your location?”

“Copy, we’re at Spring Lake on the north side of the West Peak Ranch. We’ll head back to the main property at first light,” I radioed back. It was too dark for us to safely navigate back to the main ranch now, and we weren’t accessible by any roads up here.

“Copy, I’ll mark her call as resolved at 19:47,” she paused briefly. “Per Fire Chief’s orders, I’m not able to disclose details about ongoing evacuations to off duty personnel. Stand by for further information.”

The radio lay silent in my hand as the dispatcher didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure if I should ask again, but my cell phone started vibrating in my pocket before I could. Pulling it out, I read the local phone number and answered the call, putting it on the speakerphone.

“Hey, sorry, it’s Kate,” she rushed out, sounding exasperated. “I stepped out for a sec to keep the other lines clear. What the fuck, Probie? Are you trying to get us all fired? I had to talk down the Chief from sending a squad car to find you on the ranch earlier when you cut in on radio traffic offering to take a fucking horse into the woods for a search and rescue.”

“Kate, we both know I wasn’t going to leave a stranded motorist when your guys couldn’t get access. And he must have trusted me enough to give the go ahead.”

“Even though Iknowyou were told to stand down. There’s a reason you’re a probationary officer. You can’t just pull shit like this if you want to stay on his good side.”

I knew she was right, but in this case, I didn’t give a shit about protocol or hierarchy. I never would have forgiven myself if I’d just let Rhey stay in danger, even if it was self-imposed and I hadn’t known it was her at the time. Call it white knight syndrome or whatever bullshit the department psychologist had spouted at me before I’d been released by the forestry service, but I wouldn’t let someone stay in a dangerous, life-threatening situation if I could do something.

“Leading edge is still to the northwest of the pass, but you’ve gotta get a crew doing a burn out along the river. You don’t want it to jump if the wind shifts again. There’s too much undergrowth along the banks right now for the water to stop it.”

“I’ll pass your advice along, but you know the Chief is running the show, not me.”

Rhey squeezed my hand again, mouthing her sister’s name when I looked over at her.

“Did the evac rig get the residences on Cypress checked?” I asked, hoping like hell Kate had gotten the information before she left the control room.

“You fucking owe me for this,” Kate growled, but it didn’t have any bite to it. I could hear keyboard keys in the background before she responded. “Yeah, Baker and Rhodes got the entire area checked and marked. One female was evacuated from a residence that didn’t comply with the mandatory notice.”

Rhey’s grip tightened, and I nodded for her to ask.

“What house number?”

The sound of typing resumed on the speakerphone and Kate paused before she replied, “472.”

“Oh, thank God,” Rhey sighed, leaning her forehead against my shoulder in relief.

“Are they en route back to Butterfly?” I asked, knowing that the high school on the edge of Butterfly Ridge was typically where they set up the emergency shelter for situations like this.

“They’re on scene for a single vehicle incident south of the ridge, but I’m sure they’ll head back to the hospital as soon as they’redone. EMS is a mess trying to respond to all the calls we’ve been getting. Fucking tourists are panicking and ignoring the evacuation routes.”

“Then I’ll let you go, I’m sure you have more important things to do than chat with me.”

“Stay safe, Tripp. I’ll let you know if anything heads your way. You’ve got enough supplies for overnight?”

“Yup, we’ll stay in the cabins up here until first light. Not sure how much electricity we’ve got, but there are supplies. Thanks, Kate. I appreciate it.”

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