Page 26 of Forged By Fire

Clint resisted the urge to reach over and place a hand against Leslie’s back and offer his support. It wouldn’t be easy for her to go back into the warehouse. But if she was nervous, she didn’t let on. Instead, she straightened her spine and gave a definitive nod.

“I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.”

“Excellent. In that case, I’ll see you both at the warehouse at 9 a.m.”

Chapter Fifteen

It took some time for Leslie to register that the beeping in her dream was the sound of her alarm clock. She’d set it for seven a.m. after Clint had brought her back home last night. She wanted plenty of time to wake up, eat breakfast, and get ready to go through the warehouse.

After getting very little sleep, all she wanted to do was take the alarm clock and throw it against the wall. Instead, she turned it off with more force than necessary and groaned.

It’d taken a long time to finally relax enough to try and go to sleep the night before. She’d made popcorn, watched several episodes of one of her favorite shows, and even read for a while. It was after one in the morning when her head hit the pillow and, surprisingly, she’d fallen asleep immediately.

Unfortunately, that was also when the nightmares began. She relived that call to the warehouse. This time, though, she somehow knew what was going to happen next, and yet she and Danny followed that other firefighter into anotherroom.

Powerless to stop it, she had to watch as Danny was shot right in front of her, his body collapsing to the ground in slow motion.

Just like before, she managed to get him onto her shoulders. This time, though, she couldn’t find her way out. She wandered through the dark warehouse as the smoke grew thicker and thicker, completely lost and unable to contact anyone else. She’d known time was running out for Danny, and there hadn’t been anything she could do about it.

That’s when Leslie finally woke up the first time, drenched in sweat and her cheeks wet with tears. It’d taken a change of pajamas, time spent reading her Bible and praying, and a cup of hot chocolate before she was able to go to sleep again after four in the morning.

If she did dream after that, she was thankful she didn’t remember any of it.

She forced herself to get out of bed and flicked the bedroom light on. Although the sun would be peeking out over the horizon momentarily, it was still dark outside.

With a yawn, she got dressed, then cleaned up for the day. By the time she left her bedroom and headed for the kitchen, sunlight had started to stream through the cracks in the blinds. She’d left the light on before going to bed. It made her feel better knowing that someone couldn’t sneak around the house in the dark at night.

She poured herself a glass of chocolate milk, then fished around in the pantry until she found the blueberry protein bars she kept on hand when she didn’t feel like making something for breakfast.

Her hands full, she went to the living room. She’d barely gotten comfortable on the couch when a text came through on her phone. She smiled when she saw Cindy’s name and remembered dinner last night.

Are you up?

Yep.

Her phone rang a moment later. Leslie put it on speaker so she didn’t have to hold onto the phone. “Good morning. How’s Bree feeling today?”

“She didn’t complain about her ear at bedtime. Hopefully, that means the infection has cleared up. She’s still asleep. So is Izzy. I think having company over last night wore them out.”

Leslie imagined her sister was enjoying some time to herself this morning. “Well, it was fun to eat with you all. I think Clint got a big kick out of the girls—especially Izzy.”

“Oh my word.” Cindy groaned. “That child has no filter between what pops up inside her head and what pours out of her mouth.”

“You’re not going to hear me argue that point. It’s endearing, though.” She reached for her protein bar but set it back down with a wrinkle of her nose. She really wasn’t in the mood to eat.

“Maybe right now it is, but it won’t be in another year or two. I’ve been trying to explain when it’s appropriate to speak up and when it’s better to just hold your tongue. It’s not an easy thing to convey, though, when the differences aren’t always black and white.” It sounded like Cindy took a drink of something and set the glass back on the table. “Thanks again for bringing dinner by.”

“No problem. It was nice to have a break from everything going on.” Silence followed for several moments, and Leslie was starting to wonder whether the line had been cut off. “Are you still there?”

“Clint seems really nice.”

Uh, oh.Leslie knew that big sister tone well.

“Yeah, he is. He and the entire Destiny police department have been awesome ever since Danny was hurt.” That was totallynotwhat Cindy was trying to get at.

“You guys have a connection. I can tell he’d be good for you, Les. Maybe it’s time you started to date again. See someone seriously for a change.”

Leslie bit back her response. She knew that Cindy had her best interests at heart. Dating had never come easily, and once she’d decided to become a firefighter, it had gotten even harder.

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