Page 21 of August Heat
Maybe that’s why I don’t really get along with people around here.Siobhan knew that most people moved to this town to get away from their pasts and to raise families in a country setting that wasn’t as homophobic as other places. Siobhan had agreed to join Emily here because it had beenherdream. Siobhan merely appreciated the easy transition into a new career.
What had Krys’s life been like before she moved here? Where was she from? Portland? Was there something else about this movie that spoke to her?
Siobhan wasn’t going to get an answer anytime soon. Not until the final act began and Krys jerked awake with a few mumbled apologizes. “Geez,” she said. “You’d never guess I’m only thirty. Always falling asleep everywhere as soon as the sun goes down. Go figure.”
“You have a demanding job,” Siobhan said.
“Only when I get a call! We get like… one a day. Maybe. Mostly small stuff.”
She didn’t say anything about Siobhan wearing her jacket. Not even when the movie ended and they picked up their mess. Both agreed to wait for the others to leave. What was the point of avoiding cars in the dark when they would only be adding to it in a few minutes?
“I actually didn’t drive,” Krys said. “I only live a few blocks from here, so I walked.” She waited for Siobhan to say something. When no words came, Krys continued, “So, uh… you wanna…”
“I better get going.” Siobhan turned toward Idaho Street, hoping her car remained unperturbed. “I have a few appointments in the morning and need to sleep.”
“On a Sunday?”
Yes. No.Siobhan had no appointments on Sunday morning, outside of emergencies, but she also knew that she couldn’t be around Krys for longer than a few more minutes. Siobhan wasn’t worried about falling into bed together, but shewasworried about succumbing to the charms of a master seducer.”
“Thanks for inviting me to join you tonight.” Siobhan gave a half-hearted wave. “Maybe I’ll see you around…”
Was Krys surprised or upset that Krys bailed on her like that?It’s not bailing, though! I stuck around as long as the movie! Bailing would have been leaving as soon as I realized she was asleep, or that I didn’t care for the film…After all, Krys had brought snacks and Pineapple Passion. It was only right that Siobhan be a decent guest.
That’s what she told herself as she drove home. Not until she shut off her engine and headed into her house did she realized she was still wearing Krys’s spare jacket.
Chapter 11
KRYS
“Hang on, ma’am!” Krys had barely hit the ground before she was expected to jump back up again. “We’re gonna get you out of there!”
The adrenaline rush that came with these events never failed to set Krys so far on edge that she could single-handedly upright an overturned car on the side of the highway. Yet that wasn’t how it worked.God knows I wish I could flip this hunk of metal over and get everyone out of there!That was too dangerous, of course, even if she could physically push that car by herself, let alone with everyone else from the firehouse. Between herself, the chief, Quimby and Young, they had more than enough manpower to move some buildings. Yet they had to wait for the Jaws of Life to make it from the neighboring firehouse in Roundabout, where for somedamnedreason they remained after an incident two months before.
The volunteer crew from Roundabout was skeletal at best, but they were there, and the chief was quick to bark his orders. Every other emergency vehicle in Paradise Valley was also on hand, including the EMTs who waited for the woman currently sobbing upside down in the driver’s seat of her totaled car. The sheriff had personally shown up to stand around and give his opinions. Krys would rather have Deputy Greenhill on hand, but apparently it was the day for a county sheriff to strut his stuff in sunglasses and swagger.
Not that she had much time to think about that. Krys was on the frontlines with the Jaws of Life, since she had some of the most training and experience with the unfortunate things.
“Stay still!” Even when victims were male, everyone agreed that Krys was the best to relay information to hysterical people convinced that they were on the brink of death. Maybe they were. Nobody knew for sure until the car was yanked open and the person pulled out. They were lucky that there were no immediate signs of fire. If there were…
Krys didn’t want to consider it.
“You got it, Madison?” Chief Johnson called. “On your way!”
She and Quimby were down at the driver’s side window, planning the best course of extraction. As soon as the EMTs were given the sign, they brought down a stretcher and their life-saving supplies. The sheriff did nothing beyond stand in front of the local news crew that had been sent to catch everything live on TV.Great. I always love it when I’m on TV saving a few lives. No damn pressure, right?
At least this was a good distraction from some of her personal business.
These operations always managed to last an agonizingly long time while also snapping by in a flash. If Krys and Quimby made one wrong move, the woman inside the driver’s seat might die. They were lucky if she was conscious. While they proceeded with cutting open the car and calculating how to transfer her to the stretcher, the woman repeated the same prayer over and over, her monotonous voice providing a steady beat for Krys to count by as she backed away with the Jaws of Life and the rest of the crew took over extracting the woman.
She was on the stretcher within thirty more seconds. By then, Krys had taken a deep breath to calm her nerves.
“We’ll be staying behind to help with cleanup,” Johnson told her a few minutes later. By then, the woman was in the back of the ambulance receiving care. “Good job there, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
He knew better than to press her for more words. If there was ever a time to be treated like “one of the guys,” it was now, when silence said far more than a string of wordy nonsense.
The more busy work, the better. The ambulance tore off into the distance. The worst of it was over. Krys jumped right into whatever needed assistance. The rest of the day would be spent methodically going through the motions to both calm down her nerves and to remind herself that everything would be okay.
