Page 48 of I'll Be There
Conner’s former Team Hope cohorts. “It’s my fault. I dropped off the grid for a while, kind of buried myself with firefighting and working on a couple inventions. I created a drone that helps predict wind shifts and possible blowups.”
“I heard about your friend—Jock? I’m sorry.”
“Him and some other guys I worked with. Thanks.”
“So, are you still going to jump fire after you and Liza get hitched?”
Conner looked at him, frowned. “Yeah, of course. Why not?”
Micah shrugged. “It’s just...you’re committing yourself to another person, and it’s not just your decision anymore. How does she feel about it?”
Conner activated the decrypt program and reached for his soda. “I think...”I worry about you out there jumping fire. It’s like a poison, infecting every thought. Consuming me.“She’s not a fan, maybe. I used to call her from the fire line. I was pretty raw, wiped out, and she was the one person who kept me grounded. I was crazy for her voice on the other end of the phone. She was so steady, and she’d let me talk. I never realizedhow much she worried about me. Not until last summer, when I nearly lost her.”
“The grizzly attack.”
“We were searching for a lost kid who’d been attacked by a predator bear. Liza found her, got between the girl and the bear, and...she took the brunt of the attack before we killed it.”
“She has that scar on her hand.”
“Yeah. He mangled it pretty badly. At one point the bear actually clamped down and shook her. Most terrifying thing I’d ever seen.” He blew out a breath. “I still have nightmares sometimes.”
“Imaginehernightmares. No wonder she’s not a fan of you jumping fire. Once you’ve lived through something like that, you’re more aware of the fragility of life.” Micah ran his finger down his can, through the condensation droplets. “After my cancer scare, I thought nothing would rattle me. Then I saw Lacey nearly killed, and I knew I couldn’t risk my life anymore. Or at least, not if I didn’t have to.”
“So you turned into a soccer dad?”
Micah grinned. “They say that’s the price of marriage for men. We sacrifice our freedom for the comfort women give us. Some men fight it—they believe they should have a right to pursue their adventures, that giving that up is weakness. But I don’t think that saying goodbye to something that could tear apart the woman you love is weak. Our job is to protect and cherish, right? That’s a sacred duty before God when we get married. There’s a great honor in that calling, to have a wife, to love and protect her. To make her feel safe.”
Seth had stepped out onto the deck, holding a tray of steaks, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. He closed the sliding glass door behind him, set the dinner on a picnic table outside, and started up the grill.
“He’s a good guy, that Seth. You should talk to him about joining the crew. And that one, too.” He gestured to Romeo, who’d also ventured out to the deck and now leaned against it, staring out into the twilight. “Lost and found—I underestimated him.”
The door opened, and Conner looked up as Pete and Reuben walked into Seth’s house.
“So, did you get it done?”
“I forged your name and dropped it off, just like you said,” Reuben said. “But I didn’t like it.”
“It’s not forgery when I give you permission,” Conner said. “Besides, it’s an application—I’ll sign the real license on Monday. How’s Liza?”
Pete slid onto a stool. “Apparently dealing with her own problems. She said they still don’t have a reception venue.”
“Seriously?” Yes, the last thing Liza needed was to worry about him and today’s drama.
The program alerted to a hit, and he turned back to the computer. “We’re in. Let’s see who you were talking to, Danny Boy.” He opened up the list of past calls and scrolled down.
Not a big list—five calls. He plugged in the numbers. Two were Thunder Bay numbers. A pizza joint. One to the Fort William offices. An 800 number that pinged a call-in menu for extra-curricular services. “Food, activities, and his plan for the day. But this last one...it’s the same number—it called him, and he called it back.” Conner put in the number and dialed.
Someone picked up.
“Is it done?”
Everyone went still.
Conner drew in a breath, glanced at Micah, who then leaned over.
“Yes,” Micah said.
“Both of them?”
