Page 72 of Rescued Dreams
Ridge raced back up the ladder. He pushed his arms and legs to do the work, enjoying the burn of exertion. Doing it to save lives gave the whole exercise thing a different spin. Later, when the situation was over and the adrenaline had dissipated, each of the firefighters would crash hard. For now, he kept his focus on the task at hand—making a safe path for the others down that hall to the window.
He half listened to the radio and tracked their progress to the victims, spraying water on the fire. Missing Amelia, but knowing she’d be here if she could. They’d never work on the same crew again, but even side by side on callouts like this, he’d be around if something ever happened to her. Like Kaminsky being caught off guard by that rush of fire—or anything worse. Ridge would be right there. By her side.
No matter what.
Firefighting had always been about the kind of men Grandpa had raised him and Kane to be. Now it was more. It was about life with Amelia.
Finally, he saw the first teammate appear. The firefighter handed off a civilian, a round woman in a skirt suit. Flustered and crying. Ridge said, “I’m right here with you. We’re going down together. All right?”
She nodded, sobbing.
“I’ve got you.”
He lifted two fingers to indicate to the firefighter he was good—he had the woman. Through the face mask, he couldn’t tell who it was, but it didn’t matter. They were all a team. He’d give his life for any one of them.
But for Amelia?
For her, he wanted to live.
TWENTY-FIVE
“You know what I’m thinking?”
Amelia looked over at Maddie, on the other side of the huge picnic blanket the twins had brought over from the town house. All because they hadn’t wanted Amelia to be alone and hadn’t wanted the group split between two houses, with both needing Kane’s and Maria’s protection. “I’m going to regret saying yes, aren’t I?”
Maddie looked at Ella, and they both smiled as if they knew what each other was thinking. Which, of course, they didn’t because they weren’t telepathic. But given they seemed to be on the same wavelength and shared moods as if their emotions mirrored each other, they probably got the gist. It made Amelia wonder what that would be like.
The girls had insisted they order pizza but have it delivered to the monstrosity, coming over here like it was a field trip. Now the five of them sat on the blanket with two pizza boxes in the center, only one slice remaining. Kane had finished at least four while Maria ate three small slices. Amelia had done the math on the rest and concluded three each for her and the twins, which meant one of them hadn’t finished their third. Which wasn’t surprising, since Backdraft cut their slices huge. But they did make great pizza.
Sitting here thinking about something so…normal meant this was one of the best dinners Amelia had enjoyed in months. Hanging out with Ridge’s family, even if he wasn’t here, chatting about anything and nothing in the light of all the candles Maria had brought in.
The girls had been curious about the house as soon as they’d found out where she lived and that Kane and Maria were staying here.
Hence the field trip.
A thick pad and sleeping bag, and a pillow and backpack had been slid over to the corner, out of sight of the window. Either Kane’s or Maria’s.
The kind of people who roughed it because someone was in danger. Who put their plans on hold to help out. Amelia had enjoyed getting to know them a little.
Maddie leaned back on one hand, her legs crossed in front of her. “Laser tag. Or those dart gun battles.”
Amelia laughed. “That’s what you’re thinking?”
“We set the place up for rent—like parties and stuff like that. Put in some obstacles, blind corners and obstructions. People could pay to run around the house for a couple of hours. Play capture the flag.”
Maria said, “We could set up some black lights and put some paint on the walls. Make people who wear certain colors show up bright in the dark.”
“Smoke machine.” Kane nodded. “Definitely a smoke machine.”
Amelia shook her head. “It’s October. Do you know how many people have stopped by to find out if I would rent the place for a Halloween party or haunted house? It happens at least twice a week. I usually just clear the place out, leave the doors unlocked, and go hunker down in my cabin for Halloween if I’m not working. People do whatever they want, and I clean up in the morning.”
“You could make some serious money renting it out,” Maddie said.
Amelia shrugged. “That’s not really my goal.”
“It’s Maddie’s goal.” Ella grinned. “She never has enough cash.” The quiet twin swept some napkins together and dropped them in the empty box, closing the lid. She grabbed her fizzy water can and finished the last few drops.
Maria lifted the pizza box, but Kane intercepted it and stood.
