Chapter One
He had one more day left on his required leave and Ridge couldn’t wait to get back to work. Fighting fires was his passion, the one thing he was always good at. In school, when his kindergarten teacher asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he proudly told her, “A fireman.” Decades later, that desire never changed. The adrenaline, the rush, the penchant for helping, Ridge knew that there was nothing else for him.
Which was why he lamented taking the required leave, but he understood the Chief’s demand. He and his crew had been trapped in the San Rios fire and waited for what felt like years to get rescued. He had watched his teammates do their best to remain strong, but the fear was there. Many said a prayer for survival or a heartfelt goodbye to their loved ones. For Ridge, he marked off a checklist of his shortcomings. A nasty divorce, a broken family, and a perfect life he feared he would never have. He’d had so many regrets and the only thing he knew would calm him was being taken away, even if temporarily.
Who was he if he wasn’t a firefighter? He wasn’t even sure if he was a good father, though he tried, but his ex-wife kept their daughter distanced from him. Not that he could blame her, he worked crazy hours and slept when he wasn’t working. That was no life for his daughter.
Leaning into the fridge, Ridge sighed as he took in its lack of sustenance. A few bottles of water, an egg carton he was sure was empty, and a jar of pickles that had a more bluish tint now that mold had started taking over. All the food he had bought for the week was now gone and he only had himself to blame.
Sighing in defeat, Ridge turned around and sifted through the pantry, noting its only contents were snacks for his daughter when she was able to visit. Grabbing the yogurt bites, he tossed a few into his mouth and immediately spat them back out into the trash can.
Oh god, how could his daughter like these things? he thought to himself.
With no other option left at his home, Ridge and his growling stomach succumbed to the necessity of leaving the apartment. He had only ventured out once since the forced leave. A quick visit to the grocery store should have been easy enough in Sunnyville, but he should have known better. Someone down every aisle at the store had peppered him for information. As if he knew much other than the fire had closed them in.
It didn’t take long for Ridge to make his way to Bertha’s café. It was a hop, skip, and a jump away from his apartment. What did surprise him was to find Grady Malone sitting in a booth finishing up his own meal. Ridge considered ignoring his friend and teammate, but he knew he’d regret it if he did. And he’d had enough of those.
“Hey, man,” Ridge said as he stood at the end of Grady’s table. His friend wiped his mouth and gestured for Ridge to sit down.
“How are you holding up?” Grady asked, looking equally as miserable as Ridge felt.
“You know,” Ridge responded vaguely. “Just wishing I was back on the job.”
“You and me both. It won’t be too long now.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Just a few more days.”
Ridge watched as Grady threw a few dollars on the table then stood. “I hate to up and go, but I have a couple of things that I need to grab for Sherry.”
“No sweat.” Sherry was the widow of one of Grady’s previous teammates and his best friend. Ridge and the rest of their team knew how much it meant to Grady to help her out any way that he could. “I’ll catch you later.”
The staff at Bertha’s knew his order and it wasn’t long before a double stack of pancakes with extra bacon was placed in front of him with a large glass of orange juice – he was not a coffee drinker. Something about the pancakes was out of this world and no matter how hard he tried, he could not recreate them at home. He couldn’t wait to take his daughter there one day.
Ridge wasn’t sure how long he sat at the table watching the customers from his perch in the back corner. Everyone seemed to go on with their lives as if they never expected for this day to be their last. And he hoped that they all lived long and healthy lives, but he knew it could all be taken away in a flash. That was the fear he lived with on a daily basis. It never ceded. If anything, it blossomed more each day. Each fire, each accident, each life lost weighed on him more and more. He wished that he didn’t feel the weight pressing on his chest, but that was part of who he was. He just hoped he’d be there to watch his daughter grow up, even if from the sidelines.
Ridge took his time walking back to his apartment, letting the warm sun and slight breeze wash over him. He loved living in Sunnyville, but he longed to move back to the east coast with his family every once in a while. Ridge considered the town where his cousins grew up as he stepped closer to his apartment. Only when a familiar car zoomed past him did he break from his memories.
Why did that black car seem so familiar? He asked himself as he took the steps two at a time until he reached the top floor of the building.
His breath caught in his lungs as he stared at his door. He thought he was imagining things. Ridge rubbed his eyes with the back of hi
s fists until everything was black and white, only pulling his fists away to find that nothing had changed.