“I can still do my job.”
“I know you can. But we have plenty of extra help here now. I’ll make it an order if I have to.”
“I want to stay and see for myself first.”
“Sorry. I’m not letting anybody except the coroner poke around in there until there’s been an official investigation. Sheriff Allgood is gonna leave deputies to guard the site 24/7.”
Mitch removed his helmet and raked his fingers through his damp hair. “This has to be accidental. Everybody loved Rob and his family.”
The chief snorted. “I sure hope you’re right.”
Jill was waiting with Becky and the children when she saw a familiar figure approaching. She asked the pastor’s wife to mind Timmy while she stepped away to speak privately with Mitch.
“I’m surprised you’re still here,” he said.
“We’re waiting for someone from Children and Family Services to take custody of the kids.” Reaching toward his hand, she stopped herself before they actually touched. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better.”
“Any sign of other survivors?”
He shook his head slowly, sadly, his sober expression accentuated by the smudges of black ash on his face and the aura of loss that hung over him like a storm cloud.
“I’m so sorry. I talked to Natalie Stevens after she tried to beat up on you. She’s a basket case.”
Mitch huffed. “Yeah. A lot of us are.”
He started coughing so Jill waited for him to quiet before she asked, “Why aren’t you still working?”
“The chief is sending me back to the station early. It wasn’t my idea. I just wanted to check that you were okay before I left.”
How typical of him, she mused, touched by his concern. “I’m fine. I am looking forward to getting home and washing some of this smoke out of my hair, though.” To her delight, that comment made Mitch chuckle cynically.
“Yeah. Right. Me, too,” he said, raising his hand to swipe at the grime on his cheeks. “I guess I got a little dirty, huh?”
“A little?” Jill chanced a smile. “You look like an urchin and smell like a smoked ham.”
“Thanks. You look nice, too, lady.”
She sobered. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. Not now.”
“It’s okay. Cops and firefighters have ways of coping that seem strange to civilians. So do E.R. doctors and nurses. We’re always kidding around, even in really bad times. If we didn’t, I don’t know how we’d stay sane.” He turned away as more coughing racked his body.
Jill took the chance he wouldn’t mind and patted him lightly on the back. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. I always am.” She saw him look past her and zero in on the truck where Becky and the children waited. “Call me later and let me know how it goes with the kids, will you? I’ll be at the station.”
“Sure.”
She yearned to give him a hug of consolation the way she had the boy but subdued the inappropriate urge. She and Mitch were merely good friends. He’d made his position clear at the outset of their relationship and she was in total agreement. She’d lost her mother at a young age and, just when she finally thought she’d gotten her life back on track, the love of her life had been killed in a freak accident. Twice was enough. Given Mitch’s dedication to his dangerous profession, she was not about to open her heart to him and chance losing another loved one. As far as she was concerned, remaining alone was far better than risking a broken heart.
He bid her goodbye and walked away. Watching him go shouldn’t have been so hard for Jill but it was. She knew what was wrong. She cared far more deeply for the valiant fireman than was wise.
Jill had greeted her exuberant little house dog, Mugsy, and was heading for the shower to try to wash the smell of smoke from her long, blond hair when her phone rang.
She almost let the answering machine take the call, then decided it might be important. “Hello?”
“You made it? You’re okay?”
He didn’t have to announce who he was. “Hi, Mitch. Yes, I’m fine.”
“Why didn’t you call me like you promised?”
“I was going to. I just walked in the door.”
“Oh.”
Sensing poignancy underlying his simple words her heart fell. “Did they find what you were afraid they would in the ashes?”
“We don’t know anything for sure. Nobody does. Since neither Rob nor Ellen have surfaced, we have to assume the worst.”
The sadness in his voice cut her to the quick. “I’m so sorry. I know you were close to the whole family.”
“Yeah.” She waited patiently while Mitch cleared his throat and prepared himself to go on. “I was just wondering about the kids. How are they doing?”
“Probably better than you and I are. Paul and Megan were sound asleep and Tim was only sniffling a little when the social worker finally showed up. She said she was going to take them straight to the county hospital to be checked out. I haven’t heard anything more.”
“Do you expect to?”
“Probably not tonight. I did put in a good word for myself, though. There’s a chance they’ll place the kids with me, at least temporarily, especially because I’m not fostering any other children right now.”
“That’s good news.”
Jill knew he was deeply concerned so she tried to sound reassuring. “I’ll stay in touch with the powers that be and make certain the kids are happy and well cared for no matter where they’re sent. I promise.” She smiled at the telephone as if it were Mitch’s friendly face. “We should be celebrating the fact you saved all three of them, not fretting about a system that’s only in place to keep them safe.”
She chose not to elaborate about some of the less than ideal foster situations she’d found herself in while growing up. Mitch already had enough to worry about. She wasn’t going to add to his burdens.
“How soon do you think we’ll know?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. A lot depends on whether or not their parents had made prior arrangements with relatives or close friends in case of emergencies.”
“You mean like choosing godparents?”
“Yes. Do you happen to know if they did?”
“Hmm. I don’t think so. The kids were never very keen on their aunt Natalie and their uncle
