up his pants and flipped the suspenders over his shoulders. It took seconds for him to pull on his turnout gear that had sat ready on the bay floor. Grabbing his coat, he swung up and into the passenger seat of the engine, while the other firefighters got into their seats behind him. He secured his helmet with the strap under his chin.
One of his men was assigned the job of pushing the buttons to open the huge overhead door. The driver hopped in and they wheeled out of the station with the siren blaring. His company worked like a well-oiled machine. They were out the door in less than a minute. They had four to get to the scene. This economy of effort was another of his leadership qualities that hopefully would get him an edge on that promotion.
Sally and her crewman were right behind them. The traffic pulled to the side and stopped, allowing them to go by. At the lights they slowed then continued on. The goal was not to create another accident in their speedy effort to get to the first emergency.
As they traveled, Ross was on the radio with dispatch, getting as much information about the accident as possible. His heart rate always rose as the adrenaline pumped and thoughts of what to expect ahead raced.
They pulled up to the accident but not too close. Sally and her partner did the same. Ross’s stomach roiled. The driver’s-side door of one car was smashed. It had been the center of impact. The passenger door behind it was a mangled mess but standing open. A child-size jacket hung halfway out the door and a doll lay on the road.
Smoke bellowed from the hood of the other car and oil covered the area. His job was to get the fire contained and put out. Thankfully there was no gas spreading.
“We need a fire extinguisher up here. Spread for the oil.”
As his men worked with the fire, he could see that at least the car seat remained intact inside the first car and the child was gone. Looking about, he could see Sally’s partner assessing the kid, who looked about four years old. The bigger issue now would be getting the woman who was still wedged in the front out.
Another ambulance arrived.
Ross continued to give orders and his men moved to follow them without questions. They knew their duties and went to work. He moved closer to the car to see Sally climbing into the back seat.
“What do you need?” he asked.
She didn’t look at him. “We’re going to need the Jaws of Life to get her out. The car is crushed so badly the front doors won’t open. I suspect the driver has internal injuries. We need to get her out right away.”
Using the radio, Ross said, “Rob, we need the Jaws of Life. Jim, you help him.”
The men rushed to the supply truck. Ross looked at Sally again to see her securing a neck brace on the woman. All the time she was reassuring her patient she would be fine, and her child too. He walked away long enough to see that everything was under control with the other car. The driver was sitting on the curb, dazed but otherwise looking uninjured. One of the EMTs from the second ambulance was seeing to him.
A couple of his firefighters were rerouting traffic along with the police.
He rejoined Sal as his men with the heavy-duty machine returned to the car. They inserted the mouth of the instrument into the area where the doors met and the machine slowly pushed the two apart. It took precious minutes. The metal creaked as it bent and groaned as it shifted. Finally, the firefighters were able to separate the doors.
“We need the gurney over here,” Sally called, then said over her shoulder to Ross, “We’ll need some help getting her on it.”
Ross and another firefighter moved into position, while she and another EMT stood across from them.
“I want us to slowly move her out, scooting her along the gurney.” This was Sally’s area of expertise and he would follow her lead.
Minutes later the patient was in the box with Sally in attendance and sirens blaring, headed toward the hospital. Ross and his company went to work seeing that the vehicles were loaded on wreckers and debris was cleared from the road.
By the time Sally finally made it back to the station kitchen, she found Ross stirring the soup, which bubbled gently on the stove. He was more talented than she had given him credit for.
“Hey, I’m glad you could join me. I thought I was going to have to take all the glory.” He grinned at her. The kind that caused a flutter in her middle. Why him? Why now? He was a nice guy. The kind she might be able to trust. She shook her head. If it was another time in her life, she might be tempted.
She smirked. “Like I was going to let that happen.”
“You were right. Looks like I can brown meat and dump cans of vegetables.” He sounded pleased with himself.
“Turns out you have more talent than you let on.”
“Some say that about other areas as well.” His comment sounded offhand but she suspected there might be more to it. Was Ross flirting with her? No, that wasn’t possible. What if it was? She had to stop thinking like that. There was nothing but trouble down that road.
Suddenly self-conscious, she cleared her throat. “So where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” She pulled the loaf of bread that was sitting on the counter toward her. “I’ll get the grilled cheeses ready. Everyone must be hungry.” She started buttering bread.
“What’re you doing there?”
“Making fast and easy grilled cheese sandwiches. Pull out one of those large sheet pans, please.” Sally kept moving the knife over the bread as she spoke. “Then get the sliced cheese and start putting it on the bread. We’ll slip it into the oven, put it on broil, and we should have grilled cheeses in no time.”
Ross went to work without question. Soon they had the sandwiches browning. “I’ll get the plates, bowls and things while you go tell everyone soup’s on.”
“Are you always so bossy?” Ross asked as he exited the kitchen.
Did he really think she was dictatorial? She never thought of herself as being that way. Yet Wade had complained she was always on his case. Toward the end of their marriage, she guessed she had been. Wade hadn’t ever been at home. More often than not he’d been between jobs; either it wasn’t the right one or he was too smart to work with the people around him, or some other excuse. His parents had raised him to believe he could do no wrong.
She’d dreamed of being a doctor all through high school but after she and Wade had married he’d not wanted his wife going to school. He’d said school took up too much of her time. Time she could be spending with him. He’d never been a fan of her working as a paramedic, but she’d refused to give up volunteering when she’d been needed so badly by their rural community. That was the only thing she had defied him on. She had wanted their marriage to work.
Looking back, she could see how selfish Wade really was. That had certainly been brought home when she’d learned he was having an affair. But where she’d really messed up was not seeing through Wade before she’d married him. Her judgment had been off, so caught up in the fantasy rather than the reality. Next time, she’d be more careful about who she opened her heart to.
Ross returned with the other firefighters
