Page 29 of Falling for the Hotshot

“Thank you, Kerry. It has done me very well.” I climbed into the truck, holding a pair of turquoise cowboy boots to change into. Waiting for her to ask me why, but she didn’t. “I felt like dressing up a little today.” Kerry smiled and nodded.

“I don’t blame you one bit. Every third Sunday, I put on a tube of Max Factor lipstick from the 1980’s. For the few hours I wear it around the house, I feel like a real woman. You know what I mean?”

“That’s exactly it, Kerry. I wanted to feel like a woman today. You get me.” I made a little heart shape out of my hands, and she patted me on the shoulder.

“Now, what’s on the agenda today? Grocery store, and….” She looked at me up and down, and asked, “Where else?” I paused, not sure I wanted to give it away, but this was my chance. This was an opportunity. I had to meet Blaze.

“I’d like to take some goodies over to dispatch. You know, for always being so helpful and kind to me whenever I call in.” With no judgment in her expression or voice, Kerry smiled and agreed.

“We can do that, Autumn.” After a few minutes, she started taking phone calls, and I remembered my phone was in my pocket. I plugged it into one of her cords. She had several for every type of cell phone imaginable, and I powered it on.

Surprisingly, not that many messages came through once we hit cell phone service. It was less surprising that the few that did come through were from friends and not my parents. I supposed the one phone call last month was the last for a while. Then, all of the sudden, a slew of messages started blowing up my phone. Most of them were from my parents. My dad, checking in casually, and my mother, profusely apologizing. For what, I didn’t know just yet. I let all of them load, and I would read them later. When I was alone, and ready to mentally sort through the chaos. I put my phone back in my jeans pocket and stared ahead at the road, until we pulled into the small market at the foothills of the forest.

The grocery store was stocked to the brim and had extra heaping’s of every baked good you could ever imagine. I had been out of sweets for at least a week, so I excitedly stocked up on the latest fall flavors. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw pumpkin trifles, just like they had in Fairy Falls Grocery. I quickly grabbed two small containers, as the teeny-tiny fridge in the lookout could barely hold a block of cheese. Yes, I’d have to eat this fast. The other one was for Blaze.

After collecting the rest of my items, which included several bags of coffee that I planned on taking back home with me after this experience was over, I felt a little sad at the prospect. This really had been the time of my life, and I didn’t want it to be over. I was more than thankful for the excruciating temps because it meant that my time here could continue, and I didn’t know how I felt about that. I prayed to God for guidance in those feelings.

Kerry was waiting for me back in the truck. She had a clipboard out and was making a dozen phone calls at the sight of it, crossing things off of a list. When I was done loading my bags into the truck bed, I climbed into the passenger seat and waited for her to finish up her call.

“The fire is moving quicker than we can manage, sir.” Her voice sounded stressed. “I get that, but—” The other person must have kept interrupting her. “Okay. Thank you. Yes, that’s all we wanted. Okay, buh-bye.” She let out a big exhale, clipping her phone back into its holster on her hip, next to her key ring.

“I’m sorry to eavesdrop,” I said. She shook her head.

“No, no. I was done with that conversation. Besides, we got some more crew coming from Montana to help us, so it’s all good.” She smiled, turned the key in the ignition, and backed out of the parking spot.

“Is the fire that bad that we need more people?” I asked in complete ignorance of what was going on. Kerry nodded.

“Unfortunately, it grew 50% yesterday, and it didn’t really bed down last night. The wind was howling.” I remembered the wind being loud, but I was so excited for today, I didn’t care. Now, I felt like the worst firewatcher ever because I didn’t put two-and-two together.

“Yikes. I’m sorry, and here I am, dressing up like I’m going to a party or something.” Kerry shook her head.

“Autumn, your position is invaluable to us. Do not ever let someone make you feel bad for needing to look nice, or presentable, or feminine. There will always be forest fires in the world. They do not supersede your needs.” My eyes widened.

“Thank you for your kindness, Kerry. I will make this drop at the base quickly… I know you have more important things to do.” Kerry shrugged.

“Actually, a trip back to my office and dispatch would help me right now because there is a slip of paper on my desk I need for an urgent phone call. So, let’s swing by there, where you can meet Blaze, and then we will take you back to the lookout.” My cheeks reddened as Kerry listed off the things she needed to do. “Then, I will call WY-Fire, and we will have this whole situation sorted. I’ll also be one step closer to that promotion, and all will be pumpkin-pie in my world.” Kerry was so consumed with her to-do list that she didn’t notice the look of horror on my face when she brought up Blaze. Actually, it was so fleeting for myself. I realized I didn’t care. It was the truth. I wanted to meet him, and I didn’t care who knew it. Kerry said herself, it would help her to make a pitstop. So, that’s what we did.

Pulling into the base, my hands were shaking. I looked around at the vehicles, wondering which one was his. They were all rugged trucks, except for one light purple jeep with pink decals on it that said Wyoming Cowgirl. I imagined that to be Melody’s vehicle and prayed it wasn’t Blaze’s wheels. I laughed at the thought.

When Kerry parked, she was all business. I reached into the small bag that I had brought with me in the cab of the truck and pulled out one of the pumpkin trifles. I hoped he had silverware. My hands were shaking as I carried it in. I could barely keep it together, wanting to run ahead of Kerry. As we entered the building, the bright sun outside made it hard to see at first in the naturally lit room, as the trees surrounded the building on three sides. My heart sank as all I saw at the dispatch was a woman with long, gray hair. She looked grumpy, and it wasn’t just the scowl on her face. It was also the fact she was surrounded by multiple orange candles, and the glow from the flames were casting an unpleasant shadow on her face. I didn’t want to walk towards her in case she was about to cast a curse on me, so instead, I turned back to Kerry.

“Is he here?” I asked her, as quietly as I could, which turned out, didn’t matter. She looked past me to the dispatch and hollered to Melody.

“Where is Blaze?” Melody put her finger up, as if a lightbulb was just turned on.

“Blaze got called to hold the fundraiser today in Maple Haven.” Kerry nodded in recollection.

“That’s right. I forgot that it was today. I know that Jimmy had been petitioning to do it. It’s too bad this fire took off how it did. After all, The Pumpkin Perk is his favorite place.” Kerry let out a low laugh, slapping her leg in the process.

Kerry turned back to me and lowered her voice. “I’m sorry, Autumn. Do you want to leave that for him anyway?” I nodded, feeling sucker-punched with disappointment.

“Is there a place I can leave him a note, too?” Kerry nodded and handed me a pad of paper and a pen.

“I have one call I need to make right away. Do you want to take a few minutes here at my desk and then depart right after?” she asked me, already a few steps towards the door.

“That’s perfect. Thank you, Kerry.” I went back to the pen and paper where I started on my note to Blaze. I only had a few minutes to write, so I knew I better think of something fast.

Blaze,