“With you,” she said.
“And are you?”
“Yes. Yes, Joe. I’m with you.”
He lifted her off her feet, kissing her. “If you want me to make love to you, I will. But only if you want me to. And only if you think it can be the beginning of something, not the end.”
She locked her hands behind his neck and smiled. “You’re something, you know that? You’re not a regular guy. Usually this is about the time the guy says something like, don’t try to pin me down, baby. Guys don’t usually start right off saying they want a chance at something that lasts.”
“Yeah?” He grinned. Then he shrugged, thinking about his boys, his friends. There was a time almost all of them were that other guy—the kind who’s dodging commitment. Now look at them. “You over that idiot who let you go?”
“I’m so over him, I could laugh.”
“Good.” He chuckled. “Let’s go someplace we can wake up together.”
It amazed Joe he could sleep at all, but he did. Holding Nikki in his arms through the night, feeling her sweet, warm body against his, he was at peace. When he woke beside her, it was as though the future had been decided for him. He was dead in love with her, amazed at the way he had only to touch her, kiss her, and she would unfold, wanting him as much as he wanted her. Now it was only a question of what she would decide about them. But he trusted their pact—they would be honest with each other. No more running away.
Joe slipped out of bed in the predawn, the sun barely rising. He thought he’d start the coffee, make love to her again while it brewed, and they could watch the sunrise together. They could talk about when they’d see each other next. He started the coffee. He stared at the coffeepot while it began to brew. The smell of the pot was suspect—he wondered if it was old. Then he lifted his head. He looked at the clock on the microwave. Nine-thirty. He sniffed the air. Oh shit. He unplugged the coffeepot and ran out onto the porch, naked. He thought it was predawn because the sun streaming through the windows was so dim—but it was smoke in the air. “Nikki,” he yelled, running back into the cabin. “Nikki! Wake up! Fire!”
Eighteen
The town had become a base camp for firefighters and the acrid odor of smoke hung in the air. When Joe pulled into town, he had to park back beyond the church. He held on to Nikki’s hand and ran with her to the center of town. There were many Cal Fire trucks, Hot Shot transports, Cal Fire firefighters and dozens of firefighters who Joe knew at a glance would be inmates trained in firefighting. There were flatbeds loaded with gear, water tenders and trucks for hauling firefighters, paramedic rigs, dozens of men in hard hats and yellow turnouts, boots, packs of gear on their backs, and a tent pitched in the middle of the street, beside it an ambulance. The street was wide enough for a helicopter to land for medical airlift.
On the porch, among many men Joe had never seen before, were his friends. Jack was pulling on yellow turnouts, slipping the suspenders over his shoulders.
“Joe,” he said. “I wasn’t sure you were still here. I knew you intended to leave for Oregon at the crack of dawn.” He glanced at Nikki and couldn’t suppress a quick grin. He gave her a nod.
“Still here. What’s happening?”
“Wind shifted. It’s headed this way.”
“What are we doing?”
Zeke stepped forward and handed him some gear, which he took. “We’re getting in it, bud.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been watching it from Fresno. Just after midnight it looked like it could threaten my favorite hunting grounds, so I fired up the truck and started driving.”
Stephens walked out of the bar, already dressed out, a big doughnut in his hand. “Not before he got everyone out of bed,” he said.
Joe immediately started getting into his gear. He pulled the suspenders over his shoulders. Zeke and Josh were professional firefighters and paramedics, the rest of them trained volunteers—Cal Fire could use them. It would be a lot of fetching and carrying, digging, removing vegetation, but every hand helped.
“What are you doing?” Nikki asked Joe.
“I’ll do what I can to help. You want to go home? Go out to Vanni’s?”
Before she could answer, Mel stepped onto the porch. She was wearing a white doctor’s coat, something Joe had never seen her do before. There was a stethoscope around her neck. “What’s this?” he asked her, lifting his chin toward her as he pulled heavy gloves out of the pockets.