Fighting the Flames(3)

 

"Just say you're here, Maddox."

 

He laughed. "Here."

 

"Lincoln."

 

"The hot Linc is ready to roll."

 

More laughter.

 

The boss opened his mouth to call more names but was cut off by an official voice and an alarm. "US Forest Service has reported a wildfire ten miles southeast of Jake's Bend."

 

Jake's Bend. So close to Rob's cabin.

 

Maddox didn't stick around to hear more details. He and his team were on their feet and running for their gear. They had about five minutes to suit up and get in the air.

 

Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he stepped into his suit. The padding on one leg was twisted, and he took a second to right it. Landing in a tree wasn't in his game plan today, but you could never be too safe.

 

"After being stuck inside playing cards, I'm glad for a call," Blaze said from next to him.

 

"Me too. I can't afford to lose any more money to you." Maddox was ready first and strode toward the exit. The plane was ready, the boss grim-faced.

 

"Don't let the location get to you, Maddox." He clapped him on the back.

 

"I won't." Act first, think later. He had to do his job and not worry about the property that was right in the line of fire.

 

He took his seat on the plane, and the guys all filled the place to bursting.

 

"Hey, Maddox. You're taking up too goddamn much room," Lincoln said as he crammed himself beside him. "I thought you were on a diet."

 

They had to keep their weight down for flight regulations, and Maddox naturally weighed more. He dieted and trained year round to keep jumping into the danger zones and do what he loved.

 

He flipped Lincoln the bird, and the door shut. The hum of the engine didn't kill the chatter of the guys who'd been locked up too damn much together. They were all outdoors people. They got cabin fever being stuck on base, but waiting was part of their jobs too.

 

As the plane got up to the right elevation, Maddox tried to focus on his jump and not the details. For two minutes he had to be the best damn jumper. Once he was on the ground, then he'd work on being the best damn firefighter.

 

It had been three years since they'd lost Rob Carter, but when he was in the air like this, he always thought of his friend. If he were here, he'd be cracking jokes and making them all laugh right before they jumped.

 

Maddox had never been one to dispel tension the way Rob could, and Lincoln seemed to have become the jokester since Rob's death.

 

Holding out his fist to the guys, Maddox looked from man to man. He loved his crew like brothers, and each time they did this, there was a risk that one might not come back with them alive.

 

"Brothers," Maddox said.

 

"Brothers," Lincoln echoed, bumping fists with him.

 

All the guys followed, and Maddox felt a little lighter. He was ready.

 

"Maddox," the spotter called him to the door of the plane.

 

He heaved himself and all his gear to his feet-they dropped in with enough for a couple days' worth of food and water, as well as a sleeping bag and their tools. He positioned himself in the doorway and stared out.

 

The fire was visible, leaving a black void in its path. And he spotted the opening in the trees where he was supposed to land.

 

"Ready!" the spotter called.

 

Maddox gripped the edges of the open door. When he felt the slap on his back, he leaped.

 

The first second was chaos, the wind in his ears and knocking him around. Then he stabilized and floated in a sweet silence so unreal that it seemed like an unlikely prelude to the job he was about to do. He often thought of this quiet moment as the time to reflect on the important things in his life.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

His job, his crew. His parents safely back in Oregon and his brother just about to have a new son.

 

Maddox hit the ground and crumpled. In a blink he was on his feet and gathering in his chute. Lincoln did a tuck and roll ten feet from him.

 

"Watch your lines don't get tangled up with mine."

 

"Hell, Maddox. Let a man get on his feet before you tell him off."

 

He turned to look in the direction of the cabin. As much as he tried not to think of the place turning to ash, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread.

 

It wasn't likely that Sydney would be there. As far as he knew, she hadn't come back since Rob's death. He'd heard she'd quit her job fighting fires in town, unable to do the work they'd had in common. But Maddox had to make sure.

 

He waved his hand toward the cabin. "I'm heading east."