Sam opened the door to the house, and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee reached out, tugged him in.
Chet sat at the table, nursing a cup of java and reading the weather and incident reports in the park. He looked up, gave a one-sided smile. He wore a PEAK Rescue hat over that salty gray hair and a jacket with the logo on the breast. He always reminded Sam of the older version of Harrison Ford, a wry, hard-won wisdom in his eyes. His crutches leaned against the table.
“Hey, Sam,” he said and nodded toward the kitchen area.
Sam took the hint and poured himself coffee. “Heading into the park with Willow’s youth group today. I was hoping we might take an emergency pack with us, just in case.”
“Help yourself,” Chet said. He scooted his chair out and massaged his legs for a second. “But before you go, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Sam leaned against the counter, glancing out the window as he saw the church van pull into the yard. “Sure.”
“Your brother wants to be an incident commander.”
Sam jerked his gaze back to Chet. “What?”
“Yeah,” Chet said, reaching for his crutches. “He was hoping I might put in a good word for him. I told him it was up to you, of course, but if you’re wondering, I think Pete is ready—”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sam leaned up. “Pete is not ready to command the local Boy Scout troop, let alone lead a callout. And he never will be.”
Chet frowned. “With his smoke jumper training and the courses he’s taken this past year—”
“What courses?”
“FEMA has an emergency management course online. He’s nearly finished with it.”
Sam just stared at him.
“He’s current on all his EMT certifications, as well as his Wilderness Rescue Technician training, and a few specialized certifications, like swift water rescue and mountain search and rescue.”
Sam took a sip of coffee, just to clear his head, make sure he heard Chet right. “When did he have time to do this?”
“The last couple years, during his off seasons from the Jude County Smoke Jumpers. It’s one reason why I hired him on last spring.”
A decision Sam hadn’t been involved in, as back then, Ian Shaw controlled the PEAK team resources and the SAR team was not yet under the funding and jurisdiction of the Mercy Falls Sheriff’s Department.
Too bad Pete hadn’t given Sam an on-the-job reason to fire him.
He took another sip of the bracing, dark coffee, then set the mug on the counter. “I can’t have Pete in charge of anything, Chet. He might pull his weight here, but away from here, he’s reckless and irresponsible.” Sam walked over, poured out the coffee into the sink. “I’d put my life in the hands of one of those high school kids before I’d ever trust my brother to find me.”
Harsh words, he knew, but someone had to speak the truth. He turned, met Chet’s eyebrows-up gaze. “I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”
Chet’s mouth tightened in a grim line. “I don’t think you really know your brother, Sam. Pete is—”
“Trouble. Full stop. Trust me, I do know him.”
For a second, he was standing over his brother, breathing hard, watching Pete stare up at him, holding his bloodied nose. He couldn’t believe Tallie and the entire community of Mercy Falls fawned over the jerk, as if he were the one who needed understanding. As if he wasn’t the one who’d started the entire thing.
Sam must have settled in memory too long because when he looked up, Chet had a concerned gaze on him.
“You keep feeding that anger, Sam, and someday it’s going to consume you.”
Sam looked out the window and spotted Sierra and Willow in the yard with a handful of kids. “I’m not angry. I’m just stating the facts.”
“Oh, you’re angry, Sam. You just can’t face—”
“Okay, fine. I’m angry.” Sam turned back to Chet. “But there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t know how to forgive him. Every time I try, he does something stupid, and there it is again. Like yesterday. Pete was supposed to pick up my mom from the hospital—”
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He tugged it out and read the text message.
Of course. “And he did it again.” He shook his head. “Pete’s not home, and Mom needs a ride to Bible study—she’s still too weak to drive.” He pocketed the phone. “There goes my hike.”
“Sam—”
“No, there’s not a snowball’s chance that I would hire Pete. For anything.”
“I was going to say that I could drive your mom to church. Ty is on call today.”