LITMIR.BIZ

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hospital after the fire that he’d decided one day he would help people as that firefighter had helped his grandpa. As soon as Ross had graduated from high school, he’d joined the same volunteer fire department that had saved them. He’d continued to do so while he was in college. After that, he’d joined the Austin Fire Department. He loved everything about being a fireman.

      In some odd way, he was determined to outdo fire. To be smarter than it. Learn to anticipate its next move. He wanted to control, conquer it so no one else would ever have to live through those moments of fear he’d had.

      Sally ran her fingers down the canned goods stacked on a shelf. “Yeah, I think we have enough here for vegetable soup. Corn, beans, chopped potatoes and tomato juice. Two tins of each should do it and we can always make grilled cheese sandwiches.”

      He pursed his lips and nodded. “That sounds good.”

      Ross stepped to the doorway but didn’t enter. Their meal would have to feed six firefighters and two medical support techs.

      “Is there any ground beef left over, or roast beef in the freezer or the refrigerator?” she asked as if she’d been thinking along the same chain of thought.

      “I’ll check.” As he walked across the kitchen, he could hear the clinking of cans being shifted.

      After rummaging through the freezer for a moment, he announced, “Yeah, there’s two or three pounds of ground beef.”

      “Pull it out to thaw. It can go into the soup,” she called from the closet before she appeared with her arms full of cans. She dumped them on the counter as he placed the beef in the sink.

      “There’s a couple more cans in there. Do you mind getting them?”

      He went to the closet and retrieved the cans sitting off by themselves. “Are these them?”

      “Yeah.”

      With his foot, Ross pushed the crate back into the pantry and let the door automatically close before going to the counter. He put the cans beside the others. “What now?”

      Sal looked at him with her hand on a hip. “This is a partnership, not a chef/sous chef situation.”

      “I prefer the chef/sous chef plan.” Ross grinned.

      “You act as if you don’t do this often.”

      He leaned his hip against the counter. “I don’t, if I can get out of it.”

      “Okay, since you’ve designated me to be the chef, I’m going to put you to work. Start by opening all the cans. You’re qualified on a can opener, aren’t you?”

      “I can handle that. It’s electric, isn’t it?”

      Sally laughed. “Yeah. It is.” She turned her back to him. “And they let him be captain of a company.”

      Ross pulled the opener out from under the counter. “I heard that.”

      Pulling a large boiler out from under the cabinet near the stove, she put it on a large unit and turned it on. Ross opened cans and set them aside as he covertly watched Sal uncover the still-frozen meat and place it in the pot. She worked with the same efficacy that she used in her medical care.

      “So you just have that recipe in your head? Carry it around all the time?”

      Sally glanced over her shoulder. “I made it for my family all the time growing up.” She tapped her forehead. “I keep it locked away right here.”

      “Well, I have to admit I’m impressed. I had no idea you had such skills.”

      “I’m not surprised. We really haven’t worked together much.”

      Ross sort of hoped that would change even as he sternly told himself, yet again, he wanted no interferences in his life right now. Socializing with a female he worked with would definitely qualify as that.

      “It’s nothing but meat and a few cans of vegetables.” She turned serious. “But the secret ingredient is Worcestershire sauce. Would you mind checking the refrigerator door and see if there’s any there?”

      He did as she requested. “There’s half a bottle.”

      “That’ll be enough.” Her attention remained on what she was doing. “We’ll make it work. Is there any ketchup, by chance?”

      Ross opened the refrigerator door again. “Yeah, there’s some of that.”

      “Then bring that too.”

      “Ketchup?” He’d never heard of such a thing.

      “It’ll add a little thickness to it and also a little sweetness.”

      “You really are a chef.”

      “It takes more than ketchup soup to make you a chef.”

      A loud buzz followed by a long alarm then three shorts indicating it was their station being called ended their conversation. Ross was already moving as Sally turned off the stove and put the pot into the refrigerator along with the open cans.

      As they ran down the hall toward the bay, the dispatcher’s voice came over the loudspeakers. “Two-car accident at the intersection of Taft and Houston. One car on fire.”

      Moments later Ross was sliding his feet into his boots next to his crewmates. He jerked 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,

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