“Zeke,” Chief called back. “Thank you.”

Well. Not thankless after all.

chapter five

shook

Zeke

B

rad and Jenn smiled back at me from the iPad display, their happiness to check in with me frozen for a minute while the shit service found its way back to our barracks.

Jenn’s tan from their weekend at Tybee Island made her eye makeup seem to glow. Even with bright pink lipstick, her smile was sweet.

“I think we froze again,” Jenn said just before their image began trying to keep up with the sound.

“Can you hear us, Zeke?” Brad asked.

“Yeah, loud and clear. Sorry about that,” I said.

“They’re not working you to death, are they?” Jenn asked, two small lines forming between her brows. She fluffed her golden, already poufy curls that complemented Brad’s circa 1992 beige silk button-down. They were both stuck in that decade, and I loved it.

I rubbed the back of my neck. The truth was, the job was physically exhausting, and it could very well mean death, but I couldn’t tell her that. Jenn had spent her time making sure I survived my teen years. Now that I was an adult, she hadn’t learned to let that go.

Brad didn’t require being shielded from the truth because he was a firefighter too. Even though I was a hotshot fighting wildfires, the risk was the same. Brad just didn’t have to hike up mountains to get to work every day.

“You look skinny, Zeke. Does he look skinny to you?” Jenn asked her husband.

“I’m fine, Jenn,” I said, amused. “I always start thinning out this time of year.”

“Fire season has barely started,” she said.

“Conditioning, you know that,” Brad said, nudging her playfully with his elbow.

“I’ve worried about you since the day you walked through our door,” Jenn said.

“And I love you for it,” I said.

Jenn seemed sad, turning to look at Brad. “Do you remember how gangly he was? Skin and bones and teeth and pissed at the world.” She looked at me. “Thirteen.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, trying to stay focused. I’d heard the story so many times, but she loved to tell it.

“You’ve been with us since you were thirteen, and still it’s like you’ve always been part of our family. And if anything happened to you…”

“Jenn. Like you said, it’s not even fire season yet. Give it a week or two before you form a stress-induced ulcer.”

“Okay, I’ll change the subject,” she said. “Have you heard from Gabby?”

“The flight attendant? Not for a year,” I said with a chuckle.

She didn’t think it was as funny as I did. She started to speak again but was cut off.

“Who is that?” a voice called from the hallway. “Is that Zeke?” Footsteps piled into Brad and Jenn’s bedroom.