She held up a mid-length, denim skirt and a navy-blue tank top, which flared out and away from her sore back. She moved slow putting them on. Her burns still stung, but not as bad as before. She found a new cell phone at the bottom of the pack. She opened the door and held up the phone.
“Is this for me?”
Ryan stood in the middle of the room, staring out the window, his statuesque frame enhanced by the sunlight streaming into the room. Hands in pockets, he turned to look at her.
“A disposable. Has your same cell number.”
“Thank you.” Her breath caught, thinking she could stand there and watch him all day. “I’ll pay you back.”
“Yeah, I’m really worried about it.”
She had looked forward to being with him for so long, she needed her hands on him. Tossing the daypack on the bed, she went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, touching her lips to his in a soft, light kiss.
He ran his fingers through her much shorter hair. “I like it. It’s sexy.”
“Most of it burned off, so Angela cut it.” She shyly rubbed his chest, under his denim jacket. “No Nomex. Aren’t you working today?”
“No. Well kind of.”
“I thought Zombie gifted you with a few days of paid annual leave.” She leaned her weight on one foot, then the other. The bottoms were still tender.
“He has. I’m taking you somewhere special. But first we have to make a pit stop.”
“How mysterious. Then let's go.” She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Dave Doss placed you on admin leave for a few weeks. Longer, if you need it.”
Tara opened her mouth to protest, but Ryan interrupted and put a hand up to her. “He didn’t give you a choice. You need time to mend.” He picked up the daypack from the bed and looked at her. “And make some decisions.”
All she wanted was to spend time with him. Right now, he was the only thing that mattered. She was standing here because of him. Her mind whirled with what he had done for her.
Tara took the offer to ride in a wheelchair to the car. The nurse pushed her, and Ryan walked alongside to the blue Mustang he’d parked close to the entrance. He helped her into the passenger seat, taking care with her. Her arm and leg muscles felt better, but were still tender.
Ryan seemed in a hurry as he pointed the Mustang toward Fort Wainwright. He stopped in the AFS parking lot and shut off the ignition.
“Come on. I’ll help you.”
“Why are we here? Aren’t we on leave?”
“You’ll see.” He stopped and helped her out. She didn’t mind leaning on him as he led her into the AFS building and the main conference room full of people. As he escorted her inside, people clapped and cheered.
Ryan squeezed her shoulder, then steered her to one of four chairs at the front of the room next to a podium. Gunnar and Rego occupied two of them.
Tara sat next to Rego and Ryan sat on her other side.
Ryan leaned in. “If I would have told you about this, you wouldn’t have come,” he said in a deep voice.
She looked at him with a caribou-in-the-headlights expression, then took in the roomful of people. Melbourne waved as he leaned on the back wall, next to Silva. The rest of Aurora Crew stood at the back of the room. Bateman and Robin gave her a thumbs-up.
Dave Doss stepped to the front podium. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We’re here to honor several firefighters. Their brave actions saved lives.”
Cheers resounded from Aurora Crew. Tara grinned at Tupa, who led the whistles and applause.
“First I’d like to recognize an extraordinary woman who performed her duties the way she was trained,” said Doss. “Seventeen people returned alive because Tara Waters took decisive action in a dire situation.”
“Seventeen people and a squirrel!” yelled Tupa from the back and everyone laughed. Tara made eye contact with him and he dipped his head in a fast nod.
First, Doss read a brief account that Ryan had prepared for him. He finished up and said, “Wildland firefighting remains a dangerous profession. Tara Waters, Nick Rego, Ryan O’Connor, and Gunnar Alexanderson, please stand.”
Tara whispered to Ryan. “I want to sit—I can’t stand for very long.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this. And I’ve got you.”
Ryan’s sentiment along with his sexy wink galloped a sudden heat through her that she couldn’t afford right now in a roomful of people. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand to fan herself, then caught it and folded her hands in her lap.
Ryan stood from his chair with his hand on Tara’s shoulder. Gunnar and Rego rose as well.
Doss read off a brief account of what each firefighter did, though most in the room already knew. When he finished, he leaned around the men and motioned at Tara. “Would you like to say a few words?”
She gave him a blank look. “My voice is still shot,” she rasped. But not really. The last thing she wanted was to talk about her experience. She wasn’t ready—she still grappled with the harsh reality of what happened and what almost happened.
Ryan patted her shoulder. “No worries. I’ll do it for you.” He stepped to the podium, commanding the room as he always did. Still a charmer. But now he was her charmer.
“This is a story of courage and integrity…” Ryan related the story of how Tara led Aurora Crew out of the ravine, with the help of Rego. How she had gone back for Angela and deployed one shelter, saving them both. When he finished, everyone clapped and cheered.
Tara loved how Ryan could hold a roomful of people in the palm of his hand.
Silva called out from the back of the room. “O’Connor didn’t tell you all of it.”
Doss motioned Silva to
