Chapter 1
“10-4. I’m on my way.” Jeremy Davis shook his head and muttered a silent curse as he ended the radio call, flipped his lights and sirens on, and as safely as he could on the icy mountain roads, steered the fire truck into a giant U-turn in the middle of the highway to head in the opposite direction.
Next to him, his new partner, rookie Natalie didn’t even bother hiding the broad smile that crossed her face, and Jeremy had to work hard not to laugh. It wasn’t that long ago that he was an overexcited newbie, eager for every call.
He pressed down on the accelerator as soon as it was safe to do so. His heart raced, the familiar adrenaline flowing through his veins the way it always did when there was an emergency fire call, which admittedly, and thankfully, wasn’t very often in the quiet mountain town of Glacier Falls.
Which was why Jeremy had been using his afternoon to head out to the Ever After Ranch with the ladder truck to help out the Turner sisters with their latest big idea for a Christmas open house. The entire town was excited for the event, and even if Jeremy wasn’t secretly a huge fan of all things Christmas, he would have volunteered his time to help the ladies out with the lights.
But not today.
At least not yet.
Not when there was an actual fire call to respond to.
“What do you think it is this time?”
Jeremy simply sighed in response, because it was a fair question. They were on their way to Roy Burton’s house for the second time that week—and the fourth time that month. Beyond the fact that the old man was increasingly becoming a danger to himself, he was also starting to be a danger to those around him if the limited resources of the Glacier Falls fire department were regularly being called to his house to put out his forgetful fires. As the second-in-command at the department, the chief had asked Jeremy to handle the situation, which meant that it would be Jeremy’s job to report Mr. Burton’s state to the appropriate authorities if he believed it to be a real problem. Roy was a longtime resident of Glacier Falls, and a beloved neighbor, but he didn’t have any family in town, and that made things a little trickier. Especially because, as far as Jeremy knew, his family hadn’t visited him in years.
The fact was, the old man shouldn’t be on his own. It was only a matter of time before something really serious happened. And because Jeremy had grown up in Glacier Falls, where Roy Burton was largely regarded as the town grandfather—to the point where he even played Santa Claus every Christmas—Jeremy was fond of the man. Almost as if he were his own family. “Could be anything,” he said after a moment, hoping upon hope that it was once again a minor issue. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to Roy because he’d failed to act sooner.
He stepped on the gas pedal a little harder.
It only took another few moments to arrive in front of the familiar bungalow in the middle of town. Lydia Arthur, Roy’s neighbor, stood on the sidewalk, wearing a puffy, full-length parka over her dressing gown. With her feet jammed in clunky boots and a long wool scarf wrapped around her head, her arms waving frantically as the truck pulled up, she looked every bit the concerned neighbor, the way she did every time they arrived.
There was no obvious signs of a fire inside the home—a fact Jeremy was grateful for—but it also didn’t mean anything. They moved quickly: Jeremy ran to the front door, while Natalie went to Mrs. Arthur to see what she could learn, which very likely was a variation on the story they heard every time.
“I called and he didn’t answer.”
“I knocked on his door and he didn’t answer.”
“I smelled something unusual.”
Some might think that Lydia was simply a nosy old woman, but Jeremy knew better. Her interest in Mr. Burton was more than simple neighborly interest. The older woman was definitely sweet on Roy. Anyone could see it.
“Mr. Burton?” Jeremy banged his fist on the wooden door and, without waiting for an answer, tried the handle. Unlocked. “Roy?” he called out as he entered the home. “Are you in here?”
Before he could take more than a few steps in the door, Jeremy was hit with the acrid smell of burnt food. He quickstepped it into the kitchen, spotted the flames inside the oven, and quickly flicked the dial on the controls to turn the heat off. The safest thing to do was to let the fire burn itself out inside the oven. Opening the door would only provide oxygen to fan the flames.
“Roy?” Jeremy turned away from the oven to scan the rest of the kitchen. The man was nowhere to be found. Which meant he was probably napping. One last look toward the oven, where the flames were almost out, and Jeremy assessed the situation safe enough to go in search of the man, whom he found in the living room, fast asleep on the couch. His hearing aids were on the table next to him.
Gently, so as not to startle him, Jeremy sat next to Roy and shook his shoulder until his eyelids fluttered open. “Roy. It’s Jeremy Davis.” He spoke in an excessively raised voice as he gestured to the table with the hearing aids. “I’m sorry to wake you, but I—”
“What is going on in here?”
A female voice behind him caused Jeremy to turn. The woman was silhouetted in the doorway with the low afternoon sun behind her. Jeremy couldn’t make out her face, but something about her was familiar. He moved to stand and greet the woman, but before he could, she dropped the bag she was holding to the ground and pushed past him.
“What is wrong with my grandfather?”
Grandfather?
Seeing Papa laying on the couch, the giant fireman towering over him, stopped Bella’s heart for a moment. The groceries that had been so important that she couldn’t wait until later to pick them up were forgotten as she dropped them to the ground and rushed to his side past the firefighter, who, from what she could tell, was only in the way and if anything, confusing her grandpa.
“Papa? Are you okay? What happened? Why do I smell smoke? Were you—”
“Bella?”
The firefighter said her name, which only annoyed her because she knew who she was. What she didn’t know was what had happened.
“Bella Hoffman?”
She spun around to look at the idiot man who wasn’t doing anything to help her. “I go by Burton actually. Is there someone in charge here?” she demanded as she looked past the imbecile in front of her, out the door where she’d seen another firefighter, a woman, speaking to Mrs. Arthur when she’d returned to the house. “Where is the other one?”
“The other…firefighter?”
“Yes.” She was quickly losing patience. “I need someone who is in charge to tell me what happened and what is wrong with my grandfather. When I left him, he was doing just fine and going to have a—” As her own words filled the room, she realized what she was saying. She turned back to her grandfather, who was now struggling to sit up and put his hearing aids in at the same time.
“A nap?” The annoying firefighter finished for her with a smugness to his voice that made her see red. “Were you having a nap, Roy?” He leaned in next to Bella, and the fresh, crisp scent of him filled her, causing her to momentarily forget that she was completely unimpressed by his presence.
She shook her head and refocused on the real issue. “Papa? Are you—”