“Couldn’t abandon my mani-pedi, now could I?” Sydney joked as she stepped down from the booster in full firefighter gear.
“Nope,” Trey agreed. “I wouldn’t want you to fight fire without your nails done. What would folks think?” He quickly matched his cousin’s humorous coping mechanism that they’d all developed to deal with the tension, stress, and heightened emotions of fighting fires.
“Heaven forbid.” Sydney glanced at the blazing tree farm, shook her head at the sight, and then nodded at Misty. “Looks like Trey’s showing you another good time in Wildcat Bluff.”
“He’s just that kind of guy.”
“Yep. Guess he thinks firefighting is a way to a gal’s heart.”
“I can grill a mean steak, too.” Trey defended his abilities as he tried to suppress a grin at their antics.
“No wonder he’s on the shelf at a young age.” Sydney winked at Misty. “Think you can help him out?”
“Think he’s worth it?” Misty asked.
Sydney cocked her head to one side as if seriously considering the idea. “Might need him for firefighting.”
“Looks that way.” Misty hooked a hand around Trey’s arm. “Guess I better drag him off the shelf.”
“Too late,” Trey said. “I already jumped down.” And to make his point, he jerked off his helmet and tossed it to the ground. He pulled Misty into an embrace, leaned her backward over one arm as if dipping in a dance, and gave her a kiss hot enough to make her toes curl.
When he raised her back up, he heard the sound of applause and whistles as the big red engine came to a stop behind the booster. He heard Misty’s laughter as he made a quick bow to the volunteers and she dipped in a curtsey.
“Ladies and gentlemen, that’s your entertainment for the day.” Trey picked up his helmet, held it aloft, and then put it on his head. He figured that little stunt ought to have eased tension for the entire afternoon.
Now they needed to make plans before they engaged the fire. They’d been trained to never rush into a dangerous situation without preparation. He looked for Granny and Aunt Maybelline, but they must not have made this run. Most likely they were back at the café with Slade.
Kent, Morning Glory, and six other volunteers leaped from the engine wearing firefighter gear. They crowded around Trey since he was the acknowledged fire captain—first on the scene and by rotation.
“Hedy radioed we had two fronts.” Kent looked at the fire, gave a loud groan, then glanced back at Trey. “But I only see one.”
“We got lucky,” Trey explained. “Caught the smaller fire on the right side of the road by Wildcat Ranch before it had time to spread. My two cans were enough to put it out.”
“Lucky is right,” Kent agreed. “And two at once can’t be an accident.”
“Nope.” Trey pointed toward the burned area beside the road. “They used gasoline to prime the pump.”
“Like the house?” Sydney asked.
“Same accelerant,” Trey agreed. “But we don’t know if we’re looking at the same culprits.”
“We’ll get them,” Misty said with determination.
Trey nodded as he smiled at her before he looked around the group. “More good news. We’re looking at a Class A fire size, little to no wind, except for a few gusts now and then.”
“That’s good,” Sydney said.
“Anybody who hasn’t met my dance partner,” Trey said with a smile, “this is Misty Reynolds. She helped me put out that grass fire on my property.”
“She’s Wildcat Bluff’s Christmas angel.” Kent raised Misty’s hand high as if she were competing in a boxing match.
“Go Misty!” Morning Glory called. “With her on our side, we’ll get this fire licked in no time.”
“That’s what we want,” Trey agreed. “Now, let’s use this road as our anchor point for fire suppression activity.”
“Works for me,” Sydney agreed.
“Misty, I’ll make this plain so you’ll understand what’s going on around you.”
“Thanks.”
“Anchor point means we’ll work from here to contain our wildland fire without the fire outflanking us.” Trey glanced around the group. “Let’s make a direct attack. Misty, that means we’ll be wetting and smothering the fire and physically separating burning fuel from unburned fuel.”
Misty nodded in understanding.
“Our objective is to make a fire line around the fire that’s to be suppressed. Namely, all those seedlings,” Trey continued. “Everything inside that line can—and will—burn.”
“Texas Timber is going to lose a lot of Christmas trees, aren’t they?” Misty asked, sounding resigned.