Firestorm

Chapter Thirty-four

The klaxon blare jerked Jac upright out of a sound sleep. In the second she took to orient herself, Mallory had already slipped out from behind her and was jumping into her pants.

“Call out, Russo,” Mallory said, yanking a sweatshirt down over her head. “We’re at the top of the jump list. Let’s go.”

“With you.” Jac tossed back the top of the sleeping bag and hopped out of the warm cocoon of their bed onto the cold floor of the loft. Her heart was pumping hard, her belly coiled with sweet anticipation. First call out as a real smokejumper. First jump with Mallory as her partner. She dove into her clothes, grabbed the PG pack she’d left by the ladder, and slid down, hands curled around the side rails, her feet barely hitting the rungs. Benny had the hangar doors open and was climbing into the plane. She sprinted after Mallory and hit the yard running, the sound of the engines firing up behind her. In the equipment room, they grabbed chutes and equipment crates, and ten minutes later, they were airborne. Cooper was the designated spotter, and Jac settled next to Mallory on one of the benches running along the side of the cargo space. Anderson and Kingston and a couple of the veterans sat across from them. She leaned close to Mallory and shouted, “What do you know?”

“Small burn up in Marten Canyon. No access roads, so we’ll be it for a while.”

Jac nodded. Too hard to talk above the noise. Not much else to say. That’s what they did—got there fast, got there first, and contained the burn before it really had a chance to get started.

She was glad to get started. Ready to test her skills. The best part was she didn’t have to prove anything, not to herself, not to Mallory. She mattered to Mallory, no matter what she did—she knew it in her bones.

Mallory squeezed Jac’s arm. “What are you smiling at?”

“Just thinking about the last couple of days.”

Beneath her visor, Mallory blushed. Jac grinned. She’d passed her last practice jump and made the team along with everyone else. Mallory had given everyone a two-day pass, and except for a skeleton crew, the station had been pretty deserted. They’d driven to Bear Creek, rented a room in the only hotel in town, and spent the entire two days’ leave in bed. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend whatever time off they might have in the next few months. The rest of the time, she’d be working with Mallory, and that was pleasure in itself.

Cooper signaled he was about to open the doors, and Jac braced for the onslaught. Cooper slid them back, cold air rushed in, and he dropped the streamers out the opening and gauged the wind direction and drift. Whispers of smoke wafted into the cabin, and Jac’s skin tingled. Soon enough, they’d be on the ground and the fight would be on. She glanced at Mallory. Her face was calm, her eyes fiercely focused. Following Mallory into battle was easy. Jac trusted her completely—fighting forest fires, fighting her personal war—she’d never be alone again.

Cooper motioned for them to line up. Mallory was incident commander, so she and Jac would jump first. When Jac dropped into the sky a few seconds before Mallory and counted down, she knew with absolute certainty Mallory would be right beside her. When she pulled her chute and looked back to check it, Mallory’s chute opened, and they steered down together, landing almost simultaneously. Jac rolled, disengaged her chute, and quickly stowed it. She joined the others clustered around Mallory, who was directing the crew to collect the equipment crates and assigning posts. When everyone moved off, Jac was the only one remaining.

“You’ll be here.” Mallory indicated a spot ahead of the fire front where they were going to cut. She pointed in another direction, then tapped a spot on her map. “The safety zone is here. You clear on that?”

“I am,” Jac said.

“I’ll be down here.” Mallory circled a spot at the end of the line. “Not far. If you need me.”

“I know.” Jac touched Mallory’s cheek with her fingertips. “I know you’ll never be far. Neither will I.”

“Then I’ll see you when we beat this one,” Mallory said.

“You can count on it,” Jac said.

Mallory nodded briskly, tapped Jac’s helmet, and turned away.

Jac shouldered her pack and pulled out her pulaski. Time to cut and dig.

Mallory turned back. “Hey, Hotshot.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

The flames dancing in Mallory’s eyes had nothing to do with the fire, and Jac felt the burn in every inch of her. She touched a finger to her chest in a silent salute. “Roger that, Ice. I love you too.”