- -
- 100%
- +
She shook her head and stood, retracing her steps to the kitchen. In the shadows, she reached for Matt’s gift and pulled it out of the garbage before carrying it back to her room. Taking a deep breath, she closed the bedroom door and flipped on the light.
A quick study of the package showed uneven edges and too much tape. Knowing Matt had wrapped this himself almost made her smile. Almost.
Slowly and carefully, she peeled back the delicate paper to reveal a white box. She found an envelope placed on top of an expensive silver-gilded music box. Taking the music box from the Bubble Wrap, she lifted the lid. The soft tune of “Unchained Melody” filled the room.
Their love song.
She hummed along for a moment, remembering the poignant words so well. She had loved this song in the past. Now the lyrics seemed mournful, filled with longing and loneliness.
Are you still mine?
The words left her feeling empty and depressed. She closed the lid, her hands shaking. The card rested on the bedspread, beckoning to her.
Her fingers reached for it of their own volition. She lifted the flap and pulled the card free of the envelope. For all his manly ways, Matt had always been a romantic. Cards, flowers and gifts. Before he’d left, he’d never forgotten her birthday or their anniversary.
Before he’d left.
The card was just what she expected. A flowery, mushy sentiment of the heart. But what he’d written touched her like nothing else could.
To my dear wife Andie, for giving me the greatest gift of all. Our son. Love, Matt
She sat there in shock. Not even realizing she was crying until her tears dripped onto the card, smudging the ink.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes, then wrapped up the card and music box and tucked them far away in the highest, darkest corner of her closet. Where Davie wouldn’t find them.
Her heart ached. She felt more alone than ever before. What did Matt expect from her? To just welcome him back with open arms? She couldn’t do that. Not after what he’d put her through. She believed in God, and forgiveness but she just couldn’t let this go. She didn’t have that much faith.
She wondered about his leg. Something had happened to him. Something bad. Maybe a car accident or other injury. It must have changed him somehow. He seemed so vulnerable now. So sad.
Clicking off the light, she crawled into bed and stared into the darkness. She hadn’t said her evening prayers because she knew if she did, she’d have to soften her anger. And she wasn’t ready to offer forgiveness yet, if ever.
In the morning, she’d go about her routine, dropping Davie off at kindergarten before she drove in to work. Then she’d close her office door and make a phone call. It was time she knew the truth.
Chapter Five
“Kendal Albright speaking.”
Andie gripped the phone in her office and took a cleansing breath when she heard Kendal’s familiar voice. “Hi, Ken. It’s Andie Foster, er, Cutter. How are you?”
“Andie! Well I’ll be. I haven’t talked to you in years. I’m great. How about you?”
“I’m good.” She didn’t know how to broach the subject on her mind. Kendal had worked with her and Matt years earlier when they’d first started as linespeople working summer wildfires to earn enough money for their college tuition. Ken was Matt’s best friend and should know what was going on.
“Congratulations on making squad boss of the Red Mesa Hotshots. I heard about it through the grapevine a year ago,” she said.
He paused and took a deep breath. “Actually, I’ve just been promoted again. With Matt leaving, I’m now the crew boss.”
“That’s great.” She tried to put some enthusiasm into her voice, but couldn’t muster much. Knowing Matt no longer got to do what he loved made her feel cheerless, and she didn’t understand why.
“How is your old man anyway?” Ken asked.
Old man. She tried to envision Matt as a senior citizen with gray hair and wrinkles. No matter how he aged, she didn’t think she could ever view him as anything other than the handsome, rugged man she’d married. “Actually, that’s why I called.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, I was hoping maybe you could tell me why he left Oregon.”
Another long pause. “He hasn’t told you?”
“No. He limps now and walks with a cane. Do you know what happened to him?”
“Unfortunately, I do. But he should tell you about it, not me.”
“That’s not gonna happen, Ken. I’ve asked him about it twice and he keeps brushing it aside.”
Silence filled the void for several heartbeats, as if Ken were thinking this over. “I was afraid of that. He won’t accept help.”
“Help for what?” she asked.
His voice lowered to a gruff rasp. “It was bad, Andie. Real bad. It was a relatively small brush fire last summer. Perhaps eighty acres. Matt and his crew were building a fire line and had moved up the hill. They were working hard and fast. If the fire made it over the ridge, it would have gone into big timber and out of control. Matt was determined to stop it, but not at the expense of his crew. No one blamed him for what happened.”
Andie lowered her head and pressed her free hand to her forehead. She’d worked on enough wildfires to know the dangerous risks. “So what happened?”
“The wind changed suddenly, boxing Matt and one of his men into a small clearing. It was a fluke of nature no one could have seen coming. They deployed their fire shelters, but the heat of the fire was too intense. It killed one of his men. No one knows why Matt survived.”
She released a shuddering breath, trying to absorb the ramifications of Ken’s words like a sponge soaking up sand. It just wouldn’t sink in. “Matt blames himself, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, but he won’t talk about it, Andie. I know he’s harboring tremendous guilt. He followed the ten standard wildfire-fighting orders and the eighteen watch-out situations, but he lost communication. Before he could rectify that, the winds changed. He did everything right, but it still happened so fast. I was hoping once he saw you, he might open up and let it go.”
Ken went on to tell her about Matt’s recovery. Four months. That’s how long Matt had been in the Oregon Burn Center at Emmanuel Hospital in Portland, recovering from second- and third-degree burns on his legs. Four months of excruciating pain.
“They didn’t think he’d ever walk again, but he was determined. And once he sets his mind to do something, he does it,” Ken said.
“Yeah, Matt was always like that.” Her voice sounded strained.
“I know he was working with a physical therapist before he left for Nevada. He was pushing himself too hard, but he said he had to be ready to pass his work-capacity test for the new fire season.”
“Why would he want to fight wildfires again?”
“It’s what he does, what he’s best at. I don’t know if he can ever rehabilitate his leg for that kind of work again, but he’s determined to try.”
“He never would take no for an answer,” Andie admitted.
In spite of her anger at Matt, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. It was the risk every firefighter faced. Matt had been trained to deal with the danger, but how could he really prepare for the loss of one of the men under his command?
“It wasn’t his fault, Andie.”
She lifted her head, trying to still the shaking of her hands. “Why does he blame himself?”
“Because he was the crew boss. Because he survived.”
Survivor’s guilt.
“Oh!” She moaned and clenched her eyes closed, imagining how she would feel if she lost one of her crew members in a wildfire. She’d be sick with anguish. They weren’t just crew. They were friends. People you laughed with, ate and worked with every day. How could you tell their family that they wouldn’t be coming home again?
“He almost died, Andie. By all rights, he shouldn’t have survived. But you know Matt.”
Yes, she knew Matt. Or at least, she used to know him. Now she wasn’t so certain.
“Has he talked to you about the fire?” she asked.
Ken gave a harsh laugh. “Nope. Every time I brought it up, he shut me down. Almost losing his life changed him somehow. He insists he doesn’t need to see a doctor. I visited him in the hospital several times. Once, he was delirious with pain and medication. All he talked about was seeing you and making things right with you again.”
“Really?” Odd, since Matt had never called.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.