Debby Giusti - Countdown to Death

“I’m fine,” he assured her as he stood and looked around. “Where’s Shelly?”

“In the car. Mrs. Rogers heard the sirens and stopped by to help. She’s with Shelly. I was worried. They told me you pulled a person from the fire.”

He pointed to where the EMTs clustered.

Bett grabbed his arm. “You’re hurt, Luke.”

For the first time, he noticed the gash on his forearm and the blood that matted his shirt.

“It’s a small cut.” He shrugged off her concern while his eyes fixed once again on the woman he’d tried to save.

The spotlights cutting through the night, the frantic rush of the emergency personnel and the acrid stench of the smoke took him back, and for a moment he saw Hilary’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

A lump filled his throat. Lord, don’t let another woman die.

Chaos. Allison felt the swell of confusion and panic surround her. She gasped for air.

A mask covered her mouth and nose. She tried to push it aside.

Someone restrained her hand.

“Breathe, lady.”

Her chest burned.

“Come on, lady. You gotta breathe.”

She pulled in a shallow breath, expecting smoke. Instead her lungs filled with life-giving oxygen. She gulped, sucking in the pure air.

“She’s coming ’round,” the voice announced. “Tell Luke. Only way he’ll calm down is if he knows she’s okay.”

A few moments later, a hand touched her shoulder.

She blinked open her eyes and saw the man who’d saved her life.

His cheeks were covered with soot. Blood streaked through his thick chestnut hair where he’d wiped his arm across his forehead.

Dark eyes searched her face. “Are you okay?”

“You saved my life,” she managed to whisper.

“I thought…” Concern wrinkled his brow. “When you didn’t respond, I was worried you wouldn’t make it.”

She smiled, or at least tried to smile through the oxygen mask.

An EMT tapped his shoulder. “Sorry, Luke, but the county medical van just arrived. The doc wants to examine her.”

Before she could say goodbye, the man who’d saved her disappeared into the crowd of onlookers.

To Allison’s surprise, the medical van was state-of-the-art and the doctor’s exam thorough. Irritated lungs, which improved after the breathing treatments that the EMTs administered, and a strained back were her only injuries.

“You’re one lucky lady,” the fire chief said to her later as she sat outside the medical van and watched the men roll up their hoses. The front of the house and kitchen had been saved. A gaping black hole was all that remained of the room where she’d been staying.

She refused to think of what might have happened.

“B and B’s the only place that rents rooms in this area,” the chief continued. “The gentleman who was staying downstairs plans to drive seventy miles to the next town where a motor lodge has vacancies. Younger couple moved in with someone they know in Sterling.”

He stared at her, evidently waiting for an answer to a question she never heard him ask.

“Are you telling me I need to find a place to stay?”

“We’ve got an empty cabin.” A middle-aged woman with a weatherworn face, warm eyes and flaming red hair stepped forward from the group lingering close by. “Be happy to offer you lodging for as long as you’re in town.”

The woman patted Allison’s hand. “Bet you’re worn-out after everything that’s happened. We’ll take good care of you, honey.”

Hearing the compassion in the older woman’s voice, unexpected tears stung Allison’s eyes. She tried to blink them back.

Must be letdown after all that had happened. Either that, or the meds the doctor had given her.

“I thought you folks closed up the cabin.” The fire chief rubbed his hand over his chin. “After that boarder of yours—”

“Don’t need to focus on the past, Chief.” The woman cut him off, her voice sharp. Then she dug in her pocket, pulled out a clean tissue and handed it to Allison.

“The place is neat as a pin and ready for my new friend. My name’s Elizabeth Garrison. Folks call me Bett.”

Allison blew her nose and tried to smile at the second person who had come to her aid that night. Then, remembering her car, she rummaged in the shoulder bag she’d had the presence of mind to wrap about her neck as soon as she’d smelled smoke.

Keys in hand, she tried to stand and grimaced as the pulled muscles in her back responded to the shift in position.

“I’ll take those,” a deep voice said behind her.

She turned and looked into her rescuer’s eyes.

“Did I overhear my aunt say you’re coming home with us?” He took the keys with his left hand and stuck out his right, a thick square of gauze taped to his forearm. “Seems we didn’t have time for introductions earlier. I’m Luke Garrison.”

She slipped her hand into his, feeling a connection. After all, he’d saved her life.

“Allison Stewart,” she mumbled, suddenly light-headed. Probably the medication taking effect.

“I’ll drive your car,” he said, then glanced at the older woman. “Bett, you take Shelly home in the SUV.”

“I hate to impose after all you’ve done,” Allison insisted, not wanting to be a pest.

His lips eased into a smile, but his eyes were serious. “I need to make sure nothing else happens to you tonight.”

Bett and Shelly pulled onto the two-lane street, heading home, as Luke settled Allison into the passenger side of her car and slipped into the driver’s seat next to her.

The cloud cover broke, exposing a crescent moon and stars twinkling in the sky. Venus, named after the goddess of love, hovered low on the horizon, reminding him of the Greek mythology he’d studied in college. He shook his head ever so slightly. Probably the close proximity of an attractive woman that had him thinking of love.

Or maybe it was due to the sweet floral scent that lingered in her car and contrasted sharply with the acrid smoke that clung to his clothes.

Today’s weather report forecast the first October frost, and over the past few hours, the temperature had dropped to near freezing. Luke reached for the heater control and turned to his passenger, still wrapped in a blanket the EMTs had given her. She looked bone-tired.

“Cold?”

She rubbed her arms and nodded. “Maybe a little.”

He adjusted the thermostat until warm air flowed from the vents.

“I’ve got a cell phone, if you’d like to call family to let them know you’re okay.”

“Mine’s in my purse.” She patted the small shoulder bag still draped around her neck. “I’ll call my laboratory manager tomorrow in case the fire makes the Atlanta news.”

“Where do you work?”

“Magnolia Medical. It’s a health-care facility. Clinical labs, physical and occupational therapy, that type of thing. I’m in the research branch.”

After the endless battery of tests Shelly had been put through, medical personnel didn’t rank high on Luke’s list of important people. Bett had insisted extended therapy in Atlanta would help. He’d never told his aunt, but he wondered if Shelly’s recovery had been delayed because the specialists had pushed her too hard.

“Surely you’re not here because of your research?” he asked, surprised by the edge in his voice. “Something to do with the local wildlife?”

She turned to stare at him. “Why do you ask?”

He could see the question in her blue eyes even in the dim reflection of light from the dashboard controls.

“A couple guys were talking while you were being treated by the doc. They said you stopped by the Roadside Grill on your way into town and quizzed the waitress about the wild game on the menu.”

“Folks in Sterling like to talk.”