Smoke Jumper

By Kasssanna

Life is full of change.
Eartha Cummings wasn’t ready. To save several elderly people at a job, she’d just resigned from, from a fire that trapped them in a building they’d been abandoned at. Or to meet a sexy firefighter that appeared out of nowhere who would protect her and her charges from a firestorm. All they have to do is to survive the next twenty-four hours. And then some...
Destruction is ugly and beautiful.
Mac Saxton was doing his job when he came across a handful of people and their nurse trapped at the convalescent home. Left there to die, there was no choice. He would keep them safe from the wildfires, decimating everything around them.
With Eartha, he watched a little part of the world come apart. But was it the end of the destruction or the beginning of something else?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kasssanna
• Release date: Jan 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005909192

Kasssanna

Kassanna is a strong believer in love at first sight and happily ever afters. After meeting her husband in November and marrying him three months later in February the two have survived and mostly enjoyed every adventure life has thrown their way. Ten years, two children, a couple of dogs and a wild turkey that came out the woods and somehow adopted them - later- the adventure continues.Writing has always been her passion but fate sometimes has other roads that must first be taken . Navigating the road less traveled was not only unexpected but in the end extremely rewarding. Her books are mainly contemporary romance but she has delved into the paranormal and plans on expanding into other areas as the ideas come to her. Right now she is enjoying life and seeing her work come into fruition make it that much more pleasurable especially when her books make others smile. Kassanna wouldn't have it any other way.

Book preview

Kassanna

Smoke Jumper

BY

Kassanna

*****

Copyright © January 2021, Kassanna

Cover art by Flavorfullove Publishing Copyright © January 2021

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

FlavorFullove Unlimited

Florida, USA

www.Flavorfullove.com

Chapter One

Smoke billowed across treetops creating a haze among the thin branches that made it almost impossible to see through. Even through the noise canceling earphones, the muffled roar of helicopter blades slicing through the air drowned out any actual conversations. As the copter cut through the thickening smoke, a miasma of caustic air flowed through the open door.

Mac Saxton, crew leader, gripped the nylon loop to the side of the doorway and leaned over to gaze down at the fire raging below them. Flames climbed up the trunks of trees, eating up the branches to lick at the sky. Heat caressed his cheek from a pool of flames that they would soon rappel into. He leaned back into his seat and double checked his oxygen tank and lines. It was his job to lead his team into the middle of the blaze and make one of two things happened. Extinguish the fire or mute it long enough to buy time for the residents to get out of danger and keep everyone alive.

They’ve been dropping water on the fire all night. Dev Thompson, his best friend, and back-up crew leader filled the spot in the doorway he vacated. His tone fading in and out in the headphones. The chief ordered the guys on the line to retreat, it’s moving too fast and with the wind, shit. How many times has this damn fire changed course? Cold Creek Fire is going to circle the town, mark my words.

Mac shook his head. Nah. It will blow through it and scorch everything in its path. If we can’t put it out, then we go with Plan B, buy time. Get enough wood on the ground to create a boundary, get folks ample time to grab their precious shit, and get to a safe place. Make sure a couple guys stay at our backs to ensure we got a way out. He was talking in circles, speaking his thoughts, but he knew his buddy understood what he was saying.

Dev raised his arms and held two thumbs up in front of his face.

The copter leaned and dipped low to hover above a clearing. Dropping load one. The pilot’s voice filled his ear. Prepare to jump.

Axes and chainsaws, additional oxygen tanks, masks, a massive water tank and hoses was dropped. Everything they needed to do their job. The copter wobbled from the release of the weight. After seeing what they would deal with, Mac wondered. Would it be enough? He rose from his seat. He and his crew locked their clips to the safety line. Glancing down the thick nylon rope at the faces of the men that would jump with him. Guys that trusted him to make sure they would all return home. These men were family, not by blood but through experiences. He spoke into the mic. See you in hell.

Not if I see you first. His men uttered in unison.

Good luck. May the odds be ever in your fa-. The pilot’s words were cut off when he tore the headphones from his head and dropped them in the seat.

Mac gave the thumbs up sign to the men who would come behind him and leap. He jumped, descending into the gray haze.

****

Eartha Cummings grabbed her bag and slammed the locker door; it was her last day. A bittersweet occasion since her resignation wasn’t necessarily by choice. Still, she had a lot to do before her move to Colorado Springs. A new job was waiting for her there, a chance to start fresh.

The only one in the employee locker room, she spun around the small space taking everything in. For five years, Paradise in the Valley Convalescent Center was her second home. The residents and a few of her co-workers, a family she never thought she would have. She’d said her goodbyes earlier, some residents and a few of her closer work buddies held a small party for her in the cafeteria with cake and ice cream, but it was still hard to walk away. Honestly, it rankled the way she was leaving.

Michelle, another nurse, rushed in, a frantic look on her face. Eartha twisted around, watching her. Eyes wide, her lips pressed tightly together, Michelle’s chest heaved as her nostrils flared. She hastily spun the face of the lock on the locker. Tick, tick, tick, floated from the mechanism, but it didn’t give. She tried again.

What’s wrong? Excitement that flowed through her quickly morphed to concern. Eartha cocked her head, trying to recall anything she may have missed while packing her belongings. Codes weren’t called over the speaker system. There was nothing to alert her that something had gone horribly wrong, and yet there was genuine fear in Michelle’s eyes.

The Cold Creek fire changed course and we’ve been asked to evacuate. Michelle finally got her locker open and with shaking hands snatched up a few items. It’s close, too close. The director is organizing the buses now. We’ve got to get the hell out of here. She slammed the metal door shut and trotted out the room, leaving Eartha alone.

Eartha rushed out behind her into the hallway and walked into the middle of chaos. Medical staffed hurried about, helping each other. Some carried bags, others were empty-handed, a few of the elderly cried. How the hell had things spiraled so out of control in the matter of maybe a half an hour? Eartha moved toward the reception area, dodging ex-coworkers to get to the director’s office.

Ms. Pence glanced up from her desk and raised a brow in her direction. We only have two buses! There isn’t enough room for everyone. We need help with evacuation. She spoke out loud, the cell’s earpiece protruding from her ear. This a crisis, dammit. They are elderly and infirm. She spun around in her chair to face the lone window in her office.

Eartha hovered in the doorway and lifted her head to see what Ms. Pence looked at. Through the glass, in the distance, a group of pines created a fence line and beyond that black smoke from multiple spots spiraled up into the sky.

A school bus, something. You are asking me to choose who will live and who might die. She sighed. Please. This is someone’s relative. Ms. Pence turned again and picked up the cell, tapped the screen, then raised her head to meet Earths gaze. Why are you still here?

What’s going on? Eartha crossed the threshold into the director’s domain.

Winds have blown the fire directly in our path; it will be here in a matter of hours, if not sooner. She rose from her seat and came around the desk. We need to evacuate, but our buses can’t carry everyone at once. We will have to leave a few residents behind and come back. Since you are still here...

Okay, wait...what? Eartha exhaled; her heart beat double time in her chest as she processed the information she was being told. As acting head nurse, this situation also fell on her shoulders. Even if it was her last day of work. You clocked out, chick. Her mind screamed. Willfully leaving the residents that were more like aunts and uncles didn’t sit right either. We need to get as many people as possible out anyway we can so two runs won’t be necessary. Her mind was sifting through the residents who needed the most help. They were the ones that needed to be on the bus. Perhaps a few of the staff could take people in their personal vehicles.

I’ve already given Tina the list of those to accommodate first. Ms. Pence shook her head. This is a hell of a way to end your last day. There was no sincerity in her tone.

Eartha pressed her lips together to keep her comments to herself. It didn’t have to be her last day, but after the bullshit the director took her through, she was forced out. A long sigh gave some release to her resentment. That was an argument for another day.

She stared at the woman who’s façade didn’t match her intentions. As with most new administrators, Ms. Pence brought in a few of her own nurses and forced out some staff who had been there for years. First accusations of discrimination and favoritism were tossed around, then complaints were filed. Eartha wasn’t high enough on the totem pole to be targeted. What she was, though, was close friends with Deena. Who was the head nurse prior to Pence’s hiring. A woman and friend she considered a mentor. And what she didn’t expect was to be recommended by Deena to the board for the head nurse position before she left. Shockingly, the board agreed, and they appointed her to the job.

Just that quick she became Ms. Pence’s enemy number one and no problem making her feelings known in the most passive aggressive way. Things came to a head when she was called as a witness in the discrimination case. Shit rolled downhill from there.

The board and Ms. Pence settled with Deena out of court, and Eartha never had to set foot in the courtroom, but the damage was done. Deena took her settlement and decided to travel. Before she left, Deena warned