Riverbend Road Read Free Page B

reaction.
    â€œWe’ve got to move, before the whole thing tumbles down around us.” As her vision adjusted to the shift in light, she saw Cade, his face set and hard, carrying both boys as if they weighed no more than a couple bags of sugar.
    â€œYou coming?” he growled.
    â€œRight behind you, Chief,” she mumbled, then called on the last of her strength to follow Cade as he rushed away from the structure toward a cluster of emergency vehicles just arriving on scene.
    He headed straight for the ambulance pulling in just behind the first water truck. Before they reached it, a couple of paramedics jumped out and grabbed a gurney out of the back. They were two of the best in the volunteer department, she saw with relief. In seconds, Ed Cutler had Caleb on the stretcher.
    â€œI didn’t have much time to assess the situation but it looked like he broke his ankle. He jumped out of the hayloft once the fire started,” Wyn explained, keeping a careful eye on Ed’s partner Terri Michaels as she hooked Luke up with an oxygen mask.
    â€œThanks. Sit down before you fall over,” the bald EMT ordered her. “Terri, get a mask on Wyn here too.”
    â€œI’m okay,” she said. “Don’t worry about me. You’ve got enough on your hands with the boys. They come first.”
    â€œYou’re going to let them treat you,” Cade growled. “And then you’re going to explain to me why the hell you thought you could defy a direct order.”
    The paramedics exchanged glances and then pointedly busied themselves with Lucas and Caleb.
    â€œI had no choice. You can see how quickly that thing flared out of control. When I rolled up, only the loft was engulfed but I knew it was only a matter of time. If I hadn’t gone in, Chief Gallegos would be sending his guys in for body retrieval and we both know it!”
    â€œAnother ten seconds and they would have been looking for three bodies!”
    Though the June afternoon sunshine was warm and the fire put out plenty of heat, Wyn shivered. As her adrenaline spike ebbed, the reality of the situation began to soak in like that water spraying out of the firefighters’ hose.
    In nearly five years of law enforcement, she’d never had such a close call. She and the boys all could have died inside that fiery barn. If she had been thirty seconds later...if she hadn’t been able to move as quickly...if one of those blazing timbers had crashed to the ground.
    No question about it, they had been lucky.
    She swallowed, suddenly light-headed. She didn’t realize she swayed until Cade grabbed her.
    â€œSit down,” he ordered harshly, though his hands were gentle as he helped her to the ground. Terri came over with an oxygen mask and a water bottle.
    â€œDid you call another ambulance for her yet?” Cade asked.
    Terri looked wary at his clipped tone. “No. We’ll check her blood gases first. Could be, we can treat and release at the scene with a few more puffs of oxygen.”
    â€œI’m perfectly fine,” Wyn answered through the mask, then spoiled the words with a paroxysm of coughing.
    When Wyn finished, Cade’s silver-blue eyes looked as fierce and hard as the Redemption Mountains.
    â€œIf the paramedics don’t ship you to the hospital, take your vehicle and clear out. You’re officially suspended without pay for the next seven days.”
    For a moment, she thought the fire had messed with her hearing. “ What? I just saved two lives!”
    â€œAnd almost lost your own in the process.”
    She glared at him. “You can’t suspend me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
    â€œYou disobeyed a direct order and your actions could have endangered others.”
    â€œHow?” she demanded.
    â€œYou turned off your radio, didn’t you? You had no idea what the status of the other responding personnel might have been. Nor did we have anybody on scene to