The Maddox Brothers: Beautiful Burn Part 17

"Your sister again?" Tyler asked, patting his face with an old ratty hand towel. The rest of him was still dirty, as were the rest of us.

I'd forgotten what my hair smelled like when it didn't reek of smoke, or how my sheets felt against my skin. I pulled my camera off my neck and fell onto the raggedy sofa of the Alpine duty station, deep in the Rocky Mountain National Forest. Fire season had started early, and I'd been camping with the Alpine Hotshots for fourteen days while they fought a fire that dug in so deep the smoke jumpers from all over the country were deployed. According to the Alpine crew, it was their biggest fire in two seasons.

The crew headed for the kitchen, and I sat, my limbs sprawled in every direction, watching them pa.s.s by. Every muscle in my body hurt, every joint, even my insides. I'd started my period our second day in fire camp, but it was barely present before it went away, most likely from the sudden surge in activity and decrease in caloric intake. My pants were loose. I wasn't sure if I wanted to look at myself in the mirror.

Smitty high-fived Taco before opening the fridge and leaning in to weigh his options, his face smudged with soot.

"That got intense for a second there," Tyler said.

"Thanks for babysitting me ... again. And for helping me with my tent. I can't believe the guys slept on the fire line for three nights. Some of the guys didn't even have coats."

"They're bigger guys. It's called flight weight-sort of like a weight limit. Sometimes, the helos fly us to the more remote locations, so we don't have to hike so far on foot. Between equipment, our fuel, and the crew, the helos can only carry so much. Sometimes, Runt will bring one of those aluminum sheets the mountain climbers use for camping because he's skinny, and he has the flight weight to spare."

"So you huddle?"

"Huddle, share blankets, spoon ... it's f.u.c.king cold up there. Whatever works," he joked.

"Then why do it?"

"Sleeping on the fire line means hazard pay. Some of the guys prefer it to sleeping at fire camp."

"The generators were pretty loud," I said.

"You should have said something. We could have hopped in a truck and driven a little farther out, away from the noise."

"It was fine. I was fine."

"For a rich kid, you don't complain, do you?"

"I loved it out there. I really did."

Tyler leaned over and sniffed my shoulder. "You smell amazing."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious. Wildland smoke is my favorite smell. On a girl? Makes you strangely appealing."

"I've been called worse."

Tyler frowned. "Not in front of me."

I managed a tired smile. "My hero."

The hotshots had already peeled off their suits and packs in the truck bay, but we all smelled like old cheese that had been smoked in a giant campfire. Tyler kneeled, pinching the laces of my snow boots and pulling apart the knots. He slipped them off, one by one, and I leaned back even further, wiggling my toes a few times to celebrate their freedom. He pulled off my socks slowly, grimacing at the new blisters, the seeping blisters, and the healing blisters.

"Christ, Ellie. We talked about this."

"I don't mind. Makes me feel like I'm earning it."

"Gangrene isn't an award." He jogged over to fetch the first aid kit and began doctoring the mangled mess I'd been walking on for ten days.

I tried to blink, but it took a while for my eyes to open again. They felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. I could have taken a nap right there.

Tyler finished slathering antibiotic cream and taping gauze to my wounds, then took a blanket from the back of a recliner and unfolded it, spreading it over me. I bounced when he plopped on the sofa next to me, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved thermal, the three b.u.t.tons at the top open. I preferred him in his ill-fitting, flame-r.e.t.a.r.dant clothes and blue hardhat, but he would never let me forget it if he knew.

"You never complain. No training, you just jumped in there and hiked miles and camped out in the dirt and snow in freezing temperatures," he said, relaxing next to me. "I'm impressed. All the guys are."

"I don't care," I said, resting my cheek against his shoulder. I was frozen and exhausted, unsure how my fingers continued to function as the days went on. True to his word, Tyler had kept me close. It was a beautiful but difficult trek, up inclines and through the aspens. In some places, the snow was still ankle-to-shin deep, and we walked for almost an hour to the site through the underwood and slush. My feet and face were numb before we ever reached the fire, but I was distracted from any discomfort when I looked through the lens of my camera.

I could barely move, and the rest of Tyler's crew were chatting and making sandwiches. After fourteen days on the mountain, they were owed forty-eight hours of mandatory R & R. Even though they were all worn down, their version of a weekend had arrived, and they were restless.

"How are they so ... peppy?" I asked, my words slow, my voice hoa.r.s.e.

"Adrenaline," Tyler said, picking up my camera and clicking through the various shots.

"How can they still have an adrenaline high? The ride home took forever. I thought we were never going to get back."

"Every time we leave for a fire, there's a chance one or all of us might be injured or worse. Returning as a complete unit means a lot." He handed me the camera. "Nice pics."

"Thanks."

He rested his chin on my hair. "Jojo is going to be happy."

"Thanks. She texted me today. She wants to see what I've got."

"So you're going to show them to her now?" His eyebrows pulled in. "Does this mean you're done?"

"I guess we'll find out."

Tyler was watching his friends wrestle and joke in the kitchen, but he looked unhappy. "Ellie?"

I heard him call my name, but I was at the bottom of a barrel full of water, warm and unwilling to move. The sound of the guys in the kitchen faded away, and all I could hear was the sound of my own heart and the steady rhythm of Tyler's breath. I sank deeper into myself, comfortable under the blanket and against Tyler's arm.

"Shut the f.u.c.k up!" Tyler hissed. He jerked, and I blinked, seeing a blurry Watts jump over whatever Tyler had thrown at him.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Wow. How long was I out?"

"Three hours," Jubal said with a smile. "Tyler didn't move a muscle the whole time so he didn't wake you up."

"Did you get dinner?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I brought him a sandwich," Watts said, throwing the small square pillow back at Tyler. "He'll live."

Tyler caught it and held it to his chest, pouting.

"What's up with you?" I asked.

Watts jutted out his lip. "He's p.i.s.sed we woke you up."

"Knock it off," Jubal said, handing me a gla.s.s of ice water.

"Thanks," I said.

Smitty turned up the television, and Taco fished for his ringing cell phone, standing up to take the call in the office.

Tyler stood. "We should probably get those shots to Jojo and you home, huh?"

"Yeah. I should probably call Jose."

"I'll take you," he said immediately.

Jubal watched us with amus.e.m.e.nt, although I wasn't sure why. The rest of Tyler's crew seemed to be going about their business, while still keeping an ear open to whatever I might say.

"Uh, sure," I said. "Thanks."

All nineteen hotshots, from Fish to Pup, gave me a bear hug before I left, all asking me to come back soon. Chief made a rare appearance outside of his office to tell me goodbye, and then Tyler walked me to his truck, patiently keeping pace with my sloth-like speed.

"f.u.c.k," Tyler said under his breath. "I should have started the truck so it was warm."

"It's fine. Really, no big deal. I think I've proven myself by now not to be high maintenance."

"That you have." He opened my door but paused when he noticed me staring. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Opening the door for you."

"Why?" I said. His gesture made me feel awkward.

"Just get in."

I climbed inside, hugging myself to keep warm while Tyler slammed the pa.s.senger door and jogged around to the other side. He was brooding, unhappy about something.

He drove us down to the magazine so I could drop off my flash drive to Jojo. She greeted me with a smile, eager to upload the pictures to her computer.

"Daddy is loving these," she said.

"Yeah? Does that mean I'm done?" I asked.

"Maybe. I need you to write up what you've learned so far, and I'll clean it up for you. We might need some pork."

"Um ... pork?"

Her finger tapped the computer mouse. "You know ... material we might use later." She scanned me from head to toe. "Go home and get some rest, Ellison. You look like h.e.l.l."

"On my way," I said, taking back my chip and heading for the door.

Tyler's truck was still running, the exhaust fumes billowing into the night sky. The moment he saw me walking toward him, he leaned over the console and pushed open my door. I climbed up again, and he rubbed my leg quickly.

"We need to get you home. You're exhausted."

"You've been working a lot harder than me."

"But I'm used to it. Jojo should give you a few days off. You're going to get sick."

"I feel better than I have in a long time, actually."

Tyler put the gearshift into drive and pulled away from the curb, heading toward my house. He lit a cigarette and handed it to me without me asking, and then lit his own. We didn't talk much. Instead, I left Tyler to the seemingly millions of thoughts in his head.

Tyler pulled his truck into my drive and slowed to a stop at the gate. I leaned over him to press in the code, and the gate whined, beginning its slow journey open. Tyler pulled forward and drove the mile-long path to the house.

It was dark, and I a.s.sumed Maricela and Jose had gone home for the night.

"Thanks for the ride," I said, gathering my things and climbing down to the concrete below. I walked around the front of the truck, took a few more steps, and then froze.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Ellison, she knows," Sterling said. He stepped out from the shadows, looking thin, his whiskers a few days past a five o'clock shadow. He stumbled down the steps, his tie loose and his shirt stained.

Tyler's door opened and closed, and his footsteps crunched against the snow and rock until he stopped just behind me.

"Hey, Sterling," Tyler said. "Good to see you."

Sterling's eyes were wet. I could smell the whiskey from ten feet away. "She f.u.c.king knows, Ellie. She won't answer my calls."

"I've told you, she never answers your calls when she's on holiday."

"She f.u.c.king knows!" he spat.

"Hey," Tyler said, stepping between us. "I'm not sure what's going on here, but I bet it will make more sense in the morning. Let me take you home, Sterling. You look like you've had a rough day."

"f.u.c.k you," Sterling said, still staring at me. "And you, too."

"f.u.c.k me?" I said. "Who's the one who pa.s.sed me the mystery pill?"

"She's never going to speak to me again. What am I going to do?"

"You're overreacting, Sterling," I said. "You're being paranoid. Whatever you're on isn't helping."

"I know this is your fault!" he snapped, his voice carrying through the trees between our homes. "You're not just the town wh.o.r.e; you're the world's wh.o.r.e. Everyone knows who to call for a f.u.c.k if Ellie's in town," he said.

"Wait just a G.o.dd.a.m.n minute," Tyler said, taking a step. I grabbed his coat, holding him back.

Sterling laughed. "What are you going to do, lieutenant bad a.s.s? Change my mind?"

"Keep talking," Tyler growled. "You'll find out."

Sterling held up his hands in mock terror. "Put that blue collar to work."