Mr. April: Heroes of Rogue Valley - Calendar Guys, #4

1

At nine on the dot Tuesday morning, Hallie Sawyer strode into the visitors area of the Guff's Lake Fire Department. The sound of her heels clicking across the tile floor made her feel important. Her whole carefully crafted look, from her French twist to her crisp linen blouse, pencil skirt and summer pumps screamed professional magazine writer—she hoped.

So what if she'd spent more on the outfit than her budget allowed? Making an impression mattered. And she so needed this assignment to pan out.

Forcing a confident smile, she approached the thirty-something female seated behind a protective glass barrier. Hi, Ms. Zindell, she said after a quick glance at the woman's nameplate. I have an appointment with Captain Comings.

Hallie had contacted Fire Prevention magazine about writing a four-part series profiling fire departments in midsize towns across the country, with Guff's Lake, Oregon, as the launch story. As yet the magazine had contracted for only the Guff's Lake story, but if the article was good enough, surely a series would follow.

Had to, because making her hard-earned money stretch between writing assignments wasn't easy. A little short-term certainty would be nice, and who knew what doors her success might open?

Everyone calls me Miranda, the receptionist said. She gave Hallie a quizzical look. Do I know you?

I don't believe so. I'm Hallie Sawyer.

Miranda's eyes widened before she offered the sympathetic look Hallie had come to expect and dread. I remember you from the Guff's Lake News. I'm so sorry.

After four years and umpteen more recent tragedies and distractions, you'd think people would forget. But no. Hallie wished the well-meaning people of Guff's Lake would find someone else to tiptoe around instead. Thank you, she murmured with barely a stumble.

I'll let Captain Comings know you're here. Miranda picked up the phone and made the call. He'll be out shortly—with Owen Ayers, she said, clearly expecting a reaction.

AKA Mr. April in the Guff's Lake Fire Department calendar? Ooh. Covering her surprise, Hallie feigned nonchalance. After all, she was a professional writer. Besides, she already knew Owen. Or had. Sort of. Back in high school.

Along with almost everyone else in town, she owned a copy of the calendar that the fire department sold every year, and not just to gaze at the twelve gorgeous males featured—one each month. Proceeds from calendar sales went to the department's benefit fund, which provided assistance to those who needed it after a fire.

Although Hallie had lived in Guff's Lake all her life, she'd never set foot inside the fire department. Do you mind if I take pictures of your lobby? she asked.

Be my guest.

She wandered around the visitors area, which was filled with photos and memorabilia. A 1913 fire engine from when the department had first opened made for an eye-catching centerpiece. She snapped photos with her cell phone camera and jotted down notes. And wondered about Owen and seeing him in person after all these years… What would that be like?

As she admired the black and white photos from days gone by, the captain and Owen entered the area. She didn't need the calendar to recognize Owen—even if she hadn't seen him since the end of her freshman year in high school. She'd read about his wedding in the paper and later about his divorce, but otherwise had lost track of him.

Neither her memories nor his calendar photo did him justice. Unbelievably, he was even more striking in person than he had been in high school—tall and muscled, with a buzz cut and a strong chin.

A handsome male in his own right, the forty-something captain extended his arm. Hello, Ms. Sawyer. I'm Captain Comings.

Please, call me Hallie, she said, smiling as she shook his hand.

All right. Hallie, this is Owen Ayers—the firefighter I've assigned to show you around and answer any questions while you're here.

Hallie and Owen shook hands. His warm, firm grasp dwarfed hers and conveyed confidence. The magnetic eyes no sane woman could forget, a little close together and a startling navy blue, held her gaze and brought back the fluttery feeling she'd had in high school.

Weren't you in Pearl's class at Orchard High? he asked.

He remembered? That's right. Freshman year, we played on the girls' JV soccer team together and became friends. You were on the boys' varsity basketball team.

That was a long time ago.

Fifteen years. But Hallie hadn't forgotten. From the second she'd laid eyes on Owen Ayers, she'd been smitten with the biggest crush…

Four years older and a senior, he'd never paid her any attention. Why would he? She'd been skinny and straight as a stick, with a mouth full of braces. Besides, all his focus had been on beautiful Colleen, his steady girlfriend and now ex-wife.

Let's go into the training room and talk, Captain Comings said. He entered a code into a keypad on a locked door. When the latch clicked open, he gestured Hallie through.

With the distinct feeling the two men were assessing her from the back, she straightened her shoulders and entered the interior of the fire department.

Owen wasn't thrilled about being shadowed for two days, but he could do a lot worse than spend a few days showing Hallie Sawyer around, he thought as he and the captain flanked her on the way to the training room. She was attractive. About five feet seven and curvy. Tawny skin, big eyes, dark brown hair pulled back into something fancy. Great legs, too, at least from what he could see in her knee-length skirt.

She looked a whole lot different from when the Rogue Valley News and online reporters had plastered photos of her everywhere during the weeks following the tragedy.

Surely he would have remembered the teenage version of her. He didn't. He could only recall that she and his sister Pearl had hung out in high school. He'd been too wrapped up in Colleen and his own life to pay attention to his sister's friends. He made a mental note to look Hallie up in the yearbook—if he could find it. No doubt, Pearl had held onto her copy.

The stuff he knew about Hallie was more recent. For months, her agonizing story had haunted him and everyone else in town. A member of the well-known and respected Sawyer Construction family, pregnant and soon to be married, she had had everything to look forward to, and life had looked bright and promising. Until the fateful evening Simon Wharton, her fiancé, had stopped at a convenience store to pick up a fresh supply of the beef jerky she craved during her pregnancy.

Minutes later, two thugs high on meth and intent on robbing the store had entered the building. In a classic holdup-gone-bad, Simon had been shot and killed, his only mistake being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Owen and his eleven crewmates had been off-duty that night, but the story had quickly spread through the entire department and the whole of Guff's Lake.

If that wasn't horrendous enough, shortly after the funeral Hallie had miscarried.

Compared to her losses, his sob story seemed trivial.

The captain gestured Hallie to take a seat at the table the station used for group trainings. Owen sat next to him, across from her. The table was wide, and about seven feet separated them. Even so, he could smell her perfume. Something subtle and sweet. Lilacs—a breath of spring in the scorching summer. Nice mouth, too. Her generous lips looked soft and inviting.

But he wasn't here to think about that.

At the Guff's Lake Fire Department, our crews work two back-to-back, twenty-four-hour shifts per week, Captain Comings began. This crew works Mondays and Tuesdays.

Her head bent toward her note pad, she scribbled furiously while her mouth formed an intriguing O.

The captain nodded for Owen to take over.

As Captain Comings mentioned, I'll be showing you the ropes and answering any questions while you shadow me.

She looked up, her eyes lit with excitement. I get to shadow you for forty-eight hours straight?

Owen couldn't believe she'd asked.

The captain appeared equally flabbergasted. That won't be possible. You're welcome here between seven-thirty and eighteen hundred hours—we use military time. Our morning meeting begins at zero eight hundred sharp. Owen will give you a copy of our Ride Along Policy. Read it before you come back.

Owen slid the paper across the table to her. When will your article be published?

It's scheduled for the November issue of Fire Prevention magazine. As soon as I get copies, I'll send one to the department.

We'll look forward to reading it, the captain said. While she put the ride-along rules in her notes folio he nodded at Owen and stood. "I'll leave you two to work out the details.

You wouldn't want to sleep here even for one night, Owen said after his boss left. Sometimes we're so busy we don't rest much.

But I'd get a real feel for what you experience in forty-eight hours.

His head filled with all sorts of interesting late-night images, none of them having to do with his job. He cleared his throat. You'll learn plenty during the day. Besides, there's no place for you to bunk.

Hallie nodded. Why don't you employ any female firefighters here?

We'd like to, but so far it hasn't worked out.

Why not?

This is a physically difficult job and extremely competitive. For every job opening we post, we get upward of two thousand applications. Most are from men, but occasionally a woman applies.

What do you do on a twenty-four-hour shift?

I'll show you Monday. Our shift officially begins with a meeting at zero eight hundred, but if I were you, I'd arrive at seven-thirty and join us for breakfast. Ditto with lunch, which is at twelve hundred. Both are BYOF—bring your own food. Your day here ends when we sit down to dinner.

Okay. Do you bring your own dinner, too?

Owen shook his head. We take turns providing and cooking the evening meal.

Is it okay to take photos for the article?

She sure was full of questions. You'll have to clear that with the captain. Punctuality is important, so be on time. One more thing, which you'll read about when you look over the Ride-Along Policy. Dress conservatively and neatly in dark pants and a shirt. No sandals or heels. Wanting to return to the job, he checked his watch.

You probably need to get back to work. Hallie slid her folio into a large shoulder bag and stood. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.

My pleasure. Before he could stop himself, his gaze swept over her.

Damn, he liked what he saw. He opened the door to the lobby and ushered her through.

2

The second Owen walked into his house Friday evening, Opal made a beeline for him. You were gone a long time, Uncle Owen! I'm hungry.

Grinning, he ruffled her hair. And look at that, he was playing the family man he'd always wanted to be. She was his niece, not his kid, and this was temporary, but he sure was crazy about her. Having her and Pearl bunking with him had definitely altered his life as a single man.

Hi there, graham cracker, he said, using the nickname borne from her love for the crackers. It's Friday night and Mama's Cantina was packed, but I got it. He held up the fragrant bag of steaming food.

Standing nearby, Pearl licked her lips. That sure smells good.

Pain shadowed her eyes. By this time of day, her back often bothered her. Four months ago, as she drove to her new admin job at the hospital, her world had tilted sideways. A head-on collision with a drunk driver had put a hold on her employment and left her with a totaled car and substantial injuries.

The drunken woman who'd hit her carried no insurance and was now in jail. Pearl's seatbelt had saved her from head trauma, and her auto insurance had paid out enough for her to buy a decent used vehicle. But she'd sustained a fractured back that had required surgery and several months for her to recuperate.

In limbo on health insurance, which kicked in ninety days after she started her job, and saddled with staggering medical bills, she'd soon lost her apartment. Owen had moved her and his niece into his three-bedroom home.

He touched Pearl's shoulder. Why don't you lie down?

I'm okay, she insisted. Opal, please wash up, then help your uncle Owen set the table.

Maybe you should take a pain pill, he said after the little girl skipped toward the powder room.

His sister shook her head. I'll put the heating pad on after dinner.

If you overdo the physical therapy, your back will take longer to heal completely, he warned.

I'm not pushing myself that hard. Now that the doctor cleared me to start work the week after next, I need to be extra strong so that I can put in forty hours a week. Then I can quit sponging off you.

Thanks to growing up with parents who had divorced each other twice, remarried each other three times and burdened themselves with perpetual debt, neither Owen nor his sister liked borrowing or owing money to anyone, including family.

The accident had changed that. You'd do the same for me, he said. You'll be independent in no time.

The sooner, the better. I'm going to start paying you back as soon as I get my first paycheck. I have it all budgeted out.

Having covered her staggering medical bills and the physical therapy, Owen doubted she'd ever be able to fully repay him. He didn't begrudge her, was grateful he'd had the funds to help her out. Only now, his once-fat savings account was all but drained—not a comfortable place to be.

Your first priority is an apartment for you and Opal, he said. Hey, do you remember Hallie Sawyer?

Pearl smiled. Of course. We had some good times in high school. Then we lost touch—although I did send her a card after she lost her fiancé and the baby. So sad. Why do you ask?

She's writing an article about the fire department and will be shadowing me next week.

The more he thought about seeing her again, the more he looked forward to it. Not that he'd ever admit it. His assignment was to show her the ropes, period.

Small world. I'd love to see her. Tell her 'Hi,' and give her my number.

Will do. I don't remember her from high school, and I can't find my yearbook.

Look through mine. It's in my closet, in a box labeled, 'Yearbooks.'

Opal was busy doing whatever a five-year-old girl did in the bathroom. While waiting for her, Owen brought the box into the kitchen. He found the right year and located Hallie's photos—there were several, none bearing a likeness to her now. In those pictures, she had gangly arms and legs, braces on her teeth, and no curves. She sure had changed. I still don't remember her, he said.

Don't tell her that. I think she had a crush on you.

No kidding. He filed that interesting tidbit away for later.

At last, Opal returned to help Owen with the table.

I keep meaning to tell you—Adam is going propose to Sam tonight, he told Pearl over the meal.

Wonderful! She'll say yes, right?

You know it. They're solid.

Adam's a good man. Sam's lucky. So is he.

Some people are, Owen agreed.

His sister gave him a telling look. As in, Not you and me.

Divorce was in their genes, or so their dad claimed. The only family members in a lasting marriage were Owen and Pearl's maternal grandparents. Fifty years together and they were still going strong.

At one time Owen had believed he'd beat the odds, that he and Colleen would follow in their footsteps. He'd been wrong. Two years after the divorce, he was easing back into dating, but keeping things light. He didn't want to get tangled up in anything serious, wasn't sure he ever would. Colleen had done a number on him. She—

Uncle Owen, I said, what does 'solid' mean? Opal asked.

It means Adam and Sam are a good couple and that their relationship will last.

Opal chattered away, full of talk about starting kindergarten in two weeks. Earlier today Owen's grandma had bought her a new outfit and shoes for school, and she could hardly wait to wear them. Then she switched gears. After dinner, can we watch Frozen?

Go ahead, but I have to pass, he said. I need to work.

He'd have preferred to hang out with her or better yet, play poker with his teammates at their standing Friday night game. Unfortunately, he was too deep into the weeds with revamping the fire safety training program he'd originally brought to market three years ago.

Fire departments that had bought the first version were clamoring for an updated one. New clients also wanted it and