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The funeral was pla
“Yeah,” Tommy confirmed, “the victim was already dead when we got to him.”
“Explain,” Allan, a retired fire chief from the very station where Tommy and Neal worked, demanded.
“Apparently the husband and wife had been sleeping in different bedrooms. He was a drinker, situation wasn’t pleasant, divorce was in the cards, but they hadn’t yet told the kids.” Tommy shook his head. “Fire broke out when everyone was sleeping. Mother woke to the smell of smoke and started screaming. She thought she woke everyone. A neighbor must have called 9-1-1, thank the Lord, ‘cause by the time she got up, the entire back of the first floor was consumed in flames.
“We got there, got in, and Neal grabbed two of the kids right out of their beds. They couldn’t get out of their rooms—fire was right outside their fucking door. The mom was stuck in another bedroom with the two other kids. Got them out. The kids started talking about the puppy who was stuck in the crate in the front of the house. Two guys went in and got the dog...in and out fast, no worries. That’s when the wife screamed for her husband.” Tommy’s eyes drifted between Da
Allan nodded woodenly.
“He’d been on the second floor, seen the devastation there,” Tommy said. “The minute he screamed he was going in, I followed. According to the wife, the spare bedroom was in the back of the house.”
“Where the fire started,” Da
“Yeah,” Tommy nodded, swallowing hard. Julie could see the man was reliving each minute as he spoke.
“We got in quick enough, or so we thought. The victim was lying on the bed, unresponsive.” Tommy looked at both men. “You know how it is—we didn’t even try to wake him. I just threw him over my shoulder and headed back to the window. The floor was so fucking hot, it was begi
“The mayday call was executed flawlessly, but the fall was too bad, the fire too out of control.” Tommy rubbed his hands over his face. “Thing of it is, the father must of had a heart attack and died before the fire ever started. The family’s already received the preliminary autopsy results. There was no smoke in his lungs, but he did suffer from a massive cardiac event.”
“So what you’re telling me is”—Da
Julie gasped as Da
Allan rose slowly, rounded the table, and stopped in front of his remaining child. “No, son, what Tommy is telling us is Neal died doing what he lived to do. We’re firefighters. We protect those who need us when their lives are in the balance. Those little children didn’t know their daddy had died. They only knew he was stuck in their house and couldn’t get out. Neal got him out, son. Dead or alive, that man was rescued.”
###
AS PREDICTED, NEAL’S funeral was well attended. Okay, well attended may have been a grand understatement. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects to the fallen hero, the former high school quarterback, the town heartthrob, the soldier’s brother, the fire chief’s son, and the all-around amazing man Neal Marcus had been. The eulogies were both heartbreaking and warming as people sobbed and giggled over the stories shared. When Da
“He’s go
“But will you?” Julie countered.
Her father-in-law drew in a deep breath and let his eyes close for a second before he stared at the podium where his son stood. “A parent never gets over losing a child. Ever. And I’ve lost two. I won’t be the same man I was—I can’t be—but it’s my job as a parent to continue on. To love Da
“I love you, Allan,” Julie murmured. “Thank you for giving me Da
“You are mine, sweetie.”
If she never saw another casket lowered into the ground, it would be too soon. Everyone left the cemetery and headed back to the Marcus home, but Da
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but…I’m interruptin’.”
The familiar voice blanketed Julie, and an audible sigh escaped her lips as she turned to see the man standing behind them.
Chapter Eight
Ended Up Being Your Ladder
DANNY’S HEAD JERKED up from the fresh dirt the second that deep voice hit his ears. Pivoting, he faced his friend, a man who had come to mean so much over the years, even though they didn’t see nearly enough of each other since Da
“Chester… what? How did you know?”
The older man shook his head. His sorrow-filled eyes moved from Da
Da
“How do think I always know the latest gossip from Chester’s Bar? It certainly isn’t from the few times a year we see him.” Julie wrapped her arms around the man who’d been her salvation before Da
“Shh, that’s supposed to be a secret,” Chester said gruffly before turning his gaze back to Da
“You drove all the way down here from Laurel?” Da
“Boy, I’d fly around the damn world if you guys needed me. Damn shame you don’t know that yet.”
Tears stung Da
“Are you done standing out here?” Chester asked.
Da
“Yeah, we’re done,” Da
“You wa