Free Fire Born (Firehouse 343) by Christina Moore

his pocket. He brought Martie’s number up on screen and opened up a blank text.
    Good morning. With Kara and Irene in room 308 , he typed. Kara’s okay with you driving us home .
    A thought occurred to him as he was pressing Send, and he quickly opened up another blank text. By the way, I got your message. Thank you…for everything .
    He hit Send again and turned toward Irene and Kara, who said that he needed to come over and choose his breakfast. Chris had taken just two steps when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out again, he couldn’t help but smile to see that Martie had responded so quickly.
    Good morning to you too , she’d said. And you’re welcome. I’ll see you soon .
    Those four words— I’ll see you soon —suddenly meant the world to him, and the vice around his heart relaxed its grip just a little bit.
     
     
    Although she had ordered her favorite breakfast—French toast with whipped cream— Karalyn onl y ate one slice of the two, and after pushing her plate away she got up from the couch and went over to lie down on one of the bed s , facing away from them . It hurt Chris to see her so broken up, and he could only imagine what her depression was doing to Irene, who had to cope with not only her daughter’s heartache but her own.
    After Kara had gone to the other side of the room , Irene spoke quietly as she informed him that Tonja’s sister had come for her at 9:00 the night before as scheduled. Tina Webber had said that she knew Tonja would want a hand in planning the funeral, but to give her sister a day to absorb the shock of losing Calvin before making any decisions. Irene said she had agreed, as it was likely to be that long, at least, before she , Kara , and Calvin’s parents were ready to do anything about the service. She al so let him know that Rich ard and LouAnn , Calvin’s father and mother , had called her from the in-flight phone on their plane. She said she ’d told them she would wait for them at the airport in Billings if they wished her to , but that Richard Maynard had demanded she get back to Bozeman and take care of her business so she could “get your ass to Gracechurch and take care of my granddaughter.”
    At 8:30 on the dot, just as they were placing the dishes back on the room service cart, there was a light knock on the door. Chris felt his heartbeat increase its rhythm in spite of his efforts to remain calm, and he moved to greet the new arrival. Opening the door, he found Martie on the other side as expected, and for a moment he simply drank in the sight of her. Last night she had been a balm on his soul, listening to him talk, letting him c ry on her shoulder. She was there when he needed someone even though she didn’t know him from Adam, and that meant more to him than he could put into words.
    She had also shared her body with him, and the memory of that intimacy left him wondering how he was supposed to greet her. Did he kiss her cheek? Could he kiss her on the lips?
    Martie saved him from possibly making a fool of himself by smiling lightly and reaching for his hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze and he returned the gesture, allowing the corners of his mouth to turn up a fraction.
    “Christopher, aren’t you going to invite the lady in?”
    Heat flushed his neck as he stepped aside for Martie to enter. Chris closed the door and made the introductions.
    “Irene Lawton, this is Lt. Martine Liotta of the Montana Bureau of Fire Safety. Martie, Irene is Calvin’s former wife.”
    “I’m very sorry for your loss, Ms. Lawton,” Martie said.
    Irene nodded. “Thank you.”
    Kara rose from the bed then and walked over to stand next to her mother. “So you’re the one who’s gonna find out who did this to my dad?”
    Martie glanced at Chris. “ Karalyn Maynard, Calvin’s daughter,” he explained softly.
    She looked back at the younger woman, saying, “I’m going to find out what caused the fire, yes.”
    Chris noted the vagueness of her