Jesse showed his red card again. “Got any gear I can borrow?”
Brandon nodded, sweat making rivulets in the soot on his face. “You look like you’re about my size. I’ve got a spare brush shirt in my bag.”
Jesse put the brush shirt over his T-shirt, grabbed his helmet and a Pulaski, and stood with Silver. “This thing as bad as it looks?”
Brandon nodded. “It went from six-inch flame lengths to crown fire in a matter of minutes. Hawke called it first thing this morning. He was afraid this was going to happen. He’s been trying to get ahold of air assets all day and keeps running into bureaucratic bullshit. Hey, which way to the latrines?”
“Bottom floor, main lodge.” Jesse pulled out his cell phone and called Ellie as Brandon headed in the direction he’d pointed.
“Are you on your way home? I heard the ski resort is being evacuated.”
“I’m going to stay and do what I can to help. Brandon Silver had an extra brush shirt, and they’ve got plenty of tools.”
“Oh.”
He could tell Ellie wasn’t happy about this. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not going to do anything crazy.”
“You? Do anything crazy?” She laughed. “Why would I ever think that?”
“You should take the kids and head with your parents down to Boulder for the afternoon, maybe visit your sister or go swimming or something.”
For a moment, she said nothing.
“You think it’s that serious?”
Well, she’d read between his lines, hadn’t she?
“With this wind and as dry as it’s been … It might be.”
“I should stay to help in case the hospital has to evacuate. They’ll need every hand they can get.”
“Ellie…” What could he say?
He wanted to help, and so did she. But if she stayed, so did Dylan. He was only three months old and breastfed. He couldn’t be away from his mother for long.
“Pleasego, Ellie. I’ll be able to concentrate on doing my job if I know you and the kids are away from this and safe.”
“Okay. I’ll call my parents and Claire and see if they mind us invading this afternoon.”
Claire, Ellie’s sister, lived with her husband, Cedar, in Boulder.
“Good.”
“You truly believe we could be in danger?”
“It’s happened before, right? Scarlet burned to the ground once before.”
“Right.”
“How are the kids?” Jesse missed them when he was at work. There was nothing better than stepping through that door at the end of the day and having the twins shout, “Daddy!”
“Dylan is sleeping. Daniel and Daisy are in the yard playing dinosaurs. I hear lots of scary roars.”
“Kiss them for me.”
“I will. I love you, Jesse. Be safe. We need you.”
“I love you, too.”