“What’s he doing?” Old Man asked.
Chaska was pretty sure he knew. “Getting ropes.”
Fighting tears,Lexi fastened Emily into her car seat and then lifted their black Lab, Mack, who was inside his crate, into the back of her Lexus. She’d called Austin and texted him, but he hadn’t answered. Last she’d heard, he was staffing a roadblock.
He had told her this day might come. He’d said it was the risk they took by choosing to live in the wildland-urban interface. He’d warned her not to be sentimental but to grab the basics and get out. But no warning could prepare her for the reality of leaving her home like this.
She ran through a quick mental checklist, her thoughts scattered by adrenaline. She had all the important papers—passports, birth certificates, professional certifications, Emily’s and Mack’s immunization records. She’d packed her duplicate hard drive with all of her client records. She’d grabbed their computers and flash drives, including the one with the video that Eric and Vic had made for their wedding. She’d packed clothes and toiletries. She’d taken Emily’s and Mack’s favorite toys, as well as dog food and people snacks. She’d also grabbed the album of old family photos from before her mother’s death.
That was the important stuff.
She tried not to think of what she was leaving behind, but couldn’t help it. The quilt she’d had since she was four. Framed photos. Her romance novels. All of their Christmas decorations. Her wedding dress. Austin’s climbing gear—itself worth thousands of dollars.
Tears streaming down her cheeks, she sent her father a quick text message to ask whether he needed help evacuating. Then she backed out of the garage and drove down the road toward the highway into town, Emily humming to herself in the backseat, blissfully unaware of what was unfolding in her life.
Lexi focused on the drive to Boulder. It was going to be chaos. Three highways converged in Scarlet, but two were already closed because they followed the rivers up into the mountains toward the fire. That left only one way out of the mountains for almost fifteen hundred residents.
She reached the highway, found bumper-to-bumper traffic, waited to merge.
Herb, who’d been the town’s pharmacist since before Lexi was born, stopped for her, flashed his brights, and waved for her to merge.
She waved back, joining her neighbors as they moved slowly downhill away from danger. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic down into Scarlet proper, cars, trucks hauling horse trailers, and SUVs inching along.
Then ahead she saw flashing lights—firefighters trying to get through.
Almost as one, the column of traffic pulled over, driving onto sidewalks and front lawns to make room for the men and women who were trying to save their town.
A hotshot crew.
It headed up the canyon in the opposite direction from everyone else, the words IHC PINE RIDGE HOTSHOTS on the side.
“Stay safe.” Lexi knew they couldn’t hear her, but it felt good to say something.
A helicopter rose off the reservoir and flew over town, hose dangling beneath it.
Her cell phone buzzed—a message from Kendra.
Your dad refuses to go. He wants to go down with the ship. Stubborn S.O.B!
Lexi let out an exasperated groan. “Dad!”
She knew Austin would want her to keep going and let the sheriff deal with her father, but she couldn’t just leave him. She had to at least try to talk some sense into his head. For all of his failings—and he had many—he was her father, and she loved him.
She flipped on her turn signal, waited until she reached First Street, and made a left. There, standing in front of the Inn, was her father, garden hose in hand, spraying down the building.
She drove up, pulled over, climbed out. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
Kendra charged out of the front door. “Thank God, you’re here! I loaded up the car, but I can’t get him to go.”
“I’m not leaving. You two head on down the canyon.”
Kendra stamped her foot. “If you stay, I stay.”
Across the street, Rose hurried out of her shop, ran down the stairs with a box in her arms, and shoved the box into her white Chevy Tahoe. Next to her, Marley was rolling a dolly loaded merchandise—medical and recreational marijuana—out to a small truck.
He waved to Lexi, shouting to be heard. “I don’t want this all going up in smoke!”