Chapter 66

Once the last of the fire was out, Taren looked over the smoldering rubble that had been Kiki's house. They had fought the blaze for most of the night. Technically, his shift was over, but he wasn't going to leave until the last of the flames were out. In the light of day, Taren could see that the damage was extensive.
As he was working, his thoughts went to Kiki, wondering if she had a place to stay. He made a mental note to see what he could do about that when he could. Suddenly, an orange and blonde cat with white socks walked timidly over to the edge of the rubble and laid down, mewing loudly.
"Come here, buddy." Taren walked over to the cat, but when he reached down to pick it up, the cat hissed and swatted at his gloved hand. "I know your upset, but your Mama's okay. She's in the hospital." Taren stooped down and took off his glove. Then he held out his hand to let the cat sniff him. "See? You can trust me. I'm not going to hurt you."
The cat crawled toward him, her eyes wide, and Taren picked her up.
"And you must be Prissy." Taren chuckled. "You know, I thought your mother called me prissy when she asked about you." Prissy looked up at him and mewed. "I know. So, what do you say we get you back to your mama?" The cat rubbed up against his jacket in answer. Taren chuckled as he tucked Prissy into his coat to warm her. "But you have to promise not to scratch me." Prissy peeked her head out from inside his coat and mewed.
"Ready to go?" Erica and Dylan were rolling up the firehose.
"Yeah, it looks like we've done all we can do here." Taren looked down at Prissy, tucked safely in his jacket. "Besides, we have to get this little lady something to eat."
Bret laughed, unbuttoning is coat. "Since when did you become a cat person?"
"I've always been- and a dog person, too." Taren scratched the white patch under her chin. Prissy stretched, closing her eyes in enjoyment. "But this little lady belongs to Kiki, the girl we pulled out last night."
"You pulled out," Erica corrected. "She's lucky we got here when we did."
Taren not wanting to think about what could have happened if they had been just a few minutes longer.
"You know her?" Erica asked, her eyebrows pulling together in concern.
Taren nodded as a smile lit his lips. "Yes, we went to high school together." He chuckled to himself. "But back then, she was going through an Emo phase with black hair, and black makeup. She even had black lipstick and nail polish."
Erica raised an eyebrow. "Did you two ever date?"
"No, we were just friends." Taren sighed, remembering Kiki back then. Boy, had she changed. "Well, let's go."
"She's one lucky girl. Her angels were really looking out for her." Erica tucked the nozzle into place in the fire truck once the hose was wrapped, and then closed the door. The hose would need to be dried and then repacked once they got back to the station, but that would be for the next shift to do.
"Let's go." Taren climbed up into the front of the engine, supporting Prissy in his coat.
Dylan climbed up into the driver's seat and then nodded toward Prissy. "Looks like we have a new mascot."
Taren shook his head. "No, just a passenger." Taren scratched the white patch under her chin.
Dylan shrugged. "She can stay at the station until her mama leaves the hospital." Dylan slid the car into gear and pulled out onto the street.
"That's an idea." Taren patted her head. "You don't think the guys'll mind?"
Dylan laughed. "Yes- when you give her back. Knowing the guys, they'll get attached." He included Erica in with them, too. And to them, she was one of the guys. She could work harder then just about any guy he knew.
Taren smiled, knowine wag Dylan was right. Although they were a bunch of tough firefighters, Taren knew they would melt and become attached to the cat quickly. He chuckled at the thought.
They drove past the town square headed back to the station, past the sights and sounds of Christmas that lingered in the town year round. There was Santa's Workshop, a toy store that he frequented with Abby, as well as Santa's Café, the Christmas Cove Jewelry Store and more, all housed within the Danish and Swiss architecture, reminiscent of the North Pole. In fact, no modern or commercial businesses were allowed to open in the town square. The commercial businesses were in the next town. Taren guessed that was how the town was able to maintain its quaint Christmas feel all year. Once big business moved into small towns, the hometown feel was lost.
Dylan drove the fire truck down another road through residential streets, and soon, they pulled into the station. Taren was never so glad to see the fire station in his life.
"Home sweet home," Dylan announced as he pulled the fire truck to a stop in the driveway and turned off the engine. The next crew would clean up the fire truck and repack the hose before pulling it into the garage. But Taren knew he would be long gone by then.
"Maybe for you," Taren replied, but knew that Dylan had a family waiting for him at home, too. "Personally, I can't wait to get home to see my daughter."
"Me, too," Dylan agreed. "I can't wait to see what my children got from Santa."
Taren opened the door and Dylan followed. "Don't you know?"
Dylan smiled. "Yeah, but it's good to see it firsthand. With any luck, the children will still be sleeping when I get home. Cassie isn't going to wake them until I get there, if she can. But that doesn't mean that they won't wake up early on their own." Dylan chuckled. "But she's going to try and hold them off with breakfast for as long as she can."
Tarn gave him a manly slap on the arm. "Well, let's get out of here, then."
"Don't worry, guys. I'll take care of the paperwork," Erica teased, holding up her hands as she passed by.
"I always knew you'd be good for something someday," Dylan yelled after her, taking off his coat.
Erica peeked around the corner. "Yeah, just because some of us don't have a family to go home to--" Erica was single, but Taren had always thought of her as a little sister.
"Now, don't throw that in my face," Dylan followed her down the hallway and hung up his coat in the bunkroom and then turned to face her. "I mean, you could have a family of your own, too, if you wanted one."
Erica took off her boots and stowed them. "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to go out and pick the perfect guy off a tree."
"Now, wait a minute," Bret teased, walking in. "You have plenty of 'perfect men' here to choose from."
Erica scoffed. "As I said, what am I going to do, go out in the backyard and pick the perfect guy off a tree?"
"Okay, okay," Taren said, chuckling as Prissy jumped out of his coat and headed down the hallway, already making herself at home. "I don't know about you, but I'm going home." Taren stashed his gear. "I'll see you in a few days. And Merry Christmas, everyone."
"You, too." Erica smiled.