A flicker worth fuelling…?
While rescuing patients, paramedic Addy faces hazardous situations every day, yet after the devastating loss of her family she refuses to endanger her heart. When she meets dedicated firefighter and single dad Ryan, the flame of attraction that ignites is absolutely unwanted—and completely undeniable! But Ryan’s resolved to protect his daughter from anyone else leaving her, and even Addy admits she’s a relationship flight risk. So instead of finding for ever together they should ignore that sizzling spark…right?
I’d had Addison in my head for a while. A woman, whose father and brother were both firefighters killed on a shout. I wondered what sort of bravery would it take to give her heart to another firefighter? One who faced danger in his job everyday?
So here it is – a sneak excerpt from Chapter One. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter One
Three one four, this is Control. We have a report of a situation occurring at Finnegan’s Hole in Bakewell. Possible tunnel collapse with multiple casualties. Cave rescue and fire brigade en route. Can you attend, over?’
‘Control, this is three one four. Show as attending. ETA…’ she glanced at her watch ‘…fifteen minutes, over.’
‘Thank you, three one four.’
Addalyn looked about for a bin to throw the last part of her sandwich into, but the one near her car was already overflowing. So she just stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, closed the car door and started up the engine, activating the blue lights. She would use the siren when she reached built-up areas and traffic.
She felt some trepidation in her stomach. Finnegan’s Hole was a popular potholing site with a narrow entrance. She’d attended a job there once before, as a new paramedic, when a potholer had gashed his leg open on a sharp rock formation. She could remember standing there, looking down at the cave entrance, and wondering why on earth anyone would be crazy enough to do potholing as a hobby. She’d never been fond of enclosed spaces herself, but hadn’t realised until she did her three-day-long confined space training in her quest to become a HART paramedic.
HART paramedics received extra training. They specialised in providing first responder care in areas considered more hazardous than those a conventional paramedic would operate in, often working alongside multiple other agencies.
Addalyn had worked hard to become a HART paramedic and she loved her job. It meant she had to think carefully about each and every decision. Each and every shout was completely different and no two work days were the same. She often worked long hours, but the best thing about that was that when she got home, exhausted and tired, it meant she could fall into bed and go right to sleep. When she woke up the cycle would begin again, so she didn’t have to think too hard about the spaces in between when she was finished for the day and when she had to clock on again. It meant she didn’t have to notice how alone she was. Or who she was missing. Or why.
And if those thoughts did creep in she silenced them with food, or the TV, or loud music pumping through her ears as she exercised to retain her fitness levels.
She knew how to push herself hard. It was what she had always done. Even as a child. And pushing hard, being determined not to let life beat her to a pulp, as it had tried in the last few years, was what kept her going.
Addalyn activated the sirens as she came upon traffic. There was always a lot of traffic in Derbyshire, even in rural areas such as Bakewell or Matlock. Her work covered the area of Derbyshire that contained the Peak District, and it was popular with tourists and walkers. And in this next job’s case potholers. The Peak District had a lot of natural pothole formations. Nettle Pot, which was over a hundred and fifty metres deep, Poole’s Cavern, a two-million-year-old limestone cavern, and the mighty Titan Cave, near Castleton, which was Britain’s biggest cave.
She had to remain alert. Not all pedestrians saw the lights or heard the sirens. Nor all drivers. She had to be constantly alert for all the hazards that might come her way. It had become a learned skill. In life, as well as at work.
‘Stay there…’ she murmured to herself as a car appeared at a T-junction on her left, praying that the driver would see her and ease back to let her go past first. Thankfully, the driver saw her, and she raised a hand in thanks as she zoomed past.
Finnegan’s Hole, her satnav instructed her, was halfway up a mountain on the other side of Bakewell. It was situated on the east face of Mitcham’s Steps, another popular tourist attraction, because the hill there was like a stepped pyramid, with a viewing platform on the top. Finnegan’s Hole had only been discovered in 1999, and from what she remembered reading, potholers were still mapping out its many caverns, twists and turns, deep into the earth.
A helicopter flew overhead and she became aware of other sirens ahead of her, and on one long stretch of road she saw the disappearing tail-end of a fire engine. It looked as if they might all arrive at the same time.
She radioed through to Control. ‘Any update on the Finnegan’s Hole job, Control? Do we know the number or types of casualties, over?’
‘We do have an update for you. At least four trapped after a confirmed tunnel collapse. Mostly minor injuries, but one caver is said to be trapped beneath the rubble, over.’
‘Any other information on that patient, over?’
‘Patient is male and trapped about twenty feet beneath the surface, over.’
Addalyn shivered, imagining what that might look and feel like. Trapped beneath the ground, in the dark, in close quarters, dirt and muck in the air, maybe water… Torchlights flashing this way and that, sound echoing, reverberating around you. In pain. Trapped. Unable to move.
‘Thanks, Control.’
Her thoughts immediately jumped back to her confined spaces training. She needed to be aware of the topography of the area they’d be working in, maybe find an expert on the tunnels if one was available. She’d have to think about the risk of further tunnel collapse, maybe gaseous emissions could be a danger, or an increase in water levels? Free-flowing solids? And all of this before she could even think about her patient. She knew nothing about him. He might have other medical conditions that she knew nothing about. A condition that would complicate her ability to attend him. And if he were trapped that far down, the big question was…would she have to go down there?
Her vehicle began to ascend the hill road on Mitcham’s Steps, its engine roaring, easily taking her up the steep incline, smoothly and expertly. Some hikers were making their way down and moved to the side of the road to hug the verge as she passed.
She saw curious eyes and faces. Saw some stop to watch her pass, even one or two debating going back the way they’d come to watch the drama that was causing all these sirens to be heard, all these emergency vehicles to pass by.
Finnegan’s Hole. One mile, she read on her satnav.
The sun was out, at least. It wasn’t a grey, drizzly day. They’d have daylight and a bit of warmth to assist them.
When she arrived at Finnegan’s Hole she parked and opened her boot to slip on her high-vis vest, her hard hat, and grab her equipment. As she closed the boot she became aware of a fire chief in a white hard hat approaching her. She recognised him. And seeing him walk towards her, in his fireman’s garb, reminded her so strongly of how her father and brother had used to look that grief smacked her in the gut, as if she’d been swung at with a wrecking ball.
‘Addy. Good to see you. Are you okay?’
She gave him a quick nod, not quite trusting herself to speak yet. It had been over a year, but it still felt so raw. Thankfully, Paolo seemed to understand, and he jumped straight to business.
‘We’ve got seven in total, trapped from a tunnel collapse, and we have communications. Six of them are fine. Minor injuries, cuts, grazes, some bruises. But one potholer is trapped beneath the rubble. Attempts were made to lift off whatever rocks they could, but they had to stop because of risk of further collapse, and apparently there is one large boulder trapping his left leg. They say it doesn’t look good. Almost crushed. Cave rescue is here, setting up, and we’ve got equipment going in right now to secure the cave roof.’
‘Okay. Conditions down below?’
‘Mixed. It’s a tight squeeze, as I’m sure you know, but only a bare inflow of water. Trickles—nothing more. No gaseous emissions, so I don’t think we need to worry about the risk of anything blowing up or catching fire. But they’re panicking.’
‘To be expected. Who have you got on your team that’s good with small spaces?’
The chief smirked. ‘You know they’re all good.’
‘What about Charlie?’ She’d worked with Charlie before on an entrapment case.
‘Off sick. But we do have Ryan Baker. He’s new, but extremely good with stuff like this. Used to be in the army. Did a lot of tunnel work.’
‘Then he’s my guy. Get him in a harness and rope—he’s coming in with me, once I’ve done the risk assessment.’
A new guy. That was good. He’d have no associations with her past.
The chief saluted and jogged off to talk to his team.
A tunnel guy. Army guy. Sounded good.
Addalyn went over to the mountain rescue team member who was co-ordinating his team with fire and rescue regarding the cave supports that were going in.
‘How’s it looking?’
‘Nearly all the supports are in. Just setting up the lighting for you.’
‘What can you tell me about this place?’
‘It’s pretty much what you’d expect. Lots of close quarters. Limestone, mostly. Some bigger caverns as you descend further. Atmosphere is moist.’
‘Hazards?’
‘There are some sharp rock formations. Stalagmites. Stalactites.’
‘Biologics?’
‘Nothing to concern you.’
‘You’re full of pleasant information.’
He smiled. ‘I aim to please.’
‘I’m going to lead the rescue. One of the fire crew is going in with me.’
‘All right. We’ll keep in touch with radio. You’ll need one of these.’ He passed her a hand radio that she slotted into her vest as he clipped her to a guide rope. ‘Where’s your other guy?’
‘Here.’
She turned to give him a smile. A nod. To introduce herself by name, especially since they’d be in close quarters with one another. She liked firefighters. Had an affinity for them. Her father and brother had both been firefighters. She’d even thought that she would be one, too.
But Ryan Baker was not the sort of guy you just had a single glance at. He was not the type of guy you said hello to and then got on with what you were doing.
He was…different. Intense. Handsome.
Three danger zones that instantly made her heart thud painfully in her chest in an alert as his rich chocolate eyes bored into hers.
‘Ryan? I’m Addalyn.’
She held out her hand for him to shake, aware of a tremor in her voice just as she felt a powerful feeling pass through her when he shook her hand and then let go, his dark eyes barely meeting hers.
‘Nice to meet you.’ He attached himself to the guide rope with strong, square hands.
An army guy. A tunnel guy.
A firefighter guy.
No. She wouldn’t think about that.
The mountain rescue man gave her the thumbs-up. ‘Lights are in. I’ve got two of my team who will meet you at cavern two. The tunnel collapse is just ahead of them.’
‘All right.’
‘Just follow the guide rope down. There will be cameras for you to use when you near the tunnel breach. Go in feet first. There’s a small cavern about ten feet down, where you can move around and begin to crawl deeper in.’
‘Perfect. Thank you.’
She eyed the small hole in the earth, that basically looked like it was the entrance to a badger sett or something. It didn’t look like anything humans should be climbing down into, but she and Ryan would have to go. It was dark. Shadowy. It gave her the shivers, but she knew she could deal with it.
She took a step forward, then felt a hand on her arm.
‘I’ll go first,’ suggested Ryan.
She looked at him and nodded briefly. Her heart was pounding so fast because of her claustrophobia, wasn’t it? Nothing to do with him.
‘I’ll show you where to put your hands.’
She nodded. ‘Thanks.’
He went in feet first, as instructed. Finnegan’s Hole swallowed him up easily and he had no hesitation about heading into the dark. She watched him disappear.
People often joked that they wished the earth would swallow them up, but they wouldn’t say it if they truly knew how it felt, she thought, following him down, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness. There were lanterns, as the mountain rescue guy had said, but they were spaced far apart and there were sections as they climbed down where the only light was provided by their head torches.
Her hands touched rock. Her boots found purchase on ledges and outcrops and her body scraped along the tunnel sides, where it got narrow. She tried to push images of this tunnel caving in on her away, knowing she needed to trust in the facts that she had been told: tunnel supports were in place.
Sounds began to carry towards her through the tunnels and caverns. Voices. Some shouting. Others trying to soothe and calm. The dripping of water. The echoes of everything.
Something skittered across the back of her hand and she yelled.
Ryan looked up at her. ‘You okay?’
His concern for her was touching, but she was here to help someone. Not to be another person who would need rescuing. ‘Fine.’
He squinted, as if deciding to trust that she was telling the truth.
‘Honestly. I’m fine. Just not fond of spiders, that’s all.’
‘Stay by me.’
She had no plans to do anything else.
FINDING FOREVER WITH THE FIREFIGHTER (Out 24th May!)
Love is the Best Medicine 