Forever After (33 page)

He was grateful for times like these that allowed him to come back to his room and crash. Any day that left him with an ounce of energy he only burned up worrying about the future. About whether he’d be able to find Sparky a working gig when this was through, about whether that would mean giving Sparky up.

The first few days he’d worried about whether he could even finish the course, but he’d managed to keep up with the rest of the handlers pretty well. The instructors had made a few minor concessions for him—he hadn’t had to climb any ladders or scale any walls—but that
was more a concession to his most recent injury than to his permanent disability. He was encouraged by what he’d accomplished, even if it had cost him some major pain.

He’d had nothing to offer Jenna before. But this training program had the potential to change that. And he was starting to think that once his ankle healed completely, he’d be able to hold his own in any detection exercise, real or staged, or in any fire scene inspection.

Still, a heavy truth weighed him down whenever he stopped long enough to turn it over in his mind: he would never again be in the physical condition required to be a working firefighter. Those days were over, stolen by the Grove Street fire and his own stupidity.

Here in Tulsa, alone in a drab dorm room, Lucas found the dreams of that terrible night returning, the tape rewinding and playing again and again, always with the same outcome: Pop dead. Zach and the others dead. Lucas done with firefighting. For good.

The difference now was that he was able to wake up and shake it off. Then he gave himself a different version of the same lecture he’d given Jenna about being grateful for the blessings, the advantages he’d been given.

He’d thought a lot about his blessings here. He’d had a father who’d loved him and sent him out into the world with all the tools he needed to make something of himself—even now, after tragedy had stolen so much that he valued.

Even though it had been short-lived, he’d been blessed to have the experience of being a firefighter. Even of saving a life or two in his brief career. Not everybody got such a privilege in a mere twenty-seven years of living.

Remembering the day he’d chewed Jenna out, he cringed, even as he chuckled to himself. She’d deserved it. He probably could have been a little more diplomatic in his delivery. Still, he was grateful they’d ended on a rather sweet note.

He needed to remember to e-mail her tonight. She’d asked him to
send directions to the chapel in Springfield. He’d see her tomorrow. Now there was a seriously cheerful thought.

She’d asked him for pictures, too. Of the training facility and of him and Sparky. “I want to be able to picture where you are, and to see you and Sparky in action,” her e-mail had said yesterday. He hadn’t gotten around to taking any photos yet. Maybe he’d have one of the guys take some shots during training drills this afternoon.

His energy returned in a surge and he decided to get out of there. Maybe go for a burger and fries. And he could use a haircut before tomorrow. He grabbed the leash from its hook. “Come on, Sparky.”

His loyal sidekick gave him a look that said he was up for anything.

Lucas stowed his gear in a locker, snapped the padlock shut, and headed out to his pickup with Sparky at his heel.

He hadn’t left the parking lot yet when his phone buzzed. He looked at the caller ID and smiled. “Hey, Ma.” They hadn’t talked since he called Sunday night to let her know he’d arrived safely in Tulsa. He knew it had taken everything in her to wait this long before calling him again.

“How’s everything going? Are you liking the school?”

“It’s going good.” He told her a little bit about his days, trying not to let her hear the weariness in his voice.

After making small talk for ten minutes, he made excuses to hang up. “I’m headed downtown for a haircut. I should probably let you go.”

Ma hesitated on her end, then blurted, “Have you been hearing our news? About the shelter.”

“The homeless shelter?” Something in her tone put him on alert. “No, what’s going on?”

“There was another fire.”

“You have got to be kidding me! When? Was anybody hurt?”

“Last night. Nobody hurt, but they were saying on the news this morning that they’re probably going to shut the shelter down.”

“Was it that bad?”

“No, I think once again they caught it before it did any serious
damage. But it’s obvious somebody is setting these fires, and the Hanover Falls police don’t have the manpower to watch the place twenty-four/ seven. It’s not safe to have people staying there when the place has been a target so many times now. I don’t see how they can keep it open.”

“Yeah, and that’s probably exactly what the sicko doing this is hoping—that they’ll shut the place down.” He let out a growl of frustration. “Why can’t they catch this guy?” He wondered what his buddies at the station had to say about it. The old longing came back with a vengeance. He would have given anything to be back at Station 2 with his crew right now.

Ma must have read his thoughts. “You have more important things to worry about, Luc. I hated to even say anything, but I figured you’d hear it anyway. For now, you just concentrate on that training. Except for tomorrow,” she added quickly. “Then you just concentrate on getting to the church on time.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll be there.”

She couldn’t remember when she’d been so nervous.

38

Saturday, February 14

J
enna put the car in Park, quickly changed into a pair of heels, then climbed out of the car, searching the parking lot for Lucas’s truck.

Emily was being married in the chapel on the campus where Geoff taught, and Luc had said he’d meet her here, but she didn’t see any sign of him yet.

She locked the car and straightened, smoothing out her suit jacket. She tried unsuccessfully to pinch pleats back into her wool pants, but they’d suffered from too many days in the cramped closet at Bryn’s, and she couldn’t afford to take them to the cleaners. She caught her reflection in the car window and hoped she was dressed right for a chapel wedding.

She couldn’t remember when she’d been so nervous. It had been years since she’d darkened the door of a church. Early in their marriage she and Zach had let Bill and Clarissa talk them into going to church with
them a few times, but once Zach figured out that his father was mostly there to troll for clients, that had been the end of it for them.

Using the car’s side mirror, she rearranged the silk scarf around her throat.

“Hey, beautiful.”

She jumped and whirled around to see Lucas walking toward her. He looked handsome as all get-out in a dark suit, crisp white shirt, and baby blue tie that complemented his olive complexion. He was off the crutches and back to using his cane. She didn’t think she was imagining that his limp had diminished.

“You don’t clean up bad yourself,” she said, unable to stop smiling.

He held out his arms and she walked into them for a much-too-brief hug. Her heart revved uncomfortably and she took a deep breath, trying to get it under control.

“You didn’t bring Sparky?”

“A buddy agreed to watch him for me tonight. Why? Do you miss him?”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say that.”

Laughing, he glanced around at the complex of buildings. “Have you figured out where the chapel is yet?”

“Didn’t you have a rehearsal last night?”

“No. I just drove in from Tulsa. Ma said it’s going to be pretty low-key. I guess they decided they didn’t need to rehearse.”

She pointed to a sign across the parking lot. “That looks like a directory.” They walked together over to the map and figured out where the chapel was.

The air was chilly, but she quickly forgot about how cold it was as they caught up on each other’s news.

They found the chapel, and Geoff and Emily greeted them just inside the foyer.

“Oh, good … you found it,” Emily said, giving Luc a hug. “The girls are already here … and Abi and Baba.” She pointed toward the
sanctuary. She reached for Jenna’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m so glad you came, Jenna.”

“You look beautiful,” Jenna said, genuinely admiring her elegant street-length dress of ecru lace.

Lucas shook Geoff’s hand and nodded his way with a smirk. “Nice tux.”

Geoff rolled his eyes, and he and Emily laughed along with Luc. Jenna looked on with a weak smile, not getting what was so funny.

“You guys go on in,” Emily said, herding them toward the sanctuary. “Don’t forget, we’ll see you afterward for dinner.”

“Don’t worry, Ma, we’re not about to miss dinner.”

Jenna counted about twenty people scattered throughout the tiny chapel. As they walked down the aisle, Lucas quietly greeted several people before leading her to the pew where his grandparents and sisters were already seated.

She gave a little wave to Victoria and Gina and slid in beside their grandmother. Luc put a hand lightly on Jenna’s back, leaning across to speak to his grandparents. “Abi, Baba, you remember Jenna—from Christmas?”

“Of course.” Mrs. Vermontez patted Jenna’s knee. “Don’t you look pretty today.”

Jenna felt herself flush. “Why, thank you.” She glanced up at Lucas, grinning. “Your grandson looks pretty spiffy, too, don’t you think?”

Luc’s grandfather winked at her. “We Vermontez men make a point of always trying to look spiffy.”

Jenna laughed, charmed by Luc’s Baba, and nursing a pang of envy that she’d never known her grandparents. She hoped Lucas Vermontez realized how very lucky he was.

Music spilled from the speakers at the front of the small chapel, and a hush fell over the group. A young man wearing a clerical collar came through a door at the right side of the low stage, followed by Geoff and Emily. She carried a simple bouquet of lilies, and Geoff had a small leatherbound book in his hand.

Jenna gave a little sigh. There was just something about weddings … no matter the age of the bride and groom.

Lucas must have felt the same stirrings because he reached for Jenna’s hand. She glanced up at him. He kept his eyes to the front of the chapel, but he laced his fingers with hers and gave her hand a little squeeze as the minister began reading from a Bible on the lectern.

W
atching his mother standing beside Geoff, smiling up at him that way, Lucas felt a lump in his throat.

I miss you, Pop. Man, I miss you. …

Ma’s face glowed with joy. How could he not be happy for her? But so many memories flooded his mind. And a haunting sense that things would never again be the same. Ma would make a new life with Geoff, and memories of Pop would fade.

The minister finished his reading from Song of Solomon—a rather racy passage for his mother’s wedding, Luc thought. But as he recalled the entire book, he supposed the guy could have chosen worse. Acutely aware of Jen’s hand in his, he listened as the minister shared a few words on marriage.

After the couple had made their vows, Lucas was surprised to see his mom and Geoff turn to face their guests.

Geoff picked up a microphone and looked over the audience with the confidence of a professor. “Emily and I want to thank you for coming to share this day with us. As most of you know, these past couple of years have been very difficult for both of us.” He took her hand, smiling down at her. “We have been blessed to enjoy long, happy marriages—and in Emily’s case, the gift of children.” He nodded at Lucas and his sisters. “We’ve learned the hard way that the Lord does give, and sometimes take away. But we are grateful that He also restores happiness after sorrow. Emily—” Geoff’s voice broke and he lowered the mike, composing himself.

Lucas felt his own throat swell with emotion, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Jenna swipe at her cheeks. He wondered if she was remembering her own wedding day.

Geoff cleared his throat and continued. “Emily is God’s gift—a gift beyond belief to me—and I thank each of you for coming today to witness our vows and to share our joy as we commit our lives to each other. On this day—this sacred day—we want to first of all honor the memory of Manny and of Cynthia. Our loved ones are safe in God’s care now, and we’d like to think they both approve of the choices we’ve made.”

A low murmur of approval rose from the wedding guests, and Lucas held his breath as Geoff handed the mike to Ma.

But when she spoke, her voice was strong and clear. “It
has
been a rough year—two years—” She looked up at Geoff with a sad smile.

It struck Lucas that he didn’t know much about Geoff’s first wife. For some reason he’d always assumed she’d been gone for some years, but apparently her death had occurred within the past couple of years. That explained why his mom and Geoff understood each other so well.

He felt himself warm a little more toward this man his mother was marrying.

Facing the wedding guests, Ma hesitated, collecting herself, Lucas knew.

Then she looked up, smiling, eyes shining. The Ma he remembered from before the fire.

“Geoff and I found each other,” she said, “at a time when our worlds had been shaken, when our faith had been tested. I will never doubt that God gave us to each other when He knew we desperately needed each other. Because that’s the kind of God we know. We wanted this day—this Valentine’s Day—to be a celebration of the hope God has given us, of the healing we’ve experienced at His hands. Painful, sometimes—like a surgeon’s wounds—but ultimately for our good.”