Bayou My Love: A Novel Read online

  That, of course, did nothing.

  The fire had spread to the rug, to the chair by the window. I ran back to the sink and filled the pot again. “Come on!” I willed the water to come out faster. Running back to the fire, I threw the water on the worst of the flames, but they only flickered. It was spreading too fast. I pulled a quilt from the sofa and wrapped my hands in it, then grabbed the curtains near the bottom and yanked them down from the rods. A ripping sound split the air as the curtains pooled on the floor. I tossed the quilt on top of them, trying to smother the flames.

  The dog barked wildly in the doorway. My gut told me to run. But how could I leave the house to burn? I swore as I threw the quilt on the burning carpet, trying to stamp out the fire. But it continued—fueled by sheets and drop cloths, it now covered more than a quarter of the room. I backed away from the heat, covering my nose and mouth, feeling my whole body shaking.

  Bella tugged at my robe with her teeth, pulling me off-balance, her eyes orange in the light. I scanned the room one more time, but there was nothing I could use to put out the flames. They were rising to the ceiling and rippling across the floor. I ran into the yard, the dog behind me, her barks piercing the night air. My last hope was the spigot in the flower bed by the porch. I twisted it on and grabbed the hose as I dialed 911.

  My voice didn’t even sound like my own as I gave the operator the address. “Please hurry!” I cried, dragging the hose to the side of the house. With flames licking at the window frame, I sprayed water into the broken window along the wood siding, but it seemed like only a trickle.

  Smoke poured from the window, and I ran back into the house, dragging the hose behind me as far as it would reach. The living room glowed orange. From the doorway, I aimed the stream of water at the ceiling, hosing down the walls. I pulled my robe over my nose, spraying the furniture, the carpet, the curtains. My throat burned as I coughed, and I sank to my knees to stay under the worst of the smoke. Now the fire touched all four walls of the room. The heat burned my skin. The crackling of the wood filled my ears. Still I aimed water at the ceiling, backing into the hallway, bracing myself to run when the flames got too close. If nothing else, the water might slow the fire and stop it from spreading to the rest of the house.

  When I heard the siren, it sounded faint, as if it were still on the main highway. The next crash made me flinch and instinctively cover my head—I was sure it was the ceiling collapsing, that I had made a horrible mistake. But then I felt an arm clamp around my waist and another across my shoulders, and I was being dragged backwards into the night.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Jack’s breath was hot on my neck. He pulled me down the steps and into the yard, swearing all the way.

  I collapsed at his feet, gasping and coughing. My eyes stung from the heat and the smoke. This had to be a nightmare. I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. Wake up, I thought, Wake up!

  “Shit,” Jack said. He was on his knees in the grass, cupping my face in his hands. “What were you thinking, Enza? You could have been killed!”

  He scooped me up and carried me to the picnic table in the yard. Bella followed and folded herself under the table with a huff. Every time I took a deep breath, I coughed. Jack sat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. Still, I trembled.

  Across the yard, a half a dozen firefighters were spraying the flames that lapped at the side of the house. Another strode over to me and gently placed a blanket over my shoulders. “Hi, Enza.” He knelt in front of me. “I’m Zane.” He glanced at Jack and then said, “You OK?”

  I nodded, though I was far from OK.

  “Any idea how this happened?”

  My chest felt heavy from the smoke. I pushed the itchy blanket away and said, “I don’t know. The power went out, and I went downstairs to check the breakers. Then I heard something break, like a window, and the next thing I knew the living room was on fire.”

  The men exchanged a look. A flash of anger shot through Jack’s eyes.

  “The worst of it’s out now,” Zane said, nodding toward the guys gathered by the truck. They were passing off axes and other equipment and filing into the house. Thin trails of smoke still rose from the window, but the eerie orange glow was gone. “You probably saved the house, doing what you did.” He stood and handed me a bottle of water.

  “Don’t encourage her,” Jack said. “I can’t decide if that was brave or stupid.”

  “Hell,” Zane said. “Tough as nails, I’d say.”

  I turned to Jack. “I had to.”

  “It’s just bricks and wood. It can be rebuilt.”

  “It wasn’t that bad in there. I’d have gotten out when it got too dangerous.”

  He raked his hands through his hair. “The ceiling could have fallen. You could have been trapped. If we’d been five minutes later—”

  “I couldn’t just stand there and watch it burn to the ground.”

  “Christ almighty,” he said. “Stubborn as a mule.”

  Zane opened his medical kit. “We should check you over,” he said, placing a stethoscope against my chest. I inhaled deeply and coughed again.

  “Did you have any unattended flames in the house?” Zane asked. “Candles, incense, anything like that?”

  “Not in the living room. Just upstairs.”

  “Any old lamps or things with old wiring?”

  “They worked on the wiring a week or so ago, but they said it was all fixed and up to code.”

  He nodded, glancing at Jack as if he was holding something back.

  “It wasn’t storming out this way, was it?” Zane asked. “You see any lightning?”

  “No,” I answered. Suddenly aware that I was only wearing a robe, I pulled it tight against me, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “You said the window broke,” Jack said.

  “That’s what it sounded like.” I tried to recall that moment on the stairs. I’d been so frightened, it was possible I’d imagined it. It was possible the dog had knocked something over. But I knew she hadn’t. “I could have sworn I heard somebody in the house. I was sneaking down the stairs when I saw the fire.” Shivering, I pulled the blanket back over my shoulders. “Then I went to get the hose and forgot about the rest.”

  Jack’s jaw clenched. His fingers were kneading the fabric of his turnouts, his knuckles white. He opened his mouth to say something, and one of the others whistled for him to come over.

  “You sit tight, cher,” he said, his voice gravelly. He squeezed my shoulder and jogged over to the others.

  He stood with his hands on his hips, nodding as the other man spoke. His face looked hard and angular in the moonlight. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, particularly with Zane still fussing over my scratches and asking questions.

  The dog snorted under the table, then crept out toward the swamp. She took a few steps and then stopped, her ears pricked forward.

  Zane dabbed something on a cut on my forehead, and I heard one of the guys say, “accelerant.”

  The dog growled and dashed into the swamp.

  “Hey,” I yelled.

  “Sorry,” Zane said, drawing his hand back.

  “No, it’s the dog. She went after something.”

  Zane stared in the direction of the swamp.

  My whole body tensed again as he stood, his hand on my back.

  “Stay here,” he said, his eyes still on the woods. “I’ll check it out.”

  Jack trudged back over, fixing me with a worried look.

  “What is it?” I asked. “What’s happening?”

  He stared past me, biting his lip. “It’s not good, darlin’. Not good at all.”

  “That much is clear, but I need details.”

  “You can’t stay here. This is my fault.”

  “What?” None of this made sense. It was becoming more and more like a nightmare.

  “I was supposed to be here tonight,” he said. “I took that shift last minute.”

  “You think someone did t
his trying to get to you?”

  He sat beside me, shaking his head. “All this arson business. It’s been old abandoned buildings, and now all of a sudden it’s a firefighter’s house. The guys think it’s some kind of grudge.”

  “Well they came to that conclusion awfully fast.”

  He nodded. “We thought it was someone with a grudge against the department, but now it’s evident it’s about me. And I’ve put you in danger.”

  I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

  “This wasn’t an accident, Enza. They found proof inside. Traces of accelerant, an intense point of origin, just like the others. Probably tossed something through the window.”

  I felt faint. The possibility had crossed my mind of course, but to hear him say it aloud, so matter of fact, meant it wasn’t as unlikely as I’d thought. Tears stung my eyes, and I couldn’t hold them back any more. All the fear and anger broke free and rattled inside my chest.

  Jack wrapped his arms around my shoulders. His lips brushed against my temple as he said, “You’re all right. I’m not leaving you alone again.”

  One of the guys walked over and stood next to Jack. He was stout with short dark hair and spoke with a thick Louisiana drawl. “I’m taking the rest of your shift,” he said. “You got somewhere you can go?”

  “Thanks, Robbie,” Jack said. “We’ll go to my uncle’s.”

  Robbie smiled at me and clasped Jack on the shoulder before walking back to the truck.

  Zane emerged from the woods and returned to the others.

  “Hey,” I called out. A cough tore through my chest, and Jack’s hand went straight to my back to steady me.

  Jack whistled and waved Zane over.

  “Sorry,” Zane said. “No sign of the dog.” He glanced at Jack. “No sign of anyone else, either.”

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Jack said to me.

  “What about Bella?”

  “She’ll be fine. This isn’t her first night out in the woods.”

  I saw a look pass between the men, but what it meant, I couldn’t quite tell.

  “I need to go in and get some real clothes,” I said.

  “I’ll grab some things for you,” Jack said. “Stay here.” He jogged across the yard to the house, casting one last look in the direction of the swamp.

  “Thanks for patching me up, Zane.”

  He smiled. “Any time. But let’s not make it a habit.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking back to the house. Standing guard.

  “Sorry you had to go through all of this,” he said. “But the worst is over.”

  I smiled warily. I didn’t believe him for a second.

  Chapter 16

  Jack called Buck as we were driving past the canal. I could hear Buck shouting on the other end of the line.

  “She’s OK,” Jack told him at last, sliding his hand over my knee. “Shaken up, but not badly hurt.”

  He’d changed out of his turnouts, but he still smelled like smoke. I inhaled as much of the night air as I could.

  At their house, Josie hugged me so tight I flinched. She and Buck were both sleepy-eyed, wearing pajamas.

  “Oh, honey,” she said to me. “We’re so glad you’re all right. Both of you.”

  She hugged Jack, and he said, “If you don’t mind, we’ll turn in and talk in the morning.”

  “Of course, dear,” she said. “You know where everything is. I’ve already made up the bedrooms for you.”

  We thanked them, and Jack led me upstairs.

  I heard Josie and Buck whispering as we climbed the stairs. The lamps were on in the two bedrooms, the sheets turned down. Jack took my bag into the green room I’d stayed in before. “This one’s got the better mattress,” he said. “I’ll just be next door.”

  He kissed me on the forehead, folding his arms around me.

  “I don’t think I can sleep.” I leaned my cheek against his chest. “Will you stay up with me for a while?”

  I hadn’t noticed I was trembling until he held me tight against him.

  “Hey,” he said. “You’re safe here.”

  I nodded, trying to relax my grip around his waist. He slid his hands up and down my back.

  After a few minutes, he said, “I’ll be right back.”

  When he went downstairs, I pulled one of his shirts from the duffle bag and slipped it on. As I climbed into bed, I heard a muffled exchange between Jack and Josie, the rattle of dishes in the kitchen.

  I closed my eyes but saw only orange.

  After a little while, Jack came back with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

  “Thought this might settle your nerves a bit.” He poured a shot into each glass.

  He handed me one and sat next to me on the bed.

  “Thank you,” I said. “For saving me. It sounds stupid to say, because thank you isn’t enough.”

  He turned to me and slid his hand over mine, then brought it to his lips and kissed the inside of my wrist. He held it there, pressed against his face, as he laced his fingers in mine.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” he said, his lips brushing my palm.

  I moved closer to him then, and he released my hand so he could gather me against his chest, winding his arms around me.

  I lay my head on his chest, listening to the thumping of his heart.

  “Getting a call to your own house is bad enough, but when I didn’t see you outside—” He squeezed me tighter, sliding his hand down to rest on my hip.

  I sank into him, draping my arm around his waist.

  “I don’t ever want to feel that again,” he said.

  There was a scratching noise outside the window, and I jumped, clutching Jack’s shirt.

  “Hey,” he said. “It’s OK. It’s probably just a raccoon.” His lips brushed against my ear as he spoke.

  I eased back against him. It was hard to stop the thoughts from churning.

  “Do you think it’s Remy?” I said at last.

  His body tensed, though he tried to hide it as he slid his fingers along my skin.

  “The guy might hate me, but I don’t see him going to all this trouble.”

  “He said he hoped you would die in a fire.”

  “People say a lot of stupid things.” He reached for his glass and downed the drink in one swallow.

  “Yeah, and sometimes they do stupid things. Why would he do this to you? What happened between you two?”

  He said nothing, stroking my hair.

  “Jack, you can tell me. Whatever it is.”

  He reached over to the nightstand and refilled his glass.

  “Is this because of me? That night at the bar?”

  “No,” he said quickly. “This is not your fault.” He slid his hand along my cheek. “But he could have been planning to hurt you that night as a way to hurt me.”

  I swallowed hard. Remy was a jerk, sure—but I thought I’d seen a crack in his facade that night. I’d seen a glimmer of the wounded part of him, something that made me think he was only pretending to be a brute. It was hard to think of him actually trying to hurt me.

  “Why would he do that?”

  He stared into his glass. “Because he wants me to suffer, Enza. As much as I made him suffer.”

  I sat up straighter, squeezing Jack’s knee. He took another long drink and stared at my hand.

  “His brother Luke worked with us, back when I was in the New Orleans unit,” he said. He wouldn’t look at me.

  “Hey, it’s OK.”

  “Believe me, it’s not. It’s not something I’m proud of, Enza.”

  I lay my hand on his shoulder. “You can tell me anything.”

  After a long pause, he shook his head. “There was a big warehouse fire, and Luke and I pushed into a back room. The windows blew out, and we got caught in a backdraft. Everything was red, so hot you couldn’t breathe.” He stared at the space between his feet. “Part of the roof collapsed on us, and Luke was pinned under a beam. I tried to pull him out, but I wasn’t str
ong enough. When the rest of the roof started to come down, another guy, Derrick, pulled me out before I could get Luke free. I fucking hated him for doing that.”

  “Oh, Jack.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “I couldn’t save him,” he said.

  We sat in silence, staring into the darkness.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I said at last. It sounded less trite in my head.

  “Of course it was. How could it not be? The first thing you learn is to take care of your own.”

  I put my arm around him, but he shrugged it away. The pain and guilt seemed to roll off him in waves.

  “And his wife,” he said. “She never got over it. I couldn’t face her after that. I knew she wished it had been me who died in that warehouse, and most days I did too.”

  “Jack,” I said, my eyes brimming with tears. I had no idea what words might comfort him. What can you say to someone who hurts so deeply?

  “Those two were the happiest couple you ever saw. I mean the kind that couldn’t keep their hands off each other, always smiling and laughing, making you jealous deep down in your soul, then making you feel bad for feeling jealous, and wishing you could be so lucky.” He glanced at me with glassy eyes. “She drowned herself in the lake behind their house a few months later.”

  “Oh my God,” I said, and regretted it immediately.

  “All because of me,” he said.

  I wound my arms around him, but his body was rigid as an oak.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I said. “It was a horrible accident, but it was just that—an accident. You can’t blame yourself.”

  “I couldn’t stand to see those guys. I had to leave the parish, find another department and start over.”