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.“Do you smell smoke? I think I smell smoke.”After lighting all the candles, I felt like I’d never not smell smoke, but now that she mentioned it, it did seem to be stronger.I glanced across the sea of candles but didn’t see any telltale swirls.“I think it’s coming from the hallway where the groomsmen got ready,” Dianne said, putting her hand on my arm as she glanced in that direction.The groomsmen were outside—I’d okayed them to get fresh air but not to go far, because I’m bossy like that at weddings.Instead of asking more questions, I scooped up an extinguisher and rushed toward the west wing.When I got to the door of the guys’ makeshift dressing room, smoke was barreling out from under the door in forbidding dark plumes.I lightly tapped my fingers on the doorknob to test it—scalding hot.I wanted to charge in and use the extinguisher, but I knew a hot doorknob could mean backdrafts and who knew what else.Enough that I knew better, that was for sure.“Call 911,” I said to Dianne, who’d followed me.“Tell them to send the fire trucks.”…“Cigarette fire,” Larry told me when he, Antonio, and the other two firemen came out of the chapel.“Lots of smoke, not much flame.”“Thank goodness,” I said.Then I glanced at the wedding guests, all dressed up and waiting on the lawn as the sun dipped low in the sky, making the clouds purple and pink with a few orange stripes of sunlight still trying to fight through the impending dark.The bride was around back so that the groom wouldn’t see her, although they’d been on the phone most of the time, checking in on each other.I’d already been a fan of Jack, but he won me over even more when he’d reassured Kara that no matter what, they’d find a way to get married because he couldn’t wait to call her his wife.The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him or Kara.“How’s the smoke in the chapel?”“Not bad.It’s safe if you want to continue with the wedding.”“I’ll double-check, but I think it’ll be a go.”Larry slapped me on the back, teammate style as usual.“You know, the boys down at the station are starting to make bets on when you’ll need us next.”Stellar.Just add “fire hazard” to my public profile.“Well then, how about you save me the trouble of having to call again and just stick around, because my bride wants three hundred and sixteen lit candles, and she’s getting them.I could use a little standby assurance besides my extinguishers, though.”His gray mustache twitched in a way I was pretty sure meant he was smiling underneath it.“Anything for you.”“Thanks, Larry.And tell the rest of the boys I appreciate them, too.You all are gonna get wedding cake at the station.Like, till you’re sick of it.”I confirmed with Kara that she wanted the show to go on, and when she said she did, I ran around the hazy part of the chapel throwing open the windows.I even found a fan to help blow the smoke out of the window in the room where the fire had been.Within thirty minutes, everyone was reseated, the candles were relit—thanks to extra help from Larry and Antonio—and the “Wedding March” was filling the air.I quickly fluffed out the train of Kara’s dress so it’d be fully displayed as she walked down the aisle, but not so full it’d catch any candles, then left her to her father.The muscles in my neck ached, the pain radiating down to my shoulder blades, and my feet were sore from all the extra running around in heels.Giving myself a quick shake to keep myself going, I squeezed into the narrow gap between the wall and the seats so I could head up front and keep an eye on everything.Even under the veil, I could see Kara’s brilliant smile as she came down the aisle.If it’d been most any other bride, she’d be flustered or possibly even blaming me.Instead, she wore the dreamlike expression of someone who was more concerned with the love she had for her groom than anything else in the world.My hope bank filled up just a little higher, and I found myself wrapping my fingers around my phone, wanting to call Brendan and tell him how much he meant to me.Only I worried that was the wedding buzz in the air talking and that I needed to press on the brakes before I scared him.I’ve gotta go slower this time.I considered the plans I’d had earlier tonight, and thought maybe I should slow those down, too.No, I definitely was ready for that next step.Right? Crap, now I’m messing myself up again, making problems that aren’t there.I shook my head.Just focus on the love, focus on the love.Jack and Kara faced each other in front of the preacher, both wide-eyed and wearing grins like they couldn’t believe their luck.I was so wrapped up in it, I almost missed it—one of the candles was shooting its flame several inches higher than the rest.It licked at the ribbon on Elise’s bouquet, taking a taste and looking like it wanted more.I waved, trying to get her attention—on the bright side, her skin was back to her normal color and she didn’t look like she was going to hurl—but she was focused on Kara and Jack as well, unmoved by my subtle gesture.Can this wedding please just give me a break already? There was no way to completely hide myself, but I figured being seen was better than having a second fire.People might start to talk about hellfire and the union being unsanctioned or something, and that was not happening on my watch.I sneaked behind Elise and nudged up the arms holding the bouquet, whispering, “Hold it higher.It’s hitting one of the candles.”Her eyes widened and then she nodded, holding it even higher than needed.The vows ended, the bride and groom kissed, and I did an internal happy dance celebrating the lack of fire hoses for the ceremony.But then the flower girl kicked over a candle on her way down the aisle.One of the groomsmen stepped forward with a canister in hand, extinguished it with a burst, and the entire place cheered.On his way past me, he held up a hand for a high five, and I smacked it.Then I nodded at Larry and Antonio to let them know we were clear on this end.Once all the guests were out of the chapel, my local friendly firefighters helped me make sure the candles were all out.“Till next time,” Larry said.I gave the candles one last glance.“Kinda hoping there won’t be one.”“Like I said, till next time [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]