A Different Way Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Cast of Characters

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Don’t Miss All of the Sisters of Fire Stories

  TO TRUST AGAIN Excerpt

  About the Author

  A DIFFERENT WAY

  Sisters of Fire

  Book 5

  Kathryn Shay

  A Different Way

  Copyright © 2021 by Kathryn Shay

  All Rights Reserved

  Published by Ocean View Books

  Cover Design by Shelley Kay at Web Crafters

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cast of Characters

  * * *

  Hero and Heroine:

  Battalion Chief Lynn Lucas

  Brady Jamison

  Sisters of Fire:

  Captain JJ Jensen

  Firefighter Annie O’Shea

  Firefighter Trish “Mac” Mackenzie

  Lt. Tess DiMarco

  Battalion Chief Brooke Cartwright

  Significant others:

  Colin O’Shea (Annie)

  Nathan Mitchell (Trish)

  Capt. David Ashford (Tess)

  Nick Barrows (JJ)

  Ken Lucas (Lynne)

  Zach Cartwright, deceased (Brooke)

  Family:

  Emma Jamison, Brady's daughter

  Bryce, Brianna siblings

  Bob and Belinda, Brady’s parents

  Melody and Phillip Lucas

  Ken Lucas, Lynne’s ex

  Duff Murray, Lynne’s father

  Crew on Engine 4 (Crystal City Fire Department):

  Capt. Harry Zander

  Lt. Lynn Lucas

  Firefighter Cameron Loder

  Firefighter Billy Braxton

  Other officials:

  Fire Chief Joe Redman

  Various Battalion Chiefs Roncone, Landry, Jackson, Perry etc.

  Various Firefighters from other groups

  Places:

  Crystal City Diner

  Connor’s Restaurant

  Lakeview Restaurant

  The Elmwood Inn (The Grand Hotel)

  Lynne’s Cottage on Dannerville Lake

  Prologue

  * * *

  Brady Jamison sat on the stairs watching a little

  princess dance around the foyer, until a knock sounded on the glass of the storm door. “Look, Daddy. Somebody’s here.”

  He moved up behind her as she pushed the handle. The scent of cut pumpkins with candles floated over to them.

  “Trick-or-treat.”

  Emma squealed with delight as she doled out Hershey bars, tootsie rolls and Three Musketeer bars.

  They repeated the process ten times, then Brady said, “We’re done, honey.”

  Another child had just climbed the steps. “One more.”

  “All right.” Again, he pushed the door open.

  “Daddy, she’s dressed like me!” Emma’s eyes widened. “So’s her Mama. And they got braids, too.”

  Brady bit his lip when he took in the two of them. “What a sight.”

  The adult fairy warned, “Don’t you dare laugh.”

  “At two more beautiful fairies? Why would I?”

  The little one turned to the woman. “Mommy, I gotta pee.”

  Her mom sighed.

  “We have toilets,” he said kindly. “She can use one.”

  “I’ll have to come with her.”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t expect otherwise.”

  They entered the house and Emma practically jumped up and down. She led all three of them to the downstairs bathroom, and the girl went inside, while the mother waited in the kitchen hallway. “She’s nine. She’s growing up fast.”

  “Mine is eight going on eighty.”

  “I am not, Daddy.” She turned to the woman. “I’m Emma. My daddy’s Brady. Who are you?”

  “My name is Lynne. My daughter’s Melody.”

  “Do you live near us?”

  “No, we’re new to town and were driving around to find a street with lots of trick-or-treaters out.”

  “Can you stay?”

  Melody opened the door in time to hear Emma’s request. “You said we were going home after this house, Mom. Can we?”

  “I—”

  “P-l-e-a-s-e!” This from both girls.

  She glanced at Brady. He was still entranced by her made up face. She used greens and blues to accent her big green eyes. “Fine by me. You were going to be our last, too.” He ruffled his daughter’s wings. “How about cider?”

  “I want the candy I got today at Trunk or Treat, Daddy.”

  Melody asked, “What’s that?”

  “Trunk or Treat is a common practice at Halloween in Crystal City,” Brady explained. “Parents and friends put candy in the trunks of their cars and drive to a parking lot. The kids go around trick or treating in a safe way.” He addressed Emma. “All right honey. Two pieces.”

  “Two for you, too, sweetie,” Lynne told her daughter.

  In childhood innocence, Emma grabbed the unfamiliar girl by the hand and led her toward the living room. Melody said, “I love your braids.” He’d learned to do them and was proud of himself.

  “Thanks. I like yours.”

  The adults dropped down at the table that overlooked the room. Brady and his wife Jenny had renovated the whole back of the house into this open layout.

  Lynne asked, “What are the chances of matching outfits?”

  “Three of them? Slim to none.”

  She moved uneasily. “These wings are not for sitting in chairs.”

  “If you’re finished, take them off.”

  “I, um, can’t do it alone. I’m planning to stop back at a friend’s house to get them off. She put them on me, too.”

  “I can help. If you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind.” She stood. “You’ll need more light.”

  They walked into the kitchen proper. Under an overhead light, she turned around and stared at the fridge as he undid the ties. When he leaned in to release a particular clip, her scent of flowers and lemon filled his head.

  Clearing his throat, he finished up. “There you go.”

  “Thanks.” She took the wings. “May I ask about your fridge flyer?”

  “Sure. Which one?”

  She pointed.

  “Ah, Flying Solo.”

  “What is it?”

  “A group for parents raising kids alone. The people are friendly and fun. I’m an administrator this year. We hold support groups and social activities.”

  “You’re solo?” she asked. Not brazenly. Just with interest.

  “My wife Jenny died two years ago.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You?”

  “A divorce. It’ll be over soon.”

  “That must be hard.”

  Her expression turned bleak. “More than I could have possibly imagined.”

  He grabbed the flyer off the fridge and handed it to her. “Here you go, Fairy Princess. Maybe I’ll see you again.”

  “Maybe.” She did a cute little curtsey. “
Thanks.”

  Chapter 1

  * * *

  Captain Harry Zander, rumored to be the nicest guy in the department, and Lynne’s new captain, calmly gave out orders as Engine 4 sped to the fire scene on her first day shift in the CCFD. “Follow me to Incident Command, and you’ll get your assignments there. Lucas, no offense, you’ll stick with me. It’s your first call with us.”

  She almost snorted in the backseat with three other firefighters. She’d been a firefighter for eleven years in a smaller department in the village of Dannerville and rose to battalion chief, a rank higher than hers now.

  Zander grumbled, “I can hear you almost snort. Gim0PKme this one.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  White smoke billowed out of the windows on the burning house, and from where they parked, Lynne saw the fire was really rolling. An aerial truck and another engine were stationed on the west side of the structure. They dismounted the rig and the putrid scent of something besides charred wood filled the air. At least it was above forty degrees today, though a bit windy.

  They crossed to Battalion Chief Tom Frasier. “Hey, Harry.

  Lay a line from the East. Get water on the brick. Then we’ll need ladders thrown for search and rescue. Somebody’s inside.”

  Lynne’s coworkers, Dynai Blackfeather and Cameron Loder rushed to the rig, got out the two-and-half-inch line and hauled it over their shoulders to the closest part of the dwelling. Billy Braxton, the driver, remained at the water controls on the rig.

  In under two minutes, her group had the wet stuff on the red stuff.

  The smoke turned even blacker. Zander frowned. “Lucas get the 4-incher and hook it up to the plug.” Which was twenty feet away.

  Braxton had already pulled the hose out when she got to the rig, and Lynne humped the line over to the street and unscrewed the cap with a hydrant wrench. She knew to open the valve slowly and fully, as a partial release could cause serious damage to the plug and the firefighter. “It’s wet.” Which meant there was already water in the barrel. She strode to Zander with the hose. He got behind her.

  Lynne levered the nozzle back and the large hose bucked, pushing her into Zander with its force. He groaned. “Lightweight.”

  She sprayed the bottom floor and as soon as the flames were out, she did the same on the top. The brick peeled back and they could see the plastic insulation, which must have caused the smell.

  The cap shook his head. “A disaster waiting to…”

  Pop, pop, pop, pop! Holy hell. From living out in the county, Lynne recognized the sound. "Somebody’s shooting at us?”

  “Not necessarily.” Though there had been crazies who opened fire at firefighters. Zander radioed Incident Command. “What’s the noise from, Tom?”

  “Ammunition in the basement. Let it run its course and get back as far as you can. Hold onto the hoses in case of reignition from the bullets.”

  Lynne stepped two feet further back and listened to the ammo cooking. There had to be hundreds of rounds down there.

  Over the radio, they heard, “Mayday, mayday, firefighter shot in the leg.”

  “Fuck.” Frasier again over the radio.

  The injured man wasn’t in their line of vision. But she could see the aerial raise from the truck and firefighters climbed up to the top. A stream of water erupted onto the roof.

  Sirens sounded close by. Lynne looked over her shoulder. Another engine screeched to a halt in the front of the house, with an ambulance right behind.

  Still, they waited. The inactivity chilled her so she jumped up and down a few times.

  Finally, they heard, “All clear.”

  Zander jogged to the front of the house and took the steps to the entrance. He ducked inside, but he came out immediately. “The stairs are gone.” He radioed the message.

  “Vent from your side then. Another truck is on the way,

  but got delayed by a detour. Nobody guessed this small fire would turn so bad.” He swore. “Get the Hurst tool from the truck that’s already here. Their crew is busy assisting the engine. You and your probie make the cuts when I give you the go ahead.”

  “Go get the saw, Lucas. I’ll get the ladder.” He’d already brought along a halligan and pike.

  A probie met her halfway and handed her the tool. She jogged back and saw Zander had already raised a ladder. “You wanna do it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Go ahead.”

  She started the saw on the ground, a must for venting because if the tool didn’t work on the roof, they weren’t going to open in time. It roared to life. Switching it off, she handed the cutter to Zander and took the halligan and pike from the ground, then climbed the ladder up to the peak of the roof. She staged the pike, which would be used to lever the roof later. Up here, the wind was worse and she felt its force.

  Before she stepped on the roof, she tapped the shingles with the halligan in case it was spongy. It wasn’t, so she hammered the halligan ax into the roof between the lower rungs of the ladder. She stepped up and braced herself with one foot on the ax. She took the saw from Zander who’d followed her up.

  He said into his radio, “On the roof, chief.”

  “Vent now.”

  With the wind at her back, Lynne turned on the saw then stepped off the ladder. She made the first cut away from her, did a quick second cut on an angle, then a third downward cut. Next, she made another cut toward her on the bottom.

  She stepped back onto the ladder because cut five would be the final one to complete the rectangle. The saw snarled its way through from the first cut down to the fourth. Quickly, Lynne grabbed the pike and hooked it on the far end of the sliced square. It louvered up on a beam which then shielded her when the fire burst out in angry flames. The angled piece of roof also funneled the heat and smoke away from her.

  Zander said into the radio, “Ventilation complete.”

  They descended the ladder and once on the ground, Zander pushed up his facemask. Lynne the same. The cold stung her in the face. “Good work, Lucas.” His smile was big and genuine. He reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

  “Thanks, sir.” She knew she’d done everything perfectly. She should. She’d taught this maneuver to recruits.

  Together they gathered the tools and walked over to Incident Command.

  “It’s a fucking circus here,” BC Frasier said when they reached him.

  Zander asked him what was wrong.

  “A rookie didn’t have his air pack on and it took time to strap him in. And the damn ammo endangered us all, then hit one of my favorite lieutenants in the leg. To top it off, the aerial got stuck. Luckily on its way down. But totally avoidable.”

  Zander checked his watch. “We made decent time.”

  “Yeah, I know. But I hate mistakes.”

  He clapped Frasier on the arm. “Try to look on the bright side, Tom. We did okay.”

  “Harrumph.”

  When the crew piled into the rig, which was gratefully warm, Braxton and Blackfeather were chatter-bugs. He said, “I wonder how much ammo and guns the guy lost. I heard the owner was cryin’ about it on the lawn after they got him out.”

  Blackfeather’s expression darkened. “I saw Davidson get shot. Scared me shitless.”

  “What’d you do?”

  “I’d stepped back as soon as the popcorn sounds started. But I dragged him out of the way of more bullets.”

  Lynne watched the dynamics. She noticed Zander didn’t chat. Like she never had. Too many things to remember for the debriefing.

  When they got back to the house, Lynne bounded off the rig and stopped to take in a breath of early November air. The call had been exhilarating. This was the exact reason she’d upended her life and come to Crystal Corners.

  * * *

  On Lynne’s first day off, she and Brooke took a walk around Brooke’s neighborhood. Despite the thirty-degree weather, they braved the elements and went at a good clip. Luckily the noon sun was out, keeping Brooke warm in a down jacke
t and hat. Lynne was cute in a dark green thermal coat and white earmuffs.

  “How was your first tour in the CCFD?” Brooke asked. She liked hearing about the day-to-day job stuff of her friends.

  “It went well. The captain is a doll like people say.”

  “Harry Zander, right? We all adore him. He taught a class with me once and the recruits took to him.”

  “Yeah, Zander’s great. And I liked Dynai Blackfeather.”

  Brooke chuckled. “That woman is a dynamo for her size. I helped train her. JJ said she was on the second-in crew on that ambulance tip-over call and was essential to the rescue.”

  “Yeah, I remember. The other two guys are a little aloof. I can deal with that.”

  Brooke squeezed her am. Their breath huffed out as they walked. “Did you get settled into David’s house?”

  Lucky for Lynne, the husband of one of the Sisters of Fire had offered his place to her when she’d moved up to Crystal Corners. David had vacated it to live with Tess.

  “Mostly. I didn’t unpack everything. I’ll get my own house when we finalize the divorce.”

  After Lynne graduated from the academy, the plan was to move back to Dannerville, her hometown, and work in the fire department—for a while. But Ken reneged on his promise to resettle in Crystal Corners twice and finally, after ten years of his refusals, she decided to move on her own. Their relationship was all but over by then, anyway.

  They turned a corner and kept talking. “So, Ken’s keeping the one in Dannerville?”

  “He is. And I get the lake cottage. A fair trade. He’s being overly cooperative because of Mary’s pregnancy. He wants a quickie divorce.”

  Furious at Ken’s infidelity, Brooke swore. “The shithead. Is he at least embarrassed by what he’s done?”

  “Not in front of me. But he’s a town councilman and he’s gotta be chagrined with them, and the rest of Dannerville, I’d guess.”

  “Is Mary living with him?”

  “No. And I hope my kids will move in with me before the divorce is final and she does. They don’t want to inhabit a house with the other woman.”