Facing the Fire. Gail Barrett

too. He just hoped it wouldn’t keep him off the jump list long.

      She cranked the engine and they lurched forward. Unable to buckle his seat belt, he planted his feet wide against the floorboard to steady himself in the seat. Fighting off another bout of dizziness, he closed his eyes.

      For several moments, they drove in silence. Warm air rushed through the open windows. The Jeep bounced down the dusty road, eating up the distance toward the front. Like any seasoned smokejumper, Cade used the spare time to rest.

      “Do you smell something?” Jordan asked.

      He blinked open his eyes and sniffed. “Yeah. That damn dog stinks.”

      She shot him a wry smile. “I mean besides the dog. I could smell him out in the open.” Her smile faded, and worry crept into her eyes. “I think I smell smoke.”

      He inhaled deeply this time, ignoring the ache in his ribs. The faint scent of burning pine filled his lungs. “Yeah, I smell it.”

      “Do you think we’re too late to get through?”

      “We’ll find out.” He scanned the thick trees lining the road but didn’t see signs of the fire.

      “I’ll go faster.” She accelerated, and the Jeep leaped forward. Dirt spun under the tires and kicked up clouds of dust. They hit a hard bump, jarring his shoulder, and he choked back a groan. He didn’t care how much the damned thing throbbed. He’d have to wait and deal with it later, after they got past the fire.

      The Jeep rocketed down the road and the smell of smoke grew stronger. Jordan stared straight ahead, her brow furrowed in concentration. Cade felt his own tension mount.

      Then smoke drifted over the road and his stomach tightened. The fire was closer than he’d thought. And unless the front made a sharp detour, they’d be caught in its path.

      They careened around a curve and up a knoll, and suddenly, the front appeared on the right. Deep-orange flames surged toward them. Dark, heavy smoke roiled over the road.

      “Stop!”

      Jordan slammed on the brakes. The Jeep skidded sideways, and Cade braced his boot against the dashboard to keep from hitting the windshield. They abruptly jerked to a stop.

      The roar of the wildfire filled the forest. The wind whipped the tall flames skyward and curled them high through the trees. Dry branches exploded in brilliant bursts, shooting flames through the crowns.

      “Oh, God,” Jordan breathed.

      Cade frowned. From what he could see through the smoke, the perimeter was completely erratic. Long fingers of flame ran ahead of the front, pushed by the powerful winds. Sparks blew through the billowing smoke and torched spot fires over the road.

      A gust of wind scattered ashes on the Jeep. Flare-ups hissed and snapped beside them.

      “Cade,” Jordan said, her voice unsteady. “What are we going to do?”

      Good question. “We can’t outrun that flame front.” Unless there was a natural barrier ahead that protected the road. And he sure as hell didn’t remember one.

      His shoulder screamed as he reached back for the radio in his PG bag and he blinked against the pain. Maybe someone had reconned the fire from the air and knew if they could make it. The smoke was too thick for him to tell from the ground.

      But then the wind gusted again. The smoke lifted, and he saw the road for himself. It ran straight ahead, right into the path of the fire.

      He glanced at Jordan. Raw fear shone in her eyes. “Can we get out?” she asked, her voice trembling.

      His gut twisted, and he reluctantly shook his head. “Not through that. We’re trapped.”

      Chapter 3

      Trapped? Jordan tore her gaze from Cade and gaped at the inferno raging before her. A fierce roar shook the air. Flames swirled up pines like fiery tornadoes and shot sparks far overhead.

      Fear slammed through her nerves and she stifled a cry. They had to get away. Run! But she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even see where they needed to go.

      Ashes blew across the windshield and the grass beside the Jeep started burning. A towering wall of fire charged toward them while thick, heavy smoke rolled over the road.

      “Turn around,” Cade said over the noise.

      “But the grass is burning!”

      “So back up and then turn around.”

      Of course. Her heart hammering, her breathing shallow, she threw the Jeep into Reverse and hit the gas. They sped back to a wide spot in the road and she slammed on the brakes. The Jeep bucked to a stop, then stalled. “Oh, God.”

      “Take it easy,” Cade said, his voice even. “We’ve got time.”

      Time? With the world around them on fire? She flicked her gaze to Cade. He slumped back in his seat, his head cradled casually against the headrest. How on earth could he stay so calm?

      Her gaze switched to the windshield. The wild flames thundered over the earth, and terror raced through her chest. But Cade was right. This wasn’t the time to panic. She needed to control her fear and get them away from this fire.

      Inhaling deeply, she cranked the engine and spun the wheel, making the Jeep lurch forward. Then she hit the brakes, shoved the gearshift into Reverse and shot back.

      They stopped, and she sucked in another breath. She’d turned the Jeep around. Now she just had to drive away. Her heart still sprinting, she floored the gas pedal. The Jeep fishtailed, straightened and hurtled back up the dirt road.

      They rounded a bend, and she looked in the rearview mirror. The flames disappeared behind the dense stands of fir trees, and she hitched out her breath. They were safe, at least for now. She eased up her foot on the gas.

      Several breaths later, her heart stopped quaking. She pried her fingers from the steering wheel and rearranged her grip. The roar of the fire gradually faded, and her galloping pulse finally slowed.

      But then she heard a soft, high whistle from the backseat. She pulled her foot off the gas and glanced back.

      The dog huddled on the floor behind Cade’s seat, trembling wildly and breathing in thin, reedy gasps. “For goodness’ sake,” she said. He was hyperventilating. She reached back and stroked his soft head, and his worried gaze lifted to hers. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We’re okay.”

      At least she hoped so. She glanced at Cade, still slouched calmly in his seat, his booted feet planted on the floorboards. “What are we going to do now?”

      His vibrant blue eyes met hers. “You remember that old logging trail past the cabin?”

      “How could I forget it?” They’d hiked that trail dozens of times to picnic in the meadow by the stream.

      At least they’d intended to picnic. Heat gathered low in her belly, along with a memory as intense as any fire. Of lying in the warm, sunlit grass, Cade’s strong arms holding her tight. His hard face taut, his breathing ragged. His eyes singeing hers.

      His blue eyes narrowed, and she knew he remembered it, too. Her heart thumped hard against her ribs and she yanked her gaze to the road.

      “It might not be open,” he continued, his voice rough. The husky timbre made her shiver. “I couldn’t tell when we were setting up to jump. The timber’s too heavy to see the road from the air.”

      “I guess we can give it a try.”

      “We don’t have a choice. There aren’t any other roads out here.”

      She tried to picture the abandoned road. She remembered long, deep ruts and knee-high weeds, at least in the section they’d hiked. They’d never quite made it past that meadow.

      She cleared her throat. “Do