Chapter 1

"Mom!"

Lucy came racing down the porch steps with her backpack in her arms. She was wearing nothing but socks on her feet, and her face was red from crying.

I had rushed all the way over from the hospital. "Where's Dad?"

She pointed across the street.

Ethan's pickup was parked outside the company housing across the road. His project coordinator, Celeste, had moved in six months ago with her son, Milo.

Ethan was tossing the last suitcase into the truck bed.

Celeste sat in the passenger seat with her dog in her arms.

Eight-year-old Milo was already buckled into the back seat.

I grabbed Lucy's hand and ran toward the truck. The thick smoke sent her into a fit of coughing.

"Ethan!" I pounded on the window. "Lucy's having an asthma attack. Let her in!"

Ethan rolled down the window, his face drenched in sweat. "Where's your car?"

"The tank is empty. You drove it yesterday and didn't fill it up."

He glanced back at the flames drawing closer. "They're about to close the main road. I have to leave now."

I pulled open the rear door, only to find Lucy's car seat gone.

In its place were Milo's backpack, two cases of water, and a pet carrier.

Lucy clung tightly to my hand. "Where's my seat?"

Ethan avoided her eyes. "I took it out this morning. Milo gets carsick, so he needs more room."

"Then Celeste can drive her own car. Lucy can't stay out in this smoke."

Celeste turned around, tears already streaming down her face. "My car won't start. Nora, I don't want this either, but Milo is terrified."

"My daughter can't breathe."

I reached for Lucy to lift her into the truck, but Ethan got out and blocked the rear door.

"You're an ER nurse." He lowered his voice as though I were the one being unreasonable. "You know how to keep her safe. Celeste doesn't know what to do, and Milo is just a kid."

"Lucy is your child too."

"The fire station is south of here. Take the old trail. You'll be there in ten minutes."

"She can't walk that far!"

Lucy's breathing had already become a faint whistle.

I crouched down and searched through her backpack. Her spare inhaler wasn't inside.

"Where's your inhaler?" I asked.

She struggled to point at the pickup. "In Daddy's truck. I forgot to take it out this morning."

I lunged for the door.

Ethan found the red inhaler in the glove compartment. As he handed it to me, an explosion boomed in the distance.

Flames burst through the roof of a nearby house.

Celeste screamed at him to drive.

"I'll take them to the shelter, then come back for you," Ethan said.

"By the time you get back, we could be trapped."

He looked at me, hesitation flickering in his eyes. For one moment, I thought he would finally let Lucy into the truck.

Instead, he climbed back behind the wheel and shut the door.

"You can handle this, Nora. You always do."

As the pickup started moving, Lucy threw herself at the window and pounded on the glass.

"Daddy, don't go!"

Ethan tightened his hands around the steering wheel and never looked at her again.

The truck sped away, its taillights quickly vanishing into the smoke.

I pressed the inhaler to Lucy's mouth, my hand shaking so badly I could barely line it up.

Then I lifted her onto my back and ran toward the old fire access trail.

Lucy buried her face against my shoulder, her tears slipping beneath the collar of my shirt.

"Mom," she said between broken breaths, "Daddy is Milo's daddy too."

"What did you say?"

"Milo told me... Daddy lets him call him Dad when no one else is around."

Her entire body trembled with each cough, but her little hands still clutched my clothes with all their strength.