Welsh Wildfire Read online

  Da sipped his coffee. “I thought you loved it here. Aren’t you happy working in general practice?”

  “I am, don’t get me wrong, it’s just…” She sipped the coffee, not sure how to phrase her response. “I miss the busyness and the intensity of a medical unit in a hospital. Or even the possibility to do my surgery, or to specialize in something or other. But more than that, I just hate everyone knowing my business.”

  “If you wanted to combine surgery with a GP practice, there is a way to do that.”

  They passed a bench and the conversation was difficult to miss.

  “That American man—Josh, isn’t it, now? The amount of calls my Gavyn has gone on since he arrived has increased a lot. Not just hoax calls, real fires too.”

  “You don’t think he’s starting them, do you, Blodwyn?”

  The first lady shook her head. “I couldn’t say.”

  Da looked at Jess. “You have to tell them, bach.”

  “It’s not my place, but that does kind of prove my point about living in a small town.”

  “And there’s the fact you’ve fallen for him.”

  She sighed and took a long sip of the coffee. “And what if I have? He’s running from God. And even if he weren’t, he’s leaving soon. So there is no point in liking him. Or anything else.”

  Da touched her arm. “Pray for him, Ol. God has a purpose for that young man being here, and if it’s finding you, or you simply helping him find his faith again, then whatever happens between you won’t go to waste.”

  Jess nodded. “So tell me more about combining general practice and surgery.”

  ****

  Back on the building site, Josh tried to concentrate on his final piece of work. This gargoyle was close to being done which brought him pleasure. Yet, at the same time, as soon as it was done, unless he accepted Dai’s offer of further employment, he was out of work. Should he leave and go back to the US? He had no idea.

  Below him, he could hear Ivor and Dai arguing again. His name was mentioned several times, and he guessed the torrent of angry Welsh words weren’t good ones.

  Ivor climbed up the scaffolding, muttering under his breath as he passed.

  Josh ignored the comments, not understanding them anyway. He carried on with his work, finding beauty in the ugliness of the creature he was working on. He knew that’s what God saw when He looked at him, but Josh could only find dislike for himself. Was that why he blamed God so much? Because deep down he blamed himself?

  A brick fell from above, narrowly missing him. “Hey, watch it.”

  Ivor smirked. “Sorry.”

  Josh nodded and returned to his work. Another brick fell, catching his arm. He cried out in pain.

  “Ivor and Josh, here now,” Dai yelled.

  Josh climbed down slowly, rubbing his arm as he reached the pavement.

  Ivor started yelling as soon as he finished climbing down. Dai yelled back, and the argument soon turned nasty with the two men shoving each other. Ivor decked Dai, sending him to the floor.

  Josh put himself firmly between the two men, trying to calm things down.

  Ivor pulled a hammer from his tool belt and waved it in Josh’s face.

  10

  A police car pulled up, sirens blaring. The crowd around them increased in number. A uniformed officer jumped out, his partner radioing for back up. “All right, break it up,” he ordered.

  Ivor snarled and tightened his grip on the hammer.

  “I said drop it,” the officer repeated. He disarmed Ivor and cuffed his hands behind his back.

  Josh looked at him. “I didn’t do anything other than break up the fight. Dai can vouch for that,” he said, half expecting to be cuffed as well.

  The uniformed officer turned to him. “What’s going on, Dai? Did Ivor do that?”

  Ivor shouted something in Welsh and pointed at Josh.

  Dai’s eye was already swollen, his face bruised. “Officer Morgan, who Josh’s father is has nothing to do with this.”

  Josh sighed. Great. Now the whole town knows who I am.

  “Did Ivor assault you, Dai?”

  “Yes, but…”

  Officer Morgan immediately put Ivor in the back of the car.

  Josh shoved his hands into his pockets. “Am I under arrest too?” he asked quietly.

  The other officer shook his head. “No. I’ll need a statement from you now in a minute, so don’t go anywhere.”

  “Wait in my office,” Dai said. “Like the officer said, we’ll be there now in a minute.”

  Josh walked to the office and shut the door. From the window he could see Jess checking Dai’s eye, then she came over to the office and let herself in.

  They knew who he was. Ivor had made sure of that. Now he just had to work out how to leave without making it look as if he had his tail between his legs. He looked at Jess. “I’m not hurt. How’s Dai?”

  “He’ll live. By all accounts you’d have let Ivor hit you with that hammer. Why?”

  “Better me than Dai,” Josh said. “And what does now in a minute mean?”

  “Imminently. It’s a media circus out there. Ivor is fair tamping in the back of the police car.” She leaned on the door.

  He frowned. “Tamping? Even your English is a foreign language at times.”

  “Furious,” she translated. “Well, at least the gossips can talk about the truth for a change. Up until now, you’ve been a murderer on the run. Or the local fire starter. Now you’re simply the son of the president.”

  “I can’t stay here now everyone knows—or they will do. About Dad, the destruction of the church…” He paced. “I came here to escape my past, not face it head on.”

  Jess sighed. “So what if they do know? And who cares if you’re President Wilson’s son? You are here doing a job, just like everyone else does.”

  “I might not even have a job any more. This one finishes tomorrow and Dai may withdraw his offer of further employment after this. They were fighting over me. That makes this my fault.”

  Jess shook her head. “No it doesn’t. Ivor picks a fight over nothing, especially after payday. He spends far too much money down the pub and can’t think straight the next day or three. Dai’s been too soft on him for a long time.”

  The door opened and Dai and Sam came in. Dai looked at Jess. “Leave us, bach.”

  Jess squeezed Josh’s hand. “I’ll wait outside.”

  Dai shut the door behind her. “So you’re President Wilson’s son, huh?”

  Josh nodded. “Yes.”

  “And a pretty famous pastor by all accounts according to the news crew.”

  Josh sucked in a deep breath. There was no point in keeping silent anymore. “Yes. Not that I’ve been inside a church since the beginning of July.”

  “Are you not proud of your da?” Sam asked.

  “Yes, I am, but…”

  “So why hide it, boyo?” Dai demanded. “People thought up all kinds of crazy stuff, look you. And I’ll tell you for why. You can take being a man of mystery too far.”

  “I didn’t want special treatment on account of being his son,” Josh said. “I can see I was wrong.”

  Dai nodded. “I wasn’t employing your father. I needed a stone mason, not a politician. Who people are related to doesn’t cut any ice around here.”

  Sam nodded. “That just leaves the question of chapel. What exactly is your problem with it? What could make a pastor turn his back on his faith and run?”

  Josh sucked in a deep breath. “My church was destroyed by a tornado. A lot of people died on my watch. I needed to get away. So here I am.”

  Dai jerked his head. “I need a stone mason for the next month working on the chapel.”

  “Church? Wait a minute, I don’t do—”

  “Maybe you should,” Dai interrupted him again. “God isn’t to be trifled with, look you, and you can’t run away from Him either. But at the end of the day, whether you sort things out with God or not, it’s a job and I need you. I
’m shorthanded with Ivor gone and a stone mason with your skill could make that church shine.”

  “And I could do with an additional fire fighter over the next few weeks. It may be autumn now, but the fire risk hasn’t diminished. Especially with all the arson attacks the past while.” Sam eyed him up. “Tim’s back from Monday, but keep the pager if you’re in town and come whenever the alarm goes off.”

  Josh looked back at Dai and Sam. “If you’re sure you still want me working for you, then I accept. Both jobs. Thank you.”

  Dai crossed his arms. “There is just one final proviso. Don’t string Jess along. She likes you a lot. You play with her heart and you’ll find we won’t be so forgiving. Now give your statement to Officer Edwin and then get back out there. That stone isn’t going to carve itself.”

  ****

  At dinner that evening, Jess stared across the table. “You made the local paper.”

  “Great,” Josh replied stabbing the potato wedges with his fork.

  “Tomorrow’s chip wrapper,” she said, cheerfully. She bit into the pastry and sighed. No one made pastry like Mam did. Not even hers came anywhere close.

  He reached over and took her hand. “How can you talk about takeout when we’re eating? You’re as bad as Matt. He’d finish one meal, look at Mom and say, ‘if that was dinner, roll on tea.’ She never found it as funny as we did.”

  Jess squeezed his hand. “Maybe we should try it.”

  Da shook his head at both of them. “It’s like having a pair of kids in the house. So, Josh, have you decided what you’re doing yet?”

  Josh nodded. “I…” He broke off as his phone rang. He looked at the screen and ignored it. “It’s Dad and a video call. I’ll call him back later.”

  “Answer it,” Jess said. “We don’t mind. Well, Mam might because of her no-phones-at-the-table rule, but even she can’t argue with the President of the United States.”

  Josh shook his head. Then as Jess grabbed the phone, he tried to take it off her. “What are you doing?”

  Jess held the phone out of reach, laughing as she hit ACCEPT CALL. “Hello, Josh’s phone.”

  The President scowled for a second, then smiled. “Could I speak to Josiah, please?”

  “He’s a little busy…” She broke off, laughing as Josh tickled her to get the phone.

  “Give me that.” He grabbed the phone and rolled his eyes. “Hi, Dad. Ignore her. I am here.”

  “Josiah, who was that?”

  “That’s Jess, the daughter of the people I’m staying with. Is everything OK? How’s Mom?”

  “Your Mom’s fine. I got your email about wanting to talk. And I thought as I have twenty minutes free before my next meeting I’d call now.”

  He stood. “I’m going to take this in the other room.”

  “I would like a word with Dr. Thomas first.”

  “Which one, Dad? There are two Dr. Thomas’s in the house. Jess and her father.”

  “Senior.”

  Da held out a hand for the phone. Once he held it, he took it from the room. “Yes, Mr. President…”

  Jess tilted her head. “You know, you can’t run from the fact you’re the president’s son, any more than you can run away from the fact you’re a child of God. Or hide from either of them. As much as you’d like to sometimes.” She winked. “Besides, it seems to come with added advantage of being allowed to use your phone at the dinner table.”

  Da came back in and held out the phone. “Josh…”

  “Thanks.” Josh stood and took the phone from the room, letting the door shut loudly behind him.

  Mam frowned. “Olwyn, ni ddylech ei bryfocio, bach. Nid yw'n deg.”

  Jess looked up. “I wasn’t teasing him. I was trying to play.”

  “Just be honest with him and tell him you like him.”

  “There’s no point,” Jess sighed. “He’s leaving. And even if he weren’t, he’s the son of a world leader and who am I?”

  Mam rolled her eyes. “And both equal in the eyes of God.”

  Jess finished her food. “I need to go make a house call before I turn in. I’ll see you later. And there goes Josh’s pager as well. I’ll give it to him on my way out.”

  ****

  Arriving at the fire, Josh leapt to the ground and pulled the hose from the fire truck. He glanced at the building. The wooden hut was well alight.

  Sam’s phone rang. He ignored it as he barked instructions. It was one of Sam’s unbreakable rules, and one Josh adhered to himself. Phones should be left behind, turned off, or ignored until the fire was out and the job was done.

  “Is anyone in there?” Josh asked.

  “Shouldn’t be.”

  “Water on,” came the shout from the fire engine.

  The hose jerked in Josh’s hands as the water surged through it.

  The cab radio squawked, and one of the other fire fighters ran over to them. “Sam, control was on the radio for you. They said it’s urgent. You need to ring home immediately.”

  Sam rolled his eyes. “What is it?”

  “Angharad is trying to get hold of you. Bryony is missing. She was last seen playing with the kitten in the fields behind your house.”

  Sam paled and ran over to the fire engine, pulling out his phone.

  The hair rose on the back of Josh’s neck. That was the same location as the fire they were currently fighting. A kitten ran from the corner of the hut as they played the water over it. The chills down his spine grew as he recognized it. He glanced at the fire fighter next to him. “Take the hose and cover the doorway,” he yelled.

  Without hesitation, he ran to the hut.

  Josh kicked the door open, ducking as flames shot through it. Then he pushed upright and ran inside. The hut was engulfed in flames. “Bryony? Are you in here?”

  His feet stumbled on something and he shone his light downwards. Please, God, not again…

  Bending, he scooped up the small figure and ran outside. “Someone get an ambulance,” he yelled. “And tell Sam I found her.” He laid her on the ground, checking for a pulse.

  Bryony coughed and opened her eyes.

  “That’s a girl. Breathe on this for me.” He put the O2 mask over her face. “Nice, deep breaths.” He looked up at Sam. “Don’t look so worried, mate. She’s fine. Just needs a checkup at the hospital is all.”

  Bryony pushed the mask aside and held up her arms to her father. “Daddy…I love you.”

  Sam pulled her into a hug. “I love you too, bach.” He looked at Josh. “What’s so funny?”

  Josh couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. “She just spoke out loud. First thing she’s said in years, and you didn’t realize.” He stood and moved back to allow the paramedics in. Still grinning, he moved back over to the others to help put out the fire.

  11

  Josh headed downstairs as the smell of bacon chased the last vestiges of sleep from his aching body. After the weeks of intense manual labor, he was finding pains in muscles he didn’t realize he had. At least it was Sunday, and he didn’t have to work. Fire duty permitting.

  Jess stood by the stove, and he paused in the doorway to admire her figure and the adept way she flipped the eggs and turned the bacon. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head, and he longed to slide his arms around her waist and hold her against him, the way his father did to his mother all the time.

  But what could he offer her?

  He cleared his throat. “Hi.”

  She glanced around and smiled. “Morning.” Her gaze slid over his white shirt and black slacks. “Very handsome.”

  “Thank you. So, answer me something. How do you say good morning in Welsh?”

  “Bore da.”

  “Bore da,” he repeated.

  “Excellent. You’ll be fluent before you know it. You know, you are quite the hero this morning. Running into a burning building and rescuing Bryony with no breathing apparatus and no thought for your own safety.”

  Josh shrugged. “Not really. Just
doing my job, and I seriously doubt I’ll be fluent in Welsh any time soon.”

  She turned to the door. “Breakfast is ready,” she called. She lowered her voice back to normal. “Come with me to chapel this morning.”

  “Jess…I…”

  “Please. It will shut me up.”

  Josh shook his head. “Are you going to bat your eyelids as well?”

  She smirked. “Will it help? Mam and Da would like you to come as well.” She batted her eyelids and did a pretty good puppy dog eye impression to boot.

  “I don’t know.” All he wanted to do this morning was hide. The whole town knew who he was and being out there fueling the gossip was more than he wanted.

  “Look you,” Jess said firmly. “Jeremiah 23 says you can’t hide from God, doesn’t it? ‘Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth,’ says the Lord.”

  “Yes,” he admitted.

  “So you may as well come. You can spend the entire service yelling at God or something, but you can’t ignore the state of your soul any longer.” She paused. “Your Da loves you, right? To the point he keeps bugging you and calling, and he sent the intelligence agency to find out exactly where you were. Well, your Heavenly Father does exactly the same. Only he has angels.”

  “But…”

  “And don’t you tell me they failed the day your church was destroyed. They saved you because it wasn’t your time to die. And honestly, the death toll should have been way higher than it was. God has a plan for you, Josh Wilson. Now it might simply have been saving Bryony’s life last night or it may be something else as well, something bigger perhaps. But for the sake of your soul, please, go talk to God and sort things out.”

  “OK, OK.” He held up his hands. “I’ll come. Goodness, Jess, you know how to nag.”

  Jess grinned. “I learned from the best. Now breakfast?”

  “I need to go for a run,” he said. “Clear my head.”

  “Want some company?”

  “If you can keep up.”

  “Watch me.” She shoved the food into the oven to keep warm.

  Josh grinned. “That sounds like a challenge.”

  “Give me a minute to change. And you should too, unless you’re planning on running in your Sunday best.” She headed out of the room before he could argue.