Page 98 of Clearly Charmed

I raced down the stairs, out the door and around the side of the house. Bryce was flanked in shadow. The wide arc of his spray conjured a colorful spectrum. He took short, measured footsteps across the roof, dousing every shingle. Panic expanded like a balloon in my chest. One wrong move and he could pitch right off the side, which was at least a fifteen-foot drop. I wasn’t mad enough to want to see him in traction.

I pushed the thought from my head as the sky filled with a deep gray haze. Waves suddenly spiked in the lake, sending water crashing against the dirt shores. The tang of burnt wood and dry brush filled my nose. The fire was eating up ground faster than expected.

At the side of the house I untangled the hose, stretching it out as far as possible. Once I had the knob turned, a warm blast of water hit the dry grass and weeds.

For the next half hour, I soaked every inch of ground around the north side of the house, including Clo’s garden, which now resembled a mud bog. A few lost carrots, heads of romaine, were better than a charred house.

The judge and Eric ripped up the driveway in their truck, did a quick three-point turn, and backed in the mobile water tank. Another truck and SUV were right behind them. Mo jumped out of the truck with Elena climbing out of her passenger seat. Dalton scrambled out of his own car.

Belladonna rushed out the front door. There was no time for pleasantries as the judge, Eric and Mo started connecting the hosing lines to the tank and handed them off.

Elena and Dalton raced up to me.

‘Give us a job,’ Elena pleaded.

‘Go help Belladonna on the other side of the house. Dalton, can you climb up onto the roof with another line and help Bryce spray it down?’

They quickly took off in the direction of their assignments.

Belladonna and Elena took turns working the area around the south side of the house, doing their best to wet down the trees, but even I knew that with one shift of the wind, a single spark, the area would flame up like a tinderbox. It wouldn’t take long after that for the entire house to go.

Time was not on our side. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, and it wouldn’t be safe for Bryce and Dalton to stay on the roof much longer.

I called to Belladonna, and she met me on the side of the house where I was working. ‘Keep soaking. I need to get Bryce off the roof.’

‘I like how he showed up and went right to work helping.’

‘Don’t start.’ I turned away and rushed to where the ladder was propped on the front of the house.

Clo walked out the front door. She clutched two cardboard boxes spilling over with family pictures and small mementos like Grandpa Beau’s whittling knives and his favorite Zane Grey novels.

‘What are you doing? Why do you have Grandpa Beau’s things?’ I said.

Clo clutched the boxes tighter to her chest like they were precious. ‘I’m getting the car ready to go.’

‘Why?’

Her shoulders trembled as Lia rushed out the front door.

‘What the hell is going on?’ I said.

Elena raced around the side of the house. She always came running when she heard my panicked voice.

‘Fire has turned, thanks to the winds. It’s headed this way,’ Lia said.

‘We’re not ready. Eric and the judge haven’t been able to drive closer to where the brush is thicker near the lake,’ I said.

‘There’s no time,’ Lia shot back. ‘The chief called and told me we have to evacuate Clo. We need to get her out of here in five minutes. Go inside and help her with the rest of the boxes.’

‘No, someone needs to get to the brush surrounding the lake,’ I insisted.

‘I’ll do it,’ Elena jumped in.

‘Grab Mo. She can help too,’ Lia said.

Elena took off and Lia gave me a heavy look.

‘Aster can take Clo. I am not leaving.’