Baby Lessons

scene, which involved multiple injuries. Luckily, everyone was fairly easily patched up. One of the drivers and a few passengers required transport to the big hospital up in Burlington, but none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
Just minutes after the crew returned to the station, they got another call for a small grass fire at the local junior high, which turned out to be the result of some kids messing around with firecrackers behind the gym. Jack and Wade had the fire out within minutes, but they’d spent nearly an hour educating the culprits as to the dangers of fireworks. It was the sort of call that Jack used to love best—a chance to personally get involved with the residents of Lovestruck, beyond issuing permits or putting out fires.
In recent months he’d lost his passion for interacting with members of the community. Sometimes, as much as he hated to admit it, dealing with the good citizens of Lovestruck made Jack feel like the list of people who wanted or needed something from him was longer than he could manage.
Today he felt different. Some of his spark was back. He didn’t want to think too hard on why he felt like the old Jack Cole, nor did he want to get into another big discussion about his personal life with his coworkers over breakfast. He just wanted to enjoy it, which was why he was the first to volunteer for the third call of the day. It was the call that every member of Engine Co. 24 dreaded most—Ethel Monroe’s cat, Fancy, was stuck at the top of her old sugar maple tree again.
“No way.” Brody didn’t even bother glancing up from the report he was working on for the traffic accident call. “I did it last time, and I’ve still got the scratches to prove it.”
“I’m pulling rank. That cat is a demon. Besides, I’m allergic,” Cap said as he hung up the phone with dispatch.
“Can’t we just tell Ethel to wait it out? Ask her if she’s ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree before. I guarantee the answer is no.” Brody shook his head. “Fancy will eventually come down on her own. Firefighters in Birmingham would never respond to a cat-in-a-tree call.”
“I’ll do it.” Jack closed his laptop on the high school grass fire report, nearly complete.
“Wait. What?” Brody finally looked up. “You’re volunteering to rescue that nightmare?”
“You heard me.” Jack stood. “But Wade’s got to come along and handle the ladder while I climb up there.”
“I’m in.” Wade shrugged. “So long as I don’t have to go anywhere near the cat. That thing is a monster and, like Brody, I’m fundamentally opposed to perpetuating the myth that we save kittens from trees.”
It wasn’t a myth, though. Not in Lovestruck, anyway.
Firefighters didn’t actually rescue cats from trees in big cities, but in rural Vermont, anything went. Last year alone, Engine 24 had responded to four calls for cat rescues, and three of those calls had involved Fancy. One of these days Ethel Monroe’s cranky Persian was going to remember that she was terrified of heights, but today was not that day.
“Come on,” Jack said, grabbing his turnout gear. He didn’t want to get caught without it if something happened to catch on fire before they got back to the station. Also, Brody wasn’t exaggerating. Jack had seen the scratches on his arms and they weren’t pretty.
A couple hours later Fancy was safely back inside Miss Ethel’s cottage. Despite his turnout gear, Jack suffered a few minor scratches—mostly on his face—and returned to the firehouse dressed in cargo pants, his LFD T-shirt and a sizable adhesive bandage on his left cheek. Wade had done the patching up for him, so of course the bandage wasn’t a regular, flesh-colored one, but was instead decorated with colorful cartoon Dalmatians.
All in a day’s work. Somehow Jack’s good humor remained mostly intact. But when he climbed down from the ladder truck and saw Madison Jules sitting primly on the teak park bench outside the firehouse, his spirits soared foolishly higher.
Get ahold of yourself.
He cleared his throat and pretended nothing was out of the ordinary as he walked up the long drive toward the station. Beside him, Wade droned on about something that Jack completely ignored. He tried his best to keep his gaze straight ahead, but it was practically impossible. As usual, Madison looked woefully out of place for Lovestruck. She wore bright red stilettos and a floaty dress—sleeveless, white with black polka dots and a soft bow tied at her throat. It occurred to him that her fancy ensemble almost matched his cartoon bandage, and he bit back a smile. The way she always stuck out like a sore thumb was beginning to grow on him.
What was wrong with him?
Surely, she wasn’t there to see him. She’d probably stopped by on some type of official business. Maybe she needed someone to inspect a new flat iron or blow-dryer.
“Wait a minute.” Wade’s steps slowed as he squinted at Madison sitting in the shade of the American flag flapping in the light summer breeze. “Isn’t that...?”
Before Jack could respond, Madison’s eyes lit up with recognition, and she stood to give him a tentative wave. Jack waved back as Wade’s eyes went wide.
“Is she here to see you?” Wade said under his breath as they drew closer. “Well done, man.”
“Shut. Up.” Jack shot him a death glare. “It’s not what you think.”
Wade’s only response was a gigantic smirk, which Jack could do nothing about because they’d just about reached the park bench where Madison stood waiting for him.
“Hi.” Her gaze moved over his face, and her expression went from worried to amused and back again. “I feel like I should ask if you’re hurt, but I can’t get past the irony of your Dalmatian Band-Aid.”
“The bandage was my idea.” Wade raised his hand. “Glad you like it.”
“I’m fine,” Jack said, but no one seemed to be listening.
“He’s just a little scratched up from