Page 19 of Heartbeat
She sat down on the sofa and called him, but the moment he answered, she came undone and started sobbing.
The utter devastation in her voice scared Duane senseless, and then she began talking, telling him everything, from the frantic message over the intercom to trying to get the kids from the music class out of the building and getting caught in the blast from the debris when the chopper finally crashed.
“Oh my God, honey! Are you okay? Were you injured?” he asked.
“A few cuts and too much smoke. I’m going to be fine.”
“You said it was already on fire before it hit the ground?” Duane asked.
“Yes. Dani had seen the chopper coming in a few minutes before, then heard an explosion and looked up. The chopper blew up in the air. It was on fire before it crashed.”
“Jesus, honey. That sounds suspicious.”
“I know. The NTSB will be investigating. The police have guards on the site. That’s all I know,” she said.
“Did you go to the ER?”
“Yes, along with Dani Pope and thirteen students. They gave me oxygen for the smoke inhalation and picked the glass particles out of my face and neck. I’ll sleep in and take it easy for a few days. School won’t reopen until repairs have been made, and they’re pretty extensive to the south side of the building and hallways. I called because I needed to hear your voice.”
Duane Eggert swallowed past the lump in his throat.
“I can’t get over it. I was sitting in a trailer eating lunch when you nearly died. Do you need me to come home? I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”
“No, no. I’m good. I just needed to tell you, that’s all.”
“I love you, Maisy. Forever and a day, sugar. I’ll be home in about a week. Stay warm. Stay safe.”
“Love you, too. Be safe. I’ll see you soon,” Maisy said, and ended her call.
She sat staring at the darkened TV screen, at the thin layer of dust on the tables, and then made herself get upand find something to eat. Maybe she’d heat up a can of soup. Something she didn’t have to cook. She needed something warm in her belly to stop the shaking.
Aaron went off duty the moment Dani was taken to the hospital. He sat beside her in the ER while they gave her oxygen for smoke inhalation, then loaded her up in his car and took her home, and then the second the door closed behind them, Dani burst into tears.
Aaron reached for her, hugging her over and over as he kept praising her until she was able to pull herself together.
“You are a real hero. Both you and Maisy faced hell today and held it together for those kids. I’m proud of you, baby, so proud, but I’ve never been so scared. We all heard the explosion and saw the smoke at the same time we began getting info from the PD. I couldn’t think of anything but needing you to be safe.”
Dani kept sobbing. “I thought the chopper was going to hit the school. I thought we wouldn’t get the kids off the playground in time. Then Lili just curled herself up into a ball on the ground and wouldn’t move. I grabbed her and ran. I didn’t think we’d get into the building before the chopper crash. And then Maisy and her kids got caught in the blast, and they were screaming and screaming.” Her voice broke, and she buried her face against the front of Aaron’s coat.
“But you did it, baby. You. Your quick reactions saved them. Saved every kid that would have been in those rooms. I have never been so scared in my life, seeing that smoke and thinking it was the school that had exploded.”
“If the four of you had not come to our rescue, I don’t think we would have made it out. We were choking. We couldn’t breathe, and we couldn’t tell where we were.”
Aaron hugged her again. “Wherever you are, whatever trouble you’re in, always know I will find you. I will always find you.”
Dani went limp in his arms.
“I’m so tired. I look like hell. I stink to high heavens, and I want this smell off of me.”
Aaron stepped back and cupped her face.
“At this moment, you are most beautiful in my eyes, and I don’t smell any better. Strip, honey. I’ll get you in the shower and tend to our clothes.”
“I don’t think washing them is going to work,” Dani muttered.
“I know. I’ll bag them and put them in the garage and drop them off at the cleaners on the way to work tomorrow, okay?”
She nodded, unzipped and unbuttoned, and shed everything she was wearing, then headed to their bedroom.
