Fire and the Redhead

"Oh but that's why we are here to get permission to take a few photos and an interview."

"So what's he doing, taking practise shots without film in his camera." The photographer let his camera down.

"Oh please don't be like that, we are just trying to do our job. From what we've heard you're a real hero, wouldn't you like your photo in the paper? It would be on the front page."

"No...definitely not. I want you to leave please and don't come back without permission." Cindy was standing behind me now with her arms folded and a scowl on her face."

"That's just being silly...we will still be running the story you know."

"Nothing I can do about that...but you obviously seem to know my name so that's not to go in the paper or any photographs."

"Ok have it your way, but we will still be running the story with your co-operation or not. Come on Pete we aren't welcome here."

"That was a bit rough." Cindy said to me as the reporters headed to their car.

"Sorry Cindy...If we gave them an inch they'd take a mile. It would break Roger's heart if he were to see photos of his boat and shed in that condition on the front page of the local rag.

"Your right, I never thought of that. How did they know about the fire and who you were?"

"Dave the Fire Chief warned me that the newspapers and radio stations monitor the emergency services radios, even though it's illegal and they aren't supposed too. Not sure how she knew who I was, probably one of the locals going by what Dana said. Come on let's start to get this place cleaned up and the boat back in the shed."

There was a pile of debris that the firemen had removed as they overhauled the shed sitting outside the side door. Cindy found a wheelbarrow and a square mouth shovel in Audrey's Garden shed so we barrowed it all up and put it next to a compost bin at the back of the house. I checked the winch over found some grease in the car garage and cleaned up the bearings and cogs. It seemed to work fine so I pulled 'Audacious' up onto her cradle and winched her just clear of the water. We both changed, Cindy into her bikini and me into old boardshorts and we attacked the boat. Cindy with a bucket of water and soap started washing down the inside and windscreen as I scrubbed down the hull and decks with a scrubbing brush. Everything was covered in soot. I heard a boat engine and glancing down the lake saw George Featherston's launch cruising towards us. Climbing up into the boat I grabbed Cindy and pulled her down to lay next to me on one off the squabs.

"Nice surprise...are you horny again already?" I held a finger to my lips and took a quick glance over the edge of the boat. George had the two reporters on board. The boat engine switched off and we could hear the three of them talking as the photographer was probably taking photos.

"Pricks." I said quietly to Cindy. At least they won't be able to see the front of the boat I thought, but they would probably be able to see through to the burnt-out end of the shed. George Featherston thought he was the local Mayor always into everyone else's business. He was a bull headed, red-faced, loud-mouthed sort who liked to be the centre of attention. My Dad had had a couple of run ins with him at the local 'Rate Payers Association' meetings.

"Can they do that? You said they weren't allowed to." Cindy whispered.

"Nothing we can do about it if they aren't on the property."

"Okay...stuff them...anyway while I've got you here, we can practise."

"Practise what?" Cindy pulled my head towards hers and started to kiss me. I grinned at her, and we were soon kissing passionately. Her hand crept down towards my cock, but I gripped her wrist and held it. Featherston's boat started up and I gave it a couple of minutes then glanced over the edge to ensure they had gone. As I did Cindy grabbed my cock through my shorts.

"Ouch Cindy. Stop it, we've got too much to do." I laughed.

"Like what?" She demanded.

"Finish the boat, get it in the shed, I want to mow the lawns, you need to water Audrey's gardens and I need to ring the Mill and tell them I won't be in tomorrow, or for a couple of weeks, maybe ever." The doctor had given me two weeks sick leave, which I thought was a little over the top.

"Okay...what's in it for me?" She squeezed my cock.

"If you keep doing that, I won't be capable of doing anything. But if you're a good girl and do your chores I'll give you a surprise present." The pressure came off my cock which was just as well as I was starting to get hard.

"When?" Cindy was managing to keep a serious face despite my laughing.

"As soon as you and I are in a nice bed without any interruptions...and you have shaved your pussy." Cindy couldn't hold it together any longer and burst out laughing.

"Goody...we better get a move on then, and the shaving goes both ways Buster." She gave my cock one final squeeze.

The boat was now back in the shed which made me happy, more for Roger's sake than mine. I had a good look at the damaged wall and decided the end of the shed would be more or less waterproof if I could cover the window which I probably could with a half sheet of plywood that was in our own boat shed.

If Roger loved his boat, his second great love was his ride-on mower. He had always insisted on mowing our lawns for us, as sometimes it was weeks before we got down to the cottage. We found the key on the key hook inside the house, and I spent the next hour running over the Gordon's and our lawns. Cindy not only watered the gardens but pulled a few weeds as well, until I'd finished washing down the mower, grinning to myself at the thought of Roger, whom I'd seen actually polishing it.

Cindy had changed out of her bikini and was making us coffees when I went back into the house. We pulled the filing box from under Roger's desk and found the policies for both the house and boat. They were both under the same company and had a 7-day 24-hour contact number. I gave them a call but the agent on the line told me she couldn't accept details from anyone other than the policy holder.

"I'm just trying to advise you of the probable claims at the first opportunity as per the request of the policy holders who are both in an Intensive Care unit."

"I'm sorry but I can only lodge claim advice from the policy holder."

"So if I held a life policy with you and died, then I would have to be re-incarnated before I could advise you." Cindy who had been pulling faces at me started to giggle.

There was silence on the end of the phone. "Okay I see your point...umm if you could give me the policy numbers and a description of the damages I will lodge the details for you."

"You're not just a hot body are you mister clever dicky; you should be a lawyer."

"And maybe you could be a professional gardener. You looked hot as hell bending over in your bikini pulling weeds...you would get plenty of clients...get a bit cold in the winter though." Cindy gave me a light punch on the arm.

"Thought you might be getting an eyeful."

I rang the Mill and left a message with regards to me being on sick leave.

"I'm just going to cover the window up Cindy won't take long."

"Ok, I'll do a bit of housework, then I might start to get ready for tonight." She had that cheeky grin on her face.

As I was nailing up the plywood I thought I heard a car pull up behind the cottage. 20 seconds later my mother and father were striding across the lawn towards me.

"Oh Tim you look terrible," were mum's first words to me as she embraced me then as she felt the dressings she turned me around. "Oh dear."

"I'm fine mum, just lost a bit of hair and the burns should heal. Nothing to worry about."

Dad shook my hand. "Hi Tim...once I let your mother know what had happened there was no way we were going to stay away."

They both looked inside the shed. Dad didn't say anything, but mum kept saying 'Oh dear.'

"How are Roger and Audrey...we heard on the radio they are in Intensive care?"

"Yeah. Look, I know you've got lots of questions, but there is someone you should meet and how about a cup of tea mum."

Cindy was standing on the veranda as we wandered up to the house. Mum gave her the once over and smiled, but one look and I think Dad fell in love for the second time in his life. I introduced Cindy. Mum gave her a kiss on the cheek, Dad shook her hand and then Mum insisted on helping Cindy make the tea and the two of them headed inside.

"Nice girl Tim." The two of us were sitting at the table.

"Yeah she's been great. Roger and Audrey are lucky she was around. I had my hands full dad and if it wasn't for Cindy helping, things could have been a lot worse."

"I haven't got a clue as to what happened mate, but I'm guessing from what I see you did a bloody good job and I'm proud of you son."

"Thanks Dad, yeah I was pleased with how I re-acted under the circumstances, thought for a minute there you were going to give me a growling and call me a 'bloody idiot' for putting myself at risk." I smiled up at him. He just grinned back.

The girls came out with a tea tray, and we sat at the table as mum poured. I saw Dad continually glancing at Cindy who for once wasn't her normal chatty self under Mum and Dad's scrutiny.

"Now tell me please, how are Roger and Audrey? Cindy could you tell us please dear." Mum glanced at Cindy who then looked at me. I smiled and gave her a nod.

Cindy gave them a run down on their injuries and treatment they were receiving, she just stuck to the facts and didn't get upset, just hesitated a couple of times when she talked about the doctors prognosis for Roger. They had told us that the third day is normally the critical one for burn patients but thought he would probably be okay providing there was no major damage to his lungs. Mum put her hand out and held hers. I saw a couple of tears begin to form in her eyes. I wondered if there might be a bit of delayed shock with Cindy, knowing that she was trying to keep her mind elsewhere, and this was the first time she had become a bit emotional.

We heard a car pull up at the back of the house and a door shut. 'If that's that nosy prick Featherston I'm going to deck him,' I thought to myself but around the side of the house wandered Mike the Ambulance officer, the last person I expected to see. I got up to greet him as he shook my hand and then introduced him to Mum and Dad. Mum offered him a cup of tea as he sat at the table.

"Tim...sorry to intrude but I'm wondering if I can talk to you about last night?"

"Ah yeah no problem."

"Come on Cindy. Let's do these dishes. The three of them got up.

"No problem Dad, I'm sure Mike won't mind you being here." I was curious as to what Mike might want.

Firstly Mike wanted to know how I was getting along with my burns and whether my breathing was giving me any trouble. "Great." After I assured him I was fine. "Ok here's the deal. I filed an incident report last night as per normal. Whenever CPR is administered we have to complete a separate report that goes to the 'Heart Foundation', as they are the ones who set the protocols for us and the general public as to how CPR should be administered. So today I get a call from the station querying my report with regards to the 'Precordial Thump' you administered. Considering it's a Sunday I was a bit surprised. For a while now, the heart Foundation has been looking at removing the 'Precordial Thump' from its protocols as they are unsure of its effectiveness. If it's all right with you I want to go over the events again, so they are clear in my mind before I submit a more detailed report. Perhaps you can start with how and where you found Mr Gordon.

I ran through how I found Roger, how I got him out and how long after that I administered the thump plus how he reacted to it. I didn't talk about the heat and smoke or how I got through it by keeping my nose to the ground.

"Good thanks Tim, just a few questions. When you found Mr Gordon was there any sign of movement from him, was he making any sound?"

"No he was definitely unconscious and just a dead weight."

"How did you determine that there was no pulse?"

I put two fingers up to my Carotid artery. "Felt for the pulse for 10 seconds while I had my ear to his mouth listening for sound and feeling for breath at the same time looking along his chest for any movement. The light wasn't good, but there was enough from the flames to see if there was any inhalation or exhalation."

"Perfect Tim. They trained you well at that mill. What about the burns how did you know about getting water onto them? That's something that has only come to the fore in recent times"

"Just before I came back home I was on a course with the response team. Being a steel mill burns were quite common. Our instructor showed us a photo of a kid who had hot boiling water cover his forearms, the mother in a panic had put the arms into a tub of cold water. The arms were fine where they had been in the water but were badly burnt above the water line. He gave an example of a roast that you take out of the oven and let to cool until its cold on the outside, but if you slice it open it's still hot inside. I've got a few regrets that I didn't get water onto Roger quicker, maybe I should have just dragged him into the lake."

"Honestly Tim, you did amazingly well, bloody brilliantly in fact. I've never been to a major incident yet where on reflection I haven't thought perhaps I should have done this or that. Just remember mate if it wasn't for what you did Mr Gordon would no longer be a of part this world and Mrs Gordon might have ended up crippled. Okay Tim I'll get out of your hair, and I hope to see you around. The station has had enquiries from local and national papers and radio stations for details, but we only release the basic facts to them. I get the feeling your privacy is important and they won't get any info from us." Mike got up and shook mine and Dad's hands, called out to the girls to say goodbye and headed off. As we sat down again dad put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"What needs doing mate, do you want a hand with anything?"

"No all-good thanks Dad, I think I've covered everything. The boat was my biggest worry and it's tucked away safe and sound again. I didn't have time to muck around, dumped her in the lake and left her to her own devises, expected to find her floating around in the lake today if she hadn't sunk in the meantime, but she parked herself against the jetty. Luckily the bungs were in her."

"Do you need to talk about anything Tim?"

I smiled at Dad "No I'm all good Dad, in fact despite what's happened, I'm better than I have been in a long time. I've been offered a job with the Fire Service but maybe we can yak about that later. I'm buggered Dad, only had a couple of hours last night, Cindy's the same, I've just kept us busy mainly for her sake to try and keep her mind off Roger and Audrey."

"She's a lovely girl Tim. You always have been the caring one mate, the way you think about others before yourself. I guess you get that trait from your mother. How about I fire up the Barbeque, we get a feed into you, and you hit the sack. Mum brought down some steak and sausages. We'll head back in the morning so we can talk before we go."

Dad got up and we wandered into the kitchen where Mum and Cindy were yarning. Cindy was laughing which was a good sign.

"Come and give me a hand with the dinner Margs, I'll fire up the barbeque. These two need a bloody good sleep so let's get dinner on the way." They headed off to the cottage.

"Your Mums so cool Tim, she didn't ask me one awkward question."

"I guess it's from having three sons, she's used to not poking her nose in. I was looking forward to there just being the two of us, but Dads probably right we could both do with an early night."

"My razor will be disappointed. Can I have a kiss before we go over there?"

"Promise to keep your hands to yourself."

"No...you should know that by now...my hands are like your dick...I'm not responsible for what they do."

We sat on the deck and the steaks and salads went down well. Dad and I had a beer while the girls had wine.

Mum started to draw out of Cindy a whole lot of information that I didn't know about her. Where she grew up, went to school, what her parents did, and what she was studying at university. Cindy was doing a 'Batchelor of Pharmacy.' She said she didn't really enjoy it, but it is what her father wanted and for her to join the family business. I felt a bit sorry for Cindy it was the second time today she had mentioned her father's influence in her life.

Car lights appeared behind the Gordon house and Dad got up to see who it was.

"I know the sound of that car," said Cindy, "it's my Dad's Porsche...Bugger...oh sorry Mr and Mrs Cobbin."

"Do you want me to come with you Cindy, I'll just throw on a shirt." I had already explained to Mum and Dad how much wearing a shirt irritated my burns.

"No I'll be fine."

"Bring him over if you like Cindy I can always fire the barbeque again if he hasn't eaten." She headed off and into the house. I decided I'd better throw on a shirt anyway.

We waited in anticipation on the deck and after about five minutes, not only did Cindy and her father but also her mother came down the veranda steps and onto the lawn. The sun was starting to set as Cindy pointed to the boatshed then over towards the cottage as they took in the view across the lake. They wandered across the lawn and up onto the deck. Cindy introduced her parents Mark and Paula. Cindy's mother was a stunning woman, a redhead also, she was as tall as her husband with an identical smile to Cindy's. Her father shook hands with Dad, and he tried the strong hand dominant handshake with me, but I was expecting it and equalled his while returning his stare which was none too friendly. He was a big man, a little overweight and the sort you'd expect to see if you walked up to the counter at a pharmacy. He obviously didn't spend much time outdoors and was quite pale considering it was Summer.

Mum was an expert hostess having dealt with dozens of situations in her charity fund raising roles and was immediately offering drinks, a meal and generally making the two of them welcome. Cindy looked a little awkward and gave me a bit of a forced smile when she had the chance. Paula accepted Mum's offer of a meal and Dad got Mark a beer then fired up the barbeque as the two of them chatted about the lake and the properties. Mum, Paula and Cindy headed into the kitchen to make a salad, so I joined Dad and Mark.

As far as I knew Cindy hadn't updated her parents on Roger and Audrey's condition, so I was a little surprised when Mark didn't enquire about his sister and brother-in-law or the events leading up to their hospitalization. Perhaps Cindy had filled them in, or he was just avoiding the subject until the right moment came around. Mark started talking property prices and asked Dad what lake edge properties like this were worth.

"Wouldn't have a clue Mark. This was my parents place and used to have a tiny bach on it till we built the cottage fifteen years ago. Hopefully we will keep it for generations to come."

"Your lawns seem to run into the Gordons' bit strange isn't it, are they all on one title?"

"No...wouldn't have it any other way. Roger and Audrey have been great neighbours and a big part of my son's lives as they have grown up. They are as much a part of our family as we are of theirs."

"And what do you do Tim, are you at university?"

"No right now I've been working at a timber Mill but probably won't be returning, I have been offered something else I'm looking at."

"So not the academic sort eh."

"Actually I was due to start there next year to do an arts degree, but circumstances changed."

"An arts degree...you won't make any money with an arts degree." He laughed and I saw Dad's bristles go up.