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trapped in a fire this morning.” His voice was thick with emotion. “He inhaled a lot of smoke. We’re . . . we’re not sure he’s going to make it.”
    Since they were teenagers, Kari had wondered about Ashley’s feelings for Landon Blake. The poor boy had sought after Ashley year after year, getting barely a friendship for his efforts. When he returned home after college, nothing had changed. He was still determined to love her, and she was equally determined to stay clear of him. Whenever Kari would ask about Landon, Ashley would deny having feelings for him. He’s too predictable, she’d say. Too much like Mom and Dad.
    But now, after hearing the news that he’d been hurt, Ashley’s true feelings were clearer than water. She loved him. The depth of fear and desperation in her eyes told Kari that much.
    Ashley raked her fingers through her hair and shifted nervously. “I thought they wore air masks.”
    “He gave his to a little boy. Saved the child’s life.”
    For a moment she looked paralyzed. Then, as though she’d been jump-started into reality, she jerked back. “I have to be there.” Ashley yanked her jacket on again. “Can I see him?”
    “He’s in ICU; I’ll call and make sure they let you in.” Dad leaned over and held Ashley close for a moment. “He needs you, Ash.”
    Ashley’s eyes glistened as she glanced around the room. “Pray for him, okay?” She swallowed hard, her hands shaking. “He . . . he loves God a lot. God’ll help him. I know he will.
    “Tell Cole I’ll see him later.” She turned to their mother. “I’ll stay as long as they let me.”
    Elizabeth nodded. “Call us.”
    “Ashley . . .” Their father’s face was masked in heavy concern. “Hurry, sweetheart. Please hurry.”

Chapter Four
    Ashley’s heart stayed lodged in her throat until she was in Landon’s room. Then it seemed to sink somewhere beneath her kneecaps.
    Tubing ran into his arms, and a mask nearly covered his face. His leg was braced and wrapped to almost twice its normal size, and he was propped up on one side to avoid pressure on his burned back and thighs. A machine made rhythmic breathing sounds, forcing air into his lungs. Ashley grimaced at the mechanical rise and fall of Landon’s chest. Otherwise he lay motionless among the busy beeps and whirrs of machinery.
    She took a chair already stationed by his bed and stared at him. How had this happened? Bloomington never had dangerous fires. Not once had Ashley considered the possibility that Landon’s job might put him in any real harm, let alone cost him his life.
    Come on, Landon. Wake up.
    She stared at him, willing him to move. In all the time she had known Landon, she’d held his hand only twice. The last time had been ages ago, long before she went to Paris. But here, now, Ashley sensed he needed her touch as much as she needed his. Tentatively, she reached out and took Landon’s lifeless right fingers in her own, careful not to disturb the IV line. Tears stung at her eyes, and the image of Landon blurred.
    She rose out of the chair so her face was closer to his. When she spoke, her voice was barely louder than the gentle hum of machinery keeping him alive. “I always thought you were too safe.” Ashley ran her thumb over the top of Landon’s hand. “You crazy guy. Now look at you.”
    Something seemed to move near the end of the bed. Was it Landon’s foot? Ashley stared at his toes poking up beneath the blanket. A minute passed, then two, but there was nothing. Her father was right; Landon was unconscious. If he didn’t start breathing on his own, if his oxygen levels didn’t improve, he might not make it.
    What if he died? What if she never got to talk to him or laugh with him again? All her adult life she’d known that Landon was in love with her, waiting for her, even when she did her best to maintain the distance between them. She remembered when he’d come to her parents’ house the week before she left for