Rescued By The Firefighter. Catherine Lanigan
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when the days are lonely and bleak here at the camp. It keeps me busy at night.”
His face went solemn. He blinked and shook his head slightly, as if he didn’t believe her. Then he took out the recorder.
“So, for the record, how long have you had the camp?”
His voice took on an intimidating tone that matched the physical strength of the man. She was amazed at how quickly he could bounce from pleasantries to business. Then again, that could be a self-criticism since it was so easy for her brain to remain in idyllic fields and grasses of splendor. Anywhere to avoid the shards of reality, most of which had to do with her shrinking financial status.
“Three years and a few months,” she answered. “But we’ve only been open two summers. I spent a great deal of time—not to mention my small inheritance and all my savings—on upgrading the camp. It’s been a financial struggle, I’ll tell you, but I’ve done it. I’ve put in the regulation wheelchair ramps, and we have very safe recreation equipment. I’ve upgraded all the electrical, bought new beds, linens, kitchen equipment. If you didn’t know, the camp was built in the early 1950s. The bones of the place are solid as a rock. But the rest... Frankly, I have to admit that from a financial perspective I would have been better off bulldozing it down and starting over with new buildings. The bank would have been happier. But I loved this place too much to tear it down. Anyway, the bank did give me a loan for the new plumbing and electrical system.”
“And that’s all up to code?”
“Absolutely!” She ground her back teeth. Man, but she hated officiousness. “I have the inspections and permits if you need to see those.”
“I’ll take your word for it. But keep them handy if it comes up.”
“Comes up?” She glared at him.
“I’m trying to help you, Bee... Beatrice. If there was an incident last night, my chief might ask for documentation of your inspections.”
“Why?”
“If that fire had crossed the road then your camp would have ignited. All it would have taken was a strong wind for the sparks to carry. City regulations are there to protect you. In an emergency, do you have enough power to run electrical equipment? Enough water to feed fire hoses once the pumper is empty? I see you have a little lake. You could use the water from that lake, but you’d need a sump pump to extract it. And that sump pump would require an electrical feed.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll have to make sure everything is in order.”
“Mr. Nelson...” She took a deep breath, but it didn’t calm her at all. In fact, she felt she was about to ignite with indignation, which happened nearly every time she defended her camp. “I bought this place because I loved it when I came as a kid. It was lovely here. I met real friends here. You see, I grew up in Chicago, in the city, actually, and life was all about concrete and traffic and buildings. I didn’t have a yard. I had an elevator. I never had a dog or cat. When I came to camp, I felt I was me, for the first time.”
“You never had a cat?”
“No.”
“And you don’t have one now?”
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