Her Firefighter Under the Mistletoe

There were raised voices to her left. She turned just in time to see a broad-shouldered man snap on his harness and disappear down the side of the banking, with the vain words ‘Risk assessment’ being shouted after him by his colleagues.

A sense of unease came over her body. A vague awareness trickling through her. Callum—that’s what they’d said. It couldn’t possibly be Callum Kennedy, could it? She hadn’t seen him since school and had no idea where he’d ended up. But there was something vaguely familiar about the body that had just disappeared over the edge.

Her footsteps shortened as she reached the edge of the steep bank. Someone touched her shoulder, looking at the sign on her back. ‘Oh, good, the doctor. Let’s get you harnessed up.’

She lifted her legs as she was clipped and harnessed and talked through the motions of the descent. Her bag was sent down ahead. A burly firefighter appeared next to her. ‘You’ll go down with me. Have you done this before?’

She peered over the edge again. Thirty feet of steep descent. How many times had the minibus rolled on the way down?

She could see it now, lying on its side in the Clyde, the icy cold water surrounding it. There was a flurry of firefighters around it. Some on top, trying to get through the windows, some on the banking, surrounded by other pieces of equipment.

‘Get me down there.’ Her eyes met the firefighter’s and the whispered words grew more determined. ‘Get me down to those children.’

He nodded and spoke into the radio clipped to his shoulder. ‘The doc and I are on our way.’

She took a deep breath and turned with her back towards the water, edging down the side of the bank in time with the firefighter. It was slippery work. A thin layer of frost had formed over the mud at the side of the bank, her simple shoes giving her literally no grip. The firefighter’s firm hand in the small of her back kept her from slipping completely. Even through her gloves the biting cold was already making her fingers numb.

She looked over her shoulder. ‘How much further?’

‘Keep your eyes straight ahead, please.’

Her anxiety was building. She wanted to get down. She wanted to help those kids. But she needed to get down there in one piece.

‘Who is Callum? Is it Callum Kennedy?’

The firefighter’s eyes gave a spark of amusement. ‘Know him, do you?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘I’m not entirely sure. I think so. I went to school with a Callum Kennedy, but I didn’t get a good look at him before he went over the edge.’ She shrugged her shoulders, ‘I’m not even sure he would recognise me now.’

The firefighter gave her a little smile, ‘Oh, I’m sure he would.’

‘What does he do exactly?’

‘He’s the head of the rope rescue unit. He’ll be in charge down here.’ They were inching closer and closer to the bottom.

‘And is he any good?’ She bit her lip. It might seem a little cheeky, but Stan had already mentioned he could be crabbit. She needed to know that he wouldn’t get in her way. That he wouldn’t stop her doing her job with these kids.

‘Put it this way—if me or my kids were stuck anywhere that a rope rescue was needed?’ He lifted his eyes skyward. ‘I would be praying to the man upstairs that Callum would be on duty that night. He’s the safest pair of hands we’ve got—particularly near kids.’ He caught her around the waist. ‘That’s us. Let me just unhook you from this line—but we’ll leave your harness on. You’ll need it to get back up and they’ll hook you up to another one if you’re near the water.’

‘Where’s the doc?’ came the shout.

Jess swivelled around, looking for her bag. ‘I’m here. I’m coming.’

Several of the firefighters were forming a line, passing two little kids along to the edge of the bank. Jackie appeared at her side. ‘Let’s go.’

They reached the kids just as they were placed on warm blankets on the ground. Jess worked quickly, gently feeling over their little bodies for signs of injuries as she spoke to them in a quiet voice.

‘Need some help?’

She nodded at the firefighter next to her. ‘Heat them up. There are no obvious injuries. But they’re in shock.’ She turned back to the minibus. Now she was closer she could see every dent, every bash, every hole in the metalwork.

It made the chill seem even worse. ‘Are these the first two?’

The man next to her nodded. ‘Do we have a number yet? How many kids are injured?’

‘Twelve. That’s the figure we have for the moment. Just awaiting confirmation.’

She moved over to the side of the slippery river’s edge as an adult was passed along and dealt with by the paramedics. She could see the hive of activity going on within the bus, hear the whimpering cries of the children.

‘Can I get over there? Do you need me to get into the bus?’ Her anxiety was building. She couldn’t stand here and do nothing. It just wasn’t in her nature. She needed to be at the heart of the action. It was her job to prioritise, triage and treat the sickest kids. She needed to be next to those children.

Her voice must have carried in the cold air, because a head whipped up from the bus. The man was lying across the windows, reaching down to grasp a squirming child, and his eyes connected with hers.

‘Stay exactly where you are.’

Callum. Callum Kennedy. Absolutely no mistake.

She saw him flinch visibly as his brain made the connection of who was standing on the riverbank.

He’d recognised her? After all these years?

The cold hard air hit her lungs. She must have sucked in a bigger breath than normal. Her skin prickled.

How did she feel about seeing Callum Kennedy thirteen years on?

Unprepared.

Like a seventeen-year-old again, standing in a dark nightclub and willing herself not to cry as they broke up. It had been the right decision. The sensible decision. They had both been going to university, she in Glasgow and he—after a wait of a few years—in Aberdeen. Their relationship would never have worked out. It had been best for them both.

It just hadn’t felt that way.

She pushed her feet more firmly into the ground, trying to focus her attention. Callum’s gaze hadn’t moved. It was still fixed on her face.

She could feel the colour start to rise in her cheeks. It was unnerving. But why the flinch? Was she really such an unwelcome sight after all this time?

Or maybe she was imagining this—maybe he’d no idea who she was at all.

Callum couldn’t believe it. He was holding a child firmly by the waist, while a colleague released him from his seat belt.

But Callum’s eyes were fixed on the flyaway caramel-coloured hair on the riverbank. Running up and down the thin frame that was in no way hidden by the bright green jumpsuit.

A sight he hadn’t seen in thirteen years.

A lifetime ago.

His childhood sweetheart, here on the banks of the Clyde, at the scene of an accident.

He’d always wondered if he’d come across her sometime, some place.