The Firefighter

Chapter 5 - Getting to Know You

Charlotte and Oliver stared into each other's eyes over a glass of wine and a beer bottle in the hotel bar. Oliver had been advised to rest as he may be needed to fight the fire again the next day. There were sufficient volunteer firefighters to work on putting out the fire. The good news was that the Prime Minister had announced that all the volunteer firefighters would receive a month's worth of pay for their valiant efforts. Oliver had never volunteered to fight fires for the money or the bravery awards. He simply wanted to help out his fellow man and woman.

After a few drinks, Oliver invited Charlotte up to his room. She accompanied him but an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion overtook her, and she fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.

The next morning, as the sun streamed in the room, past the cracks in the curtains, she awoke gently to find that Oliver had gone. She felt the pillow next to her just to make sure. She could smell his scent in the bed, even though the previous night, he had taken a shower to clean up. She lay there wondering whether they would ever see each other again as she didn't have his phone number. Why hadn't he woken her up to say goodbye. She wasn't into one-night stands although they had never consummated their growing relationship, even though she had wanted to last night.

She showered, dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. One of the waiters advised her that Oliver had left early to go and help fight the fire at the Myrtle Mountain lookout. A message had been left for her at the hotel reception. After breakfast, she went over to the receptionist and collected the note from Oliver, which read:

Dear Charlotte,

Thank you for the lovely company last night. Sorry that I had to run off to continue my fire fighting duties again this morning. I would love to see you again once these fires are out.

Yours truly,

Oliver

He had left his phone number, beneath his name, so that she could contact him. She felt warmth creeping into her heart as she reread the note. This was a man who she could have a future with.

However, Charlotte also needed to be practical and sort out the issues with her burnt out sheep farm. She would need to get the insurance agents in to assess the damage and keep the animals fed, watered and sheltered until they could return to the farm. She started to make a To Do List and while she was doing that, all thoughts of Oliver left her mind as she focused on rebuilding.