Kathie Leung – author

June Bugs (Installment 2)

[Click here to read installment 1]

There are two structures on Chuck’s property. The main house, a two-story home with vaulted ceilings and a rustic appeal to it with the bare beams stained dark. Far more than either of the childless couple needed at first blush, but to know Bridget and Chuck one would come to understand it barely met their needs. Bridget, an accomplished children’s book illustrator required at least two of the bedrooms. One for her hand drawings with an easel, drafting table, and plethora of supplies. The other which served as her computerized workspace. The loft family room was converted into a gallery while the traditional master suite was converted into a guest room for those interested in hiring Bridget. The couple took the larger of the downstairs bedrooms. While Chuck wouldn’t admit it had to do with his hip problems–or issues as he preferred to call them–Bridget had intimated that was the primary catalyst for moving into the downstairs bedroom.

The second was a barn. A workshop, really. Jake had helped Chuck gut the monstrosity and then transform it into a workshop. Probably the single most stupid thing Jake had ever done. He essentially aided and abetted Chuck’s catastrophes. It was only a matter of time before the good people of Winslow wizened up and put a kibosh on his dunderhead nefarious activities. They’d be best advised to start charging him given the tax he was putting on their resources.

Jake bet that the fire would be there in the workshop. Though he couldn’t quite figure out what would have started enough of a fire that the building was fully involved. He’d swiped the blow torch shortly after he discovered Chuck purchased it. And it was common for Jake to make sweeps of the building to ensure any possible calamities were averted.

He wholly expected to see the flames by now as he swung onto Cougar. He didn’t see how it was possible the department had doused the fire already. A few more curves and he slowed to pull into the driveway. No signs of the engine. No signs of smoke or fire.

The air, however, distinctly smelled like smoke. Upon exiting his truck and flicking on his Maglite, he discovered the imprints from the engine’s tires. They circled around the west side of the house. He followed them.

And there, in all of its glory, were the brilliant orange and blue flames licking upwards towards the sky. Indeed, it had been a structure. One Jake had never laid eyes on before. It sat at the back of the cleared property with roughly thirty feet behind it before the wooded area began.

Now the real question came in. What the hell was Chuck building this time?

Without warning, the structure exploded.

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Jake and Chuck’s Adventures is a new section of KathieLeung.com with weekly installments in this fun and free neverending story that features two unforgettable spear carriers from Kathie’s works.

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Jake and Chuck’s Adventures

June Bugs: First Installment 

“What?” He didn’t even bother opening his eyes when he answered the phone.

“Jake?”

“Yeah.”

“This is Becky in dispatch. I wanted to give you a heads up. We’ve just dispatched fire to Chuck’s house.”

Jake sat bolt upright. “Thanks. Any idea what’s going on?” He was talking to a dead line.

He pulled on his jeans and threw on a sweatshirt. Didn’t bother with socks. Shoved his feet into a pair of sneakers. Grabbed his wallet and keys. Almost left the apartment without locking the door.

Jake had just gassed up the 4×4 in preparation for heading out early in the morning. He just hadn’t counted on it being this early.

He drove while fine tuning the scanner. No traffic yet. Becky must have called him right after dispatching crews. He had no idea if they were dispatched for medical or fire. He reasoned that it could even be downed power lines. The winds were upwards of forty to fifty miles an hour around dusk. Given where his partner lived, he could see downed lines as a good possibility.

The road narrowed as it wound up the side of a hill. In the distance–though he couldn’t see it right then–loomed Mt. Lassen with its snow-capped peak still in mid-June.

This wasn’t the first time Winslow Fire had been dispatched to 5362 Cougar Lane. Nor was it the first time he received a call from dispatch giving him a heads up. He should have known, however, that he would be getting such a call. It was due. They seemed to come every four to six months.

The last one involved water rescue. The entire way there, Jake figured dispatch somehow got the information wrong. Chuck lives on thirty acres on the fringe of Winslow, technically Shasta County but because of his job, his attachments with the town, Winslow typically responds to his address. The property doesn’t have a body of water. Or didn’t. As Jake discovered when he arrived. That was back in February. When Chuck got the boneheaded idea of building his wife a heart-shaped pond and stocking it with kissing koi and swans. He’d built a little paddle boat and was testing it out when one of the swans attacked him. His wife, Bridget, found him out back in the middle of the pond under attack and immediately called 9-1-1. The boat capsized which caused the fish to go frantic. The swans became even more aggressive. And poor old Chuck was found holding onto the capsized boat while the swans were beating the crap out of him. He wound up in the hospital for three days recovering from his injuries which included a couple cracked ribs. The pond has since been filled. Bridget couldn’t stand to look at it without seeing visions of that dreadful scene every time. The only reason nothing came about over St. Patrick’s probably had to do with the fact Chuck still wasn’t at a hundred percent.

Jake cringed just thinking about the possible mayhem that had been averted thanks to those swans.

“Winslow dispatch, engine forty-two.”

“Go ahead engine forty-two.”

“Winslow dispatch we are in need of more units at this location. One structure fully involved. Going into attack mode. Switching to channel two.”

“Copy,” Becky’s voice crackled. She repeated the last transmission per protocol.

Jake stepped on the gas.

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Jake and Chuck’s Adventures is a new section of KathieLeung.com with weekly installments in this fun and free neverending story that features two unforgettable spear carriers from Kathie’s works.

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