Page 106 of Smoke and Fire
A load of other text populated below that, dictating the urgency of escaping this mountain oasis.
Cars streamed out of town, heading toward the other exits, as I followed Mark to open land near the reservoir bed. Alone, our two trucks ambled out of the canyon and back toward Pineville.
My gaze darted up the mountain. The RV hid under a foamy, smoky blanket now. I turned my mind away from it, hopeful it would be spared. Smoke had thickened in Pineville as well. It skimmed over the surface of the reservoir, hovering just off the ground with a miasmic effect.
We crossed the highway south of the reservoir, then drove slowly down a dirt road until Mark stopped at a gate with a fence. Other horses littered the inside of a wide, fenced pasture. New bales of hay had been tossed inside. Horses with their faces covered lounged in the field. Others pranced, letting out irritated whinnies.
Bastian’s truck slowed, then stopped. I shoved it into park, grateful that the drive was over with. Towing an RV had made it a simple task to get the horses down, but living cargo was very different from a touring home. Hardest of all had been putting space between me and Bastian.
Meanwhile, my lips still burned. My heart thrummed with the heady memory of Bastian. How safe would he be? Would he survive such an inferno?
He better.
Mark hopped out of his truck and hurried back. He grinned, the immediate stress of getting the horses out of the fire almost gone now.
"You're a lifesaver, Dahlia. I'll get her unloaded. Once we're done, just pull the truck around and we’ll ditch the trailer here. We're safe now."
I nodded and obeyed his directions to pull off on a grassy side area. While he managed to safely back the horse out of the trailer, I worked on the hitch. By the time we had both horses unloaded and trailers pulled off to the side, I felt a modicum of relief. The horses were safe. Sione was safe. I was safe.
My belongings?
Not so much.
Bastian?
Definitely not so much.
Mark drew in a deep breath and looked north. Everything was obscured by smoke now, leaving the distant mountains an even more distant memory. Wind tried to push us around, like a bossy chess player coordinating the board. Mark clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Appreciate you, Dahlia. You have somewhere to go now that evacs are going out?"
"Yes, thanks."
A knowing look came to his eyes. "Bastian's place?"
My lips twitched. "Yeah."
He nodded, patting my back. "He's a good one."
"Are you worried about Adventura?"
His expression dropped. Even beneath a manicured beard, I could see signs of stress. His brow lowered.
"Definitely. The buildings will probably be fine thanks to the sprinklers and the volunteers helping us set them up, but the forest? If that burns, what kind of summer camp do we have?" He shook that bleak thought off. "I'll be fine. We'll nurture it back to life if we have to. Can I do anything for you? Give you one of my horses as thanks?"
I laughed. "No, please don't. It was my pleasure to help."
And received that kiss of a lifetime,I silently added.
Inner Me applauded.
Twenty minutes later, women filled the parking lot of the Frolicking Moose when I drove by.
Forced to park all the way down the road, I walked back toward the coffee shop in utter disbelief. Chants ofWe want Jess! We want Jess! We want Jess!rang through the air. Sheriff deputies walked around the crowd, ushering them away from the coffee shop. Streams of cars took people away, and also brought others closer.
With deputies calling out commands to leave, reluctant people headed toward their cars, books in arms. Lizbeth's bright red hair bustled around the inside, which was also filled with people. I hurried through the cacophony to help her out. Several attempts to get through the crowd meant I had to skirt all the way around clumps of women, climb over a fallen chair, and duck inside.
Relief filled Lizbeth’s expression when I hurried behind the counter. "You're back!" she called over the sound of chanting women. "The horses okay?"
