Page 107 of Smoke and Fire
"Yes, Mark too. What's going on?"
Her shoulders relaxed. "That's wonderful. JJ will be relieved. The mandatory evacuation order for north Pineville just went out and it's been nuts ever since. The women don't want to leave!" she cried. "So they're chanting for Jess to come out."
"She won't!"
Lizbeth shrugged. "They keep coming! The sheriff finally showed up to get them to leave in case they block evacuation routes for local people. They don't want to go without Jess. Katrina's been recording the whole thing. The local news showed up too. They're starting to trend on Tweetastic!"
Outside, Katrina wandered around with her camera. She popped into the bed of a truck, filmed from there, then hopped down. Books flew through the air as people tossed them high, like graduation caps. The chanting continued. Women inside began to rush outside when a deputy stepped in, barking orders for them to leave.
Hernandez appeared at the end of a surge of people that came from the back. Deep grooves formed in his brow. He shook his head, muttering something aboutcrazy gringosunder his breath.
He stopped, looked at me, and lifted one eyebrow. "You know where Bastian is?" he asked.
"On the fire," I said.
"Huh." Hernandez studied me. "How long have you had the hots for him?"
My cheeks didn't even heat up. This was one truth I could completely own. My gaze didn't waver as I met his.
"A few weeks."
Hernandez grinned a slow, beguiling smile. "That’s a quick timeline for that Merry Idiot. He needs a strong woman like you." He nodded. "He okay on the fire? You heard from him?"
"He's fine."
Hernandez winked. "Watch out for him, will you?"
"You bet I will," I said firmly.
He grinned, then turned to the lingering women in the shop and called, "Everybody out!"
They rushed to the doors yet again. Bodies scattered everywhere. Deputies had to halt traffic to let them flow across the street and into their cars. The swirling smoke and alerts for more evacuations added to the chaos.
Thirty minutes later, the Frolicking Moose had finally emptied. I turned to Lizbeth, ragged at the edges from keeping all the pieces together.
She let out a long, long breath. "Well," she murmured. "That is that." She chucked me softly in the shoulder. "When were you going to tell me about you and Bastian?"
"When I knew more, myself," I murmured, and touched my lips.
A knowing gleam entered her eyes. "Ah," she murmured. "I see. Fresh as a new flower in spring?"
"Very fresh."
"It's good that way. He seems like a pretty tough nut to crack."
"Very."
Lizbeth sighed. "Romance is so wonderful, even when the world is threatening to burn down. Thanks for letting me relive it for a moment. Maverick told me to keep the place open, by the way. Their house is in the North Pineville mandatory evac zone, too. They're heading down the mountain to come here now. We're going to all pile into the loft here and leave the Frolicking Moose open. That way, locals and officials have a gathering spot if they need it. JJ's going to start batch making food on an outside grill."
The thought of going to Bastian's house and sitting there by myself felt interminable. With Sione in Jackson City and a closed highway between us, I'd have to be alone with my fears.
Right now, I wanted to be with the townspeople I'd come to love.
"Want some help?" I asked.
Lizbeth smiled, then nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Let's wait here for news of your man, and our home."
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