Page 166 of Smoke and Fire
Bastian had asked me to take care of his cat and that felt like a win. Not only because he turned to me when trouble came up, but now I’d get to see inside his house. For a closed-off man like him, this could be a game changer.
“No,” I said out loud. “This is just him asking for a favor. This doesn’t mean he returns my somewhat speedy and concerning interest in him. That’s not what this is! I will approach cautiously.”
This is not the same as Jakob,Inner Me said.You were young and lonely and twenty-two when you met Jakob. You knew there were problems, but you proceeded into the relationship anyway. You never really felt much around him. Nothing like Bastian.
“So physical butterflies are an indicator of a powerful relationship?” I cried, hands thrown in the air. “That’s insane! You sound like Lizbeth. I have a tendency to find someone else that gives me attention and I latch on without asking myself whatIwant.”
One person isn’t a tendency.
“It’s close enough!”
Do you want Bastian?
“I want to stop feeling like I’m mentally unstable because I’m having a conversation with myself,” I replied. “In short, I don’t know the answer to your question yet.” I swallowed hard. “I’m . . . giving it time.”
Oooookay.
I scowled. Down the road Inner Me pointed out way more self-analysis than I wanted. No, I didn’t want to think about just how much I liked Bastian and what it meant. Right now, I’d enjoy the fact that Bastian trusted me with his cat, but that was it.
Nothing further.
Setting aside the giddy rush from Bastian’s request and the surge of curiosity that followed, I turned my thoughts back to work.
The Frolicking Moose had been quiet and steady through the drive-through, as usual. In Jess’s world, the launch of the historic twenty-first book in the series was only two days away, and the social media group vibrated with energy.
The typical thirty posts a day had exploded into sixty. Sub groups formed as people re-read the series in anticipation of the launch. They held video meet ups to talk about the characters and what they thought would happen next.
Emails poured in from book bloggers, reviews, and influencers. My notebook had extensive details on the influencers that had posted about Jess the most, what they preferred about each character, and our last correspondence. They seemed to like the attention, even if it wasn’t Jess, which only fed the inferno.
Meanwhile, another conflagration continued to burn, this one far more real.
The voluntary evacuation hovered over Pineville like smoke from the Pinegulch fire. RV's sped away, half-emptying the lot. Locals eyed the plume as they walked around. Radio stations chattered updates. Tourism had started to slow because of restrictions on the National Forest, so Maverick grumped around the shop, mumbling aboutbottom linesandin the red.
Outside, a constant, sooty pillar decorated the horizon and loomed in every conversation and thought.
Meanwhile, I fretted over my phone and turned Jess pages like a dying woman whose pain could only be sated by these words. In my haste to read the books as quickly as possible, I made it all the way to book twelve,Engagement is a Fantasy.
Which is exactly where I found myself an hour later when the door opened to the Frolicking Moose.
Startled by the early customer—normally our morning rush went through the drive-through on their way up the canyon—my heart instantly fell into my stomach.
Presumed-Katrina, which Inner Me called her until I confirmed her identity, strolled inside. Days had passed since I'd last seen her. My constant perusal of the groups showed no sign of her yet.
She’d pulled her dreadlocks away from her face in a big bun and a bright smile crossed her lips. A short skirt, long boots, and silky top adorned her today. Several moments passed before I realized what she’d done.
Words burst out of me.
“You’re Lolo.”
The woman beamed. “You noticed!”
My mouth dropped open, startled by the similarities. Lolo was a character out of Jess’s fourth novel,Lust is a Darkening Hellscape. Lolo was a quirky, fun girl that meets the love of her life on top of a mountain right before she goes bungee jumping. Heartbreak, near-death drama, and hijinks ensue. Everything about this girl looked like Lolo, as if Bastian had met presumed-Katrina in real life and slapped her on the page.
But . . . wasn't book four the book that presumed-Katrina hated? Confusion swamped me. What was going on here?
“Yes,” I managed to stutter out. “Yes, I . . . finished a few days ago. It’s . . . this is uncanny. Did you do it on purpose?”
“No!” she cried, laughing. “Isn’t it weird? I read the book and thought Jess had written me into itintentionally.”
