Page 180 of Smoke and Fire
She hooked a thumb to the north. The trailing, indomitable cloud filled half the sky today. It still made me shudder.
“Should be a calm night,” I said. “No wind, but very dry."
"Good for no winds, at least.” She scowled. “JJ and I have been watching the reports out of the fire camp every night. Bleak, aren't they?”
Last night, I'd been riveted to the computer to get the update. The sheer number of people such a fire required struck me as amazing.
“Last night wasn't so bad,” I said. "It's the wind that really wreaks havoc, isn't it?"
"The fire is moving toward Adventura." She chewed on her bottom lip. "Mark and Stella packed up computers and valuables and brought them to our place in Jackson City, just in case."
"Sione texted me about it."
"Think it'll be okay?"
"Of course! That fire has a highway, a river, and a hotshot crew it has to get through first." I waved a hand. "Adventura will befine."
The last thing this pregnant lady needed was something else to stress about. Or maybe, on the flip side, it would help her out. If she stressed about the weather, maybe she wouldn’t think about being pregnant.
Either way, big things awaited.
The door jangled, admitting JJ, her tall drink of water husband. His shoulder-length hair was pulled into a man bun that made lesser women swoon, especially with a jaw cut like a diamond. I smiled at him and he smiled back. JJ had a special warmth and a gentleness I couldn’t help but be jealous over.
In seconds, he was at Lizbeth’s side with a concerned brow.
“You okay?”
She smiled dotingly at him. His hand found the small of her back. “Fine.” She waved a hand and yawned. “Just celebrating Dahlia’s foray into romance. She reads so fast it puts me to shame.”
JJ smiled. “Lizbeth is spreading her romantic fairy dust again, I presume?”
“You presume correctly. But it’s not unwelcome,” I quickly added.
He chuckled, curling her close into him. She leaned on him, and I wondered if she actually let him take some of her physical weight. They were so sickeningly cute together, I couldn’t look away. My brain kept wandering over to Bastian, and I needed it to stop. Because where my brain wanted to go with thoughts of Bastian and romance and grossly adorable interactions, I didn’t.
Yes, you do,Inner Me sang.
Okay, I couldn't deny that was true. Bastian had given me breadcrumbs that led me to believe he was interested in me, but until I knew for sure, all was supposition.ThenI'd swim in thoughts of Bastian, romance, and adorable interactions.
Not a moment before.
Time. We just needed time. On the flip side, I wantedlesstime. I just wanted to see him again, already! A car pulled up outside, parking in the far slots. In my pocket, my phone vibrated with a text at the same time.
Lizbeth straightened with another yawn. “We should go,” she murmured, and I noticed the pull on her energy then. She didlook tired. JJ studied her in concern as he veered her toward the doors. I couldn’t stop watching them together. His long, graceful form against her adorable baby belly.
They captured my attention so long I barely noticed the customer that slunk into the coffee shop after they left. All I saw was a pair of brown, muscled arms that gave way to a familiar tank top, and a head of dark black hair. My heart plummeted all the way into my stomach as I straightened up.
“Jakob?” I whispered.
He grinned.
I swore.
JAKOB STANDINGin the Frolicking Moose was a dichotomy my brain couldn’t process.
For several long moments, I stared at him, lost in memories. Some of them were good memories. Laughing on the beach. Long dinners with my family. Dancing under the stars on our back porch. Some of them were not-so-good memories. Spans of silence that lasted for days. Clenched teeth. Frustration. Angled expressions, hard as nails.
For that brief spell of time when he stood before me again, wordless himself, all I could do was think.
