Page 203 of Smoke and Fire
Regardless, I resolved to have patience with Bastian. He’d requested as much, anyway, which all but affirmed my suspicion that he felt he’d been a littletooopen with me. Freaked him out, I bet.
The weight of what he bore for his family meant he needed a friend. I would willingly be that friend for him, although I couldn't deny that I felt something for Bastian. Meeting his family and seeing his burning, compassionate core had dropped me hard into new feelings.
My raging, school-girl-age twitterpation developed into something that looked a lot more raw and real. Admiration and shock and amazement.
The undeniable urge to be part of his world couldn't be denied.
The jingling bells on the door yanked my thoughts back to the store. I turned around mid-yawn, then stopped completely. Katrina stood there, looking oddlynotlike Lolo. Instead of wild outfits, she had a calm pair of jeans, black shirt, and backpack slung over one shoulder. Her dreadlocks were pulled away from her face, which had no eccentric makeup today.
"Hey," I said.
She smiled. "Hey."
Sensing something different about her, I carefully asked, "Usual today?"
"Nah." She set her computer bag on the table nearest the counter, then leaned back against it. She studied me, her gaze thoughtful. The acrid scent of forest fire swirled into the shop with her. It dried out my throat and made my already nervous heart beat a little harder.
"Everything all right?" I asked. My gaze darted to the clock. 6:05. I'd been puttering around, lost in my own thoughts, for hours.
"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" she asked.
I shrugged, even though alarm bells pealed through my mind.
"Sure."
On the counter next to me, my phone buzzed again. I ignored it, even though two rapid-succession vibrations followed. She glanced at it, then to me. Her expression narrowed further.
"You know Jess, don't you?"
Accusation hardened her tone. I lifted one eyebrow.
"What?"
"Jess. I know she's here and I think you know her."
Shock rendered me totally speechless. "But . . . I . . . why do you think that?"
Katrina held herself calmly, but her chin angled up.
"Why wouldn't you? This coffee shop is known as the center of town. I've been here long enough to see that it's true. You're the only barista here that I've seen so far except for a redhead yesterday. If anyone would know Jess, it's you. Jess has been here." Katrina leaned forward. "Iknowshe's used the internet here."
I blinked, attempting to pull my thoughts together.
"Um . . . this is awkward," I whispered. "I . . . listen, I know you really enjoy her books but she clearly doesn't want to be found. Why would you push that? You can't force anyone to reveal themselves."
A flicker of pain crossed her eyes. She shook her head. "No, I don't buy that. I suspect you know who she is and don't want to give her away."
"If that's true, this isn't going to make me want to do it even more."
She rolled her eyes. "I guess I can respect that if you're friends or something, but . . . I just came here to . . . to meet her." Her eyes closed. "Tofinallymeet her. It's been years and years and . . . I deserve that much."
No guile entered her tone at just howweirdthat seemed. Did she think that sort of stalking was okay? A few puzzle pieces were clearly missing here.
"Why would you expect a famous author to reveal herself to you when you stalked her here?"
"I didn't stalk her. It's . . . it's not that hard to trace an IP address. And she's not just a famous author to me."
"IP address tracing is hard for the average human!"
