Page 207 of Smoke and Fire
"No," I sang under my breath, "you're not meeting Jess."
The door closed behind her, blunting the sound of her voice.
With a sharp breath, I pushed Katrina out of my mind and turned my back on the growing crowd. Ten seconds. I needed ten seconds to rally my thoughts back together. Once I couldn't see the massing people, I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath.
Time to make a plan.
The last thing I wanted to do was draw Bastian here. Although the women would likely never assume he was someone important, it would be too risky. Because maybe they'd make that leap and he wouldn't be able to stop it and . . . nope.
Not bringing him here.
But should I tell him?
This washiscareer on the line, not mine. Yet, how would I explain this? He left for the fire this morning around five. I saw the wildland truck leave. My gaze darted to the clock. He'd be out of cell range by now.
The weirdness between us yesterday gave me pause. He’d asked for time, so I hesitated over sending a text. Even though this was business related, what if he didn't respond? What if he did and he was upset? No, Bastian wouldn't get upset—not like that, anyway. I certainly couldn't send a video, and I wasn't about to call.
Finally, I just tapped out a text.
Dahlia:Some interesting developments on the Katrina front. Shoot me a text when you can? Would love to discuss.
Casual, non-hurried, but clear and concise. If Bastian knew me at all, it would probably make him panic even more. When was I cool and calm about any drama?
While I didn't want to hide this Jess-frenzy in the making, I also didn't want to stress him out. If he was stuck on a mountain fighting an inferno, he wouldn't be able to come down here anyway. He might be in the best possible spot ever—completely inaccessible. Knowing him, he'd stew on the situation and get stressed out.
At least, however, I'd contacted him. For a moment, I thought of calling Priyanka, but what could she do?
Time formeto handle this.
I whirled back around as more women crowded outside. Forty and counting. They seemed amiable enough. Some bounced on the balls of their feet, clapping. Others held onto bags stuffed full of what appeared to be books. A few males were interspersed among them, but they hung around the edges. Here with their wives, maybe? Not that men can’t love a good romance novel.
Bastian proved that.
Several locals from the book club stood out amongst the rest of the crowd. That probably meant Lizbeth rallied them or they'd seen the post themselves. Or maybe they saw the chaos and decided to stop.
Either way, this could get interesting because the small mountain town of Pineville wouldn't know what hit it if the full power of the Jess fandom descended here.
While Katrina said something to the growing mass, my phone continued to chime with more alerts from the social media groups. Had Katrina noticed my phone getting blown up earlier? She’d looked at it suspiciously enough. Next thing I knew, she'd thinkIwas Jess. The thought made me giggle.
A familiar head of red hair surfed through the crowd as I turned my phone to silent. Seconds later, Lizbeth stepped inside, her eyes wide. She pressed her back against the door and muttered, "Shut. Up. This. Is. Insane."
My throat tightened. Here came the reckoning. She darted toward me, moving deftly despite her belly.
"How are you here?" I asked, startled.
"Adventura evacuated last night because the firefighters were going to do a controlled burn to prevent the fire from crossing the highway."
A grim expression showed on her face.
"JJ and I drove to Adventura yesterday to help Mark and Stella clear out and prepare the camp just in case. Plus, I didn't want to be blocked from my family, so we're staying with them until the canyon opens back up."
"Scary."
"Very." She gulped. "It was a mess. Mark had to let the horses out of their pen and hope they find a safe place."
"But what if the horses get caught by the fire?" I squeaked.
She shrugged. "They'll run away. With any luck, they’ll come back after things have settled down and not get hurt.”
