Page 219 of Smoke and Fire
Not so much.
Bastian?
Definitely not so much.
Mark drew in a deep breath and looked north. Everything was obscured by smoke now, leaving the distant mountains an even more distant memory. Wind tried to push us around, like a bossy chess player coordinating the board. Mark clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Appreciate you, Dahlia. You have somewhere to go now that evacs are going out?"
"Yes, thanks."
A knowing look came to his eyes. "Bastian's place?"
My lips twitched. "Yeah."
He nodded, patting my back. "He's a good one."
"Are you worried about Adventura?"
His expression dropped. Even beneath a manicured beard, I could see signs of stress. His brow lowered.
"Definitely. The buildings will probably be fine thanks to the sprinklers and the volunteers helping us set them up, but the forest? If that burns, what kind of summer camp do we have?" He shook that bleak thought off. "I'll be fine. We'll nurture it back to life if we have to. Can I do anything for you? Give you one of my horses as thanks?"
I laughed. "No, please don't. It was my pleasure to help."
And received that kiss of a lifetime,I silently added.
Inner Me applauded.
Twenty minutes later, women filled the parking lot of the Frolicking Moose when I drove by.
Forced to park all the way down the road, I walked back toward the coffee shop in utter disbelief. Chants ofWe want Jess! We want Jess! We want Jess!rang through the air. Sheriff deputies walked around the crowd, ushering them away from the coffee shop. Streams of cars took people away, and also brought others closer.
With deputies calling out commands to leave, reluctant people headed toward their cars, books in arms. Lizbeth's bright red hair bustled around the inside, which was also filled with people. I hurried through the cacophony to help her out. Several attempts to get through the crowd meant I had to skirt all the way around clumps of women, climb over a fallen chair, and duck inside.
Relief filled Lizbeth’s expression when I hurried behind the counter. "You're back!" she called over the sound of chanting women. "The horses okay?"
"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."
