Page 223 of Smoke and Fire
I lounged back against my foldout chair and closed my eyes. Misty vapor rolled by like dollops of pudding. The reservoir was obscured in a bank of clouds far below and rain threatened to fall at any moment.
Blessed, blessed water.
Not a single hint of smoke in the air. I would sit out here in the rain for as long as it lasted.
Next to me, Bastian grunted.
"85% containment," he murmured. "Good to hear."
He relaxed in the chair next to mine, his laptop propped on his legs despite the potential splash of falling rain. His two week rotation on the Pinegulch fire had officially ended this morning. The fog had welcomed them back home to the station.
So had my waiting arms.
He closed the laptop and looked at me. My breath caught in the back of my throat. Somehow, he still arrested my heart. The depth of his blue eyes, fathoms deep. The chiseled seriousness of his expression. Mist settled on top of his hair, darkening his blonde locks. I wanted to run my fingers through them.
Our relationship sprinted like fire—hot, fast, and intense. Now I felt a gentle smolder and burn. The gradual building up of a flame that would last forever.
I smiled.
He did too.
He reached over, fingers tangled in mine, then looked at the wisps ahead of us. They curled, toying with the trees, as they danced through the forest. My phone vibrated. I swallowed the last of my orange soda and reached for it in my pocket.
"So, there's something I still need to show you." I cleared my throat. A text message waited on my phone, just as I had expected.
"Oh yeah?" he drawled.
I cut an amused glare toward him when I heard the playful tone in his voice. "Notthat."
He laughed, and the rolling sound sent a shiver through me. I couldn't wait to hear a lot more of that.
I turned my attention back to the phone, purposefully extricating myself from his touch so we didn't get distracted by kissing.
Again.
Katrina:Video is ready. Thought you'd like to see an advanced copy?
Dahlia:Yes please!
Katrina:Sent a link to your email.
The last six weeks had been a frenzy for many reasons. Running the Frolicking Moose so residents had a safe place to congregate, sleep, and eat while the evacuations were underway. Dealing with my perpetual worry for Bastian while out on different fires, and diving deeper into my work with Bastian’s career.
Not to mention helping Katrina finalize The Surprise.
She'd grabbed a ridiculous amount of footage from all the amassed women the day of the evacuation, but there was more work to be done.
As the project began, her vision for it expanded. She worked tirelessly on interviews of readers, fans, and footage of the social media groups. She'd stayed in Pineville to grab shots of the shop, where she'd stayed as she plotted the storyline. I'd held the camera while she narrated segments of her own heartbreak story.
In the end, Katrina still had no idea who Jess was.
But she didn't need to anymore.
"What is it?" Bastian asked. He leaned close, his breath warm on my neck like a gentle whiff of mist. I realized I'd been lost in my thoughts while the internet caught up with the video. Moments later, the video expanded to fill my screen. I scooted my chair closer and angled the phone toward him.
"A little surprise," I murmured.
The opening segment showed a barrage of screaming women chanting, "We want Jess! We want Jess! We want Jess!"
