Page 67 of Smoke and Fire
Lizbeth tilted her head back and groaned. “This one girl claims she found Jess, but she has yet to provide any real evidence.”
“You said her name is Kat?”
“Katrina?” Her perky nose wrinkled. “Something like that? Dunno. I’ve seen her before in some of the groups, but not often. I thought I saw a comment about her being a filmmaker or something? Anyway, these kinds of things surface now and then, but nothing comes of it. Everyone wants to figure out who Jess is. Sometimes, I think I’d rather Jess stay hidden. The mystery of it is kind ofnovel.”
She released an adorable laugh. I loved it when she cracked herself up. My hands snuck into my apron pocket for my phone, but I closed my fingers into a fist to stop them.
Wait until Lizbeth is gone to look,I thought, filled with the urgency to find that post right now.Don’t jump the gun and act all weird now!
Lizbeth let out a long breath, then winced. She held a hand against her lower back.
“You okay?” I asked.
She huffed a smile. “Fine. I’m just ready to ditch this pregnancy and get her in my arms already. I’m tired of having her on my hips.”
“Soon the many eternities of the third trimester will be over.”
A weary smile came next.
“I'm barely starting the third trimester, so it certainly feels like an eternity. Any news on the 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.
