Page 94 of Smoke and Fire
Five minutes later, she'd sent another text.
Lizbeth:Shut up. A comment down the post says it's in Pineville. They're recruiting more people to come. As in PINEVILLE. Our Pineville.
My stomach started to hurt as I kept scrolling to the last message received less than one minute ago.
Lizbeth:WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. The comments said they're meeting at the Frolicking Moose. ARE PEOPLE THERE?
My phone began to ring. Lizbeth’s name flashed across the screen. While Katrina stared outside, chewing a nail, I answered with a distracted, "Hello?"
"What's going on?" Lizbeth cried.
"It's . . . a long story."
"Does Jess live here? Are there people at the shop? Fill me in on everything. What is happening?"
"I can't explain right now. There are thirty people outside and more coming."
"I'm on my way!"
She hung up before I could ask how she'd get here. Lizbeth and JJ lived in Jackson City and the highway was closed. Katrina finally stepped outside and called out in a shaky voice, Hello, ladies. Thank you all for coming. I . . . I can't believe we were actually able to rally together in person to meet Jess."
"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.
