Chapter 22
Mabel had a side stitch as she arrived at the designated meeting place on Topaz Rock.
Ouch. She had a hard time catching her breath.
She may or may not have stopped behind a tree for a moment to wait for her breath to calm down to normal levels.
The gasping-for-breath thing was something she’d rather not do in front of a bunch of people.
Okay, okay. She needed to exercise more. And maybe lay off some of the candy. Some being the operative word.
In her own defense, she’d come up the back way, which meant it was more of a straight shot—steeper and harder to climb. The only good thing about the hike was the brilliant fall colors of shining golds, burnt oranges, and flaming reds.
She joined Tory, who, besides the fine line of sweat along her hairline and the charmingly rosy cheeks, looked perfectly fine. How did she do that, pregnant and all?
“WTH?” Tory said to Mabel, her eyes scanning the small crowd gathered near the summit.
The group of about twenty stood several feet away from the overlook, lying in wait for Weston and Ruby to come around that last bend through the trees.
She pointed across the way to Zane, who stood holding the hand of his nephew, Styles. He’d even brought Chief.
Mabel squinted. Her heart did that drop-zing thing that it did every time she saw Zane. “Yeah, he brought Styles. What’s wrong with that?”
Tory was getting kind of spicy lately. Maybe it was the pregnancy.
“No, look.” Tory pointed across and down the trail, and that’s when Mabel saw her, Carolina, the woman from the picture on Facebook, picking her way through the crowd to stand near Zane. It was definitely her, her long dark hair shiny and perfect. She bent forward to give Styles a high five.
“Styles likes knuckles and hugs, not high fives.” Mabel was irritable. This Carolina character was an amateur.
“Why is she here?” Tory’s eyes widened, and she grasped Mabel’s arm. “Did he bring her with him? Did he actually bring her up here?”
No. Mabel was not doing this right now. This moment was about Ruby and Weston. Ruby was one of her oldest friends. If Zane wanted to ruin things by bringing her to such a private event, then so be it. But she had to focus on Ruby and Weston, who could be arriving any minute.
Mabel peeled Tory’s fingers off her arm, but not before she saw a look of pity mixed with confusion and anger in Tory’s expression.
“Can we just…not?” Mabel swallowed hard. She’d had enough worry when looking at Marlene’s post the day before. The way Zane had been looking at the dark-eyed beauty in the photo was enough to make her stomach rage with jealousy.
Mabel hated jealousy. Especially when she had just started trusting Zane again.
That didn’t mean it wasn’t rearing up inside of her like a twenty-four-hour superbug.
Tory shook her head and walked a ways up the trail to stand by Liam. It was obvious by her body language that she was whispering to him all about who Zane had brought. Liam’s face soon held the same expression as his wife’s.
Could no one—not a single person—mind their own business?
Her heart breaking, Mabel forced herself not to look across the way anymore. Her only objective right now? Avoid looking over at Zane and Carolina at all costs.
This is about Ruby. One of my oldest and dearest friends. We’ve worked our tails off for this moment. Whatever Zane has going on over there cannot ruin this for her or me or anyone.
She tried to quietly busy herself by talking with Ruby’s parents and Weston’s grandfather and his girlfriend and next-door neighbor, Cynthia Hughes. The group whispered excitedly until a happy cry came from across the trail.
“Maybe! Hi, Maybe!” It was Styles, waving his toy truck in the air. He took a couple of steps forward before Zane tightened his grip on his hand. He smiled and crouched low to whisper in Style’s ear, pointing down the trail, no doubt telling him to be quiet so as to not ruin the surprise.
So much for not paying them any attention. Although, it was sweet how Styles wanted to come see her.
She waved at Styles with a big smile and then put her finger to her lips.
He tried to dart across the trail again, and this time Zane hauled him up and over his head and got him settled sitting on his shoulders.
Styles pealed with laughter—which made Mabel’s heart sink even further. She adored Styles in every way.
Carolina looked on with something of a maternal affection. Like, Oh, aren’t my new boyfriend and his nephew just darling?
Again, Mabel told herself to stop with the stupid stories. Taking things at face value was usually a dumb idea. But still. Why was she here?
And why did Mabel’s every nerve ending burn with fear, doubt, and confusion at seeing the three of them standing together?
She caught a glimpse of Zane’s gaze trying to catch her own.
No. She couldn’t do that right now.
She resumed her stance of ignoring the crazy show across the trail right before they got the signal that the soon-to-be-engaged pair was coming. Everyone stilled, waiting for the surprise.
In a moment, Ruby and Weston appeared around the bend, Ruby carrying a water bottle and Weston with a pack on his back.
As she noticed the crowd, Ruby took in a sharp breath and slapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes grew wide as she began pointing to people, making muffled noises under her hand of recognition and excitement.
“Weston?” Her eyes were still saucers as he chuckled and pulled the bag off his back.
All of those in attendance turned on the battery-powered candles in their hands. Even though it was still about an hour from sunset, there was enough of a cover from the canopy of trees overhead that the candles offered the perfect ambiance.
Weston didn’t say anything. He gazed at her, his Adam’s apple moving up and down as he fought for composure. Waiting until he got it, he snuck a quick kiss on Ruby’s cheek before turning to Parker, who slipped him a small box.
Weston held the box behind his back as he tugged her close into a hug with the other hand.
His whisper in her ear couldn’t be heard by anyone, and Mabel was sure it was better that way.
A little bit of privacy for them was probably a good thing.
Mabel wasn’t sure she’d want all these people around when she was proposed to someday.
There she went again. Thinking about a proposal from Zane, even while he stood nearby with another woman.
Soon, Weston went down on one knee, and Ruby flicked tears off her cheeks.
“There’s a fire down in the valley!” A man Mabel recognized as Ruby’s brother, Joey, stalked around the corner. He’d been the one hiding on a ridge above them, on the lookout for the couple. Apparently, he’d also spied something else.
Noticing that Weston was literally down on one knee at that moment, Joey let out an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry to interrupt, but seriously, guys, the valley’s on fire.”
Mabel’s gaze automatically went to Zane, who was already sliding Styles off his shoulders. Carolina tried to take him and help him down, but Styles shook his head and pointed to Mabel.
“Maybe, come here!”
Zane was already right behind Joey, hurrying up the ridge with other members of the fire crew.
Mabel pushed her way past some people and crossed to the other side of the trail, reaching Styles to give him a fist bump.
“Did you hear there’s a fire down there?” Styles asked. The way he crossed his arms against his chest and the deepness of his little voice made Mabel bark out a laugh.
“I heard something about that. You remind me of a big grownup man; you know that? Uncle Zane’s going to check it out.”
When Zane joined them again, his expression held a measure of urgency. Mabel knew he didn’t want to scare anybody, but she could tell it was serious.
“Is it bad?” Carolina asked.
He gave a curt nod, already taking steps toward the trail.
August stepped in front of him. “Everybody move off the trail,” he said in a booming voice. “The fire chief needs to get through.”
As the crowd peeled back on either side, he added, “The fire is far enough away that there is no risk to anyone here at this moment. That being said, I recommend you all go home and check social media for more information as it becomes available.”
Mabel grasped Styles’s hand. “He can come with me.” Her gaze burned into Zane. There would be time for questions later.
Zane swallowed hard, grasping the crook of her elbow.
“Thank you. I’m not on call, but, obviously, I have to go.
Would you be able to take him to my place?
All of his stuff is there. I was planning to make him a bed on the couch since Lorelei’s working the night shift.
” He glanced around, and it was clear his mind was going a mile a minute.
Already, his phone seemed to be ringing non-stop.
“Sure. And I’ll take Chief too.”
He whispered a thanks and was gone. Mabel blinked away a tear from her stinging eyes. Why was she crying? He had fires to attend to on a regular basis. This was his job, and he was going to be okay. Right?
And Carolina showing up? That didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Except Mabel’s stomach turned, and she felt the sick overtake her limbs. What had happened on Saturday night? He’d been so quiet since he went. Had Carolina taken up his thoughts since then?
She glanced over at Ruby and Weston, who were in an embrace, staying put right as everyone was heading down the mountain in whichever direction they came. “Styles, let’s go say hi to the happy couple, okay?”
She directed Styles and Chief to the clearing off the trail. The ring glittered on Ruby’s hand, which was pressed against the back of Weston’s neck.
“Sorry about this madness, guys,” Mabel said as other members of KNO joined them. She couldn’t stop herself from glancing in Carolina’s direction, and she saw her lift a Styrofoam cooler in both hands before following everyone down the trail. Had they been picnicking earlier?
So weird.
Ruby finished hugging a few well-wishers before they left. “I’m just happy. It’s like my brain can’t register anything right now beyond the fact that he asked me to marry him.”
“And I can’t think of anything except that she said yes,” Weston said.
“Dude, you still asked her, even after her brother interrupted?” Mack asked. “We missed everything!”
“There was no way I was leaving this mountain without putting a ring on her finger.” He lifted Ruby’s hand and kissed her ring finger.
After everyone had admired it and offered congratulations, the KNO members started heading down the trail, each man taking his turn carrying Styles on their shoulders. He kept trying to grab at the highest leaves on the trees he could reach.
His laughter was the best thing for Mabel right now, because dread filled her as her mind picked through her thoughts like a rat in a garbage can. Her cheeks grew hot.
Rejection. Seeing Carolina felt like he was rejecting her all over again.
She saw the plumes of smoke in the distance just southwest of town proper.
This was not good. And Zane was heading straight for it.
Would he think of Mabel as he fought the fire? Or would Carolina be the image spurring him on?