Page 84 of Love You Truly

It blocked out the sun and created enough wind to burn a football field’s length in mere seconds.

“Mallory.” I nudge her where she’s sleeping on the other half of my pillow. Her hair is splayed out behind her like a sunburst in the pale moonlight that creeps through a crack in the blinds. Ordinarily, I’d take a moment like this to gaze at her and thank the universe for my good fortune.

Tonight, I need a different kind of good fortune. She rolls to the side and blinks her eyes open. “What’s up?”

“You smell that?” I’m out of bed and peering out the window where I don’t see anything that looks unusual. Just the deep periwinkle sky to the east. But that doesn’t mean much.

Cranking open my window, I’m assaulted with a much stronger smell. There’s no question it’s coming from a fire. Only issue is how close it is and whether it’s under control.

“Yes.” Mallory jumps out of bed and pulls last night’s sweater over her head. A second later, she shrugs on a pair of my sweatpants from my laundry pile. She hands a second pair to me. “We should hear sirens.”

As if on cue, the lonely wail of an emergency vehicle’s siren sounds in the distance. It’s reassuring, but I need more information about how close it is and where it’s headed. The night’s winds aren’t helping.

I start texting my siblings and my dad’s nurse as we head for the front door. As soon as we’re outside, I feel like I’ve been slugged in the gut. In the distance, a good-sized plume of smoke rises into the sky. I don’t see flames, but judging from where the smoke is, the fire seems close.

It’s hard to tell how close because our land is so flat. It’s deceptive to see something in the distance. It could be a few dozen acres away or a few miles away.

The sirens get louder, joined by a few more. Good that they’re on the move, but I hope it’s not a sign of how big the fire is.

“We should stay put until we know where it is and how it’s moving. I remember that from the big fire,” Mallory says.

We’re both instantly on alert, all sleepiness gone. I put an arm around her shoulders and pull her close, protectively. “Hey, sorry I fell asleep before you got home.” She stiffens in my hold, and I assume it’s out of fear of the fire.

“Oh. It’s fine.”

“I want to hear. Everything good with the lawyer?”

“Um, yeah.” She wrestles out of my grip and lets out a long breath. “All fine.”

I want to ask if she’s okay, but my phone starts pinging as my siblings respond.

Beatrix: I heard it’s centered near the grove

She’s talking about a wooded area that abuts the corner of our property.

Archer: I heard that too from a buddy at dispatch

Jax: Moving toward our property?

Archer: Winds are blowing away from us, but it could shift

Beatrix: Fire trucks pulled onto the fire road behind us

She’s the only one who can see that part of Buttercup Hill from where she lives. I read all the texts to Mallory as they come in.

“Wait, how close is that grove to your property line?”

“It’s right up against it. Part of the grove is actually on our property.”

“Jesus. What do we do? Do we evacuate?” Mallory looks in the direction of the smoke, which still seems far away.

“Not if the wind is still headed that way. I think we just sit tight for right now.”

The plume of smoke is growing as we watch it. “If it shifts, it’ll move fast.”

“Maybe it’s still small, and they can put it out quickly.”

I hate not knowing. My phone starts blowing up with texts again, each sibling reporting what they can glean from neighbors.

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