Was I paranoid, or did it seem there was a different, more anxious energy to the crowd milling about tonight? Then again, I always felt like I was missing out on crucial information that others had access to.
“Excuse me, can you tell me where Bookers is?” I was still turning side to side, waiting to see if Pace would show up. Hewouldn’t abandon me. Even as the voice in my head told me that this was the plan all along. He would have me standing here in my ridiculous costume for all to see.
“Sir? Uh, ma’am? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, sorry, of course.” I looked at the group of girls in their early twenties, each dressed as a different era of Britney Spears. “Toxic” Brittany was the one talking to me. I gave directions to Bookers without even flinching at the “ma’am” thrown out like a grenade. “You ladies look amazing, by the way,” I added.
They flounced and spun, explaining each costume before heading in the direction of the local bar. The smile on my face melted as they walked away. I wanted to be proud of my growth when only last month I would have pretended I hadn’t heard them, but my nagging concern demanded more attention.
I didn’t even have a person in my life to do a couple’s costume with, let alone enough girlfriends to do an entire themed group costume. Pace did and probably would. Could he have decided to stay with his firehouse brothers?
No.
This was the anxiety and insecurity talking. I knew him now. I cared deeply for him, and he cared at least about my well-being in return. I trusted that. I had to.
I called Pace’s phone, but it went straight to voicemail again. It was fine. No need to panic.
If something happened, news of it would be making its way steadily through town. My feet had me moving, and I went in search of somebody who might know.
Sure enough, I didn’t have to go far until I spotted a group of older women, circled together, faces pinched with worry.
I walked right up to them, catching the tail end of a sentence that sent ice into my veins.
“... had to call everyone in. Even people from the next town over,” a woman I recognized from the shop said. She wore apurple beanie over short dark hair, lines of worry etched into the deep wrinkles of her face.
“What’s going on?” I asked, not caring that I had interrupted.
Distantly, I was horrified by my boldness, all too aware of their penetrating and confused stares at my intrusion into their conversation.
But there was no time to care about that right now. I had a growing fear that was worse than anything they could think about me.
They looked at me like they couldn’t place me, hesitant and glancing at each other to see who would go first, as if an outsider shouldn’t have access to this information.
Finally, Betsy from the General Store, stepped slightly to the side to let me into the circle.
“This is El’s granddaughter,” she said to the group.
Dawning understanding grew on their features.
“The one Pace has been going with ...”
I didn’t take the time to correct them. I just needed information. “Where is Pace?” My voice cracked embarrassingly. With every minute that I didn’t hear from him, my suspicions grew. Maybe it was an overreaction to something I couldn’t possibly know ... Yet my gut told me. He wasn’t working tonight. He was supposed to be handing out candy and kissing babies.
“He was called in to help with a fire,” another woman explained gently.
I wasn’t hiding my fear well at all; the worry must be as visible as I felt it.
“What fire? Where?” I asked. My body was already turning, trying to leave so I could find him and make sure he was okay.
“There’s a big warehouse fire. Just on the edge of town, before the freeway. They were worried it would get too hot and jump the interstate to start a forest fire.”
“A couple of firefighters have already been hurt. We don’t know who,” another woman said, and the world zoomed in and out around me. I had to find him.
I was already moving toward the crowd in the center of town again, even as the women shouted after me. I needed to find Levi. He would know where Pace was and what to do.
“Sophie?” A pretty brunette came to a stop in front of me as I looked around.
“Yeah?” I was searching for Levi.
