Page 46 of Heat Advisory

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thompson.”

“I didn’t know you worked with BAER Teams,” he said to me.

“Oh, technically I don’t. I’m actually a hydrologist with the state,” I clarified. “I work closely with the National Weather Service and am here to do burn scar and soil assessments. This is my colleague, Jade.”

“Wonderful. Glad to have you both,” Thompson said with a nod before turning back to Jay and Trent. “Let’s go grab some equipment from the truck and get moving to the western side.”

“I’ll be right over, sir,” Jay told him, and he nodded and walked off, as did most of the others, giving us a brief moment alone.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him. “Did you get the promotion already?”

“No. I was asked to come shadow today so that we could see what a real-life investigation assessment was like and to maybe offer some help since these arsons seem to be ticking up in frequency.”

I nodded, knowing he was right.

Jay used his arm, which was still around my waist, to pull me in slightly closer as he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I’ll call you later. But do me a favor and stay away from Darren. I don’t trust him around you.”

“Okay,” I replied, rolling my eyes at this small show of jealousy.

He moved his lips to meet mine in a quick but firm kiss. “See you later, sweetheart.”

He smiled at me, and for once, it seemed genuine instead of arrogant or cocky.

“He’s cute. You should definitely keep him,” Jade chimed in from a few steps behind me, breaking me out of the stupor Jay had put me in. “I’m going to start taking pictures on the far side with Darren. I’ll meet you back here.”

“That sounds great, thanks,” I told her, though I stayed rooted to my spot for a few more minutes, wondering what kind of trouble I had gotten myself into.

It was one thing to pretend for a few people that Jay and I were together, but news of our “engagement” was spreading like wildfire—which was only going to make it harder to explain in the long run.

Plus, the more he kissed me and touched me—to make it look real for the others—the harder I knew it would be for me if he broke it off.

I hadn’t really panicked about Mrs. Rainer until I got home and had time to relax enough to really think about what Jay had said.

Oh, God. Mrs. Rainer thought we were engaged! Which meant the whole town probably knew by now.

Don’t panic. Breathe.

Jay had called me on my way home since he’d ended up having to stay late, and he’d given me the full rundown of exactly how the phone call with his mom had gone.

As he explained, I realized I was happy he wasn’t here so he couldn’t see my face.

“I told her the same story we’ve told everyone else,” he said very nonchalantly.

“Jay,” I grumbled, because this was now starting to get out of control.

“Cora, stop worrying. She’s happy about it and even told me this was one of the best decisions I’d made with my life.”

I smiled a little at his mom’s kind words. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with Jay, but what would we do if we broke this off? I didn’t want his parents to hate me or think less of me.

“It’s just…I’m worried about what they’ll think when—” I started, but he cut me off.

“I told her there was no one else I would rather spend my life with, and we were happy, but to please not share with anyone else until we had the chance to tell your family.”

“Thanks,” I grumbled, hating the way my heart beat a little faster at his compliment and also still a little peeved at him for not telling his mom the truth and putting us in this situation. “How much time do you think that gives me before the whole town knows?”

He chuckled conspiratorially. “I’m guessing she told my dad immediately because she can’t not tell someone, but she knows my dad will keep his mouth shut. My guess is…you’ve got two days max before she tells Morgan, who will then tell the whole damn town.”

I groaned because I loved my best friend, but I knew she was terrible at keeping secrets. I made a mental note to call her tomorrow and explain the situation to her. And also call Hazel and tell her so I could get her advice on what to do about this whole mess.