Page 78 of Wild Fires

“He's having an internal battle over her,” Gia whispered.

I scowled at her.

“What? It's true. You've never been that easy to read, but you are when it comes to her.”

“Her who?” Darin asked.

He'd cooked at the restaurant for as long as I could remember, long before Gia took it over. When we were little, he'd sneak us treats whenever we came in to eat with Mom and Dad.

“His mate,” Gia answered.

I shot her a look of warning.

“I hadn't heard. Congratulations. That's great, Ryan.”

“Thanks,” I managed to mutter.

“Who's the lucky woman?”

“Gra . . .” my sister started to say. Then she caught the scowl on my face and rolled her eyes. “Apparently that's confidential still.”

Darin just laughed. “Mating is never easy. Well, good luck. I just stepped out to see if we were shutting down or going on a cooking spree.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” David said.

“We're cooking,” Gia announced. “And we should all get back to it. My brother has work to do.”

I left them, just praying it didn't become a problem. That balance of keeping people happy and safe was difficult during times like this, and even the slightest thing they could deem unfair could set up a chain reaction of headaches for me. With any luck the good Gia and her crew will do will balance the potential fallout from allowing it and not forcing them to relocate.

For now, I would allow it.

Being mayor and having to make tough decisions was never easy.

Next, I stopped by the newly erected evacuation shelter—the high school.

Hundreds of people were gathered there, and everyone seemed to have questions. We did have an emergency plan for all sorts of things. I'd insisted on it. It wasn't that I was a paranoid person as some had accused me of at the time, I was just thorough and safe.

Some had taken to their feathers and were crowding the rafters in the gym as a perch. I knew they were ready to abandon our little town the moment the fire became a true threat to it.

Right now, the fire was mostly contained to the south of us. It had destroyed only two homes, that I was aware of, and a few hunting cabins further down owned by humans who came mostly for weeks in the autumn or early winter.

Our little town had a decent main road going right through the middle of it, so we were used to having humans in the area. They mostly just passed through, stopping to grab a bite to eat, gas up, or do a little shopping.

It wasn't that long ago that most humans were creeped out and would do anything not to stop in this area. My predecessor had all but ensured that.

I tried hard to open up Ravenden to new possibilities and the income travelers brought us. Like everything about this job, it was a constant balancing act.

“Hey Ry, how are things looking out there?”

Without even looking at who was asking, I smiled and gave my most confident reply. “Everything's going to be okay. You're safe here, and we're doing everything we can to get this fire out quickly.”

“You sound like a prick with that line. Needs a bit of work.”

I looked up and saw my youngest brother, Dean, grinning back at me.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Well, that's more authentic at least.”