Page 52 of Heat Advisory

I can bring Nancy into the fold if it’s about relationships!

I laughed. I loved Nancy, but sometimes her advice was biased towards sex. Actually, most of her advice was.

Me:

We leave for Morgan’s wedding tomorrow. Jay and I are driving together since we both have to be there early for bridal party stuff. Morgan knows the truth, but her parents don’t. I’m nervous about how to act. Especially since Jay seems so carefree about the whole thing.

My sisters knew about the fake engagement, just like Morgan did. So did Mom and Auntie. Everyone was a bit shocked at first, but mostly because of the speed at which we got engaged, not that we were together in the first place. In fact, everyone’s response fell into one of three categories—“about time,” “I knew that boy would wise up eventually,” or “quick but not surprising.”

I didn’t understand how everyone could be so blasé about it. Yes, I liked Jay—a lot. Yes, we had history. But it wasn’t normal to get proposed to on your third date and then keep the fake engagement story going. Right?

Hazel:

Just act like you would if you were dating.

Iris:

You were already dating before the proposal, so just keep that going and don’t worry about the engagement part.

Anna:

If people ask you about it, just keep your answers simple.

Hazel:

Or make Jay answer. He’s the one who got you into this.

Gale:

I wish I could offer you advice, but I’ve never been in a relationship, let alone been fake proposed to, so I’m not much help. But I love you and am sending far away good luck!

I smiled. These women had my back no matter what happened, and even though I was only blood-related to one of them, I knew every single one of them would stand with me in any situation.

Talking with them had given me the little boost of confidence I needed to handle this weekend. And I would need all the help I could get.

It was Friday morning, and Jay was going to be here in just a few hours to pick me up so we could head home to Stratus Cove, California for the wedding.

My chat with my sisters had helped, but only marginally, which would explain why my hands were twitching like I’d had too much caffeine, despite not having a single cup of coffee yet.

I was all packed. Frizzle was taken care of and set for the next two days while we were away. But I was jittery. So, I decided to pull out some work stuff and try to finish up some of my burn scar reports.

In the last two weeks, I’d collected dozens of photos and videos from the fire scenes, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something. Technically, it wasn’t my job to solve who had set the fires. My role was to determine flood potential, mudslide risks, and soil stability.

But Mother Nature was good at leaving clues if you knew how to read them. Clearly, I was blind, because I was missing whatever clues were out there.

We already knew the fires were intentional. No lightning, no down trees, no accident. Nope, this had full-blown intent.

The deaths may have been unintended, but the fires weren’t.

I was stuck, but if there was one person who could help me find the clue like it was a fingerprint in the crime, it was Gale.

My sister was a forensic meteorologist—not the forecasting kind, but the kind who testified in courtrooms after building evidence against the bad guys. Gale specialized in reconstructing weather events using satellite and radar data. People often thought radar was only used for rain and snow, but it could also show smoke. Those smoke plumes would show up mere minutes after ignition, revealing prevailing wind direction and projected spread of the fires. She also used surface observation stations, which could record haze and even temperature spikes when the fires got close—until they melted the sensors.

Gale didn’t just look at storms and fires…She dissected them. And I needed that expertise.

I pulled out my phone and shot her a few quick texts. I would have called, but she was an introvert to the max and preferred texting. She also wasn’t a morning person, and since it was still before eight, I knew she may not respond right away.

Me: