Page 41 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

River perked up at this.

I’ll never say no to a confession. Tell me.

The dots on her screen reappeared, disappeared. She was half afraid he would chicken out. No matter what he said, she wasn’t going to give him a hard time because then he’d never confess to her again.

Logan

I liked when you called me osito.

River had no idea what Logan was going to confess, but she hadn’t expected that. Despite her promise earlier, she burst out laughing. She’d given him that nickname as a joke, but he said he’d liked it and she kind of liked that he did. Her osito.

Do you know what it means?

Logan

Little bear?

Definitely better than little potato.

Logan

Yeah.

Good night, osito. Come back safe and sound to me again tomorrow.

It might not have been appropriate, but she added a small pink heart to the end.

Logan returned to their text conversations night after night for two weeks. They mostly discussed things of no importance. But these conversations weren’t just for him—it gave her something to look forward to as well. At the end of the night, she’d always leave him hanging, her own version of a cliffhanger, promising to tell him the rest the following evening if he came back to her. River didn’t know if this actually had an impact, but it felt like it gave her some control in the situation—like these tiny cliffhangers were lifesavers.

You think you guys might be headed home tomorrow?

Logan

Yeah, looks like it.

What time do you think?

Logan

Not sure. Hopefully, early. Eager to get home.

Yeah, I bet. I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting to that real bed of yours.

Logan

That one thing among others.

Logan hadn’t said she was one of the things, but her cheeks heated all the same. Except she wasn’t about to take the bait. For one thing, River didn’t actually know if she was the only person he texted with. He could have been talking with several people, and she was simply one of them. Perhaps their conversations hadn’t meant as much to him as it had to her. If this was the case, River wasn’t ready to hear she wasn’t special.

Logan

Will you be around tomorrow so I can see you?

Sure.

Actually, I have plans after work, and I don’t know when I’ll be home yet.

She’d forgotten about the beginner knitting class she’d signed up for, being held at a small local yarn shop. She’d met the friendly owner at Melissa’s BBQ last weekend, and the woman made it sound like it was the best hobby in the world. Melissa and River had signed up together and talked about getting coffee afterwards. Logan would probably want to crash as soon as he got home anyway. He wasn’t going to wait up.