Albie chuckled, tapping his pen against the pad. “You’re not far off, Capri. But don’t forget the subhead: ‘Local Residents Brace for Impact.’”
Dorothy leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t really think it’s a sign of something worse, do you, Albie?”
Before Albie could answer, Earl Dunlop piped up from across the room. “I told you, it’s those fracking folks out in the Powder River Basin! I read about it—causes all sorts of problems underground.”
Dorothy nodded vigorously, her needles clicking at a rapid pace. “That’s right! I’ve heard about it too. Shakes things up like nobody’s business.”
Capri rolled her eyes, taking a sip of the lemonade she’d ordered. “Or maybe it’s just the earth being the earth. Sometimes things just happen.”
The town’s conspiracy theorist, Larry York, turned his bar stool to face the others. “It’s highly likely the government is conducting underground military experiments. We should start a petition to get answers from the mayor’s office.”
Pastor Pete cleared his throat, his deep voice cutting through the room. “Let’s not jump to worrying and wild conjecture. There’s no need to assume the worst. The good Lord has us in the palm of his hand, regardless of the earth shaking a little.” He draped his arm around his wife’s shoulder, pulling Annie close. “More than likely, the level of activity of the fault was a good thing. In theory, an active fault that has more frequent smaller earthquakes is less likely to have a major earthquake. The reasoning is that the pressure in the fault is being released in small doses more frequently, as opposed to being built up and finally releasing in a large earthquake. The Teton Fault is still considered active and has not had a major earthquake in recorded human history, so it would fall into this category.”
Betty, who’d been silent until now, looked up from her knitting with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Well, I’ll tell you this much—I’m just glad I’ve got plenty of yarn. If the earth swallows us up, at least I’ll go out with a warm scarf.”
The room erupted in laughter, a welcome break from the tension that had been building. Capri shook her head, smiling at the Knit Wit ladies. “Leave it to you three to find the silver lining in an earthquake.”
Dorothy wasn’t so easily soothed, though. “But what if it’s not just a tremor? What if it’s a warning? The Bible talks about signs, you know. Maybe we should all be preparing for something bigger.”
Capri placed a reassuring hand on Dorothy’s arm. “Dorothy, we’re all in this together, whatever it is. Besides, if the big one’s coming, I’m pretty sure Pastor Pete here would’ve gotten a direct memo from upstairs.”
Pastor Pete grinned, shaking his head. “I don’t think I’m quite that high up the chain, Capri.”
Albie flipped his notepad closed, surveying the room with a journalist’s eye. “All I know is this will make for one heck of a story. People are going to want to know what’s happening, and it’s my job to tell them.”
Oma leaned over, pointing her knitting needle at him. “You make sure you tell them that we’re a resilient bunch here in Thunder Mountain. We’re not about to let a little shaking get the better of us.”
“Darn right,” Betty added. “Like I said, we’ll knit our way through it if we have to.”
The laughter that followed was louder this time, the kind that lifted spirits and made everyone feel a little bit safer, if only for a moment. Capri looked around at the familiar faces, feeling a surge of affection for this quirky little town.
The past few weeks had been the hardest of her life, a relentless storm that threatened to pull her under. Capri was unraveling, the weight of losing Dick too much to bear, and no one in this bar truly understood the depth of her struggle to adjust. Or, why.
The panic attack she’d endured, the crazy risks she’d taken on the river—when safety was always paramount to her nature and business—were all signs of a woman falling apart. Yet, as she sat among these familiar faces, surrounded by the warm hum of chatter and laughter, she couldn’t ignore the truth that began to surface.
Despite her loss, she still had much to be thankful for—including this community of people who’d known her since grade school and had been there for her in every season of life.
Whatever shook Thunder Mountain—be it the ground beneath them or the uncertainties that loomed over them—Capri knew they’d stand together, steady as the peaks that surrounded them.
And perhaps, just perhaps, that knowledge would be what helped her find her footing again, a small but vital step toward reclaiming peace in the midst of her turmoil. She wasn’t whole yet, not by a long shot, but for the first time in weeks, she could feel a sliver of hope threading through her pain.
7
Capri pulled into the yard of her home, the familiar crunch of gravel under her tires. As she stepped out of her red truck, she spotted her mother kneeling in the front flower garden, her sun hat casting a wide brim of shade over her face.
The sight warmed Capri’s heart but also carried a twinge of sadness. Her mother had been through so much lately. If Capri’s own heart ached this deeply after losing Dick, she could hardly fathom the depth of her mother’s pain.
“Hey, Mom,” Capri greeted as she walked over, her boots kicking up dust on the pathway leading to the porch. Her mother looked up, a smile breaking across her face.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she replied, brushing dirt from her hands. “That was quite the tremor.”
“Yeah, sure was. I mean, it wasn’t all that big in terms of the Richter Scale, but it shook up the folks in town, that’s for sure.” She recounted the aftermath she’d encountered at the Rustic Pine. “It was the excitement of the morning. Everyone was chattering about it, sharing their opinions.”
Her mother plucked a weed that had dared to grow next to her stand of daisies. “Well, the tremors got Fuzz Lightyear all riled up earlier—scared him nearly to death.”
A nostalgic smile tugged at her mother’s lips. “I remember when you named him that. It was during your Toy Story phase. Remember how obsessed you were with that movie?”
Capri chuckled. “I sure do. I even begged Dick to build me a cardboard spaceship.”
