“Thanks, Melinda. I know it’s a lot to ask right now. I know how much your grandmother means to you. I don’t want you to stray so far away from her.”
“Honestly, Sharon. The truth is I think she’s going to be fine. I know that’s insane, but like you said, I get a feel about some things, and I don’t feel an overwhelming stress when I’m next to her. I feel calm.”
“That’s good to hear, Melinda. Take your time. We’ll be here.” Sharon ended the call. Was it possible the calm Melinda felt was because Mimi wasn’t putting off a vibe of stress herself? Maybe the woman was dying, but she felt she was ready or something. Sharon shuddered and kept the thought to herself.
“She’s coming?” Jackson pulled her from her thoughts.
Sharon nodded. “As soon as she can get away.”
The door behind them opened again, and a woman stepped inside. “Mr. Hamilton?”
Cooper nodded.
“We have a room next door set up to use as a calling center. Is there anything else you need right now?”
“No. Thank you so much for your help. I know a lot of people are giving up their Sunday, and I truly appreciate everything the junior college has done for us.”
The woman smiled. “Our pleasure. It’s not often we have the opportunity to get our students involved in something this monumental happening on our doorstep. It’s a good learning tool. And thank you for allowing the students to observe and assist.”
“My pleasure.”
The woman stepped back out, and Cooper turned to Sharon. “Think you can organize people in the room next door? I have printout lists of people and businesses to call.” He twisted around and grabbed a stack of papers from behind him. “Maybe divvy it up and help the student volunteers understand the script.” He handed her a smaller pile of paper next, copies of a single sheet that outlined what to tell anyone who answered the phone.
“Got it.”
Cooper turned toward Jackson next. “Could you get ahold of someone running that logging site just north of the lodge?”
“I’m sure.”
“Good. Track them down and warn them. We don’t have any reason to believe they shouldn’t be up there working tomorrow morning yet, but we need them to be aware of the seismic activity.”
“What does your gut tell you?” Jackson asked.
Sharon watched as Jackson narrowed his gaze at Cooper. He didn’t believe any more than she did that Cooper had no gut feeling. Perhaps it was the mating; perhaps it was simply the fact that Cooper looked extremely stressed. In either case, Cooper had a hunch. He just wasn’t sharing it.
Cooper shook his head. “You do not want to know, man.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Melinda stepped into the temporary headquarters for the seismic center, every hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She had jogged from her car to the Shepley Building, but now her steps faltered, and she slowed to a pace that must have looked like slow motion.
The room was filled with people. Sharon had mentioned about ten, but there were far more in the room now.
Cooper spotted her and crossed the room in just a few strides. “How’s Mimi?”
Melinda didn’t look his way. She couldn’t. All she could do was scan the room with her gaze and inhale slowly, trying to get a feel of things. She spoke absentmindedly, trying to focus all her concentration on the here and now, not Mimi. “No change…” She inched farther inside until she stood in the middle.
“You okay?” Cooper asked.
“Something’s very very wrong,” she muttered.
Cooper chuckled, though she didn’t think this was funny at all. “Yeah, I’m super clear on that. It’s why I asked you to come.”
She finally turned to face him directly. “Can you take me to the epicenter?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Let me put someone else in charge.” He turned around and spoke to a man behind him, who nodded and returned to the computer he was leaning over.
Melinda stood rigid waiting. When her half brother returned to her side and led her from the room, she exhaled slowly. “That room is intense.”
“Yeah. I try to ignore the gut and focus on the science, but it’s hard sometimes.”
Melinda nodded. She understood better than anyone how intuition could cloud her in a way that seemed totally irrational to someone else.
Cooper popped his head into what looked like a call center. He waved at Jackson across the room, and his mate of just over a day came forward and stepped outside.
“I’m going to take Melinda to the fracking site.”
Jackson nodded. “Be careful and stay in touch.”