by Jill Sanders
Later that evening, she drove them back to their place in silence. When she pulled her car to a stop, she looked over at him, a smile no longer on her lips.
“What?” He took up her hand. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
He looked at her, tilting his head, knowing better.
She chuckled. “Okay, it’s just that after hearing the story from Steve, I realize how close it was.”
He pulled her across the seat and hugged her. “Nothing can take me away from you.” He pulled back, then kissed her gently. “Nothing. No power on Earth can stop me from being with you. Do you understand?”
She nodded and kissed him again. When the kiss turned hot, he pulled back, knowing he was in no shape to have sex in the small car.
“Come on, let’s get inside. It looks like rain again,” he said, playfully pushing her off his lap.
They raced through the light rain until they reached the porch, where he pulled her closer to him and kissed her until he felt that the rain was steaming off his skin.
Just the feel of her skin against his lit fires all over his skin. He moved until she was up against the door as he ran his hands underneath her shirt. Her skin felt smooth and soft under his fingertips. She moaned when he pulled open her shirt and dipped his head to taste the exposed skin.
She fumbled for the door handle and pushed him inside, kicking the door shut with a quick motion. He had her pinned up against the door, quickly. Her hands were trapped above her wet hair, and her breathing was labored as she watched him with her sea-green eyes.
“You bewitch me,” he said just before he took her mouth again. “Your skin is soft as flower petals.” He ran his lips over her neck and shoulder, then pulled the shirt off until she was exposed. “You taste better than honey.” He ran his tongue over the dip between her breasts. She moaned as he pushed her long skirt up her silky legs and up over her hips. When his fingers dipped under the silk that covered her, he groaned. “You feel better than heaven.” He slid a finger into her heat and watched her eyes go dark.
“More,” he groaned when her fingernails dug into his skin. “I want it all.” He pushed her skirt higher, completely over her hips, and turned her around. Her hands came up, holding her away from the door as she flung her hips towards him.
He took hold of her hips after yanking his jeans down over his own hips. “Faster,” she cried. “Now!”
He pushed her legs wider with his knees, then plunged into her in one quick motion. She cried out with pleasure as he pinned her to the door.
“Faster,” she cried, throwing her head back.
His hips moved faster as he reached up with his hands and took hold of her breasts lightly.
“Please,” she moaned. “More.”
He turned her quickly, picking her up until she was pinned between him and the door. Her bare legs wrapped around his hips as he plunged into her deeper. Their mouths fused together. Their heartbeats and labored breaths matched.
“I want it all,” he growled, not knowing what he was asking for.
Her fingers dug into his scalp as he thrust deeper and harder until finally he felt her tighten around him. He felt her go completely lax against his body; only then did he find his own release.
That night, as Haley slept through the evening thunderstorm, he lay awake thinking of how close it had really been. He’d asked the doctors not to tell her how close he’d come. Hell, he hadn’t known until a nurse had mentioned something about it.
When Haley started moaning and crying in her sleep, he pulled her near and ran his hands over her hair, cooing to her. She finally settled down as the storm passed and he fell asleep holding her.
Haley was in a foul mood. Roger had gotten out of the corral and was nowhere to be found. She’d searched since morning light for the calf and the rooster she knew was bound to be right on his tail.
She had thought that Blackjack was smarter than this. After all, he was in his midlife. It wasn’t as if he was a young gun, like Roger was.
Roger’s mother was still in the corral, looking bored. Lauren and Chase had gone into Tyler for the weekend with the big truck. They were picking up a few new mares. Alex had agreed to watch Ricky down at the diner until her shift ended at two. Haley was supposed to take over watching him for the night; that is, if she could find Roger and Blackjack in time.
She was about to give up when she heard the rooster crow behind one of the old hay barns in the south field.
When she rode around the corner, she jumped from her horse and rushed to aid Roger, who was stuck in an old watering hole. His legs and chest were covered in mud as his eyes looked wildly around. When he saw her, he started bawling and thrashing around. Blackjack jumped up on Roger’s rear end and stood there looking at her impatiently.
“Well, don’t look at me.” She stood over the pair, looking down at both of them covered in mud. “I’m not the one who allowed him to walk into that mess.”
Shaking her head, she pulled the rope off her saddle and wrapped it around the calf’s body. Now she was as muddy as they were and had water in her boots. Tying off the rope to the saddle, she jumped on and started walking Dash back until the little calf was freed.
Roger lay there on the dry ground, breathing hard. When she walked over, he closed his eyes with relief.
“Looks like you two have been at it a while.” Squatting down, she patted the calf’s neck. “Think you can make it back to the barn?” she asked, knowing she wouldn’t get an answer.
It took a few minutes for the calf to catch his breath. When he gained his feet, Blackjack was right there next to him. “Well, come on then.” She jumped back on Dash’s back, keeping the rope lose around Roger’s neck to make sure he didn’t wander off again.
“Think you two learned your lesson this time? This is the fourth time this month I’ve had to search you guys down. If this continues—” She heard thunder in the distance and looked at the sky. From the looks of things, she’d make it back to the house just as the rain started.
“Damn, think you two can pick it up a bit?” she asked. The calf looked up at her, and she could see that he was almost too tired to walk at this pace. She sighed. “Looks like we’ll get a little wet then.” She frowned and started dreaming about a hot shower and a warm bed next to Wes.
By the time they walked up to the barn, the mud was completely washed from the three of them. Now she had even more water in her boots as she let Roger back into his corral. Blackjack had disappeared near the hen house at the edge of the yard.
By the time she kicked off her boots and walked through the back door, she was frozen.
“What happened to you?” Alex asked. She was standing at the stove, stirring a big pot of macaroni and cheese. Ricky sat at the table, his leg swinging as he colored in his Spiderman coloring book.
“Found Roger.” She hung up her jacket and reached down to take off her socks. “He was stuck in the old watering hole behind the south hay barn.”
Alex laughed. “That calf is too smart for his own good.”
“Maybe this time they’ll learn their lesson.”
“Was Blackjack with him?” Alex looked over her shoulder at her.
“Of course.” She sat down, closed her eyes, and dreamed of a cup of hot chocolate. When she opened them, Alex sat a cup in front of her.
“Hot chocolate?” she asked.
Alex nodded. “I saw you come around the corner of the barn covered in mud and knew you’d want one.”
“You are a saint.” She grabbed the mug and sipped.
“Why is it raining so much this year?” Alex asked, going back to the stove and removing the pan from the heat.
Haley shrugged. “I’m just glad it’s not—”
A loud crash of thunder sounded in the distance. “Damn. Never mind,” Haley said, hanging her head.
Ricky started saying damn over and over again as Alex laughed.
“I’m telling,” Alex said
between laughs.
“I don’t suppose I can bribe you?” Haley asked.
Alex shook her head and set a large bowl of mac and cheese in front of her. Just then the back door opened and Grant walked in, soaking wet.
Alex walked over to him and kissed him. “Taking showers outside again?”
He chuckled. “All the chickens are up. Including that crazy rooster,” he said, pulling off his jacket.
“Well, we’ll eat dinner here, since Haley took forever getting her calf and rooster back.”
Haley looked over at the clock and realized it was a quarter past six. She’d had no clue it had taken her so long to find the wayward animals. Wes was supposed to be back from physical therapy around eight.
“Sorry.” She took a bite of the mac and cheese and smiled. “You know, mine doesn’t come out this good.” She smiled when Ricky dug into his bowl.
Alex sat down next to Grant and smiled. “That’s because you don’t know the magic ingredient.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She sighed as she took another bite. “Love. You’ve told me a million times.”
“That’s right, Ricky,” Alex said as she made sure Ricky’s bowl didn’t land on the floor. “Auntie Alex makes the best mac and cheese, because she loves you more than Haley does.” Haley laughed and finished off her bowl before Ricky.
After they finished eating, Grant and Alex helped her clean up then headed back to their place down the street.
She took Ricky upstairs to give him a bath because he was covered in mac and cheese. She desperately wanted a hot shower; she felt like she had mud caked in every pore.
As she watched Ricky play in the bath, she tried not to focus on the growing storm outside. Every now and then lightning would flash and she tried not to jump each time, but Ricky was catching on to her mood.
By the time she pulled him from the cool water and dressed him in his warm PJ’s, he looked pretty tired.
She let him play with the trucks as she showered quickly and dressed in an old pair of sweats.
“What do you say you come downstairs with me and watch some cartoons?”
He nodded and held onto her a little more tightly. They walked downstairs and watched cartoons tucked in a large blanket together until a loud bang shook the house and the lights flipped off. She’d turned on the flashlight she had grabbed, but it did little to reassure her.
She didn’t want to text Wes because she knew he was driving back from his physical therapy appointment in Dallas. Just then her phone beeped. Looking down, she saw the text come in from Wes.
“Just heard on the radio there’s a tornado warning for Anderson County. Better head to the storm shelter.”
She froze. This was the first time she’d been alone during one of these. There had been plenty of warning over the years, and each one had taken a toll on her nerves, but usually her sisters had been there with her.
“Haley?” She received another text just as her phone beeped again. This time it was Lauren asking how she was doing.
A memory flashed in her mind; her mother was carrying her from her bedroom upstairs. She was running and singing to her. Then they were outside and lightning blinded her as thunder crashed all around them.
She could see the shelter door was open. Her sisters stood at the bottom of the stairs, but then she looked up and saw the dark cyclone and screamed. Her mother jolted. Then Haley was flying through the air until she landed on her sister at the bottom of the shelter.
Another beep sounded. She looked down at the phone. It was Lauren again.
“Are you in the shelter with Ricky?”
Ricky! Haley looked down at the sleeping boy in her arms and something clicked on.
The little boy in her arms depended on her. Wes needed her. They were going to get married and start a family of their own. Her sisters needed her to help with the ranch.
Shoving her phone into her pocket, she grabbed up Ricky, wrapped him in the blanket, and started running from the room. When she opened the back door, the wind and rain hit her face. She felt Ricky stir in her arms, but she covered him with the blanket and cooed to him.
“It’s okay. We have to go play down in the shelter for a while,” Haley said, tucking him closer to her body. They were halfway across the yard, both dogs right on her heels, when she looked up and saw hell heading right for her.
Chapter Thirteen
His physical therapist was a moron, he thought as he walked to his car. How is it possible that he hurt more after one hour with the woman than he had after a two-hour emergency surgery?
He was fifteen minutes from Fairplay when he noticed the dark clouds in front of him. Flipping on the news, he listened to the weather. When he heard they were in a warning zone, he pulled over and texted Haley.
When she didn’t reply, he tried calling her with the same results.
Tossing his phone down, he did one of the dumbest things he’d ever done in his life. He heading into the eye of the storm to save the woman he loved.
“She’s not answering.” Lauren paced back and forth in their hotel room. “Why isn’t she answering me?” She felt like throwing the phone, but held it tighter.
“Maybe the storm has knocked out the cell tower,” Chase suggested, his eyes glued to the news on the TV set.
When her phone beeped, she almost dropped it.
“It’s Alex, they’re in their shelter. She says it’s hailing there.” Lauren turned to Chase. “Chase.”
“I know.” He walked over to her and hugged her. “I’ll go check out.” He rushed from the room.
They were over an hour away, but it would make her feel better to be heading home. She walked over and tossed her clothes into her bag, not caring if she left anything behind.
Five minutes later, they were in the car, heading south, not knowing what they were driving into.
Grant hit the outskirts of town and gasped. The glass in every building downtown was gone. People were standing outside, looking like they were all in shock.
As he drove through the streets of town, he was glad to see that the bank was still standing, but Mama’s and the bookstore were totaled. The front wall of Mama’s was completely gone, as well as the roof of the bookstore.
The empty building next door was completely gutted. All that stood were the brick walls on either side.
He stopped and yelled out to Jamella, who was standing there holding a towel over her head. Willard, the cook was sitting next to her holding his arm.
“Are you okay?” He started to get out.
“Lordy, boy. Dat was some shaker. I’m fine. Lookie, her come da big sheriff to save me.”
Wes watched with amusement as Sheriff Miller rushed out of his car and grabbed Jamella into a big hug and kissed her square on the lips.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again. When I tell you to take shelter, I mean it.”
Jamella blushed and patted his shoulder. “Lookie, now everyone knowd about us.” She motioned to Wes and Willard.
“I don’t give a damn who finds out. It’s about time it got out anyway.” The sheriff nodded over to him.
Wes would have stayed to help, but he had someone else on his mind. Slamming his door, he tried to text and call Haley one more time. He’d been trying for the seven minutes that it had taken him to get into town.
There was still no reply. He hit the gas and barreled through some debris with his truck. There were tree limbs and trash all over the road, but he knew his truck could handle most of it. When he reached the outskirts of town, the roads cleared up and he thought for a moment that maybe it hadn’t hit this far out. Then he turned the corner and saw that a full-sized tree was down, blocking his path to Saddleback. It would take several men and some very large chainsaws to clear the path.
Jumping from his truck, he left the engine running as he climbed over the downed tree. He scraped his arms and legs on the pine branches, but didn’t feel any pain. When he finally cleared the tree, he rushed towards the iron gates at S
addleback. Half of the letters were missing and some of the fence was twisted.
It was too dark for him to see if the house was still standing so he rushed on until lights hit him. Turning, he saw Alex and Grant drive up in a truck. Alexis face was masked with concern.
“Have you heard from Haley?” she screamed as she opened her door and scooted over to allow him in next to her.
“No, you?”
Alex shook her head. “It took us a while to get out of our drive. We had to pull some trees out of the way.”
“My truck’s stuck behind a downed pine just back at the bend.” He nodded, his eyes glued to the house in front of them. It looked intact, but he couldn’t see past the first floor.
Before the truck stopped, he jumped out and was running towards the front door yelling her name.
“They’d be in the shelter,” Alex called behind him.
He took off running towards the back of the house. “You check in the house. I’ll check back there.” He turned the corner of the house and gasped. Here the damage was obvious. Half the barn was gone. The roof and hay were strung all over the yard. Horses, cows, and even some goats were walking around the yard looking weather-worn.
He glanced over to the shelter and noticed that the door stood wide open. Calling her name, he rushed over to the door, his heart beating in his ears.
He pulled out his cell phone and flipped on the flashlight app. He heard Ricky start to cry and rushed to the bottom of the stairs. Haley was lying at the bottom, on top of Ricky, who looked up and blinked at the bright light.
“Here,” he called over his shoulder. “They’re here.” He bent down and gently removed Ricky, who clung to him with a death grip.
Since he had to set his flashlight down, it was too dark to see if the boy was injured. He was halfway up the stairway when Grant appeared.
“Is he okay?” he asked, reaching for the boy.
“Don’t know. Haley’s hurt.” He rushed back to the bottom of the stairs. Grant was beside him, holding a flashlight as Alex tried to calm Ricky down at the top of the stairs.
