One Breathless Night(35)

“Well,” Elizabeth said. “You can’t just stop there.”

He thought about doing just that, but what the hell. “She lives in Boston, And as you very nosy students know, I live here in Oklahoma.”

“Oh. Bummer.”

Rick had no idea who said that, but... “Yeah,” he said. “Bummer.”

* * *

JENNA WAS PACKED and nervous. She’d checked her luggage four times so far. Cleaned the kitchen, the bedroom and part of the bathroom. There were boxes that needed unpacking but after yesterday’s misunderstanding, she decided to leave them alone.

The Topeka tornadoes were on the news already. The regular news. She was watching The Weather Channel of course, but they kept talking about the goddamn weather of the world when all she cared about was Topeka. Two smaller funnels had touched ground, but then had been swallowed by the monster in the middle, which was tearing a path through Kansas.

She sat and watched, playing a vicious game of “Where’s Rick?” but she couldn’t spot him anywhere. The camera people were keeping their distance, and the regular news stations kept going back to radar screens, which showed the data Rick cared about. Why hadn’t she asked him more questions? Like what he actually did when he caught a tornado?

They hadn’t finished the wine from last night, but she was getting close to the end of it now. Her plane didn’t leave until midnight, it wasn’t a full flight and the taxi wouldn’t be at Rick’s until 10:15 p.m.

She muted the TV, grabbed her cell phone and hit speed dial. Ally picked up instantly. “I was beginning to think we needed to send out a search party. You’ve only texted twice this whole week.”

“I’m sorry. Every minute that I had free I was working on lesson plans and those worksheets from hell.”

Ally moaned. “Don’t talk to me about those if you have any sense of self-preservation.”

“Oh,” she said, glued to the TV, peering into yet another shot of a huge funnel cloud only to realize she’d seen that shot before. “Tonight proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that I don’t. I’m going out of my mind with worry.”

“What? Why?”

“There’s a tornado in Topeka. A big one. They’re expecting it to be a family of tornadoes, actually, with multiple vortices. Or maybe not. That’s a bunch of separate tornadoes following in quick succession. Either way, hugely dangerous. And Rick is right in the middle of it.”

“Holy crap. I was just listening to that on the news. I figured you guys were too far away.”

“He left at four this morning. You know how I get about this stuff. I couldn’t stand it when Payton had to fly to Florida. But he was just traveling and Rick is there to collect data. I could save him the hassle and tell him the important data right now—it’s a huge, crazy tornado and he could die.”

“Jenna? Hun? Take a deep breath, okay?

She did. Two deep breaths. “All right,” Jenna said. “That helped. It did. But frankly, a full bottle of wine and a few Xanax would help more. Sadly, I only have a little wine, and I can’t even get drunk because that would be a fun plane ride home in the same sky as a family of tornadoes.”

“Wait a minute. The same sky? Not kidding here—are you sure you shouldn’t postpone?”

“No, I was exaggerating. Again. Because I turn into a ridiculous child when someone I care about is spitting in the eye of a damn tornado. As if my freaking out accomplishes anything except to make everyone around me anxious. I’m going to call Rick’s friend at the Weather Center. He’ll tell me if it’s safe or not.

“But really, I’m not worried about me. It’s just that I haven’t heard from Rick. I have no idea how long tornadoes last. Or what he has to do when he gets there. He texted me a lot on the drive. Then he warned me that he’d be swamped. I thought that meant he’d cut back, but he hasn’t texted in hours.”

“Jenna, call his friend. I can hear your breathing, and if you don’t slow down you’re going to hyperventilate.”

Jenna closed her eyes and focused all her attention on Ally’s voice. The instructions were so clear even an overstimulated idiot like herself could understand them. Except now she could see that picture of Rick in his office. Good God, she couldn’t think about it. Or let the panic overtake her.

“You got that, sweetie?”

Jenna nodded, really trying to act like a grown-up even if she didn’t feel like one. “Yes. I do. Thank you.” She wouldn’t talk about or think about the picture.

“He’s going to be fine.”

“Is he?” Jenna asked. “You know, storm chasers aren’t invulnerable. They can die. It doesn’t matter that they practice safety, that the work they do is incredibly important. I know it doesn’t do me any good to think like this, but...you know what? I need to call the guy he works with.”

“Okay. Then sip the wine, my friend. Call me. Breathe, breathe, breathe. I’ll be here, and I won’t give a damn what the time is. If you need me, call.”

“I promise. I will.”

“Good,” Ally said. “Can I ask you something, though? Not storm-related?”

“Of course.”

“How has it been? With you two? Your texts left a lot to be desired.”

“It’s been wonderful. He’s wonderful. I enjoy him so much, Ally, I can’t tell you. But it’s been horrible, too.”

“What do you mean? Jenna?”

“It’s touched down.” Jenna stood up, her heart pounding like mad as she watched streets being ripped up and houses being torn apart. “I have to go. But just so you know, you were right.”

“About?”

“I’m in love with him. It’s... He’s the one for me. I know it, I feel it. I love him. The man who chases danger like I go to the library. And this? Watching. Waiting to see if he’s alive? I can’t. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Let’s get through tonight. I’m not turning off my phone.”

“Thank you.” Jenna hung up and called Antwan’s direct line.

He picked up quickly. “You watching this?”

“Yes, I’m watching, and I’m terrified. Where is he? Have you heard from him? I’m going crazy here. It’s been hours since he last texted me. I’m supposed to be going home on the red-eye tonight, but I can’t if he’s still in the middle of this—”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up. He’s fine. Busy as hell, but fine. Do you have an Android or an iPhone?”

“Yes.”

“Good, download the scanner radio weather app. You’ll actually hear him. He’s broadcasting live. I don’t know why he didn’t tell you. Just don’t forget that tornadoes are louder than you can possibly imagine, so don’t let the noise upset you. If you still need me, I’ll be here long after the tornadoes are gone.”

“Thank you. I’ll go get that app. Oh, but I’m supposed to fly to Boston at midnight. Safe? Not safe?”

“Hold on two seconds.”

She was shaking she wanted to download that app so badly. And why bother asking about flying tonight? She wasn’t going anywhere. Not until she saw Rick, in the flesh, for herself, and counted all of his fingers and toes.

“Safe as houses,” Antwan said. She didn’t miss the irony. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine, you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you,” she said, even though too many people were so sure things would be fine, they made her more afraid than she had been.

Once she was disconnected from Antwan, she found the app. With shaking fingers, she somehow managed to get it working and then...

Rick’s voice.

Yelling at the top of his lungs. Thank goodness Antwan had reminded her of the noise, because it was the stuff of nightmares. But Rick was shouting above it all, so he was okay. For now.

She poured the last of the wine, parked herself once more on the couch, where she could watch his gigantic television, and listened to the sound of his voice.

Her heart began to settle back to non-heart-attack levels, and she honestly couldn’t tell if his words were garbled or if she just didn’t understand what he was saying. Either way, it was okay.

Until it wasn’t.

“Get the hell in the truck. Now, now, now! We are pulling out, people. Leave that, it’s fine, just g—”

She waited for him to come back online. Checked that the app was still working.

It was.

She bent over and put her head between her knees.





18

JENNA SWEPT HER gaze over the twenty kids eating their lunches before they toured the Salem Witch Museum. Most of them were great kids who earned the trip with their grades, but there were four really bright students who were more interested in anarchy than history. At least according to Sylvia, the teacher whom Jenna was helping out on this field trip.

But everything was calm at the common across the street from the museum. Everyone, including the two volunteer parent chaperones, was eating from their boxed lunches while Sylvia had run to the office to check on the time for the guided tour.

Jenna wasn’t hungry. In the three weeks since her Oklahoma trip, she and Rick weren’t speaking as often as they had before spring break. There were valid reasons for the change in routine. Rick hadn’t needed to explain. She’d been watching The Weather Channel compulsively and seen for herself the extreme weather events that were stacked like dominoes. At least three of them were in Rick’s territory, so of course, those were the ones she listened to, using her weather app. He’d always come home safely, but during the events she’d been a wreck.