Thirty minutes later, they hugged good-bye and Allie drove off to find Drake in the middle of nowhere in a rented car she wasn’t familiar with in a state where she didn’t know the roads. Thank God for cell phones and MapQuest.
She merged onto the highway, grateful for the light traffic, and finally relaxed, knowing she had twenty minutes before she’d have to look for the exit that would lead her to the state park. She drove on autopilot, her mind wandering. What if he won’t forgive me? What if he changed his mind and he doesn’t want me? What am I going to say?
Biting her lip, she tapped her fingers on the center console. It felt as though butterflies the size of toy poodles were trapped in her stomach. It didn’t help when the sky darkened and it began to rain. She leaned forward and looked up, spotting the ominous shelf cloud ahead. Great, she was driving into a severe thunderstorm. At least she didn’t have to worry about a tornado, since they rarely formed from these particular clouds.
Fat raindrops and penny-sized hail splattered onto her car. The pine trees lining the highway bent and swayed, and the wind pushed against her car. Fighting to stay in her lane, she tightened her hands on the steering wheel. Lightning flashed, momentarily blinding her, and she blinked to clear her vision. The boom of thunder shook her car and made her jump in her seat.
She couldn’t let a little rainstorm stop her from her destiny with Drake.
She’d allowed fear to dictate her life for as long as she could remember, and she refused to permit it to continue. Breathing deeply, she embraced the woman she’d become—Tornado Allie. Even if he rejected her, at least she’d taken the risk.
She exited the highway and, at a stop sign, reread the directions. Continuing to drive, she was thrilled to see signs for the state park every mile. When she made the final turn, she couldn’t help smiling, excitement zinging through her body.
Drizzling steadily, the severe weather had dissipated, leaving behind beautiful bubble-like mammatus clouds, formed by sinking air, the sky various shades of orange and pink.
And there, underneath it all, was Drake.
Three minivans sat idle by the side of the road, Cole, Jack, and Drake talking animatedly. Symptoms of Drake-a-titis returned with a vengeance as she parked behind the vans. With shaky hands, she unwrapped a cherry sucker and popped it in her mouth before she slid out of the car and strode toward Drake.
It took him a moment to notice her, but when he did, her stomach dropped. He stared at her stonily, and she couldn’t read his reaction. Was he happy to see her?
Cole and Jack greeted her. She suppressed the urge to ask Jack about his marriage to Taryn and put it on the back burner for now.
“The van’s fine. So…we’re gonna go,” said Cole. “See you at the hotel in Norman.”
“Take your time, man,” added Jack with a grin, slapping Drake on the back before he and Cole got into their vans.
Drake’s brows pinched together, deep creases forming on his forehead. “Allie? What are you doing here?”
Standing right in front of him, she plucked the candy from her mouth. To keep from smoothing away those creases, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a tissue that she used to wrap around the sucker. Then she stuck it in the pocket of her jeans. “I couldn’t leave you thinking I didn’t care.” He smelled so good, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing her arms around him and burying her nose in the side of his neck. “Because I do. I care more than I thought possible.”
When he pressed his lips to her temple, she seized the opportunity, tilting her head to steal a kiss on the lips. The kiss was soft and tentative, his confusion and indecision evident. She slipped her tongue in the seam of his mouth and raked her hand through his rain-damp hair, tugging gently.
He hissed as he backed her to the hood of the van, trapping her against its heat and his. He caught her wrists in his hands and wrenched them behind her back. Her nipples beaded, pressing against her shirt, and her pussy tingled.
“I understand you’re afraid. You created a bucket list of risks. Chasing tornadoes. Sky diving. Mountain climbing. But those are physical. It’s much harder to risk your heart. To fall in love.”
Love was something she never thought she’d get to experience until she met Drake. It brought her to tears. “You’re right. That’s why I wanted to protect you.”
He frowned and released her wrists to caress her cheek. “Me? Why do I need protecting?”
She focused on the feel of him against her, strong and controlled, and admitted her darkest fear. “What if the cancer comes back? Do you really want to start something when I could relapse at any time?”