by Julia Bright
She curled up with him on the couch, her toes tucked under a blanket. He liked sitting with her. It was quiet, and after getting out of the army, he needed quiet.
“Tonight, can I sleep in your bed?” After the question slid out, he worried that maybe he'd assumed too much. What if she didn't want him in her bed?
She adjusted and met his gaze. “I think it would be good to have you in bed with me.”
He warmed again and imagined the warmth would be a constant thing with her around.
After dinner and checking the gate—which was unlocked. He let the horses out of their stalls before he led her to her bedroom and stretched out beside her. He began removing each piece of clothing, revealing her skin beneath. She was a work of art he needed to worship. With reverence, he ran his hands over her body, learning each curve, tasting every dip. He spent a long time worshiping her breasts, driving her crazy with his touch. When he finally slid into her, it wasn't just sex, this was more.
He held her gaze as they made love. Overwhelmed didn't begin to describe his emotional state. It was like he'd discovered something so special it had no price, no way of measuring the worth. What they had between them was real and full of promises he couldn't comprehend.
When he came, his body flew apart. He gasped for breath, hoping this wasn't a dream. One deep breath in wasn't enough to stop his head from spinning. He was drowning in his Angel's essence, trapped in her halo and he didn't even want to escape.
She drew in a shaky breath, her eyes wide. “Wow, intense.”
“It was, Angel. I have to say I think you've branded my soul.”
She rolled to him and slid her lips over his. “Same here. I don't know what I did before, you know, without you.”
“I feel the same.”
He thought he drifted to sleep first, but maybe it was her. Either way, he liked the way she held him, how her body fit against his, and how he felt the next morning when he woke.
They spent the day doing chores around the ranch and then sitting at the computer. It was getting late when the phone in the kitchen rang. They both raced in, and she ran to a box on the wall, opening it.
“I didn't even know there was a phone in there.” She picked up the receiver and held it up to her ear. “Hello.”
After a few seconds, Adam could tell by her frown she wasn't happy. She met his gaze then rolled her eyes.
“Yes, sir. I understand. I know it's important.” She paused then her brows pinched together. “There's no reason to get nasty. We'll retrieve them as soon as we can.” Kelsey hung up and met his gaze. “You don't have to go out in this with me. Somehow, I don't know how, but cows got out. They're on a property close by. The realtor is throwing a fit. Says if I don't get them now and they cause any damage to the property, he'll sue, and the owner will sue. I need to see if I can round them up.”
“What a dick. I'll help. What can I do?”
“We need to find the broken fence, fix it, and then see if we can drive the cows back here.”
“That sucks. Let's go. Do you think we'll need the horses?”
She held her hands wide and shook her head. “Probably. I haven't ever done this. The weather sucks. I don't want to kill the horses. How about instead of the horses we take the four-wheelers?”
“Okay, um...” he pulled out his phone and noticed there was a break in the storm. “In about five minutes, it'll clear up a little. We can head out then. Grab food and some water. I'll hitch the trailer to the truck and load the four-wheelers.”
“Sounds good.”
He left the house, grabbing the truck keys on his way. After hooking up the trailer, he searched for the keys for the four-wheelers in the auxiliary barn. Kelsey ran in, rain dripping off the brim of her hat.
“The keys for the four-wheelers, do you know where they are?”
She went to a door on the other side of the barn and opened it. Inside she pulled out two sets of keys.
“Perfect,” he exclaimed before grabbing the keys and moving to the first machine. He rolled it onto the trailer and then did the same with the second. After securing the four-wheelers with a strap, he went to the driver's side and hopped in.
Kelsey got in on the passenger side and told him which way to go. The rain slowed them down, and it took longer to drive over to the area close to where they'd fixed the fence before. This time a new section was open.
He stopped the truck, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach. “I don't like this.”
“Neither do I,” Kelsey said.
The rain had dropped to almost nothing. A misty haze hung in the air. They got out of the truck and went over to the fence to inspect the area.
“That wire looks to be cut,” Kelsey said.
“And I see footprints. The ground is wet today, it wasn't when we fixed the fence. It rained after we left this area. Someone cut the wire after the rain started yesterday.”
She met his gaze, her eyes wide. “You heard a truck yesterday after we got back to the barn, didn't you?”
He glanced at the fence and the prints leading away on the other side. “How close is this property to the house?”
“It skirts around in a C shape. So here, it's not close, but at another part, it's not far.”
“You need to find out who has been on that property.” Adam had a bad feeling about who had been over here cutting the fence.
Kelsey's lips were down in a frown. “There's a gate not too far from here. Let's patch this section then we'll move the truck and trailer over there. We'll go over, get the cows and come home.”
“How do you suggest we get the cows?”
“I brought grain with me. You attach that bale of hay to your four-wheeler, and I'll bring the sack of grain. The cows will follow us one way or another.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Kelsey opened the gate, letting him through before she drove through. She closed and locked it behind her. The terrain wasn't as good here, and he had to be careful because the road wasn't well maintained. They crossed over a small bridge he didn't like at all. Then all hell broke loose. The rain came down so fast they had to race away from the rising creek they'd crossed over. They both struggled to reach the top of the next hill since half the road washed away. Once at the top, they paused and looked back at the terrifying creek behind them.
“Well shit, that is awful,” Adam said.
“I didn't know that creek would turn into a river.”
“Yeah, this is bad. We're not getting back that way.”
She shook her head. “I don't know how else to go.”
“Maybe the main house?”
“If we can get there.”
His stomach twisted as they got on their four-wheelers and made their way up the next hill as they tried to escape the water behind them. This stretch of road was terrible. They had to drive slower, and the rain was coming faster. He'd done stuff like this in the army, but this scared the crap out of him.
At one point the water was running so fast across the road his four-wheeler slipped off into the dirt. He thought he'd have to ditch the bike, but he made it back on the road without flipping.
Kelsey slowed to a stop on a patch of road that was more gravel than dirt. “You okay?”
“It's getting bad out here. I don't think we can do much.”
“We can't go back either.”
Adam didn't have a good feeling, but they had to keep moving. “Let's see how far we can go.”
She nodded and took off, heading the opposite direction from where they'd come. He guessed it had taken them an hour to make it this far, maybe more. He hadn't seen a single cow, and he wasn't sure where else to look. It was dangerous out, and the sun had set. The four-wheeler's lights were dim, forcing them to go even slower. If they could turn back, he would have insisted they return to her house.
Fear for Kelsey filled him. She stopped in front of him, and he pulled up beside her. She hollered over the engine noise.
“I can see the hous
e from here I think. It's behind that stand of trees up on that hill. If we can make it there, we can at least find shelter from the rain, maybe find a way into the barn or something.”
It was the best plan they had available. Adam gave her two thumbs up and followed her down the slope which wasn't as bad as the road on the other side of the hill they'd driven up.
By the time they made it to the house, it was really coming down. Kelsey pulled up to the barn, and Adam hopped off his four-wheeler, mud sloshing around his feet. He chanced a look at the sky and wasn't happy with the way the clouds were swirling. They were lucky hail hadn't started. Lightning struck not too far away, and he jumped. This storm was getting worse. They shouldn't have come out here. The cows could have waited.
The barn door swung open, and Kelsey drove in. He followed with his four-wheeler then cut the engine, the quiet a welcome respite, until something started pounding on the barn roof.
“What is that?” Kelsey asked as she ran to the door, staring out into the dark, raining night.
“Hail.” They'd barely made it in. Relief filled him, but he still feared the storm would get worse.
Kelsey turned to him, her eyes wide. “Jesus, it's bad out. We're lucky we made it here.”
“Do you have any service on your phone?” Adam pulled his phone from his pocket, glad she'd insisted on putting the phones in Ziploc bags.
Kelsey shook her head. “No service.”
“None for me either. I guess we're trapped with no way to contact anyone.”
Kelsey pushed one of the barn doors closed, and he grabbed the other, leaving them with little light once closed.
He reached out and pulled her close. “This isn't the best place I've ever slept.”
She huffed out a breath. “Me either.”
“It's also not the worst. So, what do you want to do while we're trapped in this barn for the night?” He was thinking of stripping her, maybe finding a bit of good hay, stretching out and seeing if she'd be willing to get busy to the sounds of the storm.
She held her body stiff. “We're screwed.”
“Not yet, but we could be,” he quipped.
Kelsey grunted. “First off, I don't know if there are any snakes in the hay, so before you start thinking we're going to have a roll in it, we need to check. It's cool out, and it's warmer in here which means snakes will want to find their way in.”
He froze and looked around though he couldn't see much because of the lack of light. An image of snakes slithering towards them made him shiver. Kelsey let out a soft chuckle, and he snorted.
“Snakes in the hay? Wow, you ruined my plans. That's just frightening.”
“A snake bite would have ruined your plans more,” she said.
“True. Still, it was a buzz kill.”
“So we sleep rough, and we figure out what to do once the rain stops. I wish we had access to the weather. That storm is turning worse. I don't know how bad it will get.”
Worry twisted deep. Adam pulled her closer. A tornado would suck them up and toss them around. It would kill them, no question.
“Um, the weather is bad. It's looking terrible out. The clouds were swirling. Do you have tornados in Wyoming?”
He felt her nod.
“We do.”
They were both silent for a moment. They needed a place to rest. The hay was out of the question now. He flipped on his phones flashlight, noticing he only had twenty percent battery power.
“My phone is gonna die soon.”
“I'm at thirty percent,” Kelsey said.
“You up for checking this place out and finding a spot to rest? We may not get much sleep, and we're both sopping wet, so we'll be uncomfortable.”
“Such an appealing prospect.”
He snorted a laugh then shone his light into the deep corners of the barn. “I'm all about the excitement.”
Kelsey pulled out her phone and turned on the light. She moved away from him, searching the other end of the barn. After a few seconds, he looked over his shoulder and realized the only thing he could see of her was her phone light. Darkness prevailed in here. The hail stopped, and the noise died outside. At first, he was thrilled, then he heard another sound that grew louder. A shiver raced up his spine. He turned back to Kelsey, realizing she heard it too.
“What do we do?” Adam asked as the roar picked up, driving his fear higher.
“They most likely have a storm shelter or a basement. Let's see if we can find a way in.”
She ran to the barn doors and flung them open. The wind was blowing stronger, the sound louder. They were halfway between the barn and the house when lightning flashed, showing the sky. Over his shoulder, he saw the swirling mass dropping from the clouds. They would die out here. No question the tornado would rip them to shreds. Maybe they should have stayed in the barn.
He caught up to Kelsey and was about to tell her they should go back to the barn when she pointed at the ground close to the house.
“Storm cellar,” she yelled.
He moved closer, grabbed the handle, and pulled. It didn’t budge. Desperation filled him. He needed to find a safe place for them. That storm didn't care who they were or what they'd done in their lives, it only destroyed. Maybe this was Karma's payback for killing Zaeim, but the jerk had been so evil. The man had hurt so many, and all Kelsey had done was try to save others from suffering the same fate she had. This sucked.
Adam planted his feet on the ground and tightened his muscles. Wind whipped behind him. Kelsey stood beside him, her eyes wide with fright. That tornado was coming their way. No doubt, this would get bad fast.
He wrapped his fingers tighter around the handle for the cellar door and tugged again. It budged a little. He tightened the muscles in his shoulders and arms, then his thighs and tugged again, using all his strength to pull the door open.
At first, he didn't think he'd made a difference, then the door opened, and relief filled him. He looked over his shoulder, seeing the tornado so close his body clenched. They were done for if they didn't get in now.
Kelsey raced down the stairs, and he followed, pulling the cellar door closed. She had her phone out, flashlight on, illuminating the stairs. Once in the cellar, he glanced back, thinking those doors wouldn't hold. He spied another door. Kelsey must have seen it at the same time. She reached for the door as he did. They bumped into each other, and both laughed.
She reached out again and closed the door, shutting out a small amount of the noise. They were both breathing hard and shivering. He looked around, seeing a small cot and two folding chairs.
“You can stretch out on the cot.”
“Not without you.” Kelsey snuggled closer but flinched away when something hit the cellar doors. Wind buffeted the door she'd just closed, and the house groaned above. If they'd been out in this storm, they would both be dead.
Something crashed as the storm roared above, they both clung to each other. She was shaking, and he guessed he was too. The sounds of wood and metal ripping apart were frightening and seemed to go on forever.
As the sounds died down above, he realized her nails were digging into his back. She adjusted, loosening her grip. She glanced up at him and shrugged.
“Sorry, I was afraid.”
He stared down into her eyes, realizing he wanted to be the one around to protect her, not that she needed much protection. She could easily be his anchor in the storm, and he could be hers. So far, they'd gone through desperate situations, and he knew relationships weren't built on desperate times. It was the slow heat that built between them in the lulls of excitement that would bring them closer. He longed for those days, but he was glad he had any time with her. He was lucky to have found her again. No question, he would help her, love her, take care of her, and have her take care of him if she let him stay.
Nothing in life had prepared him for this. The storm outside was nothing compared to the one inside his mind battling to stay unconnected instead of asking Kelsey to be his.
He'd been staring at her for too long, his mind focused only on one thing. He had to keep quiet, so he kissed her to keep from spouting his love. This wasn't the time, and he needed to think about how he would build his future with her. She was wealthy, had land, was smart, and he was a drifter who couldn't even stay in the army because of his irrational fear brought on by seeing his friends die.
A wave of depression hit, and he wanted to hide from her, but she held him close and stayed pressed up against him.
The kiss ended, and she ran her hand over his face, then held him behind his neck.
“I thought we were dead out there.”
“Same here.” He kissed the top of her head, knowing he had to find a way to make her his.
After the worst of the storm passed, more rain came, banging on the storm door. They both wanted to stay in the cellar until morning. The dark was too scary and dangerous. Wandering around without being able to see what they were walking on would get them injured. It could be fine, but based on how loud the storm had been, he figured it was far from okay.
They sat on the tiny cot, her wrapped in his arms. Her warmth kept him from getting too chilled, and he hoped it helped her.
Waking after sleeping sitting upright reminded him how tough sleeping rough was. His back ached, and his head felt like someone was knocking on his skull. He adjusted, and Kelsey groaned. She jerked and sat up straight. His arm fell from around her shoulder, and he realized that maybe sleeping with his arm around her had been a mistake.
“Jesus, that storm,” Kelsey said.
“Yeah.”
She stood then looked around, her eyes searching the corners of the room.
“Everything good?” he asked.
“Gotta pee.”
“Hmm, they didn't put in a toilet.”
“Damn, I gotta go.”
He jumped up and pulled open the door. It hung a little on the upper end, making him think something above had shifted. Light streamed in around the edges of the cellar doors.