ChasingSin

by Sara Brookes

  “You shouldn’t—”

  “Hush. This isn’t something that’s up for argument.” His lips brushed over hers and a small thrill of comfort shot through her. “Unless you have other plans, which will still necessitate a lengthy discussion where Snyder and I try to talk you out of it, we’re all going to raise this baby together.”

  She had an idea what he was referring to, but before she had a chance to assure him that wasn’t even a choice for her, the front door burst open. A gust of wind blast through the corridor, scattering the papers full of data strewn around.

  “You two have got to come out back and see this!” Snyder appeared around the corner, drenched from head to toe and wearing a giddy smile. Drops of water glistened on his freshly shaven head and he lifted a hand to scrape them off.

  Kate couldn’t help but grin. “He’s like a kid in a candy store.”

  “Just wait.” Tripp pushed around her and started to follow Snyder as he jogged to the back of the house.

  She had no doubt Snyder would approach fatherhood with as much enthusiasm as he threw into chasing storms. It was that level of excitement that worried her. She didn’t want to deny him that pleasure in his life. Putting a baby in his arms would certainly put a damper on things. She wasn’t out to rope either one of them with raising a child, which is why she’d held off telling them. But Tripp had been too smart for his own good and figured it out before she could say anything.

  She stood by her decision, especially after seeing them interact with one another again. Tossing the baby into the mix certainly put a wrench on their relationship and she’d needed to make sure she could handle it before talking to the men. Those were the type of decisions she meant when she’d told Tripp she needed to work through things before going to Snyder.

  She should have known he was up to something when he’d handed her the mug of coffee. He would have known she’d never drink a cup of decaf in her life. They shared the same philosophy—full throttle or nothing.

  As she shut the door behind her, Tripp stood off to her left and Snyder let out a loud holler to her right. He’s stepped out from the cover of the porch to an unprotected area by the stairs and spread his arms wide to the wind and rain battering at his body.

  “Worse than a kid in a candy store.” She shook her head and watched the monstrous waves churn toward the shore. Tripp had been right, the ocean was rough and angry. The Gulf’s water had been turned a muddy brown from all the sand the storm was churning up and white foam flew through the air from the action of the water.

  Snyder gave another holler as a powerful wave hit the pilings underneath their feet. The house creaked as the water started to recede and she grabbed for the door casing behind her for support. The powerful sea was determined to make its mark on the land, however, and slammed into the piling again before the water even had a chance to pull away.

  Conditions had deteriorated faster than she’d expected and her stomach rolled as she noticed a row of waves that seemed to aim right for their location. This thing seemed to be growing more powerful by the minute.

  “Get back!” She shouted over her shoulder for Snyder the same time Tripp yelled for her. Neither seemed to heed one another’s warning, and by the time she spun to call out to Snyder, the first of the waves slammed into the supports. The house shook violently as the water spray lofted high in the air, soaking everyone.

  The house gave a horrific shake as the ferocious waves slammed into the support structure below their feet. A loud crack split the air and Kate was thrown into Tripp as everything seemed to fall out from under them. Another loud noise rent the air and she wrenched out of Tripp’s firm hold.

  Before she’d taken two steps, she watched the porch disappear under Snyder and he vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

  “No!” she screamed as she ran for the edge, uncaring about the fact the waves slamming into the house seemed to be getting even stronger. She dropped to her knees just before the edge and used the wet surface to slide forward.

  Snyder’s eyes met hers as she peeked over the ledge. He’d managed to catch a piece of wood as he’d fallen when the water had washed out part of the pilings under the porch. Water swirled ominously under his feet and tightened the knot of fear around her heart.

  This could go very bad, very quickly.

  “Give me your hand,” she ordered, inching forward as she extended her hand toward him.

  Snyder shook his head and shifted his grip on the slick wood. “Get back, Kate. It’s not safe. You don’t know when this whole thing will collapse.”

  She did not have time to argue with him on this.

  “Tripp, help me!” Kate screeched over her shoulder, completely ignoring Snyder’s demand. Satisfied when she saw Tripp already making his way toward them, she turned back to Snyder. “We’ve been through too much for me to abandon you now. You’ve always rescued me time and time again—now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

  When he started to protest again, she took matters into her own hands and clamped her hand around his wrist, grinning down at his menacing scowl. “Someone has to be the sane one in this fucked up relationship we’ve started. Who the hell else will teach our kid scruples?”

  His grip faltered and she immediately took the extra weight. She expected her surprising confession would catch him off guard and she was pleased to see she had been right. Tripp’s strong hands enveloped her waist and she pulled on Snyder, her grip fortified by Tripp’s hold.

  They both managed to get their feet under them to use their legs for the leverage needed to pull Snyder from over the brink. The wood slicked with salt water caused Tripp to slip backward and she and Snyder tumbled with him.

  The force of the hit and the howling wind stole her breath and it took a few seconds for her to recover the air she needed to breathe. As she opened her eyes, she found Snyder glaring at her. His anger matched that of the storm’s.

  The corner of her mouth lifted in a wry smile in an attempt to lessen his ire. “Surprise.”

  “How long have you known?” he demanded.

  Tripp clutched her upper arm and encouraged them to sit up. “As much as he deserves an answer to that, we need to get inside before this whole porch goes.”

  Nodding in agreement, she stumbled through the door and Tripp locked it behind them as if it would keep away the violence happening on the other side of the glass. Snyder’s weight crushed against her as he wrapped her in a big bear hug even as the foundation of the house shook when another round of waves hit. Tripp’s arms wrapped around them both and they clutched her as the hurricane continued to rage.

  Together, they formed an unshakable bond the hurricane couldn’t waver. Held in their embrace, Kate realized how wrong she’d been to keep her pregnancy a secret from both men. She also realized how foolish she’d been to leave the hotel that morning without telling them of her fears about altering their lifestyle too much.

  She held Snyder closer and fought to think about the fact she could have lost him in the blink of an eye. Then he never would have known he had a future to worry about. She would probably have nightmares about this whole situation if they made it through this storm in once piece.

  Knowing she still owed Snyder an answer, she pushed her wet hair out of her face and wrapped her arms around her body in an effort to stop shivering. “I’ve known for a few weeks. Flew to Florida to track Hurricane Harriet and spent the flight there in the bathroom. Since I’ve never gotten airsick in my life, I knew something was going on. Doctor confirmed it last week, about the same time Jean starting forming off the coast of Africa.”

  He stepped closer, boxing her in. Warmth radiated from his body despite the fact he was just as soaked as she was. That heat called to her, but she held her ground for the moment. Everything needed to be laid out on the table now that she’d spilled her secret. They both deserved some answers.

  “It was that night at the hotel, wasn’t it? After the tornado in Jewell.”

 
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “I’m not asking either of you for anything. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t exactly leave things on the best of terms.”

  Snyder pointed to where the back porch had been just minutes ago. “And you chose right then to tell me?”

  She winced. “I panicked. I’m sorry. If you don’t—”

  “If I don’t what? Want you? Want the baby? God, Kate, haven’t you figured it all out by now? We love you. We always have. Nothing has changed from that night. Absolutely nothing.”

  “I tried to tell her that,” Tripp added wryly and she shook her head. He wasn’t helping matters.

  Snyder’s gaze narrowed, his eyes flashing hot as he growled. “Wait a second, you knew?”

  Tripp set a calming hand on the center of Snyder’s chest. “You always said I paid attention to things better than you. I figured it out. She didn’t have to say a word.”

  She didn’t need Tripp to stand up for her, but she was grateful he’d done so. “It’s my fault for keeping it from you. From you both. It wasn’t as if I could just call you up and say hey—remember, that hot night? Well, surprise, you’re going to be dads. We don’t exactly live lifestyles suited for kids. That’s why I didn’t say anything. We all take risks without a second thought.”

  “Some more than others.”

  She followed Snyder’s gaze out the back windows. The ones being battered with high velocity rain from the intense winds. With the porch hanging on by a few nails, there was a lot less house between them and the storm than she preferred.

  “Exactly. You both have to know, if I thought I wouldn’t be safe—that our child wouldn’t be safe—I would have never come here. I’m sorry I made a mistake on more than a few things. But the bottom line is that I can’t ask you two to give up your piloting jobs. Or give up any part of your lives for me. That’s why I didn’t stick around.”

  “The hell you can’t. In fact, I don’t think either of us will give you a choice in the matter. We’ll figure it out and make it work. Whatever it takes, got it?”

  “That’s going to be if we live through this.” As if to punctuate her statement, a sharp gust of wind whistled against the roof.

  Tripp snorted. “This will be easy compared to what we’re in store for with a kid.”

  As if in disagreement, the hurricane howled in rage as she battered the beach house. She seemed furious she couldn’t seem to take exactly what she wanted and had missed the opportunity to swallow Snyder whole. The Gulf was an ugly gray color now, angry and raw with its fury as the waves continued to crash ashore.

  The house creaked as it tried to withstand nature’s fury, and from the sound of things, she wasn’t sure they had much more time.

  In fact, she was positive.

  A loud crack sounded outside as the ocean crashed forcefully into the house and a sharp pain radiated up her hip as she was thrown into the counter. Tripp was at her side immediately, soothing his hand over her hip as he pulled her upright.

  She started to reach for her computer, but he snatched her hand away. “Think your equipment is the least of our worries at this point.”

  The house groaned again as another large wave slammed into the pilings that had already taken a beating. “Think it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge.”

  “Where are we going to go?”

  Her answer was cut off by the sharp crack from the back of the house. She turned just in time to watch the rest of the back porch plummet into the chaotic waves.

  “We have to leave. Now.”

  The house groaned as another round of waves battered the already shaky posts. “We can’t leave. She’ll chew us up out there.”

  Snyder grabbed her arm and tugged her along with him. “We don’t have a choice anymore and I’ll be dammed if I’m going to let that bitch have the last say in our lives.”

  Another wave slammed into the house and everything shook. The house gave a deep agony filled groan and the wood underfoot gave an audible pop as it surged forward.

  Kate grabbed for the nearest wall as the entire house shifted and everything went flying. A teeth-jarring rattle shook her bones and she met troubled gazes. They were worried. She’d seen those expressions from them before. The most recent occurring when Snyder pulled her from the tornado in Kansas.

  Suddenly, this wasn’t about studying the storm anymore.

  It was about surviving it.

  “Let’s go.”

  The house shimmied and a loud crack split the air. The flooring fell away, and for a moment they were suspended in mid-air. The feeling of weightless made her stomach heave and she desperately wanted the moment to be over. They met with the floor a few seconds later with a teeth-jarring thud.

  Snyder swore as he got to his feet and pushed her forward. She stumbled, tripping over an area rug, and Tripp shoved his shoulder under her arm, taking most of her weight. The house groaned again.

  “Move it!”

  Needles of pain stung her skin as she ran out the front door. The overwash wasn’t as bad as it could have been, only because of the barrier dune that ran directly under the house. However, judging by the fact the water was up to the running boards of her Jeep, she knew driving would be impossible.

  “We need to get somewhere else. We’re sitting ducks if we’re still out here on the south side of this fucking monster.”

  She stumbled at the bottom of the stairs and both Snyder and Tripp’s arms came around her waist to force her to run at their speed. When they’d reached what she guessed was the street, she turned and watched helplessly as the ocean stole the house, swallowing it whole in one monstrously destructive gulp.

  The wind howled, whipping her hair into her face and reminding her there was no time to mourn its passing.

  Snyder shoved against her to get her moving and they headed away from the shore.

  She clutched at Tripp’s shirt as they all fought against the malicious wind. Salt water filled with pieces of wood from something the storm had already destroyed lapped at her calves. Then the storm seemed to reach its climax, screaming loud and long before the world around them went dead calm.

  Bright sunlight beamed down from a virtually cloudless sky and she stared up in awe. Blue sky stretched overhead and it was as if the past few hours of utter chaos had never occurred. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought it had all been a dream.

  The world seemed so surreal and untainted. The landscape around her painted a different picture.

  “We’re in the eye.”

  This was the first time she’d ever been in such a situation and didn’t know how to judge their time. Her fingers itched to have a computer nearby to look at a forecast model. Had this been a tornado, she would have known without hesitation. “How much time do you think we have?”

  Snyder looked out over the horizon. “Half hour, maybe? We’re going to need to find somewhere safer to ride out the backside of the storm.”

  “Backside’s always the worst.”

  She knew that was only the case because everything had already been beaten to within an inch of its life. And anything that hadn’t been destroyed already would now get the high-speed winds coming from the opposite direction. Instead of the slow build up as in the beginning of the storm, coming out of the eye felt as though someone had shifted to overdrive on a prime sports car and shot from zero to one hundred in two seconds.

  “Exactly why we should get as far inland as we can get in a very short amount of time.”

  She agreed, but a quick glance over her shoulder to what had once been her family’s summer home made her pull away from the men.

  “Kate!”

  “It’s all right. I won’t be long.” She approached slowly, her eyes burning from the sting of tears she fought to contain. The house lay in shambles. A pile of wood, and destruction that would never again be somewhere she could call home. This was the place she’d wanted to be her salvation. The place she found where she could handle this pregnancy and the c
hanges it would bring to her life.

  A flash of color caught her attention amidst the rubble and she immediately recognized the faded windsock she’d brought inside to shelter it from the storm.

  “Kate!”

  She ignored the men, carefully picking her way through the twisted pile of wood, her mind focused on one singular goal.

  The men came up behind her, but she didn’t let that deter her. Strong hands bracketed her waist to provide support and she reached out as she leaned closer to her prize. She plucked the faded strips of heavy canvas from the wood, feeling a comfort settle over her when it was in her possession again. The collapse of the house had further damaged the ornament, but for the most part, the windsock remained intact.

  She turned, stuffing the small memento into her pocket. “Sorry.”

  “That’s all right. It meant a lot to you. We really need to get going.”

  Seeing the destruction of her house made her realize they were fighting a losing battle. “And where are we going to go? We’re on an island a mile wide and in about twenty minutes, the water and wind are going to get worse.”

  “Head toward higher ground.”

  “There is no higher ground,” Tripp fired back at Snyder.

  “Well, we can’t stand here and argue about it. Let’s just head inland some more, at least get away from the shore.”

  She wanted to give up, end the fight here and now because she was exhausted. But she’d never surrendered to a storm before and right now didn’t seem to be the best time to choose that route. There was too much for her to live for now and that resolve was what propelled her to follow the men.

  She followed them for a few minutes, trying to not become lost in figuring out what the pieces in the water around her had once been. Caught up, she was taken aback when she felt the hurricane press against her back. Stunned at the familiar feel, she stopped. Both men turned, surprised at her sudden halt.

  “What’s wrong?”

  There was no one thing she could put her finger on. Maybe it was simply the change in pressure that felt so familiar. She’d experienced that sensation enough chasing tornadoes. All she knew was something was about to change and the danger they faced was about to get exponentially worse.