by Lori Foster
He spoke with a low resonant tone that made her stomach sink. “Can’t what?”
“Give you another shot at me.” He turned to look at her then and his sad smile nearly broke her. “I really thought I could be casual about it, even cavalier. We could have messed around and kept it friendly. But then we made love. I watched you sleep. We made love again.”
“And again,” she whispered.
A ghost of a real smile curved his lips but it faded quickly. “And I realized the truth. You can’t take another shot at my heart, because you already have it. In the palm of your hand.” He let out a laugh that held no amusement. “How’s that for being easy, huh?” He slowly reeled in his line. “I’d say be kind, but it’s too late for that. All I’m asking now is that you make that same clean fast break you made the first time.”
She could barely speak past the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to make a clean fast break.”
His grip tightened on his pole. “Leah.” He let out a mirthless laugh. “You’re killing me here.”
“I know.” Moving close, she took his fishing pole and set it down.
His cat protested with a meow, clearly not happy with the interrupted dinner hunt. Leah sympathized but she had to say this. “I don’t want to make any break at all.” She straddled him in the chair, lifting off his baseball cap, sinking her fingers into his hair.
He groaned, a sound she swallowed when she put her mouth to his and kissed him until their breathing got hot and heavy. When he broke off with a tortured sigh and tried to shift her away, she refused to budge. She managed a smile but it wobbled. “You know, I’d have sworn to you I was a risk taker. I mean, look at my life. I left my hometown at eighteen to find fame and fortune. I leaped at dangerous assignments in war zones, political nightmares, gang treaties….” She shook her head. “But it turns out I’m not a risk taker at all. In fact, I’ve never really taken a true risk, not until right this moment.” She gulped a deep breath and tried to smile again. “When I left here, I tried to put it all out of my head. You, what we had, my love for this place….” She cupped his face, stroked her thumbs over his beautiful lips. “But it kept coming back to haunt me, through every job I held, through every man I dated….”
Wyatt had his hands fisted at his sides but they came up to hold her now, a tenderness filling his expression that filled her with such hope, it was a physical ache.
“I’ve fallen in love with being home,” she said. “And I’d say I’ve fallen in love with you, but—”
“I understand,” he said, and closed his eyes.
“But I never fell out of love.”
His eyes flew open. Searched hers.
“I love you, Wyatt. And I always have.” She bit her lip and ran her gaze over his, trying to get a feel for what was going through his mind, but he was not making it easy. His lashes were guarding his eyes from her, and his face gave nothing away. “I know what I’m asking,” she whispered. “God, I know. But do you think you could find it in your heart to—”
“I never stopped, either.”
She went very still, absorbing the way he lifted his warm gaze to hers, how his hands had come to life, stroking up and down her back with affection and heat, curving under her bottom to drag her even closer.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’m tired. My mind isn’t as sharp as it should be. Could you—”
“I never stopped loving you.” His fingers squeezed once before skimming back up her body to tunnel into her hair. He gazed at her, feeling as if his heart could burst right out of his chest. “All week I’ve been trying to figure out how to pilot you around for your morning reports without having you rip my heart in two.”
“No more ripping,” she said solemnly, gliding her hands up his chest to fist into his shirt. “Unless it’s the stripping-someone-naked kind of ripping.”
Wyatt felt a little stunned by the love shining in her eyes. Love for him. He stood, still holding her wrapped around him. “Speaking of naked…”
“Yes.” She began to unbutton his shirt, reverently kissing the smooth skin she exposed. “You’re so gorgeous.”
He stared down into her rapturous face. “We’re not going to make it to my bed if you keep that up.”
“I don’t need a bed. I just need you.” She set her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Wyatt. We’re going to make it this time.”
“I know.” He kissed her temple, the tip of her nose, and then nipped her chin, figuring he was the luckiest son of a bitch on earth. “We raced through this thing once, Leah. What do you say we take our time this round, and do it right?”
She blinked, then bit her lower lip, dismay chasing the elation off her face. “Yeah. You probably need time to make sure—”
“No.” He kissed her softly. “I didn’t say slow down. I said take our time. And I meant the rest of our lives, with my ring on your finger, and you in my bed every night, and the kids waking us up at the crack of dawn, and—”
Her face lit up with such love his throat threatened to close. “You mean like ‘I do’?”
“I do.” He grinned, feeling lighter than he had in a good long time. “What do you say?”
She grinned back. “I say I do, too.” Her fingers tightened in his hair until he brought his mouth back to hers. “I do, I do, I do….”
Everything you love about romance…and more!
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Bonus Features.
BONUS FEATURES
Bonus Features:
Tribute to our Real-Life Heroes
Behind the Scenes
Hero Interviews
Air Force Officer
Tornado Chaser
Search and Rescue
Author Interviews
Lori Foster
Donna Kauffman
Jill Shalvis
Tribute to our Real-Life Heroes
For military men everywhere, being a hero isn’t something learned. It isn’t about training or duty. It’s an integral part of who they are, at the very core of their basic nature. Whether in uniform or not, during war and peace, with soldiers and civilians, they are the men who care—about family and country, about me and about you. So here’s to the guys who keep us safe, who put their lives on the line to ensure our way of life—not because they have to, but because they want to. Here’s to the real-life heroes, the military men of the U.S.A. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.
Lori Foster
The hero of my story, Cooper Harrison, is modeled after the real storm researchers out there. These are the kind of guys who would probably be the first to tell you they aren’t particularly courageous. In fact, considering their work, they might well tell you they are foolhardy! But there is nothing foolish about the important work they do. They have deep respect for how volatile Mother Nature can be, and they have no qualms about taking her on—they simply do what has to be done. They intentionally place themselves in a volatile, unpredictable, life-threatening situation, in hope that someday they will be able to better predict how and where these deadly and destructive storms might strike, and warn those in their path early enough so they may reach safety. Sounds pretty heroic to me!
Donna Kauffman
Wyatt Stone in Perilous Waters is a fictional character, but I based him on real people who put their lives on the line every day for their chosen professions. In Wyatt’s case, as a search-and-rescue expert, he’s rappelling out of helicopters and dropping into unknown and dangerous locations to make sure perfect strangers make it safely out of tornadoes and floods. The strength and courage this takes amazes me, and so I dedicate this story to all the real-life heroes out there.
Jill Shalvis
Behind the scenes with Real-Life Heroes
You’ve just finished reading three gripping stories involving men of incredible bravery, strength and courage. Now read about the real-life heroes who helped to inspire these stories.
Lori Foster caught u
p with her friend Lieutenant Colonel Rob Mann to ask him a few questions about his career serving his country.
Why did you decide to become career air force?
I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything other than a soldier. When I was younger, I thought I might want to be a marine or army officer. Then when I was fourteen, I joined the Civil Air Patrol and got my first chance to fly an airplane. I was hooked immediately and changed my focus to the air force. I attended college at the Citadel and completed the ROTC program. I came on active duty in 1988, so this May I will have sixteen years of active-duty time.
Can you describe the trials and rewards of serving your country?
Separation is by far the greatest trial of military service. In addition to regular military duties that take me away from home, I have deployed for four different wars and two temporary assignments that were over three months, including a six-month stint at the USAF Weapons School (the air force’s Top Gun school). While I am gone, the family has to do everything I do when I am home. Lawns have to be mowed, driveways shoveled, cars fixed, repairmen dealt with…. I worry about them and they worry about me. It can be very stressful. But bottom line, my wonderful family seems to understand that this isn’t just a job for me. It’s a calling to protect and serve my country, a calling I’ve felt compelled to follow since I was a kid.
What are your current duties?
I am now a lieutenant colonel, and the chief of the B-2 branch of the Air Combat Command Systems Office—Aero at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After training, I began my career in the cockpit of the B-52, later shifting to work in bomber weapons flight testing. My job is to ensure that the B-2 stealth bomber is upgraded and modernized according to the needs of the war fighter.
Being in the service requires a lot of moving. Where was your favorite place and your least favorite?
We have lived in California twice, Michigan, North Dakota, Louisiana, Alabama, and now Ohio, soon to transfer to Florida. Barksdale AFB in Louisiana was my favorite—amazing culture, good weather, and mind-boggling food! I think that most people would probably guess that Minot AFB, North Dakota, was my least favorite but I actually enjoyed my time there, too. My wife will tell you that I liked it because as soon as winter hit, we crewdogs jumped in our bombers and deployed to Guam. There may be truth to that.
I guess that means I don’t have a least favorite. After so many moves, we’ve learned that enjoying an assignment actually has more to do with the people than the weather or locale. My family and I have made friends from all around the country—and around the world, as well. And I’m here to tell you, partying with a Mongolian fighter pilot and his family is an experience to remember!
What is the most dangerous situation you’ve ever been in? And what is the most rewarding?
My most dangerous situation is one that I can’t talk about (how cliché!) but I did fly a few missions in Desert Storm that were a bit more hairy than most. On my fourth combat mission, my crew led a four-ship formation of B-52s to Tikrit, Iraq. Tikrit was so far north that we out-flew our fighters and wild weasels, which left us out there with no support for about an hour. My crew also led a huge twenty-four-bomber formation over Baghdad twice and the missiles and antiaircraft fire were thick!
The most rewarding thing I have done in my career? That would be when I was in a test squadron during the war in Kosovo. I was tasked to develop a method to deliver food packets, called “Humanitarian Daily Rations,” to trapped refugees—dropping the food from a B-52. Over a week-long period, I developed a plan to utilize leaflet bomb canisters, flight-tested the plan, and flew to Germany to brief the USAF Europe staff on the results of my test. After that I flew to England where the B-52s were based to train crews how to employ the “food bomb.” Like I said earlier about what makes an assignment good, it’s all about the people and this offered an incredible opportunity to help countless people.
Interview of Lieutenant Colonel Rob Mann by Lori Foster.
Used with permission of Lieutenant Colonel Rob Mann.
From her home in Virginia, Donna Kauffman interviewed Allan Detrich, full-time photojournalist, part-time storm chaser.
How did you become interested in chasing tornadoes?
It was April 3, 1974. I was eleven years old. My mother was cleaning the house, and I was watching Dark Shadows, a soap opera about a vampire.
The network interrupted the show with a bulletin that said the town of Xenia, Ohio, in southern Ohio, was hit by a devastating tornado.
My mom was in the backyard nervously staring at the sky. Off in the distance was the darkest cloud I had ever seen. There was a very distinct bottom to the cloud, with amazingly clear skies below it.
As we watched the storm front, three small V-shaped funnels formed in a row across the dark cloud. They seemed to stretch and grow. The three funnels swirled and danced as they got closer to my small town. Soon the three became two, and the two became one large tornado dancing on the ground, just to the north of us.
* * *
“The three funnels swirled and danced as they got closer to my small town.”
* * *
The tornado sirens sounded in our neighborhood, and I thought to myself, Any dummy could have told a tornado was coming ten minutes ago. What took them so long? I stood mesmerized by the sight of the tornado, and refused to retire to the safety of our basement.
The tornado headed west and north toward Willard, the town where my father had just gone to work. We turned on the radio after my mother tried to reach Dad on the phone.
The radio said that it looked like Willard would take a direct hit, and it did. The twister took out several trailer parks, and did severe damage to the industrial plant where my father worked.
But he was safe.
Little did I know how that day would influence me.
From that day on I loved watching the stormy skies and I knew that one day I would see a twister up close and personal.
I ended up working at the Xenia Daily Gazette, where I was assigned to cover a group of storm chasers. As a result of these events, I became a founding member of the MESO group (Multi-community Environmental Storm Observatory) (www.mcwar.org).
The more I learn about storms and tornadoes, the more I discover how little I do know.
Does being a chaser require special training?
I learned by studying the storms and storm motions, and by listening closely to my friends who at one point in time knew more about storms than I did. Over the years, I have learned how the storms form, in what directions they move, and what certain looks, as far as cloud formations, mean in terms of danger. This has given me a knowledge that has let me find several tornadoes without much outside aid.
What is the greatest risk you’ve taken while chasing a storm?
I have had several close calls. Five years ago, when I lived in Columbus, Ohio, I was watching radar at home when I spotted a huge cell (isolated storm) heading toward the northwest of Columbus. It was in an area that I could get to quickly via interstate roads. I went west on I-70, then north on a secondary road, and this put me slightly southeast of the storm. I was privy to an amazing lightning storm and dime-size hail. As the storm passed, the wind was much higher, and swirling. I knew I was in for quite a ride. I stopped my truck and decided to wait out the storm in a stationary position for safety. My truck was rocking back and forth and started to move sideways. The wind was probably over 110 miles per hour. All in all, my truck blew about two feet sideways, nearly into a ditch. After I got home, safely, but scared, I found out that there was a tornado embedded in the storm.
Also, on November 10, 2002, I got a call from fellow photographer Lisa Dutton at about 3:00 p.m. She told me that Van Wert, Ohio, had been hit by a large tornado. I had just checked radar and saw some interesting cells out in front of the main squall line. One particular cell was growing by leaps and bounds and was heading just south of Findlay, in a northeast direction toward Seneca County and Tiffin, just fifteen
miles from where I lived.
I talked with the editors at The Blade and they decided to put me on overtime and get my “storm-chasing butt” into the field to see what I could come up with.
I headed south on SR 53, a direct route toward Tiffin, and was met by some amazing cloud-to-cloud lightning and wind gusts to about fifty miles per hour. As I approached Tiffin, I skirted the north part of town along Second Street and stopped quickly to photograph a group of bar patrons looking up at the ominous sky. As I was shooting that, I got knocked on the head by what I thought was a walnut, but discovered was hail. I looked to the south and saw several funnel clouds swirling around each other. In the distance, two funnels pulled down from the cloud base and formed one. I slammed on the brakes and leaned out of my truck window and got about ten frames off of the tornado before the whole town went black. The tornado turned black instantly the second it touched the ground. I tried to get in behind the tornado but was blown from one lane of road to another in a second.
I headed in the direction of the first hit of the tornado and as I topped a hill, a tree blew down over the road. I slammed on the brakes and skidded into the outer branches. I backtracked and found the initial touchdown; it had hit a subdivision and completely demolished several homes. I was there before the rescue personnel and photographed people digging through the foundation for survivors. Fortunately, the only fatality was a dog.
My tornado photo ran in the next day’s paper and then ran in newspapers and magazines all over the world. It was published in December’s Life magazine’s pictures of the year edition.
Have you ever “core punched” into a tornado?
You never want to core punch into a tornado!
What recommendations can you give to someone who is interested in learning how to become a chaser?
Well, there are groups such as MESO that you can join, but our group will not let a new member go out on our yearly chase until they have proven a knowledge of storms and responsibility to the chase team, so you don’t do something stupid and put all your fellow chasers at risk. Also, a sensitivity toward victims of storms, and basic search-and-rescue skills help.