Whirlwind Romance

by Kris Bryant

  “Right now? You think of something right now?” she asks. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do or say. I give her a quick squeeze of an apology.

  “I’m sorry, doll. I really am. You’ll find out that my thoughts are scattered all over the place. What just happened here was incredible. You’re incredible.” I feel her relax a little in my arms. I look at the clock. It’s still early. Plenty of time before we have to get up in the morning. Hours for me to apologize all up and down her body. Tonight, neither one of us will get much sleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I don’t want to get up,” Kate says. Her voice is thick with sleep. She’s definitely not a morning person, which is why I waited as long as possible to wake her up.

  “We’re supposed to meet Gage and Hunter downstairs in a half an hour,” I say. I lean down and lightly touch her cheek until she politely moves it.

  “You didn’t seem to mind my touch a few short hours ago.”

  She cracks an eye at me. A slow smile spreads across her face. “That was different.” She closes her eyes again and snuggles down into the covers.

  “I’m going to leave soon,” I say. “I’m hungry.”

  “You would leave this sanctuary of warmth and covers for food?” She asks. I hear her yawn and groan at the same time.

  “You know how I like to eat,” I say. She smiles at me. Yeah, I walked into that one. “I mean, they have a waffle iron downstairs. A waffle iron,” I say. Maybe repeating that will get her moving. “And syrup and butter. Oh. And fruit.” I throw that last one in because I know she cares more about that than waffles.

  “Okay, okay. I’m up, I’m up,” she says. She flings the covers back and drags herself into the bathroom. I sit on the bed, check my e-mail, and write my mom a quick note. Within fifteen minutes, Kate comes out of the bathroom completely ready to go. Her hair is braided back and over one shoulder, which leaves a small wet mark on the front of her blouse. She looks beautiful and serious. She stares at me for about three seconds. “Are you ready? I could use a cup of coffee.” I jump up, kiss her soundly, and head for the door. She’s still a little sluggish, but she follows me out.

  Hunter nods to me to get my attention when we walk into the dining area. Her plate is already piled high with waffles. I look at my watch.

  “We’re even early and you couldn’t wait?” I ask. She smiles at me, a tiny piece of waffle escaping her closed lips. I laugh as she tries to suck it back in.

  “Av couldn’t waif,” she mumbles around a mouthful of food.

  “You couldn’t wait? Like two whole minutes?” I ask. I shake my head at her and head for the waffle iron with Kate right behind me. We get our breakfasts. Mine consists of a syrup soaked waffle with scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast. Kate’s is the predictable yogurt, fruit, and dry toast breakfast. We sit down in the empty seats and jump into Hunter and Gage’s conversation.

  “Well, next year it will be different. We spent so much money on the chaser car that there wasn’t anything really left over. And, thanks to Kate, we’re going to be able to fund more teams and get updated equipment. It’s an exciting time,” Gage says. “This has been a very active season already. Just in the time I’ve been gone, Kate has seen a handful of tornadoes. Global warming, I’m sure.”

  “It’s been pretty crazy so far and we already have so much video and data gathered. I’ll keep us busy this summer recording and understanding all of it,” I say.

  “I don’t even know if I get to help,” Hunter says.

  “What do you mean?” Gage asks.

  “Well, we didn’t get our grant this year so next year is still up in the air. I’m going to talk to Williams to see if I can somehow work during the summer. Hopefully by then, Tris will have something figured out.”

  “Why don’t you just apply for other grants? There has to be a ton out there, right?” Gage asks.

  “Most of them are already issued. I’m about ready to hit the private sector and see if some of the larger companies who headquarter in and around Oklahoma are willing to hand out some funds,” I say.

  “I don’t see why they wouldn’t help. They’re just as affected as everybody else when storms hit,” Hunter says.

  “Kate got us the MWSE grant. I didn’t even know you could actually get government grants, really. The department head worked on the finances. I just spend what they give us,” Gage says. I know he’s still talking, but I’ve tuned him out. I can hear pounding in my ears. I stand up, my chair scraping the floor behind me, drawing even more attention to myself.

  “You got the MWSE grant? You got the grant and didn’t say anything to us?” I ask Kate. I stare at her. My face is so hot, I know it must be red. Kate’s face turns white and she looks away. I can feel my heart hammering in my chest, the loudness inside deafening. My hands shake and I grab my backpack off of the back of my chair to have something to clench before I start throwing shit. Hunter stands in front of me, as if to run interference in case I explode.

  “Yeah, why? Oh, my God. Was that the grant you were expecting?” Gage asks. He looks just as shocked as he sounds. I turn from everybody and walk away. Hunter is close on my heels.

  “What the hell?” Hunter says. “It’s not his fault. It’s not their fault, Tris. You can’t be mad at them.” That makes me stop. I turn to Hunter.

  “I get that it’s available for anyone who does what we do and, yes, I should have tried harder, but Kate knew this whole time. She watched us agonize over it when she was chasing with us. She knew before, during, and after we had sex. Don’t you think that’s pretty important to share with someone you’re close with?” I’m so mad at Kate right now. I see her walking toward us. I can’t get back to the room without walking past her so I turn and walk out the front door of the hotel. Fresh air will help me. I need to think. I walk across the parking lot, headed nowhere in particular.

  “Wait!” Kate calls from behind me. I stop out of habit, not out of need. I really need to cool off right now, not be confronted. “Just stop, Tris. Let’s talk about this.” This should be interesting. I face her. She walks until she is almost in my space.

  “That grant was out there, I found it, and I got it. I didn’t steal it from you. I’m sorry you feel that way.”

  “You think I’m mad because you got the grant and I didn’t?” I take a step toward her. She doesn’t even flinch at my closeness. “I’m mad because you’ve known all this time that we were waiting to hear back about the grant, stressing every day over e-mails and phone calls while you sat in the car with us knowing that we weren’t going to get it.”

  “I didn’t know how to bring it up or even if I was allowed to. I’m so new to this, I don’t know the right procedure for anything. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, I really am. I just have a hard time opening up and you were so easy to get to know. I didn’t want to ruin what we’ve started here so I didn’t say anything to you and Hunter.” Her reasoning stinks.

  “Professional courtesy, Kate. That’s what it’s called. Not that I expect a big thank you, but we took you in when your only other option was to go home. We’re a community. Chasers have respect for one another.” I don’t remember the last time I was ever this pissed off. “And you could have said something before we had sex and I became emotionally invested in this relationship.” I move in even closer to her. I can smell her hair and I hate that a part of me wants to hold her. “I feel so used right now. You got everything. The grant, the sex, your way. I have absolutely nothing else to say.” This time she flinches and, satisfied at her faltering, I walk away.

  Chapter Sixteen

  All three of us are quiet in the car. Hunter is trying very hard to be understanding of my position, professionally and personally. Maddox is fast asleep in the back. I’m trying not to go ape shit over all of my bad luck. In the span of twenty minutes, I went from happiest girl in the world to pissed off bitch with no hope in sight. Hunter is just going to have to deal.

  “Where are we headed?”
Hunter asks. She packed the SUV in record time and we hit the road five minutes ago, breakfast forgotten. She’s trying to get me involved, get my mind off of things, but I’m seeing white right now.

  “I don’t care. Just drive and get us out of here.” I’m looking out of the window, not seeing anything. Thankfully, Hunter kind of knows the direction we should go and starts driving north. She’s very quiet and I’m thankful she doesn’t press me about Kate. I think the silence is worse so I flip on the radio and avoid all heartfelt songs. I’m sure Hunter is going crazy with how fast I’m changing the stations.

  “How about we just listen to an audio book? I have the new Stephen King and I’ve been dying to hear it,” she says. She hands me her phone and I plug it in. Murder and mayhem just might be the thing to settle me down. After about thirty minutes, I’m ready to talk.

  “Am I totally wrong here? Was that a totally shitty thing to do or am I overreacting?” I ask. Hunter hits pause on her iPhone.

  “Yes, it was a crappy thing. I know this feels like Julie all over again, but it isn’t. Kate did the same research you did and for some reason, got the grant. This sounds bad, but I understand why she didn’t say anything. That would have made for a very awkward ten days with us had she said something first.” She holds her hands up at me after I shoot her a horrible look. “We don’t know a lot about Kate and how she operates. We know she’s alone and there must have been a damn good reason why she didn’t share. She doesn’t strike me as a woman who is straight up mean. Before you throw all of this…whatever this is…away, think about it.”

  I hrmpf under my breath, but she’s right. I do have the right to be pissed for a while, so I wallow for another ten minutes.

  “I feel used, you know?” I say. Hunter nods in understanding. “You know I don’t open up to a lot of people. Not the way I did with her. I feel dirty now.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand.

  “Do you mind if we stop? I really need food,” she says.

  I laugh out loud. “We can stop. I’m not hungry though.”

  “Well, we’ll get you a little something just in case.” She knows I’ll eat whatever she puts in front of me. She finds a tiny diner that looks open and we pull into the lot. We are ushered to a booth that faces the car. I can see the tips of Maddox’s ears poking up from the back seat and that gives me comfort. Hunter orders for the both of us while I play with the silverware. “Okay, let’s go through everything. When did she know we were talking about the MWSE grant?”

  I review my memories with Kate. “I think the time we were at the park when we were all just hanging out,” I say.

  “Was the name of the grant even mentioned? I thought we were just talking about the grant, but didn’t actually say which one it was,” she says.

  “Come on, Hunter. I’m pretty sure I said it. Even if I didn’t, there really is only one government grant that gives us money to chase. She even told us how hard it was to get funding for the department. She could’ve said she got a government grant when we were talking about ours and asked us right then what the name of it was. That was the perfect time to come clean. I would have been upset, but not irate,” I say. “And I probably wouldn’t have slept with her.”

  “I’m just trying to be fair to Kate. I would hate to see you throw something good away over a technicality,” she says. “This is her first time chasing so everything is new. People, procedures, equipment. Everything. We know OSU doesn’t hold hands. She probably threw herself into it and came up with the golden ticket. I can’t blame her for being aggressive and going for it.” I smile sadly when Hunter says Kate’s aggressive. Even behind closed doors she’s aggressive, I silently add. “I can blame her for being an ass to you, but it’s a forgivable crime, Tris. Just chill out for a bit. Let’s see what happens.”

  The waitress brings us our food and we eat in silence. It was a good idea to stop for food. I feel better and I know Hunter does, too. Putting distance between me and Kate has helped. I feel more in control of the situation. I don’t know if I can forgive her, though, regardless of what Hunter says. I’m not one to just jump into bed with people I don’t know well. I’m too emotionally invested in people and I took a chance with Kate. Now, I’m flat on the ground wondering where I’m going to get the strength to pull myself up and get on with my life.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I have a bad feeling about this, Hunter.” I’m watching the wedge tornado swirl up ahead. Hunter slows down to give it enough room to cross in front of us. It’s hard to see because it’s so dark, but we can see wood and metal flying around in its debris and I say a silent prayer that everybody is safe. The aftermath of the tornado from last week is still heavy in my heart and I wonder if Gloria, the sweet, little old lady with the injured leg is fine.

  “Yeah, I’m going to pull back because it’s getting bigger.”

  “Yeah, let’s pull over and wait. Doppler says it should pass right in front of us.” It’s nice that neither one of us has a death wish. Hunter pulls off onto a gravel driveway and we wait the tornado out and pray it doesn’t decide to change its course and head our way. About ten seconds later, Gage and Kate zoom by in Frankenstein and we both start yelling at them as if they can hear us.

  “Hunter, he’s going to kill them. We’ve got to stop him,” I say. Hunter reaches for the CB microphone before I can and signals Gage.

  “Gage, you are about to engage the tornado. You need to turn around,” she says. We hear some static, but finally his voice comes through the radio.

  “It’s fine. Going to turn. Out.”

  “Get out of there, Gage. This doesn’t look good.” Hunter is trying to sound calm, but I can always tell when she’s nervous and that’s when I start to lose it, too. I grab the microphone from Hunter’s grip.

  “Gage, get the hell out of there! You’re responsible for yourself and someone else.” I can’t bring myself to say her name out loud yet, but my meaning is clear. “The tornado is crossing right in front of us and you’re headed directly into its path.” Static is my only answer. I throw the microphone down in frustration.

  “Get Kate on the phone,” Hunter says. I reach for my phone and dial her. It rings and rings, but no answer. I get her voice mail. Shit. There is nothing we can do now except watch helplessly.

  “What a total asshole.” I’m so upset with Gage. I can only hold the sides of my head and cry, watching everything unfold in front of us.

  “We can try to get closer,” Hunter says. I shake my head because the whole thing will be over in less than a minute. The longest minute of my life. We watch the fury of wind pick up speed and cross about a quarter of a mile ahead of us. I almost throw up when I see a gray object tossed up and over as it passes the road.

  “Fuck, Hunter, that’s them. We got to help them!” I know I sound hysterical, but for once, Hunter doesn’t scold me. She throws the SUV into gear and guns it. By the time we reach the spot where the tornado crossed the road, it’s already through the field. I don’t see their truck. I’m in full out panic mode. I grab my backpack and my flashlight. It’s still dark from the storm and raining intensely, but I feel nothing. I need to find them. I need to find Kate. Hunter turns her flashers on and points the car in the direction where we think the truck rolled, hoping the headlights will help us see. She races over to me and we take off across the field.

  “Over there, Tris.” She points the flashlight to where the shaft of light reflects off of gray metal. My heart sinks and I almost fall to my knees. The truck is smashed completely. No, no, no. Hunter reaches the driver’s side and shines her light in. I automatically race over to the passenger’s side and shine my light in to find Kate. I’m greeted with Kate’s head leaning against the shattered glass, a gash along the top of her forehead and by her ears. Her eyes are closed. I have to swallow the bile rising in my throat. Please be okay, I pray. I can’t open the door so I yell for Hunter. I see Gage stirring so I know he is at least conscious. The storm drowns out my voice so I race a
round the car and grab Hunter.

  “The door is stuck. I can’t get it open,” I yell not only because I’m panicking, but because she can’t hear me over the thunder and rain surrounding us.

  “Let’s get Gage out, then you can crawl through this side,” she says while pointing at the door. I nod in understanding. She gingerly helps Gage out. I’m about two seconds from beating the shit out of him, but Hunter gets in between me and him and looks at me. “Another time, Tris. We have more important things to do here.” She sees how angry I am and I’m glad she stopped me because God only knows what I would do to him if I got my hands on him. “Go in there and see if you can get Kate to wake up.” She sits Gage down on the ground and covers him with a raincoat she finds inside. I crawl in and do my best to wake up Kate without moving her.

  “Kate. Kate. Can you hear me?” Her face is covered in blood and I don’t know where it’s coming from. Thankfully, I can see that she is breathing so I know she’s still alive. “Kate, if you can hear me, say something or move your finger or something.” The desperation in my voice sounds foreign to me. Hunter peeks in.

  “What’s going on?” she asks. The look on my face sums it up for her. “I’m dialing 9-1-1.” I check the base of the radio and flip it to the emergency station. I call in our coordinates to the best of my recollection. Hunter yells that the EMTs are on their way and that she’s going to move Gage back to the SUV. He’s wobbly, but fully alert now. I can barely look at him. I nod to Hunter and she slowly makes her way back the way we came.

  I take a quick inventory of Kate’s body. The metal is crushed against her body, but nothing has broken through the door so nothing has stabbed her. I run my hands along her body. There’s a bump in her arm and she moans slightly when I touch it. I pull my hand back, my stomach twisting as my brain registers a broken bone. I focus on the good. I concentrate on the fact that she was conscious enough to moan. I reach down to run my fingertips over her hand, afraid if I try to hold it, I’ll injure her further. Instead I stare at her, whisper words about our time together and touch her gently where I think it’s okay. About fifteen minutes later, I hear sirens and slip out of the truck to flag down the EMTs. At least the torrential rain has subsided into a steady drizzle. They hustle over to us and I try to give them as much information as I can.