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Diane stepped forward, pushing Violet to the side. “Tell me about what classes you’ve taken. What are you studying?”

Violet bit the inside of her lip. She’d seen Diane do this before, the sudden interest in whatever new plaything was around. Lando didn’t stand a chance.

“Oh, I just finished meteorology with Professor Myers. I’ve taken quite a few earth science classes.”

“Looking to be a teacher?”

“No, ma’am.” Lando bent her knees before straightening them out again, her look slightly demure and one Violet had never seen before.Was Lando playing at coy?It seemed so unlike her.

“A weatherman?”

“No.” Lando seemed to be enjoying this.

“Weather woman?”

“No.” Lando shot Violet a quick glance. “I want to chase storms.”

“What would possess you to risk your life for very little reward?” Diane’s gaze was sure as she stared Lando in the eye, waiting for an answer.

As much as Violet hated to admit it, she was equally curious about Lando’s answer. They’d briefly discussed Lando’s ambitions, but never in any depth. She really should probably take the time to get to know some of her students better.

“I like to work with my hands.” Lando stared right at Violet. Violet shivered under the scrutiny. “I don’t want to stand in a room and read maps. I want to work and put my skills to good use.”

“So go stock a grocery store,” Diane’s quip was sharp.

Lando frowned. “I’ve done that, ma’am. What interests me in storms is beyond that. I love the science behind it, studying the chaos that comes from a storm and moves into the devastating effects that we find in the middle of it and after it. But what really strikes me is that balance of fear and absolute amazement.”

Violet’s chest filled with pride. She understood that feeling Lando had so accurately described. It had taken her years to begin to put words to it, but she’d always been fascinated by the nearly unbelievable. She’d grown up in the high plains, had witnessed the aftermath of so many storms she’d lost count. When she’d taken up photography as a child and into adulthood, she’d often gone in search of those devastatingly beautiful moments when the earth turned against itself. She’d gotten away from the photography in the last decade as she focused on the science and reasoning behind those moments, but she could recall that pull of the storm. Something she’d never been able to give up.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” The predatory tone in Diane’s voice unnerved Violet. She’d heard it one too many times in the decades they’d known each other, and nothing good ever came of it. She would have to step in soon if she didn’t want Lando to end up falling under the same spell she was doomed to live out.

“Well, it’s the truth, ma’am.”

“Enough with the ma’am.” Diane cut her hand across the air. “We’re all friends in here, yes?”

That word stung, though Violet didn’t let the pain flicker on her face.

“Call me Diane.” Once again, Diane reached her hand out for Lando to take it. “Thank you for putting so succinctly what I think all of us in the chasing community feel.”

“Uh…right.” Lando shook Diane’s hand but flicked a nervous glance to Violet.

Violet drew in a sharp breath, needing this to end sooner rather than later. “Diane has been chasing storms for the better part of fifteen years.”

“Oh?” Lando seemed more curious now than before.

That line of conversation had clearly backfired. She’d meant to point out the stark age difference between the two of them in order to put the sexual tension to a stop. Instead, it seemed as though she’d only increased it.

“What got you started in it?”

“That one right there.” Diane pointed at Violet. “She dragged me into the center of a storm one morning, insanely early, and I’ve never been able to give it up since.”

“Were you chasing then?”

The question was directed at Violet, but Diane answered. “No, we weren’t chasing then. We were barely old enough to drive.”

“I didn’t realize you’d known each other so long.”

“Violet, here, is the girl next door.”