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“I like to check the cattle before it hits and after. They say there might be hail in this one.”

Violet shook her head. “No hail.”

“You sure?”

Sending Eli a sidelong look, Violet nodded. “I’m sure. This is literally what I do for a living.”

“I thought weather couldn’t easily be predicted.”

Violet sighed. “Not all storms can, but this one is relatively calm. We’ll get a good dose of rain, lightning, thunder, but that’s it.”

“How much rain?”

“Half inch, maybe. Enough to get wet but not enough to drown.”

“Good.” Eli turned off the traveled road and onto the farmland. They drove in the quiet for a few more minutes before Eli stopped. “You can get a good view from here.”

Stepping out of the truck, Violet stared out at the fields before her. Eli wasn’t wrong. It was breathtaking. They could see for miles, though with the storm coming in that would diminish every passing second. Lightning flashed in the distance, striking down. Unable to resist, Violet adjusted the shutter speed for a long-exposure photo and settled the camera on the hood of the truck since she hadn’t brought a tripod.

She spent her time taking photos of the lightning, the bolts hitting the ground. She lost herself in it, consumed by the process of creating. She knew the storm was going to bring that home for her, that she would be able to clear her mind for a few more seconds before she went back and tried to figure out exactly what they were doing for the rest of the season, how she was going to make it through.

Cold air rushed over her cheeks, and she knew the rain would hit soon. She finally looked up and found Eli leaning against the back the truck, waiting on her. Violet calmed herself, turning off her camera. She moved to the bed of the truck to get Eli’s attention.

“Thanks for bringing me out here.”

“Find what you needed?” Eli raised an eyebrow in her direction.

Violet sighed. “No, but it was a good distraction.”

Eli’s lips quirked slightly. “Cattle usually are.”

“Not the cattle.” Violet chuckled. “But the storm.”

“Ah, well…hold on to your britches, Cassie’s coming.”

“Cassie?”

“My favorite cow ever, but shhh, don’t tell the others.” A large brown cow came over, pressing her nose into Eli’s shoulder to get her attention. Eli reached up and caressed her cheek before trying to shoo her away. “She thinks she’s the bee’s knees.”

Violet laughed. “So does Diane, actually.”

“Didn’t find that storm you were looking for this morning?”

“There was no storm,” Violet muttered. “I don’t know what she was thinking.”

“I might.”

“What?” Violet turned on her, ready for any kind of explanation.

Eli shrugged. “Ask Lando. I bet she knows, too.”

Confused, Violet didn’t push. If Eli didn’t want to tell her, that was going to be the end of it. Violet flipped through some of the photos she’d taken on her camera.

“Can I see?”

“Sure.” They sat there for a few more minutes, going through the raw images before Violet shivered. “We should go. It’s going to hit us soon.”

“Yup.” Eli stood up and got into the cab. Violet followed. They drove through another field, rain hitting the windshield the whole time. Eli drove back to the house, dropping Violet off before parking down at the barn.