Page 116 of Through the Storms

“We’re not here to chase,” Oakley said. “We’re here—”

“Fred?” Chloe jumped from her seat and slid up beside Oakley.

“Chloe? What are you doing with…with these people?”

“We came to find Mia.”

Fred waved his hand behind them. “Your house is fine. You’re one of the lucky ones.”

“She was at Dennis’s house.”

“Oh.” His face fell. “There was a tad more damage up that way.”

Riley suspected that was a gross understatement.

“We need to get up there,” Chloe said.

“Afraid I can’t let you do that.” He pointed to a group gathering around a gazebo. The sheriff’s got it under control. He’s getting a party together.”

“Fred,” Oakley said and gave him a big smile. “Our van is loaded. We’ve got chain saws, first aid supplies, bottled water, blankets, everything you might need for a rescue. I’m guessing you’re not going to get much help from the county since this thing hit such a huge area.”

His hard expression softened. “Well, I don’t know. We don’t need a bunch of strangers—”

“Strangers?” Chloe said. “You’ve bowled with Dennis for ten years. And Hilary played soccer with Mia when they were younger.”

“Well, yeah. But we need medical people, not storm chasers.”

“Riley’s an EMT.” Chloe motioned for Riley.

Fred’s face lit up as Riley stood and waved.

“And we have a winch on the front of our van,” Britt added.

Fred nodded. “Okay. Drive over to the gazebo. I think we can put you to work.”

As Fred walked away, Chloe dropped to her seat and ran her hand through her hair. “I’m so glad I didn’t have to slap him.”

Oakley smiled. “I think this method was much more effective.”

Oakley marveled at the subtle way Riley inserted herself into the group. At first, the aging sheriff had bristled at the young woman, but then he showed himself to be wilier than Oakley had thought. He’d obviously recognized Riley’s competence and realized she’d make him look better.

It had only taken about ten minutes to organize the group. By Chloe’s pacing, Oakley suspected it was ten minutes longer than Chloe preferred. Four pickups, two skid steers, and the van rolled out of downtown loaded with volunteers.

Britt followed behind the lead truck as they drove north. As happens with many tornadoes, part of the town was in surprisingly good shape. A few branches and leaves littered thestreet, with a few downed trees, but they were yet to approach where the tornado had carved its path.

Chloe sat on the edge of her seat, wringing her hands. Riley sat next to her but had turned to strategize with the volunteers who’d piled into the van. Riley kept one hand on Chloe’s knee as the group talked.

“It was a monster,” one man said. “Roared through here like a dozen freight trains.”

“The Windy Trails subdivision is all but gone,” another man said.

Chloe gasped. “That’s where Dennis’s house is.”

Riley shot the man an angry glare before she turned to Chloe.

“What?” the man muttered. “What’d I say?”

Oakley glared at him, and he stopped talking.