Page 15 of Through the Storms

“I try to be,” Oakley said. “Sometimes I do better than other times.” She turned and smiled. “Isn’t that right, Britt?”

Britt held up her hand. “I plead the Fifth. At least now, but anyone in our van might hear a different story when we’re live.”

Oakley laughed. “I want to introduce you to Britt, my best friend and the driver of the van I’ll be riding in.” She swung around and pointed to Asher’s driver. “And that’s Todd. He’ll be driving Asher’s van.”

“Britt and I have the lead van, where the bulk of the computer equipment is housed. My job is to study the weather patterns and decide on a direction.” Oakley smiled and motioned her head toward Asher and Britt. “Sometimes those two don’t always agree with me. Let’s just say if you have a problem with R-rated conversations, you might want to wear headphones.”

She waited for the group’s laughter and side conversations to die down before she continued. “As I mentioned, we go where the storms take us, so we have no idea where we’ll land each night. We could end up in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, or even stay right here in Oklahoma. Some tours we’ve traveled nearly five thousand miles, while others less than a thousand.”

“Tornadoes have been called the Russian roulette of storms because you can never be sure when and where they’ll hit. Right now, it’s looking as if Oklahoma will have plenty of supercell activity, but I could be singing a different tune tomorrow.”

“In other words,” Britt interjected, “be prepared for anything.”

Oakley nodded. “Yes. Storm chasing is not for the inflexible. I know some tour companies promise five-star lodging. We aren’t one of them. Too limiting. We try to find the best places in the area where we stay, but don’t expect the Ritz.”

“Enough of the boring shit. We’ll play a brief video about storms and storm chasing, but we won’t overload you up front. Some of you watched all the videos that came with your welcome package, while others were probably likehell no.Either way is fine. We want you to have fun and not feel like you’re back in school. But I’m confident that by the end of our week together, you’ll know more about tornadoes than ninety-nine percent of the population. Any questions before we start the film?”

“I thought we were traveling in vans,” one of the older women said. “What’s that…uh…that yellow car thingy?”

Oakley smiled. “My girlfriend said it looks like a lemon Skittle wearing a catcher’s mask.” At the mention of Lana, their earlier fight flooded Oakley’s thoughts, and her mind went blank.

“ThinkTwister, but for real,“ Britt called out, rescuing Oakley.

“Yes, kinda likeTwister. We’ll be telling you more about it over the course of this week.“ Oakley stood up taller. “All you need to know for now is yours truly will be driving that car should the opportunity arise.”

“Will one of us get to ride with you?” the masculine woman dressed like a construction worker called out.

Oakley shook her head and smiled. “I’m afraid not. Our liability insurance would frown on that, but hopefully, you’ll be able to witness it from a distance. Once again, no guarantees that it’ll be deployed.”

“Are you about done?” Asher delivered his line.

The group laughed.

Oakley rolled her eyes. “That’s why I don’t ride in the van with him. He keeps asking if we’re there yet.”

As the group laughed, Britt rolled the video.

CHAPTER 9

The video and meetinghad been fascinating, but Riley wasn’t used to sitting this long, so she needed to stretch her legs.

“Are you sure you’re okay with us sharing a room?” Chloe asked as she stared at the posters cluttering the wall.

“Absolutely.” Riley put extra enthusiasm in her voice, hoping Chloe would meet her gaze.

On the other side of the table, the two sisters, Peggy and Sandy, were busy quizzing the newlyweds, but Riley was only making out smatterings of the conversation since she was more interested in reducing Chloe’s discomfort.

“I’m sorry. I’m usually not this forward.”

“No worries.” Riley put her hand on Chloe’s arm. “I’m all for saving a buck. Besides, it sounds like we’ll only be in our rooms long enough to catch a few z’s, so it makes sense to double up.”

Peggy let out a loud laugh as the groom’s face turned a bright shade of crimson. Chloe flinched at the sound, and her gaze shot to the ruckus across the table.

“We have some free time while Oakley studies the weather patterns. Would you like to take a walk?” Riley hoped it would ease whatever was making Chloe so edgy.

“Please.”

They didn’t speak as they made their way toward the door.