Page 18 of Through the Storms

Chloe laughed. “I do. It’ll be epic, as Mia would say.” Chloe put her arm around Riley’s waist and gave her a side hug.Riley, being a few inches taller, easily put her arm over Chloe’s shoulder and returned the hug.

“Thanks,” Chloe said as they separated. “Enough of my crap. Why do you think Oakley was so upset?”

“Oakley?” Riley said.

Chloe grinned. “Were you too busy fangirling to notice?”

Riley shot her a look.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t see she’d obviously been crying.”

“No.” Riley frowned. “Her eyes were a little puffy. I figured allergies.”

“I don’t think so. I saw her, Britt, and Asher talking when I first got here. Something was going on. Maybe she had a fight with her girlfriend or something. What was her name again?”

“Lana Monroe.” Riley stared at Chloe gape-jawed. How did she not know this?

“Why are you giving me that look?”

“You seriously don’t know who she is?”

“How should I know?” A thoughtful look crossed Chloe’s face. “Although the name sounds familiar.”

“KOOK 13.”

“Lana Monroe, the weather woman?” Chloe’s eyes widened. “They’re dating?”

“For the last eight years. They’re only one of the biggest power couples in Oklahoma.”

“Holy shit.”

Riley laughed. Something told her this week with Chloe was going to be fun.

CHAPTER 10

Lana squeezed her eyesshut and felt the burn. She’d been looking at the computer screen for too long. Carol had left two hours ago, and Lana had been studying the weather patterns since. The more analysis she did, the more anxious she became.

She wasn’t ready to admit that part of her edginess might be because Oakley hadn’t called.Why would she?Lana had made her feelings clear, so why would Oakley put herself into the line of fire?

Lana sighed and opened her email again. She’d read and reread it a dozen times. It had come in late on Friday after she’d left for the day, but she’d not found it until about twenty minutes ago. Her first impulse was to call Carol, but something held her back.

What were the odds that she’d be offered a second chance atthisjob, the same day she and Oakley had their worst falling out? It was more than a falling out. Lana had been prepared to end their relationship before Carol had talked her down. Didthis opportunity change anything? Was it a message from the universe?

Maybe they wouldn’t have to call it a breakup. Lana could simply take the job in L.A., and their long-distance relationship would eventually fall apart. The thought caused her stomach to churn. How could she live without Oakley? Maybe the bigger question was, how could she live with her?

Lana put her head in her hands and groaned. She refused to shed any more tears. It was clear Lana wasn’t a priority in Oakley’s life. Their relationship would always take a backseat to Oakley’s precious storms. When they’d first met, Lana found Oakley’s passion refreshing. They were driven by the same goal, which was to unlock the secrets of tornadoes, to figure out why some supercells produced massive destruction, while others, seemingly identical, petered out.

Somewhere along the line, Oakley’s passion had turned into an obsession. Or was it Lana who had changed? She’d come out of the meteorology program at the University of Oklahoma convinced that she’d be the one to find the elusive answers that had stymied meteorologists.

“Shit,” she said aloud and slammed her fist on the desk. She glared at the open email. Running off to L.A. to be a bobblehead weather woman was far from her dreams, but the offer was tempting. She wasn’t naïve. They certainly didn’t want her for her meteorological prowess. She knew she was attractive. All her life, people had been so busy fawning over her looks that they overlooked her brains.

Lana snorted. Ironic, but she had no doubt that Oakley fell in love with her brains first.Damn it.She needed to stop thinking about Oakley. Her stomach was already torn up, so she didn’t need to make it worse.

She punched the button on her mouse harder than was necessary to close the email. She’d deal with it later. Rightnow, she needed to get a handle on the weather conditions. Something told her this could be a wild week in more ways than one.

Oakley glared at her computer screen. Before she called Lana, she needed to decide which direction they’d start out. Normally, when she studied the radar, nothing else mattered. It was as if she were one with the weather patterns, but today…nothing.

Damn it.Indecision wasn’t something she was used to when chasing. At least, she’d narrowed it down to two potential routes. They could go north toward Wichita or west toward Amarillo. She opened her desk drawer and plucked out a quarter. Would it be wrong to flip for it?