Page 42 of Through the Storms

Chloe nodded. “I think so.”

Even though it wasn’t yet noon, it appeared as if it were near nightfall. Riley had nearly forgotten the newlyweds were in the van until they rushed down the aisle toward the door. Riley gently pulled Chloe toward her to avoid the stampeding couple.

Chloe smiled up at her, and suddenly, the darkness that loomed over the van seemed to lift.

Without thinking, Riley shook her head to clear her thoughts. When she realized what she’d done, her face heated.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked with concern.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m good. Just getting psyched to see a tornado.”

Oakley would never tire of this feeling of anticipation. The passengers crowded in behind Oakley as she reached for the door handle. She glanced over her shoulder. “Remember, if I call for you to return to the van—return. Don’t stop and take pictures.”

“They’ve got it. Let’s go.” Britt opened her door and hopped out of the driver’s side.

Oakley stepped out of the van and glanced at Asher’s van behind theirs. His passengers poured out of the van, all looking skyward.

Clouds rolled overhead. The wind picked up and lashed Chloe’s hair around her face. It reminded Oakley of how Lana’s hair looked on a chase. A wall cloud was developing; however, they’d stopped far enough away and were unlikely to even get hail.

On their first stop, they normally stayed well back from the storm to get a read on their participants. If the week’s weather conditions were less favorable, Britt would have driven closer, but there was no sense with an abundance of storms forecast this week.

The group moved quickly to the side of the road and joined Asher, who was addressing his participants. Oakley typically left the first stop to him since he had a knack for making things seem more exciting and scarier than they were.

This supercell was small. It might produce a funnel, but Oakley doubted it would touch down. Of course, she couldn’t be certain since tornadoes had minds of their own.

Britt moved up beside Oakley and nudged her. “What are you thinking about?”

Oakley nodded toward the group who were seemingly enraptured by Asher. Most had pulled out their cellphones and were snapping pictures of the looming cloud. “He’s such a ham.” Oakley laughed. “See how he’s positioned himself, so he’ll look badass with the storm swirling behind him?”

“I doubt if we’ll get much from it,” Britt said.

“No, but the radar shows another one coming up behind. I’d say we’ll need to head farther north a half an hour or so.”

“Let them cut their teeth on this one.” Britt grinned. “Look at them. Remember how it felt the first time you stood on the side of the road looking up at something like that.”

The corner of Oakley’s mouth turned up. She remembered. It was like heroin; she was hooked. “Yeah.” She turned to Britt, and their gazes met. “I still get the same thrill. You?”

“Yep. Why do you think I keep driving your ass around out here? It certainly isn’t because I enjoy your company.”

Oakley laughed. “The feeling’s mutual.” She gave Britt a side eye. No way would she want to do this without Britt. They’d been through so much together. Now if she could only get Lana to come out, it would be perfect.

“We should probably go rescue them.” Britt motioned toward Asher, who had his hands raised over his head. “It looks like he’s in rare form today.”

As they walked toward the gathering, Oakley’s gaze shifted between the sky and her group. The newlyweds stood away from the others, snapping selfies. Why did that not surprise her? Peggy and Sandy had taken up residence in front of Asher and appeared to be peppering him with questions. Oakley laughed to herself, no doubt they’d give him a run for his money. Chloe and Riley stood next to each other with their shoulders touching. Riley pointed to the sky, and Chloe leaned in as if to see where Riley was pointing.

“Hey,” Britt said beside her. “Are you picking up on that chemistry?”

Oakley didn’t respond right away.

“Did you hear me?” Britt asked.

“Yeah, I was contemplating my response.” When they’d almost reached the group, Oakley said, “Women can be friends, ya know.”

Britt chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Whatever.”

“Hey, sis,” Asher called over the wind. “They’re asking if you’re going to take the Ashatron out.”

“Not on this one.” She didn’t want to tell the group this storm was too small to waste a run on.