Page 50 of Through the Storms

Britt shot her a look and said under her breath, “That might have been the lamest attempt at diversion I’ve ever heard. You need to up your game, Oak.”

The light turned green, so Britt accelerated through the intersection. She turned up her nose at Oakley and said, “You’ve got about nine minutes.” Britt held up her wrist and pretended to check a nonexistent watch.

“I know conditions look better to the north,” Oakley said.

“That was easy. North it is.”

“That’s not what I said.” Oakley glowered. “I have nine minutes.”

“Eight.”

“Whatever.” Frustration rose in Oakley. This was the proverbial bringing a knife to a gun fight. She had little ammunition to explain her position. The only thing she had was to appeal to Britt’s emotions.

Oakley groaned.Right.Her chances just got slimmer. Britt wasn’t exactly warm and cuddly. “I don’t want to get too far away from Lana,” Oakley blurted out.

Britt shot her a glance before she turned her gaze back to the road. “That wasn’t what I expected. Do you think she’s cheating on you?”

“Where the hell did that come from?” Sometimes Oakley wondered how they were best friends when she couldn’t follow any of Britt’s trains of thought. “No, I don’t think she’s cheating.”

“Geesh. I just asked.”

“And why would staying closer to Oklahoma City help if she were?”

Britt shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you wanted to sneak down in the middle of the night and catch her.”

Oakley rolled her eyes. The comment didn’t warrant a response. “The Weather Service has issued preliminary warnings that by week’s end conditions around Oklahoma City could be ripe for an uptick in storm activity.”

“It’s only Tuesday.” Britt narrowed her eyes and studied Oakley for a few beats before returning her focus to the road. “That’s two whole days. An eternity in the life of a storm chaser.”

Oakley sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “I know. I just can’t shake this feeling. I want to be within reach should something heat up.” There, she’d said it. Oakley leaned back in her seat.

They drove in silence for a bit. Oakley wondered how many minutes she had left to convince Britt. It didn’t matter. She had no more arguments to persuade her friend.

“I’ve got an idea,” Britt said. “A compromise.”

Oakley perked up and slid to the edge of her seat. “What do you have in mind?”

“You don’t want to get too far from home, and I don’t want to go east today.”

Oakley nodded.

“But it doesn’t matter where we go. It matters where we end.”

“Meaning?”

“We go north today.” Britt held up her hand, probably thinking Oakley would object. “Then we drive back to Wichita tonight instead of staying in some dive up north.”

“But we’ll be on the road longer.” Oakley motioned with her head. “I doubt they’ll like that.”

“Leave it to me.” Britt smirked. “Hey, crew,” Britt called out. “I had an amazing night’s sleep last night.”

Oakley gave Britt a side eye. What was she up to?

“I’ve convinced Oakley to go north for the chase today, but I don’t want to stay in a fleabag like we did the first night. What do you guys think?”

There was no disagreement.

“Sounds like the ayes have it,” Britt said. “We’ll likely be on the road a little longer tonight, but I’m okay with that for a nice soft mattress that roaches won’t carry away.”