Tumbleweed (15 page)

Normally on December 26, I awaken at an ungodly hour to join my sisters for shopping and lunch. Of course, I usually complain loudly about the crowds and roll my eyes at their advice for my flailing life, but it was a ritual nonetheless, and I did enjoy the sales. I kind of missed that this year.

To take my mind off where I would normally be, I kept myself pretty busy all morning wrapping up some of the year-end accounting. Aaron and Ethan were intent on a game of Scrabble – too bad neither one of them could spell their way out of a paper bag. They eventually got tired of me pointing out the misspelled words every time I walked through the house for something and banished me.

I was full of restless energy, so I decided to take a look at the eco-project paperwork sitting on my desk. We'd come up with a plan to implement a combination of wind and solar energy. I needed to go over the numbers and project documents one last time and give the nod for work to begin. With a sigh, I picked up the phone to call Jim.

“Hailey! Happy Holidays!” Jim seemed genuinely happy to hear from me.

“Same to you, Jim. I wanted to run these energy numbers by you if you have a second.”

“You know you can take a day off, right?”

“I like to work.”

“Ah, I see. You know, Ethan must be really crazy about you if my warning couldn't keep him away.”

“Sue needs to butt out,” I growled. “Ethan was hurt. Aaron and I staying there was completely innocent. We've moved back into our cabin anyway.”

“I'm not trying to be your father Hailey; you're a grown woman. And you're right; Sue does need to mind her own business, but she's not going to, so let it roll off of you. I just didn't want to lose you because you'd gone and got your heart broke.”

“What? Why do you say that?”

“Any idiot could see the way you two hit it off. It was just a matter of time before one of you figured it out.”

“So, your warning was more of a litmus test?” I ventured.

“You could say that. Hailey, you're the best thing that's ever happened to this farm. We're in the black for the first time since we opened our doors. If you fall in love with Ethan Johnston, I'm certainly not going to fire you for it.”

“Good to know….hey…. who said anything about love?”

“Didn't you have some numbers to go over?”

“Yeah. Sure. But I am not in love with Ethan Johnston.”

“Sure, Hailey. Whatever you say.” His voice said he wasn't buying it for one second.

“Is it that obvious?” I deflated. “Never mind.”

I dove into my recommendations for going green, but not before I caught a glimpse of Ethan walking away from my door. Well crap. I shoved confusing thoughts aside and focused on getting final approval from Jim. He agreed with my recommendations, as usual, and I quickly moved on to leaving messages with contractors who probably had better things to do on the day after Christmas.

Aaron and I went shopping for tack that week. I was edging closer to committing to buy him that horse. I really wanted her, probably as much as he did, but I was terrified I wouldn't be able to
take care of her. Somehow I'd screw it up and it would be one more thing to feel guilty about later.

The place was soon bustling with contractors, and that made it easier to ignore any feelings for Ethan that reared their ugly head. That didn't stop me from worrying about him as he pushed himself too hard. Sometimes I'd catch myself watching him instead of paying attention to what I was doing. After hammering my thumb a couple of times while I was supposed to be mending a fence, I got better at paying attention to the task at hand. Except when he stood too close. Then there wasn't a force on Earth that could keep the breath from catching in my throat or the fire from smoldering in my belly.

With Aaron back at school, my buffer was gone. Sometimes when I just needed to get away I would wander down the road to check on Allie. The hay was still magically appearing. There wasn't much need to break up her water today; it was ridiculously warm for January. No one had seen hide nor hair of Hobbes since the day I shot at him in the woods. Or rather, the day he thought I shot at him in the woods.

The rain started to fall as I reached the edge of Hobbes' property. Trespassing or not, I ducked into the pasture to wait it out in Allie's lean-to. She licked my hand and nickered a hello.

“Hey baby girl,” I rubbed her cheeks affectionately and told her all that was weighing on my mind. She was a patient listener, kinda like Mac. When the rain slowed, I hugged her neck and told her goodbye then headed back to the farm. I heard the tell-tale rumble of a school bus coming down the road, so I waited at the end of our drive. It would be a nicer walk with Aaron.

“Hey kid,” I smiled at him.

“Hey mom. Is everything okay?”

“Perfect. Just good timing is all. I was checking on Allie.” I slung an arm over his shoulder.

“You know Ethan doesn't like it when you go there alone.” His tone of voice suggested that he knew I was going to be in trouble.

“Ethan's not my boss,” I protested belligerently.

“Actually, he kind of is.”

“Who asked you?” I tickled his side.

“What? He is!” Aaron laughed.

“Wait. Be quiet.” I stopped dead in my tracks and looked around me. The woods on either side were suddenly still. Eerily still. I'd seen this kind of still before, as a child. About a minute before the neighbor's shed got tossed into our yard.

“What is it?” Aaron looked around nervously.

“Stay with me, no matter what,” I laced my fingers through his. “Now run.”

I took off in a sprint, pulling Aaron along behind me. It felt a little ridiculous at first, running like a demon was on our heels when the rest of the world stood so motionless all around us. I felt the dull roar before I heard it. Like a train pressing on our heels, it spurred me to go faster.

I could see the cellar now. Ethan was standing at the door, ushering workers in and scanning the area for me. I shoved Aaron down the stairs before turning to take my first look at the sky behind me. A massive black vortex snaked along the path where we had just been. Like a finger extending from heaven, it tossed trees from side to side as it came. My eyes tore away from the destruction to lock with Ethan's for the briefest of moments before we both ducked inside, pulling the door behind us.

I know in my head that a tornado only lasts minutes, but growing up in Missouri taught me that when there is one playing in your backyard, minutes can feel like years.

Ethan grabbed me and pulled me to him, wrapping his arm around me protectively even as he pulled Aaron to his other side. I hugged Aaron to me with one arm and looped the other around Ethan's waist. We stood there entwined until the last sounds of wrenching metal and snapping trees faded away.

“Stay here until we check it out.” I kissed Aaron on top of the head. He nodded solemnly.

Ethan took my hand in his and together we emerged from the cellar. Our eyes scanned in the horizon, at once assessing that it was safe to come out, and that we had been hit hard. Aaron and the workers followed once we motioned that it was okay. Stunned, we
drifted a little aimlessly through the rubble. I stepped over a pile of wood; tears welled in my eyes as I stood in the middle of what used to be our round pen. Not one building had been spared. Even the main house had a huge chunk bitten out of the roof. Our beloved little cabin was completely gone. Ethan's cabin had fared little better.

Sue stumbled out of the main house and my relief to see her was immediate. Seeing her made me realize that in the chaos, I didn't really know if everyone had made it to shelter. I quickly whirled about, counting heads.

“Hailey, we're going to take what cars made it and run back into town to check on our families. We'll be back later to check on you guys.” One of the workers placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Okay, Jeremy. Let us know everyone's okay,” I patted his hand and smiled at him. A truck kicked up gravel on the road as it bounced our way. Cheyenne burst out of it and barreled towards her mother. David made a beeline for Ethan and the two ducked their heads together immediately. Each nodded and they parted ways. David pulled Cheyenne away from her mother; they got back in the truck and left, no doubt on a mission from Ethan. He watched them go before joining me in the remains of the round pen.

Now that the fear had passed and the surrealism was dissipating, a heavy weight settled over us all. Aaron looked from me to Ethan and back with wide, uncertain eyes. I blinked back the tears and turned to Ethan.

“What now?”

“I don't know what'll happen now.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I don't mean in general, I meant right this second,” I sighed. “Where do we start? Making burn piles? Inventory? I've never done this sort of thing.”

“Me either, to be honest. Let me try to get a hold of Jim before we do too much. Can you see if any of our records or computer files made it? Cheyenne and David are going to ride the perimeter to check the fences and round up the horses. Hopefully we haven't lost anyone.”

“Oh my gosh, Tumbleweed!” I grabbed Ethan's arm. “He's okay, isn't he?”

“I don't know. I would imagine they're all okay. Cheyenne and David will find them. The phone lines are down here. I'll run into town to see about getting a hold of Jim.”

“Find out if the insurance agent will want pictures or a live tour,” I reminded him.

“Good thinking.” He gave me a quick hug. “I'll be back as soon as I can. You going with me, Aaron?”

“Yessir.” Aaron seemed to be Ethan's shadow these days, so his response didn't surprise me any. Still, there was a part of me that wished my little boy still needed me. Heck, I guess I was wishing he was still a little boy. He was quickly becoming a young man. A young man without a home. That much I knew as I surveyed the damage around us. I'd probably need to find us a roof for tonight. Would Ethan be staying here with the horses? Should we? What was the protocol in this sort of situation?

Suddenly I could feel it all crashing down on me. It was gone. Maybe forever. Home. I sat down in the middle of the remnants of the round pen and cried. Once my emotional storm passed I picked myself up, dusted my rear off, and went to see what I could salvage in my office.

It probably wasn't all that safe even being in the stable, but I had to do something to keep my mind off the fact that I hadn't seen or heard Blue or Rover since early that morning. I picked my way around fallen beams and was pleasantly surprised that I could get into the office. Tears sprang to my eyes again as I remembered how many hours I'd spent organizing this room not six months ago. Fat lot of good that had done. Mother Nature had turned my files on their ears. Papers were everywhere and dripping wet. Of course, so was my computer. The safe stood where it always had and was within easy reach, so at least I knew the most important of papers should be okay. I would have checked but I heard a distant but distinctive bawl.

My face lit up and I started the painstaking process of picking my way back to the entrance of the stable just in time to see a very welcome sight running across the fields toward me.

“Blue! Rover! Come here boys!” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. Blue's cheeks and ears flapped in the wind as he covered the distance between us. Rover moved in leaps through the grass. I fell to the ground to embrace them both as they tackled me. I was stupidly happy to see my goofy dogs. We had just settled into a silent appreciation of the moment when Blue's ears perked up, then Rover's. I could hear the faint rumble of Ethan's truck coming down the driveway and I grabbed the dogs by their collars. Last thing I needed was one of them getting hit today. When Aaron jumped out of the truck, I let the dogs go so they could tackle him, too.

“Hey there handsome, fancy meeting you here.” I smiled saucily at Ethan. Silliness is an excellent defense against mental breakdown, in my experience.

“Hey beautiful.” He covered the distance between us in a few short strides and swept me into his arms for a lingering kiss.

“What was that for?” I rested my head on his shoulder.

“Taking advantage of the emotions of the moment,” he admitted, resting his head on mine. “That, and seeing your ‘Rock Star’ panties got me kind of worked up.”

“What?” I pulled back to look at him like he was nuts, before following his gaze to a nearby tree. “Oh for the love of … I'm switching to granny panties.”

“Oh, come on now. Where's the fun in that?” He laughed so hard tears came to his eyes as I stalked over to the offending tree and yanked my underwear out of its branches. That's when I noticed a black lace bra hanging from another branch. Then another pair of undies, and a sock. Soon I was following a trail of clothes, which is apparently the down side to hanging your clothes on a line. The good news was that I soon found enough clothes to get Aaron and me through a day or so.

“How did I not see these earlier?” I wondered, tossing the clothes behind the seat in Ethan's truck.

“Gee, I don't know, shock maybe?” Ethan cocked his head and smiled at me.

“We're going to be okay, aren't we?” I came to a stop in front of him, taking his hands in mine.

“Of course. It could have been a lot worse.”

“I don't want to think about it.” A shudder ran the length of my spine. If I hadn't been there to meet Aaron's bus today…. Anyway, I really didn't want to think about that. “How's town?”

“There was some damage on the square. That was mostly straight line winds. I heard a farm on the other side of town got hit with a twister, too. I think we got the worst of it.”

“Lucky us. Any word from David or Cheyenne? Should we load up and go look for the horses, too?”

“I did talk to them, but first things first. I called your folks. Thought they might hear about it on the news and didn't want them to worry.”

“Thank you.”

“And Jim is flying into Springfield tonight. He wants us to pick him up at the airport. We'll all spend the night in town and meet the insurance adjuster here in the morning. Once we've met with them we'll know a little more about what to do next.”

“I'm glad they're coming that fast.”