Ty turned up the heat and then opened Winnie’s fridge. He pulled out her sour cream, some milk, and the bottle of lemon juice, and then moved over to her spice cabinet, where he dug around for several long moments. The lid on the pot clanged and jiggled, and he turned toward it and turned the heat off underneath the risotto.
All he had to do now was empty it into a bowl and it would be ready to eat. The fillets rested while he found the bottle of dill and put together a quick sauce for the fish.
“Are we eating out there, sweetheart?” he called.
“No,” Winnie said with a sigh.
He got out plates and silverware before she joined him.
“Let’s eat at the table like real human beings.”
He smiled at her. “Today’s been a weird day for sure, and it’ll be nice to do something normal.”
Ty handed her the plates, and she moved over to the table and started to set it.
“I need to text my momma real quick.” He whisked his phone up from where he’d left it on the counter. “Yeah, she’s called twice.”
He held his fingerprint to the screen and saw that she’d texted a few times as well, the last one saying,Oh, I can see you’re over on Goose Creek Lane. I don’t know whose house that is, but I’m assuming Winnie’s?
Yeah, I’m at Winnie’s, he said.We’re both fine and safe. We’re about to eat dinner. Do you need me to call?
No,his mother said.I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Libby and Paul were here saying you hadn’t checked in on your rancher’s text string for a couple of hours, and they didn’t know where you were. Henry said you’d left the moment you could.
Yeah, Ty said.Winnie was at a training at the hospital in Amarillo and had to ride the storm out in her car in the parking lot.
Oh my goodness,Momma said.Is she okay?
Yeah, she’s all right, but her car got pushed around a little bit, and we had to leave it there. So we’re gonna have to figure that out tomorrow.
There’s a lot to figure out tomorrow,Momma said.I think the dust storm hit hardest on the southern side of town, at least according to Libby. She’s saying that JJ and the Glovers and the Rhineharts are reporting a lot of damage. We were at Bowman’s Breeds, of course, and we didn’t have a whole lot. Some fences compromised, and one of Libby’s cowboy cabins lost a window.
What about Courage Reins?Ty asked.They have that huge front wall of windows.
Yeah, they lost several too,Momma said.But they knew about the dust storm, and they’d moved everything out of the foyer and closed all the doors.
I’m going to eat, Ty said.And then I’ll check in with everyone. I hope I didn’t worry you.
I could see where you were,Momma said.Say hi to Winnie for me.
Ty tapped out of the string and saw that he had overseventymessages from his ranching friends now. A slip of guilt moved through him, but he flipped the phone over and left it on the counter.
“How’s everyone?” Winnieasked.
“They’re okay,” he said. “I’ll go through my ranching texts after we eat.” He pushed the dip across the counter where Winnie picked it up.
“You can just put that halibut on the table too,” he said. “And I’ll get the risotto out.”
He went about doing that while Winnie put salt and pepper on the table and started to brew coffee. They sat down together—Ty with his back to the wall, and Winnie with her back to the kitchen—and he looked across the table to her.
“Can we pray?”
They’d not prayed together previously, but he reached for her hand at the same time she extended hers across the table. “Yes. I’d like that.”
Ty had taken his cowboy hat off when they’d arrived, so he simply bowed his head and squeezed Winnie’s fingers in his. “Dear Lord,” he said. “We’re grateful to be safe in Winnie’s home tonight. We’re grateful for emergency systems that work and rescue operations and communities that can come together in times of crisis. Please bless us that we’ll have willing hearts and strong hands for anyone who may need help rebuilding. And bless any who have lost something today in the dust storm, that it will be restored according to Thy will. We’re grateful for this good food, and ask Thee that it will bless our bodies and do us good and keep us strong and healthy. We pray for these things in Thy name. Amen.”
“Amen,” Winnie repeated.
When Ty raised his eyes to hers this time, something shifted between them yet again. He wasn’t sure if it was because they’d just been through something scary, or because he’d finally cooked for her, or because he’d kissed her, or because they’d prayed together for the first time, but the connection he felt with Winnie seemed to lengthen and strengthen at the same time, driving deep into his heart and binding him to her.
