“You don’t have to worry about it tonight. Splint, Spazz, and Drew are staying up to monitor the weather. They’ll wake us up if we need to move to the basement,” he said as someone lightly knocked on the door.
He opened it to reveal Landon and Spazz. “We’re still on for movie night, right?” Landon asked.
I smiled and looked at Grant. “Landon and I were planning on watchingTwisterat my house before you invited us to the clubhouse. Can we watch it in here?”
Grant chuckled. “That’s an interesting choice, but yeah, I’m down for movie night. Do you want me to go get some snacks from the kitchen?”
Spazz held up the bag he was carrying. “Already taken care of.”
Landon climbed onto the bed beside me and we scooted to the middle to make room for Grant and Spazz. It was a tight fit, but I had no complaints because I felt safe and secure squished between my new man and my best friend. It wasn’t long before I was fast asleep.
* * *
I wokewith a start to Landon gently shaking my shoulder. “Get up, B. We need to get downstairs,” he said urgently. “I’ll get Kalen. Wake up Grant and get the diaper bag.”
“I’m awake,” Grant said and got out of bed.
“Is there a tornado?” I asked as we hurried downstairs. There were several people already in the basement and many more coming down behind us.
Before Landon could answer, cell phones started going off with emergency notifications.
“There’s a tornado on the ground about three miles from here, and it’s headed in our general direction,” Landon said quietly and led us to a corner of the main room. He gestured to the chairs lining the wall. “Will this spot work for you?”
“Anything below ground is perfect,” I said honestly and took a seat. He handed Kalen to me. He hadn’t fully woken up, and I was hoping he would go back to sleep once we were situated.
Grant placed Kalen’s infant carrier on the floor in front of me. “I wasn’t sure how long we’d be down here, so I brought this in case you want to put him down.”
“That was a great idea,” I said. “He does get heavy after a while, and he’ll probably sleep better without being shifted around every few minutes.”
I placed Kalen in his seat and gently rocked him until he appeared to be sound asleep again. Then, I sat back in my chair and waited.
Grant, Landon, and Spazz did their best to distract me, but their attempts were in vain. Even in the basement, the storm was loud. I could clearly hear the wind howling and thunder booming. Then, almost as if someone flipped a switch, everything stopped, and silence surrounded us.
I moved from my chair to the floor and scooted Kalen beside me. Grant did the same and placed himself on the other side of Kalen’s seat. Landon filled the spot on the other side of me and took my hand in his. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he whispered, “It’ll be over soon.”
“I hope so,” I whispered back.
The imaginary switch flipped again, bringing the wind and thunder back with a vengeance. Cracks and crashes could be heard in the distance, and I could only imagine what they were—likely trees snapping and houses being demolished.
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the breathing exercises I learned to help with my anxiety. I counted with each inhale and exhale, over and over, until the noises outside started to fade.
“We’re not in the clear yet, but the worst of it is over,” Spazz announced to the room.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He turned his laptop toward me so I could see the screen. “Yes,” he said confidently. “We’re this dot right here, and this is the cell that produced the tornado. The storm isn’t completely over, but it’s safe to go back upstairs as far as the weather is concerned.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, trying not to overreact to his words.
“A few of the brothers will go up first to make sure there wasn’t any structural damage to the clubhouse. Once they say it’s clear, we can go back to our rooms,” he explained.
I glanced at the time on my phone. It was almost four o’clock in the morning. I highly doubted that I would be able to go back to sleep once we were allowed to go upstairs.
13
BLAKELY
Iwasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep after the events of the night. The majority of the clubhouse stayed awake. Thankfully, Kalen didn’t have the same problem.
