I smiled, squeezing his hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. Now go help your people.”
Chapter 24
Xavier
“Don’t worry about the tents,” I called to the ranch hands that were running around as fast as they could. “They’re insured. Get the tables and chairs into the barn. Linens and flowers go into the main house.”
I glanced off toward the western horizon that had grown dark and heavy. The storm was still a ways off, but it was coming on fast. I felt fear form in the pit of my stomach. I was an east coast boy. Tornados were something you saw on television, not in real life. And even from a distance I could tell this wasn’t just going to be some thunderstorm.
I watched Lucas emerge from the barn, his face set in grim determination as he directed two of the newer hands toward a stack of folding chairs. The wind had already picked up, whipping dust devils across the open ground and making the tent canvas snap like gunfire.
“Xavier!” Beau jogged over, his hat pulled low against the gusts. “Lucas wants you inside. Says there’s no point in you being out here if things go sideways.”
“I’m not hiding while everyone else works,” I shot back, grabbing one end of a table. “I planned this wedding, I’m helping save it.”
Beau grabbed the other end without argument, and we hauled it toward the barn. My arms were already aching—turns out event planning didn’t exactly prepare you for manual labor—but I refused to be the delicate city boy who ran inside at the first sign of trouble.
We’d just set the table down when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, expecting another vendor freaking out about the weather, but Marcus’s name lit up the screen instead.
Marcus: How bad is it out there?
I glanced back at the horizon. The clouds had taken on that sickly greenish tinge that even I knew wasn’t good.
Me: Getting worse. We’re moving what we can.
Marcus: Storm’s tracking northeast. Might miss you entirely or might hit dead on. They won’t know for another hour.
Marcus: Stay inside once you’re done. Promise me.
My chest tightened at the concern in those words. Two days ago, I’d been ready to leave Texas and never look back. Now the thought of something happening before I could see Marcus again made my stomach drop.
Me: I promise. You be safe too.
Marcus: Always am.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and grabbed another chair, trying not to think about what always meant when you were a sheriff potentially dealing with a tornado. Marcus had probably done this dozens of times. He knew what he was doing.
That didn’t stop my hands from shaking.
“That’s the last of them!” one of the ranch hands called out, securing the barn doors. The wind was really howling now, bending the trees at unnatural angles. Lightning flickered inside the clouds, illuminating them from within like some kind of hellish lantern.
“Everyone inside!” Lucas shouted over the wind. “Now!”
I didn’t need to be told twice. We all ran for the main house, the first fat raindrops pelting us before we made it through the door. Beau was the last one in, slamming it shut against a gust that nearly tore it from his hands.
The house was packed with ranch hands, all of us dripping and breathing hard. Someone had turned on the weather radio, and the tinny voice of the meteorologist filled the sudden quiet.
“...tornado warning now in effect for Sagebrush and surrounding areas until nine PM. A confirmed tornado has been spotted on the ground approximately fifteen miles west of town, moving northeast at thirty-five miles per hour. Residents are advised to take shelter immediately in interior rooms away from windows...”
My heart stopped. Fifteen miles west. That was where town was. Where Marcus was.
I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers, but there was no signal. The storm must have already taken out a cell tower.
“Xavier.” Lucas’s hand landed on my shoulder. “He’ll be fine. Marcus has been through worse storms than this.”
“You don’t know that,” I said, hating how my voice cracked. “What if?—”
“He knows what he’s doing,” Lucas said firmly. “And he’s got the whole town looking out for him just like he looks out for them. He’ll be okay.”
