Worry prickled at me like ants under my skin. I knew she could handle herself in the rain—better than I could, anyway—but anything could happen in this kind of storm. I wasn’t quite ready to build an ark, but almost.
Mrs. Presley waltzed in and looked out the window. “Every decade or so, a storm like this rolls in and messes everything up. I hope it clears up in time for the bake-off, but if not, we’ll figure something out. Dessert always finds a way.”
I was about to text my assistant to find another ride for the media team, but she texted me first. The storm wasn’t just in this part of the country. It had grounded planes across multiple states. Their flight had been canceled and I didn’t have to drive anywhere.
The relief I felt was like aloe vera on a sunburn. Tyler’s truck could barely function on a sunny day. I wasn’t sure how it would hold up in the rain. I had considered abandoning it at the airport and getting a rental, but I figured I could make that decision when I had to.
Tyler might be upset, but screw him. A decent mechanic could have built me a brand-new car by now, but my vehicle was sitting dead in their garage, waiting on Shane, who was still on fucking vacation. I wanted to judge him for taking so much timeoff, but my time in Ferris had been a bit like a vacation. Sure, I had been working nonstop, but spending time with Shelby had been too fun to feel like work.
I hoped she was okay.
My phone buzzed again but not with a text. It was a severe weather alert. A tornado watch was just issued, which was a first for me. The only twisters in LA were on movie screens.
The house phone started ringing and Mrs. Presley shuffled away quickly to answer it. I heard her speaking in worried tones and then she said, “He’s right here. I’ll tell him.”
I hopped to my feet, on high alert, and found Mrs. Presley out in the hall. She was just hanging up the phone. “What’s going on?” I asked her. “What do you need to tell me?”
“That was Lila,” she said. “She’s panicking because Shelby was driving home earlier today but she and Jake haven’t heard from her.”
I quickly rattled off a text to Shelby, asking if she was all right. I held my breath for an entire minute, waiting for a response, but if she wasn’t texting her friends back, I doubted she would respond to me. When an answer didn’t come, I stowed the phone in my pocket and looked at Mrs. Presley.
“Tell Lila I’ll go check on Shelby. I’ll let you know if I find her. And you do the same.”
Mrs. Presley nodded. “I will. Be careful. We don’t have anyone to send out looking foryou.”
I grinned at her as I shrugged my raincoat on. “How about a kiss for luck, Mrs. Presley?”
She giggled and covered her mouth, suddenly fifteen again. “Save it for Shelby, lover boy.”
With that, I rushed out into the storm, bracing myself against the wind.
CHAPTER 13
SHELBY
Imade it halfway to Halston before I gave up and turned my van around. The weather had been rough when I left, but now it was getting violent. I couldn’t hear anything over the roar of falling water. Sharp gusts of wind rocked the van, threatening to flip me off the road like an angry toddler with his peas.
Luckily, the van was heavy enough with me in it to keep us earthbound, and I congratulated myself on eating a full stack of pancakes that morning. Those flapjacks might have saved my life.
My doctor might disagree, but I would have to survive this drive before I had to worry about health issues down the line. The rain was coming down too fast for the wipers to clear it. Visibility was down to nothing, and I was barely able to see ten feet in front of me.
It was slow going, but eventually, the turnoff leading home came into view. The road back to my farm was a river of muddy water, like chocolate milk but less delicious. I navigated through it without too many problems. This was my land and I knew every bump and dip leading to it.
I pulled up in front of the house, sweating beneath my raincoat. The porchlight was on because the sky was darkenough to trigger the sensor. I wanted to run toward that light like a moth, but getting back to the farm had only been the first hurdle. Now I had to brave the elements to go get all my ladies secure.
I might not be a mother, but I protected my birds like my children. This wind was not playing around. Anything loose would go flying, and my girls could get hurt. That wasn’t an option. Being a farmer meant getting out there on the hard days, too, not just when the sun was shining and I looked cute in my overalls.
I took a deep breath and left the relative peace of the van. The noise was like standing under a waterfall. At least Carter had returned my rain hat, keeping me dryish, but it was like wearing a snare drum on my head. The drawstring dug into my chin when the wind tried to steal the hat off me, and I yanked it tighter.
Mother Nature was telling me to seek shelter inside, but safety and comfort would have to wait. As I checked the perimeter of the chicken house, where all my babies stayed during inclement weather, I wished I could have an extra set of hands around.
Carter barely knew which end of a chicken the eggs came out of, but he followed directions all right and he wasn’t nearly as annoying as when I’d first met him. He had done a great job starting the shed rebuild and my dryer was whisper quiet now. Having his help would have been nice in this chaos.
It would also be nice to have company while I was stuck inside later, riding out the storm. It had been a long time since I’d had someone warm to cuddle up with. But I didn’t want to cuddle up with justsomeone. I was thinking of Carter, shirtless and sun-kissed, crawling under the covers with me. Just the image of it warmed me, even in the chilling rain.
Carter and I hadn’t talked much over the last couple of days. I had pulled back from whatever was sparking between us for a very good reason. I had been lying to him.
Today, his social media team was supposed to be showing up, and guilt gnawed at me over the secret I had been keeping. From what I had gathered, the whole PR campaign and social media push were because of the negative buzz Allory had been getting from my post trashing their business practices.
