"KACIE, you're not going to like what I'm about to say."
Concentrating on the weather maps and latest forecasts
pinned to the bulletin board behind her desk, Kacie
Davidson shook her head. "Then don't say it and we'll get
along just fine, Darryl."
He hesitated a moment, then added quietly, "I'm not
chasing this year."
Kacie whipped her head around so fast the end of her
ponytail slapped the side of her cheek. The maps and
forecasts forgotten, she stared at the man nervously
shifting from one foot to the other in her office doorway.
Darryl Newmar looked ready to run at the slightest
indication she might try changing his mind.
"You'd better be joking."
Even before he slowly shook his head, his apologetic
expression answered her question.
Angered by the fact that he'd waited until they were only
three days away from going out into the field to conduct
their research, Kacie didn't even try to hide the
irritation in her voice. "We've been planning this for the
past five months and this is just coming up now?" Her
movements jerky, she turned to tidy the stacks of papers
on her cluttered desk. If she didn't keep her hands busy,
she wasn't entirely certain she wouldn't reach out and
strangle him for waiting until the eleventh hour to spring
this on her. "When did you make your decision?"
Suddenly taking an inordinate interest in the front of his
tie-dyed T-shirt, he seemed to have trouble looking her in
the eye. "Last night. But I've been thinking about it for
a few days now."
Abandoning the stack of papers, she propped her fists on
her hips. "And may I ask what brought you to this
conclusion and why you waited to tell me?"
"I wanted to be sure." Finally raising his brown-eyed gaze
to meet hers, he raked a hand through his thick copper-red
hair. "You have to understand, Kacie. Since our surrogate
had the baby last week, Artie and I have both been taking
a look at our priorities and making a few adjustments. I'm
giving up my position here at the Institute and storm
chasing in favor of the meteorolo-gist job at Channel
Thirteen." He shrugged one slender shoulder. "Artie's
hired another paralegal and will be cutting back on his
caseload at the law firm."
Kacie's anger began to cool. She could understand Darryl
and his life partner's decision to devote more time to
their new daughter. If she had a child, she'd feel the
same way. But having her chase partner quit at the last
minute was really putting her in a bind.
For the past four years, she and Darryl had been chasing
storms across Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle to
gather important data they hoped would one day lead to
earlier detection of the devastating twisters that tore
through Tornado Alley each spring. But their boss at the
Institute of Weather and Climate Analysis had a real
problem with storm chasers going out alone and especially
if they were female.
As the last of her irritation receded, she slumped into
her desk chair. "Have you told Hennessy about your
decision?"
Darryl shook his head. "I wanted to let you know, first. I
figured I owed you that much."
Kacie sighed heavily. "I just wish you'd given me a little
more warning about all this — like when you first started
thinking about it."
They remained silent for several uncomfortable moments
before he spoke again. "If you're able to find another
partner by tomorrow morning, we can all go in and face the
old man with the news at the same time I turn in my
resignation."
A knot began to form in the pit of Kacie's stomach. She
knew Darryl had waited to tell her because he'd dreaded
her reaction. But by putting off his announcement, he'd
all but destroyed her chances of chasing this season.
They both knew the chances were slim that she'd find
anyone, or that their boss would approve her choice, on
such short notice. Fergus Hennessy was old-school from the
top of his bald head to the bottom of his worn-out loafers
when it came to women doing fieldwork. The man simply
didn't believe the fairer sex, as he called them, had any
business racing across the countryside chasing storms. And
his procrastination in approving any kind of change to the
status quo was legendary. A snail crawled faster than old
Gus made decisions.
"Have you heard of anyone here at the Institute in need of
a partner?" Kacie asked hopefully. Her only hope would be
finding a co-worker who had already been approved by Gus
for scientific storm chasing.
When Darryl sadly shook his head, the knot in her stomach
tightened.
"Everyone is pretty much set to go."
"What about Finney? I thought I heard him mention that his
partner is still recovering from knee surgery."
"He's pairing up with Warren." Darryl looked thoroughly
miserable when he added, "I'm really sorry about this,
Kacie. I know how important it is for you to carry on
Mark's work."
At the mention of her late fiancé"s name, a pang of
sadness swept through her. Mark Livingston wasn't supposed
to have died. He'd been a brilliant young meteorologist
destined to discover Mother Nature's violent secrets and
use what he learned to save lives. The fact that his own
life had been cut short while trying to find a way to save
others had been the ultimate irony, and so unfair.
Taking a deep breath to chase away her disappointment and
regret, she nodded. "That's why I'm chasing this season,
with or without a partner."
"You know Hennessy won't let you do that." Clearly alarmed
by the determination in her voice, Darryl took a couple of
steps toward her. "He hasn't let anyone go out alone
since —"
"Since Mark's death." She glanced at the picture of her
and the young man she'd once loved with all her heart,
sitting on top of the dingy gray file cabinet. "He's the
reason I have to go. I have to make sure that Mark didn't
die in vain. He devoted his entire career to finding ways
to give people more time to seek shelter, and the
scientific data we gather is essential to doing that. I'm
going to finish what he started and find a more accurate
way to predict which storms are likely to produce
tornadoes, even if it kills me."
Darryl quickly closed the gap between them then, firmly
gripping her shoulders, forced her to look up at
him. "Promise me you won't go if you can't find a
partner." When she remained silent, he gave her a little
shake. "Dammit, Kacie, give me your word that you won't go
if you can't find someone else with the right
qualifications to be your partner."
She studied his grave expression. "You're not going to
give this up, are you?"
"No way." Taking a deep breath, his voice grew
gentle. "Mark was my friend, too, Kacie. I loved him like
a brother and there isn't a day goes by that I don't miss
him. But we can't put our lives on hold to finish what he
started. You and I both know he'd be the first one to tell
us that."
"But —"
"It's been four years, honey. It's time to let him go and
move on with your life." He smiled. "Now, promise me you
won't go out alone."
She gazed up at Darryl's deceptively youthful features for
several strained seconds. There was no denying his deep
concern or that she'd given up her own research to carry
on Mark's. But as long as she continued to pursue Mark's
theories and collect storm data, it was as if he wasn't
really gone. And after four years, she wasn't sure she
even knew how to start living again.
Crossing her fingers, she smiled. "You have my word that I
won't do anything stupid."
A STORM WAS BREWING. There wasn't a cloud in the bright
blue sky or any other indication that bad weather was on
the way, but there was a storm coming just the same. Josh
Garrett knew it as surely as he knew his own name. It was
too damned hot, too deathly still for midMay in the Texas
Panhandle.
Standing on his front porch, he rolled up the sleeves of
his chambray shirt as he gazed out at the southwestern
horizon. The heavy, ominous feeling in the air was a
harbinger of danger that only a fool would ignore. A fool
like he'd been six years ago. The day all hell had broken
loose.
As he stared out across the vast expanse of Broken Bow
land, a plume of dust in the distance caught his
attention. Pulling the wide brim of his Resistol down to
shade his eyes, he watched an SUV speeding along the dirt
road toward the ranch entrance. Unless he missed his
guess, that would be the storm-chasing team from the
Institute of Weather and Climate Analysis.
For the past few years, they'd shown up around the same
time each spring, usually just ahead of a big storm;
always asking to use his private roads to chase violent
weather across the prairie. And year after year, he gladly
granted them access to every inch of the Broken Bow Ranch
in the hope that one day they'd find a way to improve
early-warning systems.
When the SUV bumped its way down the dirt lane, then came
to a stop in front of the ranch house, Josh waited until
the choking cloud of dust the vehicle had kicked up
settled before he descended the steps to greet the pair.
But to his dismay there was only one occupant in the SUV.
What was the female member of the team doing without her
partner?
Kacie Davidson flashed him a smile that robbed him of
breath as she got out of the Jeep and closed the driver's
door. "Hello, Mr. Garrett."
He swallowed hard, but couldn't seem to get his vocal
cords to work. What the hell had gotten into him? Had it
been so long since he'd been around a woman that he
couldn't even exchange a polite greeting with
one? "Where's —" Josh searched his memory but, for the
life of him, he couldn't remember her partner's name
" — your sidekick?"
"He decided to stay home this year."
Josh frowned. "Will someone else be joining you?"
"No, it's just me." Looking a bit uncertain, she said,
"I suppose you know why I'm here."
He nodded. "Mother Nature's gearing up for another big
one."
"Unfortunately, that's the way it looks." As she glanced
at the southwestern sky, she tucked her delicate hands
into the hip pockets of her well-worn jeans, inadvertently
drawing his attention to her shapely backside. "There's a
low-pressure system moving this way from the west and the
jet stream is pulling moist air up from the Gulf. From all
indications, when they meet it's going to produce some
really nasty weather that's likely to spawn several
tornadoes." Turning back, she looked almost apologetic
when she added, "And unless the jet stream changes
directions, which would be nothing short of a miracle at
this time of year, I'm afraid this area is going to be in
the direct line of fire."
Josh forced his attention off her cute little rump and
back to what she'd said. He wasn't surprised, nor was he
at all happy with what he'd heard. Having a sizable blow
headed toward the Broken Bow Ranch was bad enough. It
brought back memories of another spring when he'd lost
everything that made life worth living. And just knowing
that the beautiful scientist would be by herself — a woman
alone, racing across his property chasing a Texas twister —
was enough to give him an instant ulcer.
Why in the name of Sam Hill would what's-his-name stay
home in Albuquerque while his girlfriend chased tornadoes
around the Texas Panhandle? Didn't the man care that Kacie
might be in danger? And why the hell could Josh remember
her name, but not her male part-ner's?
His gut clenched. It didn't matter what the man's name
was, Josh didn't approve of him sending Kacie out alone to
chase dangerous weather all over hell's half-acre.
But as irritated at the man as Josh was, God only knew it
wasn't his place to condemn another. Not when he'd failed
his own woman.
As he stood there trying to find a way to talk Kacie out
of conducting her research alone, his housekeeper, Earl
Crawshaw chose that moment to walk out onto the
porch. "Are you gonna stand there lollygaggin' like a moon-
eyed calf or are you gonna ask this little gal in for a
bite to eat?" Giving their guest a toothless grin, Earl
added, "I got manners, even if Joshua here, don't."
Josh cringed at the use of his given name. The only two
people who ever dared call him Joshua had been his mother
and in recent years, Earl. And the only reason Josh let
the old man get away with it was out of respect for Earl's
seventy-plus years.