She shook her head. “We all want to leave sometime in our lives. Everyone dreams about walking away. The difference is you haven’t done it. Russell walked-you didn’t.”
“I’ve come so damn close. What if he made false starts, too? What if next time I just go?”
“What if you don’t? What if you stop having those feelings of wanting to run? What if you keep saying no if you do have them? Are you going to live half a life because of something that may never happen?”
No. He was going to live half a life if she left him.
“You’ve put me in a difficult situation,” she told him. “Based on what you said before, you were willing to try if there was a baby, but now that there isn’t you’re not interested anymore.”
“You know it’s not like that.”
“Then tell me what it’s like.”
How could he explain what he wasn’t sure he understood himself? “I don’t want to let you and Shane down. I don’t want you waking up every morning wondering if this is going to be the day I disappear. I’d never want to hurt you that way.”
“Then don’t. Promise me you’ll never leave. Promise me you’ll love me forever and that we’ll have dozens of children and grow old together.”
He’d loved her once, and losing her had nearly destroyed him. She’d been his best friend-his one bright, shining light in an otherwise dark world.
Then he spoke the last truth…the one that had haunted him since the moment she’d left him all those years ago. “What if you leave again?” he asked.
She rolled onto her knees and moved toward him. When she was close enough, she touched his bare arm. “If I promised not to leave you, would you believe me?”
He wasn’t sure. Was she promising?
Before he could ask, the phone rang. He crossed to the nightstand and picked up the receiver.
“Hello?”
“Jack? Thank God you’re still here. I was so afraid you’d gone back out with the cattle.”
He covered the mouthpiece. “It’s Hattie.” He returned his attention to the phone. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“There’s a tornado headed right for us. You and Katie had better hurry if you want to make it into the cellar in time.”
Katie scrambled into her clothes faster than she ever had before. Jack was just as quick. Less than a minute after he’d hung up the phone, they were racing out of his small house and heading for the main residence.
The wind buffeted them from what felt like every direction. Already the air was dark and thick with dirt, leaves and small bits of debris.
“The cellar is on the far side of the house,” he yelled, taking her hand and pulling her along. “I’m not sure Hattie can make it down the steps by herself. They’re pretty steep. You go get Shane while I take care of her. We’ll meet by the front door.”
Lightning cracked to the ground less than a hundred feet away. Katie screamed as the clap of sound nearly knocked her to her knees. Only Jack’s firm hold on her hand kept her upright and running toward the back door of the house.
As she hurried through the kitchen, she began calling Shane’s name. She ran past Hattie in the hallway. Jack’s mother looked frantic.
“I don’t know where he is,” Hattie said, clutching her cane and leaning against the wall for support. “After I phoned Jack, I started calling for him, but he didn’t answer. I don’t understand. Just a half hour ago, he came downstairs for a glass of milk. He was working on his homework.”
Panic flooded Katie. She raced for the stairs, all the while screaming her son’s name. Jack was right behind her. She felt more than heard his footsteps as they climbed to the second floor. The sound of the wind had increased until it was nearly impossible to hear anything else.
She ran into the hallway, then flung open Shane’s bedroom door. The room was empty. On the computer screen a red tornado warning flashed over a map of their part of Texas. Instructions for taking cover scrolled across the screen. In the distance she heard what sounded like a train approaching.
“Please, God, not Shane,” she breathed.
Jack ran into the room and saw her. “I checked the other bedrooms,” he yelled. “He’s not here.”
She wanted to collapse into a tiny ball and scream. She wanted to fight someone, anyone. Shane. Please let him be okay.
“Katie!” Jack grabbed her arms and shook her. “The puppies. He’s probably with the puppies.”
Relief flooded her. Of course. She nodded and led the way down the stairs. Hattie waited by the front door.
“Did you find him?” she asked, sounding desperate. “We have to find him now! The tornado is coming this way. Nothing can happen to Shane. I couldn’t stand it.”
“Shane’s in the barn,” Jack told her.
“I’ll go get him. You help your mom,” Katie said. She ran out the front door without waiting for an answer.
The wind had turned into a living creature. It took what it wanted, be it a tree or a building. Something hard banged into her side and she could barely see, but she forced herself to keep moving. The barn loomed large in front of her.
“Shane,” she screamed as she ducked inside. “Shane!”
Lightning illuminated the day. Thunder nearly knocked her off her feet. She staggered toward the small stall to the left of the door, the one that housed the three puppies. Katie pulled opened the door and peered into the darkness. Her son looked at her, tears staining his face.
“They’re scared,” he said.
Sure enough, all three puppies huddled close to him, whimpering.
“Shane, we have to get to the cellar. There’s a tornado.”
She reached for his arm, but he shook off her hand. “I have to bring them, too. We can’t leave them to die.”
She thought about arguing, but there wasn’t time. “Fine,” she said. “Take one.”
She let him take the smallest of the three puppies, while she grabbed the other two. They squirmed, but she held them firmly, one in each arm, and led the way out of the barn. When they were outside, she had Shane go in front so she could see him. They made slow progress against the wind. Her son bent at the waist, barely able to carry the puppy and fight the storm. The sound of the approaching train increased. Sound filled her ears, and it felt as if someone was forcing the air from her lungs.
She could see the doors of the storm cellar in front of them. The puppies kept wiggling and whimpering, but she ignored them. Just a few more feet.
A lawn chair flew in front of them. Shane ducked to avoid it and started to fall. Katie lunged forward, but before she could catch him, Jack appeared as if from nowhere. He scooped up the boy and the dog, then got behind her to urge her forward. They ran the last few steps to the cellar, then scrambled down into darkness and safety.
Chapter Fifteen
The storm-cellar door rattled as if a giant hand wanted to pull it open. Katie wrapped her arms more firmly around Shane and felt Jack do the same to her. They were curled up together on a bench in the shelter. Hattie was across from them, along with several of the ranch hands. Anyone close enough had used the storm cellar. Katie didn’t want to think about the people left outside.
Later she would tell herself that the noise was what she would remember most. The incredible howling sound as the winds swept overhead, the crashes and bangs from objects flying into each other. All three puppies huddled close, whimpering. Shane leaned down to touch them. “We’re safe now,” he said loudly to be heard. “Don’t be scared.”
Good advice, Katie thought, although it didn’t still the rapid pounding of her heart. She’d never been so terrified in her life. If Jack hadn’t come for her and Shane, she didn’t know what would have happened.
She burrowed against his chest. His lips brushed her hair. “We’re okay,” he said into her ear. “Like Shane told
