Twisted Up (Taking Chances #1) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,19
three. The most recent ones, however, had not resulted in any death or serious injury. Every time Mother Nature came at them, they were more prepared.
The roaring built around them until she was sure she wouldn’t have even been able to hear Jake say her name from right behind her.
Then it was gone.
The noise, the shaking, the pressure all disappeared as if someone had thrown the off switch.
It took a few seconds for her to uncoil. Was it really over or was there more coming?
“A?” Jake asked, slowly loosening his grip but not letting go of her completely.
She pulled in a deep breath. “Fine. You?”
“Yep.” A second later he let out a long sigh. “Damn.”
“Yeah.” She couldn’t disagree with that assessment. She sat up straighter and let go of his hands. They needed to get out and see what was going on.
Jake seemed to sense her intent because he kept one arm around her waist. “Hang on a sec.”
He turned the radio up again.
“A touchdown has been confirmed in the town of Chance,” the announcer said.
“No shit,” Jake muttered.
“We expect reports of damage will be incoming for the next few hours. The line of thunderstorms continues to move east-northeast, and the following counties remain under a tornado watch: Hall, Hamilton, York, Merrick, and Polk.”
Jake took another deep breath. “Let’s go see what we’ve got.”
Avery climbed from his lap, immediately feeling chilled, and fumbled around for her dress and shoes.
Jake shone the flashlight on her discarded dress, then their eyes met. For a moment they just looked at each other. They’d shared something unusual, something terrifying and crazy, and it felt like it had changed things between them.
“You know, naked tornado drills could really catch on,” Jake said after a minute.
His quip and her smile took her by surprise. “A quickie in the storage shed doesn’t make us friends, you know,” she said lightly. Because God knew, in the next few minutes—or days—she was going to need all the lightness she could get.
“How about cleaning up our hometown together after a tornado?”
Her smile faded and she sighed. “That might.” She’d loved having him there beside her last time, though it had been too short. Jake had a way of bringing a sense of calm and security with him. She hated that the entire nation needed him, that he was the go-to guy for everyone. But she knew why. Jake was the best at what he did.
“Then let’s get to it.”
He wanted to be her friend? Or was he feeling the bonded-by-disaster thing she was feeling? How long would he be here anyway? A couple of days didn’t make a friendship.
She was the first out from their makeshift fort. She straightened and looked around.
One corner of the metal ceiling had been peeled back; cans and bottles and tools littered the floor. A huge plastic jug had hit the top of the workbench and cracked, spilling horrible-smelling liquid all over, while three old paint cans had hit the floor, splattering blue, white, and black paint. The door they’d entered through was now six feet closer to them than it was supposed to be, the entire side of the shed dented in, clearly having been hit by something from outside.
“Guess we’re not going out the way we came in.” Jake turned to shine the flashlight around the rest of the shed.
“There are the big garage doors on the other side,” Avery told him.
“Uh, I think we might be okay,” he said.
She followed his gaze and saw that there was what definitely looked like daylight streaming in from the other room. Had a door blown off? That was a scary thought, but at the same time it might be their way out of here.
She slipped on one shoe, then hopped on that foot, trying to get on the other.
Jake watched her struggle. Then he grabbed her arm to steady her and shook his head.
“What?”
“I’m always torn about heels. They’re sexy as hell but the least practical things I’ve ever seen.”
“They pinch my toes and kill my arches, too.” She completely agreed about the least practical thing. That was why she had exactly two pairs, and she wore them each probably two times a year.
“But you still wear them?”
She got on the shoe and set down her foot. “Tell me they don’t look great.”
He shone the light up and down from her butt to her heels and back. “Can’t argue with that. Especially when you’re wearing my shirt.”