Twisted Up (Taking Chances #1) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,85

person what it’s like in a community that’s been rebuilt, how the town prepares, the immediate action plan, the long-term efforts, everything.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll want all of you involved,” Frank agreed.

“We’re going to share everything we know,” Jake said. “From the off-season education and preparations to what happens on the day of a storm to what’s happening the next day, the next week, the next month. And we won’t need a specific building. We can set up the headquarters here at city hall and use the conference rooms. But we’ll take our students all over town—to the police station and the fire station to witness some reenactments of what the day of a storm might look like, to some of the businesses and even homes that have been hit and rebuilt. The whole town will be like a living, working resource center.”

“Avery and Bree, we would want you to walk other departments through the various stages of preparing and recovery,” Frank said. His enthusiasm was apparent. “You can cover what your departments need to know, your roles before, during, and after the storm. All of that. Jake will be happy to help you, I’m sure.”

Avery frowned at that. “We’ve done this before, without Jake.”

They had. Jake would like to think it had been better with him around, but she seemed annoyed, and he wasn’t sure pointing that out would be a good thing at the moment.

He did frown at her, though. What was she annoyed about? After their afternoon together yesterday, he’d thought maybe she’d be happier about having him around more.

“I’m sure Avery and Bree will do a great job,” he said. “Though if you’d like some input, all you have to do is ask.” He wasn’t going to step on her toes and offer assistance unless he was sure it was wanted.

“I’d be happy to consult on emergency medical preparedness,” Dillon offered. “We could run some drills. Maybe have some past injury victims talk about their experiences.”

“Good idea.” Frank nodded. “That would be good for those survivors, too, to focus on the positives.”

Kit nodded. “I like that idea.”

“This is so great,” Shelby suddenly gushed.

Jake looked at his cousin. She was practically wiggling with happiness.

“All of this is part of the overall message we want to send—to the people outside of Chance and to the people who live here,” Shelby said. “We want everyone who lives here to stay and feel safe, and we want people to not be afraid to visit or consider moving here. So we’ll focus on expecting the unexpected.”

“Expecting the unexpected?” Bree asked.

Shelby nodded. “Tornadoes aren’t unexpected here. Neither is the damage or the cleanup needed afterward. That’s our message. We know the storms will come, but that doesn’t change our happiness. We live our lives fully in spite of knowing the rain will come again. We plant flowers in spite of the certainty of hail. We rebuild our churches and schools even though we know they could get knocked down. We appreciate the sunny, warm days more because we know not every day is like that.”

No one spoke or moved for several moments after her little speech. That all sounded . . . very nice.

“We pull together,” Shelby went on. “The storms remind us what’s important and who is important.” She gave them each a beatific smile.

Not for the first time, Jake wondered if Shelby wasn’t planning to maybe make her own run for mayor when Frank’s term was up.

“Nicely said.” Jake finally broke the silence.

“And June will be our big month. We’ll train all year, but we can invite people to Chance in June to see us in action,” Frank said.

“Wait. You’re going to invite people to Chance during the peak tornado season?” Avery asked.

“Sure. Even if we’re not hit, we can show them how we prepare, stock supplies, watch the weather, run drills,” Frank said. “And if we’re lucky, they’ll be here to see how we handle a hit.”

Avery’s eyes went wide. “If we’re lucky? You’re hoping for a hit?”

“Not really,” Frank said. “I’m just saying if it happened, it wouldn’t be all bad. They could see us in action then. Like . . . visiting a dude ranch. They’d get the true, real-life experience.”

“This is crazy.” Avery looked around the room for agreement.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” Shelby said brightly. “Inviting people to town in June shows we’re not afraid, and they shouldn’t be, either.”

“We can’t invite people to Chance during tornado season,” Avery said firmly. “It’s like we’re a magnet for