you can ride in the corral for a bit if you’d like. I bet your girls would enjoy it,” I suggested. Both girls jumped up and down for a second before they hurried into the kitchen.
“Go get your boots on and Rowdy and I will get dinner set up while the two of you ride,” I heard Sierra say as I walked into the kitchen. The girls ran past me and I glanced out the window to see that the weather was still clear. “Will you get one of those blankets out of the hall closet, babe?”
“Sure,” I turned and walked back down the hall and pulled out a big blanket we had used before and then went back into the kitchen to see if I could help her with anything else.
“I think I’ve got it. If you can carry the basket outside, I’m going to run to the restroom,” Sierra smiled as she closed the lid on the basket in front of her. “I’ll be out in just a minute.”
I took the basket and walked out the side door in the kitchen and across the porch to the grass. I picked a good spot where we could see the entire corral and spread out the blanket. The girls tumbled out the door laughing and ran off into the barn to saddle their horses. I watched them go as I sat down to relax for the first time today.
Sierra was on the blanket beside me within just a few minutes and I twisted around to lay my head in her lap as I took another sip of my beer. As had become our habit, Sierra and I talked about our day while she fiddled with my hair. Usually, one of us would read from our study guide and then quiz the other. Sometimes the girls took turns quizzing both of us.
I didn’t feel like concentrating tonight. I had a restless feeling and couldn’t shake it, so I knew I wouldn’t absorb anything we went over.
“Have you always had long hair?” Sierra asked me.
“Yeah,” I thought about it for a second then told her, “Since my mom died. Dad was always gone and he was so tired when he was home that he never thought to take me to get a cut. It got longer and longer and I’ve kept it that way ever since. I go and get it trimmed up every six months or so. I don’t let it get much longer than it is now.”
“You know, when I was a kid in boarding school, I never imagined I’d end up with a hot, long haired biker,” Sierra laughed. “It never even crossed my mind. My parents would have shit themselves.”
“Luckily, I don’t ever have to meet them, because I doubt I would be nice.”
“Will I get to meet your dad?”
“Of course,” I smiled. “He should be headed home in the next few weeks. He’s been working in Alaska to set up a new system for the last six months or so. He hasn’t been home since.”
“Is he as handsome as you are?”
“I guess,” I laughed.
Suddenly, a huge raindrop hit me in the middle of the forehead and my eyes shot up to the sky. The clouds I had been watching earlier had moved in fast and there was an eerie glow in the sky to the south.
“Babe,” I said as I sat up. “I think we need to take this party elsewhere.”
Sierra saw where I was looking and watched the clouds with me for a minute just as the sirens in town started to wail. Before either of us could stand up, I saw part of the cloud swoop down and start to swirl - the beginnings of a tornado.
“Oh, fuck! Get down into the shelter.” I jumped up and reached down to jerk Sierra up to her feet. I held her hand as I ran toward the corral and started yelling, “Girls! Get off the horses! Leia, take Lexi into the shelter, now!”
I vaulted over the corral fence and grabbed both horses' reins as the girls ran into the barn. I took off one bridle and was working on the next when I realized that Sierra was right beside me.
“What can I do?”
“Get in the shelter, goddammit!” The rain was pouring now, and Sierra and I were both soaked.
“No! I can help!” She shook her head and I cussed some more at her stubbornness while I focused on the buckle that was giving me trouble.
Finally it was