Page 65 of The Baxters
He couldn’t think, could barely find the words to talk. Holding her in his arms, her body against his, her fingers on his face. “You know what I want?” He was intoxicated by her closeness, the warmth of her. “I want to know why you stopped loving me.”
“Why…?” Her breathing was faster now, too. She searched his eyes. “I never stopped loving you, Landon. I changed.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “And in Paris… I have to tell you what happened. About the guy I—”
“Stop.” He moved his thumb over her lips. “Ashley…”
Neither of them said anything after that, because they both knew what was coming. He couldn’t stop himself any more than he could stop his pounding heart from beating. And before they could take another breath his lips were on hers and they were kissing the way they hadn’t done in forever.
The way he never thought they would again.
“I… still need to tell you.” She muttered the words even as she kissed him again. “We shouldn’t be…”
Landon framed her face and cradled her head in his hands. Then he kissed her once more. “Yes, we should.”Another kiss and another, even as the wind whipped into a roar around them. “Don’t you see? We’re supposed to be together, Ashley.”
“You need to know the truth.” She drew back, breathless, intense.
Landon searched her eyes. “For what?” His voice grew louder, his words fast and panicked. “So I can go back to Baylor and date Hope? So I can marry her someday?” He shook his head. Then he forced himself to be calm as he kissed her lips one more time. “I don’t… want that, Ash.” He grabbed a quick breath. “I want you.”
“But you haven’t heard what—”
“Don’t.” He worked his fingers into her hair and the kiss continued, deeper this time, marked by too many seasons of unspoken desire. “I love you, Ashley. Not Hope. Not anyone else.” His eyes found hers, his voice soft against her ear. “I don’t care what happened in Paris.”
The passion between them was too hot to play with. Ashley blinked back tears and she found his lips again. This time he couldn’t think of anything but her, the way she felt, the way the kiss grew and built.
He needed a break, but he couldn’t pull away, couldn’t force himself to put distance between them. “Ash… hold on.”
“Yes.” She put her hands on his shoulders and forced herself to step back. “We can’t… You need to know.”Like him, she was clearly caught up in the passion of the moment. But she was equally determined.
“I have to tell you… when I got pregnant… the guy…” Then, just when it looked like she might blurt out whatever she was trying to say, a wailing sound blared through the air.
Tornado sirens!
They cut the night sky, screaming and rhythmic, ominous and deafening. Fear seemed to seize Ashley and she took hold of Landon’s hand. “I knew it!”
They were both out of breath from what had just happened, but there was no time to wait. The night air did feel strange, and Indiana was tornado country. Some of the worst twisters in history had come through this part of the Midwest.
“Come on.” He pulled the flashlight from his back pocket and used it to lead her out of the woods and into the field behind her parents’ house. Together they ran through the grass, faster and faster, all while the sirens wailed.
“I feel it, Landon! There’s a tornado!” Ashley sounded terrified. “Right behind us!”
Move faster,he ordered himself.Help us, God. Please. “Stay with me, Ash!” Landon shouted, and he shot a look at her over his shoulder. “I won’t let you fall.”
She stayed with him as they ran. The wind sounded like a train behind them, a sure sign of a tornado. As they reached the porch steps, Landon was still consumed bytheir kiss. All he wanted was to find a place where they could pick up where they’d left off. But that moment was gone now. And Landon had just two thoughts on his mind as they raced through the door. He and Ashley had to get to the basement. And a question that was in many ways even graver.
If she still loved him, why in the world would she push him away?
21
This was the disaster Elizabeth had been fearing all day. As soon as the sirens went off, she was certain. A tornado was headed their way and Ashley and Landon were somewhere at the back of the property.
“John!” She had been holding a sleeping Cole, but now the baby woke up. Cole started to cry as the sirens blared. She stood and motioned to the stairs. “Get Luke and Erin.”
“On it.” He hurried up, calling for them. “Luke… Erin… to the basement.”
In some parts of the country people took tornado sirens for granted. Elizabeth had a cousin in Nashville, and they had compared storm notes once. Her cousin said they almost never had tornadoes in Tennessee. In fact, she said they slept through tornado sirens the couple times a year they happened.
That was definitely not true for Indiana.
This was EF5 territory, and after the storms throughout the day, the radio had warned that any tornado tonight could be a big one.
