Page 63 of Hogging the Hunk

“Then I’d better get to it.”

Clint shook his head and laughed. Though my outfit wasn’t ideal for running, it wouldn’t have mattered if I was barefoot. I would find Milo. Channeling my inner high school track athlete, I took off at a good clip. Fat drops of rain fell from the heavy clouds and hit me with a refreshing burst of coolness on my sweaty skin.

When the welcome sign to Button Blossom came into sight, I ran harder, ignoring the stitch in my side. I was close to Granny’s truck, and I could catch my breath as I drove to Milo’s clinic to explain everything. I didn’t care if I was dripping wet and panting. There was no time to fix myself up. So what if our climax wasn’t perfect? It would fit our unique love story.

Rain was coming down in sheets as I scrambled into Granny’s truck, and a deafening clap of thunder split the sky. Everyone who’d been out buying garlic had either fled back to their homes or taken refuge at The Pale Rose, where Trixie was no doubt taking good care of her dinner crowd with homemade corn chowder, sweet berry pies, crisp green salads, and sizzling, perfectly grilled ribeyes. My stomach grumbled, and I wondered if I could convince Milo to join me for dinner over there.

After I expressed my ardent love for him. Maybe find time for a kiss or two.

Or a thousand. Granny’s advice was obsolete. Milo and I had a lot of making up to do.

I drove as quickly as was prudent for the weather. The sky was unusually dark—violet, almost—for early evening, and a gust of wind made Granny’s truck swerve. Clenching the steering wheel, I maneuvered through Button Blossom and was relieved when I made it to Milo’s clinic.

His truck was parked in his usual spot, and there was a light on inside. My heart leaped into my throat. This was it. I sprinted for the front door and yanked it open.

“Milo?” I called. “Can we talk? I need to explain all the ways I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Chapter Nineteen

Beckett

Water pooled around my feet, and the cool air conditioning made me shiver. My pulse had hijacked my ability to hear, so I held my breath, straining to hear.

No answer.

“Milo?”

My phone buzzed with the peculiar tones of a weather alert. The weather forecasters were a little late—it was already storming. Taking my phone out to silence it, my heart froze when I glanced at the screen. Tornado watch?

“I’m in here!” The voice wasn’t from Milo, though I recognized it.

“Ellie?”

There was a pause. “Beckett?”

Thunder pounded outside, and the wind blew the rain at a slant. Hurrying through the clinic, I looked for any sign of Ellie. “Where are you?”

“I’m in my dad’s office,” Ellie called with a trembling voice.

I ran past the exam rooms to the modest but comfortable office where Milo did his paperwork. Sitting in the corner, a very worried Ellie had Aspen clenched in her lap, and Truffle nuzzled up next to her.

“I’m scared,” Ellie said in the small voice of a worried child.

A brilliant flash of lightning lit up the dark sky, followed instantaneously by a deafening clap of thunder. “What are you afraid of?”

“I got a tornado watch alert on my phone and my dad’s not here.”

My stomach took a nasty swoop. “Do you know where he is?”

“He picked me up from my friend Molly’s house and then he got a call from Bonita, asking if he’d drive her home. She doesn’t live very far away, but she doesn’t like to drive when it’s dark and rainy.”

“Did he drive her car?”

“Yeah. He said he’d walk back. That was before it started down pouring and I got the weather alert.” Ellie trembled and a shining tear trickled down her cheek. “Where is he?”

Having lived in Indiana long enough that I’d experienced my fair share of tornado watches, I knew most of the time, they’d blow over without incident. Occasionally, though, Mother Nature was cross enough to send one our way. I was smart enough not to mess around when the weather station threw around the word ‘tornado.’

“Let’s not get too worried yet. He’s probably fine. Maybe he stayed with Bonita to wait out the worst of the rain, and he isn’t getting good enough cell reception to call or text. These storms usually blow through pretty quickly.”

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