Page 39 of Overdue

“No one to keep you out of trouble and fight off the bullies.”

“Yes, that.” We swing in silence for a few minutes.

Suddenly, he stops and turns to me.“Was I so bad?” he asks. I shrug. I don’t know what else to say. I can’t exactly say ‘no, you were wonderful.’ His face turns sad when I don’t answer. “Well, I should get back inside. Hate to miss my own party.”

I remain silent. Reed stands and turns to face me. His eyes meet mine in the near darkness as he stands over my swing. Slowly, he bends down as if to kiss me. Finally, Reed Campbell is going to kiss me. I know, it’s the night before he leaves. But I’m not going to split hairs.

His lips approach mine. I close my eyes in readiness. Then I turn loose of the chains. Grass rushes up to meet me as I land on my back with a thud. My feet still rest on the seat of the swing.

“Are you okay?” Reed asks. He’s bent over the seat staring down at a very humiliated me.

“Yep, uh-huh. Nothing to see here.”

He smiles and helps me back into the swing. “Take care of yourself, brat,” he says and walks back inside the house.

I never did join the party. I sat half the night, watching him through the window of my house, certain my heart was breaking. I’d missed my chance to be kissed by the sexiest man I’d ever known. That definitely won’t make my biography on the back cover of my books.

* * *

Now I’ve had sex with that tantalizing man, then pulled the adult equivalent of falling out of the swing. Laying awake all night hasn’t brought any answers except one: talk to Reed. Work out whatever is going on in this warped mind by having an adult conversation.

Then we can move on, go on dates, get married, buy a house, buy a dog, have as many babies as he can put in me, buy a bigger house. You get the idea. The babies are optional. Dogs are not. Also, trying to make those babies is not. Just FYI.

With a moan, I climb out of bed. My parents are eating breakfast when I walk into the kitchen. I pour myself a coffee and grab a banana from the stand.

“We’re expecting some nasty weather later,” Dad greets me. “Be careful. It’s supposed to roll in sometime this afternoon.”

“I will.” I’m only half listening. Our nasty weather is usually just some wind and rain. Rarely is it anything to worry about. I gave up getting excited over what our newscasters call a “weather aware day” years ago.

My dad, though, considers himself Mr. Weatherman incarnate. I don’t know why we even watch it on the news when he’s around. He will be fully prepared. My biggest concession is to grab an umbrella.

The library is virtually empty when I walk in. Yesterday, I had a brilliant idea for the book I’m writing and took a little time off to work on it. I had just sat down at my desk when Eliot called with the news. All of Reed’s hard work had paid off. He won the bid.

That’s why I was free to jump him in the middle of the afternoon. Wait, was the door open the whole time? I don’t remember opening it when I left. What would have happened if his gran had come home just a little earlier? She would have had a straight view of Reed’s butt flexing with the effort to slide into me over and over and over.

I think I lost my train of thought. Oh yeah. My book. It’s almost complete. Soon I'll be ready to send it to my agent to be shopped around. Just the thought makes my stomach turn over with butterflies. I wonder what Reed will think when he reads it. If he reads it. And if he bothers to tell me what he thinks ever again.

“It’s getting dark toward the south,” Carrie says, sticking her head into my office. “Do you mind if I head home? The library is absolutely dead.”

“Of course. I can lock up,” I answer.

“Don’t stay too late. It looks like this storm might be a big one.”

I wave her off and get back to work on revising the budget for the next year. It’s the perfect time to work on it with everything so quiet.

I’m so focused, I miss the sudden increase in wind and the ominously green storm clouds. I also don’t see the massive wall cloud forming back to the south. As a matter of fact, I miss everything until the front door crashes open, and a voice bellows through the empty library.

“Austen!” Jumping up, I run into the main library. Reed is searching around frantically. He’s dripping wet and wild looking. “What in the hell are you doing?” he yells when he spots me.

He runs toward me and loops his arm around my waist. I’m quickly dragged toward the back. Before I can protest, he pulls me down behind one of the heavy shelves. His large body covers mine, right as the front windows blow out into the building.

There’s screaming in my ears. I think it’s me. I can’t tell because my ears pop with the pressure building. Reed pulls me tighter against him as parts of the roof are torn away. I’m vaguely aware it’s raining inside the building.

I’m starting to shiver. Reed turns me loose just long enough to peel his coat off and wrap it around my body. He says something to me, but it’s lost in the wind.

How did I miss the sound barrelling down on me? Burying my head against Reed’s chest, I pray we survive this.

I’ve never been through a tornado, but I know the devastation they cause. Every Texan dreads them. As if in answer to my prayers, the sound of a train moves away from us. All that remains is a heavy downpour mixed with hail.

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