This Time(22)

"Wait, Belle!" he called, charging down the aisle after her. But by the time he reached the chapel door, she'd yanked Trixie's reigns from the post and ridden away.





Chapter Ten





Thunder peeled in the distance as Burke stood on the steps and watched Belle ride away toward a dark, eerie horizon. He felt burdened by the rocky road their confrontation had taken.

Lightning slithered across the sky and a blast of wind from the northwest whistled through the tall grasses of the chapel's yard. At the hitching post, Tracer snorted and pranced nervously.

"I hear ya, old boy," he said, quickly dashing inside to gather Belle's guitar and saddlebag. He secured the chapel door and headed Tracer in the direction of the Bar J, hoping to make it before the clouds broke.

The Jamison barnyard appeared deserted when he finally rode in, head bent against the wind. An unlatched barn door slammed wildly against the side of the long, low building and the Bar J horses, Captain and Blue, whinnied from their stalls. Burke led Tracer to shelter, noticing that Trixie had not yet returned. Duke's horse Pepper was also gone.

Belle, where are you? Burke wondered, closing the barn door behind him as he surveyed the threatening sky. The howl in the wind and the dark swirling clouds made him uneasy.

"Twisters," he said and ran for the kitchen door.

***

"Daddy?" Belle's panic call echoed through the house. "Daddy, you here?"

"He's not here," a voice answered from the den. Burke came around the corner.

Belle brushed past him when she heard the weather on the TV. "What are you doing here?" she asked briskly, focusing on the weatherman's report.

"You left your guitar and saddlebag in the chapel. I brought them over. I thought maybe we could finish our conversation."

"Now?"

"No, tornado warnings are in effect for the entire county. The weatherman says if you ever wanted to experience an F5, tonight might be the night."

"Who in their right mind would want to experience an F5?" she snapped.

"You'd be surprised," he said with a raised brow, then asked, "Are you looking for your dad?"

"I can't find him," Belle said, snatching up the phone.

"Who you calling?"

"Jake," she answered, then spoke into the receiver. "Jake, where's Daddy?" As she listened, her face drained of all color. "Okay, thanks." She dropped the phone on the receiver and bolted for the door.

"Where you going?" Burke grabbed her by the arm and whirled her around to face him.

"Pepper's gone from the barn. I thought Daddy might be with Jake and Cole, but they left after dinner. I think Daddy's out in the southern range, alone."

Lightning flashed, cracking the ground beyond the kitchen door. The lights went out, flickered, and then slowly burned again.

"I'm going after him," she said, yanking her arm free of his hold and reaching for her truck keys that dangled from a hook by the door. In the barnyard, dust devils and loose branches swirled in the air.

The wail in the wind changed to the forceful sound of a locomotive.

"You're going to the cellar," Burke said, blocking her path.

In the distance a funnel cloud dropped from the heavens, twisting, whipping the ground. In the next instant, it disappeared into the clouds, and then slithered to the ground again.

"Burke, I'm going after Daddy. Now, move."

He refused. Instead, he barked commands over the screaming wind. "Get these dogs in the cellar. I'm going to let the horses loose."

"Hi-yah!" Burke hollered, slapping Tracer on the hindquarters. Trixie, Blue and Captain raced away with him. "Belle, the cellar. The cellar! Duke can take care of himself." His voice barely rose above the screaming wind.

Another fierce, twisting cloud touched down, and fear gripped Belle. With weak, trembling arms she tugged at the cellar door. But the rusty hinges resisted her. The dogs clamored at her feet, growling, their hackles raised in fear. "Burke!" she called.

He joined her at the cellar door, bracing himself against the driving wind. His corded arms grabbed the handle and pulled.

The door yielded and Belle stumbled down cracked cement steps into the cool darkness of the cellar, the dogs still barking and growling as they followed her.

She fumbled along the wall until she reached the storage shelf and the emergency flashlight. "I found a light," she said, shining the bright white glow at the door, her hands trembling and her voice weak, waiting for Burke to respond.

But he didn't answer.

"Burke? Burke," she screamed, imagining the twister touching down while Burke remained up top, exposed and unprotected.

Oh Lord, please.

To her relief, the door strained open and Burke dropped to the floor, the new Jamison puppy, Little General, tucked securely under his arm. "He needed rescuing," Burke said, catching his breath, and quickly latching the rattling doors closed.

Belle sank to the hard cellar floor and shined the light on his face. "You scared me," she said, feeling weak. "I thought you were coming in right behind me."

He jolted as something heavy hammered down on the cellar doors. "I saw the pup out of the corner of my eye, scared and frozen in place over by the side of the barn. I couldn't leave him."