Eighteen Levi
The storm has been brewing all day, like some beast in the distance, and I can feel it in my bones. The air’s thick, heavy with a tension that presses down on my chest. It’s the kind of storm you don’t just see or hear – you feel it, deep inside, like an omen. It’s not just any storm; this one’s dangerous. You don’t live on a ranch this long without learning to listen to the signs. And right now? Every fiber of my being is screaming that something’s not right.
I glance out the window as the first fat raindrops hit the glass, turning into torrents in seconds. It’s like the sky is tearing open. Wind howls, slamming into the house with a force that rattles the walls. My gut tightens, that knot of anxiety twisting tighter and tighter. Something bad is coming, I can feel it.
I grab my phone, fingers moving faster than my thoughts. I shoot off a quick message to the group, needing to know that everyone’s accounted for.
Levi: “Everyone safe? Storm’s getting bad. Stay put if you’re indoors.”
Responses start coming in, one after another, but none of them ease the unease clawing at me.
Knox: “All good here, hunkered down at the house.”
Noah: “Just got in, man. This one’s a beast.”
Hunter: “Don’t worry about me, I’m in bed with a bowl of popcorn.”
Bodhi: “Safe and sound, daddy.”
Colton: “Making sure the horses are secure with Paisley, then I’m inside for the night.”
Good. They’re safe. But then, one name, one thought slams into me like a freight train.
Sunny.
Where the hell is Sunny?
I don’t even give myself a second to breathe before I’m pulling up her number and hitting call. I need to hear her voice. My heart pounds harder with each ring, the silence stretching like a damn noose around my neck. Come on, Sunny. Come on. Pick up.
Voicemail.
The knot in my stomach twists so tight it feels like it’s cutting into me. I hang up and immediately text her, my fingers shaking with the urgency.
Levi: “Hey, where are you? This storm’s bad. Let me know you’re okay.”
Nothing.
I stare at the screen, willing those three little bubbles to appear. Seconds pass, then a minute. No response. My heart is hammering so loud in my chest I can hear it over the wind.
Damn it. Where the hell is she?
My mind starts spinning, throwing out worst-case scenarios faster than I can push them away. What if she’s stuck somewhere? What if she’s hurt? What if she’s out there, right now, alone in this storm?
I can’t breathe. My chest feels like it’s caving in. I can’t lose her. I can’t—
No. No, I’m not losing her. I refuse to even let that thought in. I shove it down, grab my phone, and call Paisley. She’ll know where Sunny is. She has to.
“Levi?”
Paisley’s voice is barely audible over the storm, but it’s enough to pull me back, to make me focus.
“Is Sunny with you, and Colt?”
I can’t even try to hide the panic in my voice. It’s too raw, too real.
There’s a hesitation. It’s small, but it’s there, and that moment of silence is like a knife to my gut.
“I thought…I thought she was at your house,”
Paisley says, her voice small, hesitant.
“She walked over to check on the calves in the old barn and then was going to head over to yours.”
The words hit me like a punch. The old barn. The one that wouldn’t stand a chance in a storm like this. My blood runs cold, every nerve in my body lighting up in a panic I’ve never felt before. I can barely hear Paisley asking what’s going on. I’m already moving, grabbing my keys, my jacket, anything.
“I’ll find her,”
I promise, but my voice cracks under the weight of the fear choking me. The phone slips from my hand as I bolt out the door.
The storm slams into me as soon as I step outside, the wind howling, the rain pelting me so hard it stings. I can’t see, can barely hear, but none of it matters. Nothing matters but Sunny.
I have to find her. I have to.
The drive to the barn feels like an eternity. The storm is a wall of chaos, water and wind thrashing at the truck as I push it faster. Too slow. I’m going too damn slow. My hands are white knuckled on the wheel, my breath coming in ragged gasps as my mind conjures images I can’t stop. Sunny, hurt. Sunny, trapped. Sunny, lost.
I can’t lose her. I won’t lose her.
When I finally pull up to the barn, my heart stops. What’s left of it is barely recognizable—nothing but shattered wood and twisted metal, like some kind of graveyard. The roof is gone, the walls crumpled in on themselves. My legs nearly give out beneath me, the world tilting as pure, cold terror grips me.
No. No, no, no.
“Sunny!”
I scream, my voice ripping through the wind, but it feels like the storm is swallowing it whole. My chest tightens so hard I can barely breathe. My mom’s face flashes before my eyes, the way we lost her so suddenly, the grief that tore me apart. And now… now, I can’t. Not again. Not Sunny. Not her.
I start tearing through the wreckage, throwing debris aside with a desperation that’s wild, frantic. My hands are bleeding, but I don’t feel it. I don’t feel anything except the fear that’s ripping me apart.
“Sunny!”
I shout again, my voice breaking, cracking under the weight of everything I’m trying to hold in.
“Please, baby, answer me!”
Then I hear it. Faint, almost drowned out by the storm, but it’s there. A soft banging, coming from the back of the barn.
My heart slams against my ribs as I race toward the sound. I don’t even feel the weight of the debris I’m moving anymore. It’s like my body is on autopilot, every ounce of energy focused on one thing—finding her.
And then I see her.
She’s huddled in the back, drenched, pale, and clutching the calves like a lifeline. The sight of her, alive, whole, hits me so hard I stumble. I can’t breathe. Relief crashes into me like a tidal wave, and for a second, I’m drowning in it.
I jump into the pen, my arms wrapping around her before I can say anything, pulling her against me so tight I’m afraid I might break her. But I can’t let go. I need to feel her, need to know she’s real, that she’s okay.
“Levi…”
she whispers, her voice trembling.
“It’s okay,”
I whisper, my voice breaking. I bury my face in her hair, breathing her in, letting the scent of her calm the storm inside me. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, baby.”
She’s shaking in my arms, her fingers clutching at me like she’s just as scared to let go as I am. I hold her tighter, the rain soaking us both, the cold biting into my skin, but I don’t care. None of it matters. All that matters is she’s here. Alive. Safe.
I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, she became everything. The girl I thought I was just going to have some fun with is the one who’s been holding me together, without me even realizing it. And this just confirms.
I’m in love with Sunny.
“I’m not losing you,”
I whisper, my voice raw. “Not now. Not ever.”
I need her to know. I need her to understand that she’s not just someone I care about. She’s become my world, my heart. Without her, none of it means a damn thing.