Chapter Twenty
Mrs. Mason had finally recovered. And though she wasn’t completely recovered, there was no keeping her in bed. She insisted there was too much to do.
“Be careful when you’re out there,” Mrs. Mason said as she stirred a pot on the stove. “The wind’s picking up again. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re going to have a tornado.”
Anna looked up, her heart stuttering. “What? A tornado? But it’s such lovely weather outside.”
“It’s always lovely weather before a bad storm. Just be careful out there, Anna.” The cook gave her a warning look.
Anna didn’t know what to say to that. She understood Mrs. Mason’s concern, but thought she was worrying too much. There was no sign of any tornado coming in.
Anna placed the basket of eggs on the table.
“I’m sure we don’t have anything to worry about. But I’ll make sure the animals are secure, and everyone’s aware, anyway. Will you be all right in here?”
“Darling, I’m fine.”
“I still think you should be in your bed resting.”
Mrs. Mason waved a hand, barely looking up from the pot she was tending to.
“Don’t worry about me. Just concentrate on making sure everyone else is safe. Now off you go.”
Deciding to leave it be, Anna stepped back outside, dusting her hands on her skirts.
But as she walked around the side of the house, the wind picked up so strongly that she held onto her Stetson to keep it from blowing away. The wind was strong at the front, coming in short, hard gusts. It was clear that the weather was changing.
Plus, it was getting muggy. She could feel sweat trickling down her back.
She caught sight of Edwin across the yard, pulling a bucket from the well.
He was in his shirtsleeves, straining at the lever as he brought the bucket up.
He’d been quiet recently, carrying on as normal, almost as if he hadn’t been arguing and complaining about his current position.
His face was a mixture of concentration and frustration.
Anna was tempted to go over and help, but decided against it.
She didn’t want anything to do with him.
If only she’d been able to look at the papers the day before. While she’d searched the study, she found that a file had been taken, but she didn’t know which one. She silently cursed herself for not making sure everything was in order.
Now she had to figure out how to get the file back. Edwin might claim it belonged to him, but she didn’t believe it. He was definitely up to something.
Either way, he was going to get into trouble for stealing from her.
The wind picked up again, and Anna had to brace herself until it passed. She could see the bright blue sky fading as the clouds came rushing in. Thunder began to roll, and the wind picked up.
She hurried over to the stables and looked inside.
The horses were getting agitated, watching her nervously.
They could sense the weather shifting, too.
Making sure they were all secure, Anna rushed off to check on the other animals.
She caught sight of Connor as she ran across the yard toward the barn.
“Anna!” Connor hurried over to her, catching his Stetson as it almost got whipped off his head. “There’s a storm coming!”
“I think this is more than a storm!” Anna shouted, her hair whipping about her face.
“What should we do? Get everyone inside and secure the animals?”
Anna pointed toward the bunkhouse.
“We can’t do anything about the cattle. There’s no time. Just get the others into the bunkhouse.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll get Edwin to head back to the cottage and wait there. Mrs. Mason and I can wait in the house.”
“Where’s Travis?” Connor asked, the wind rippling through his coat. “Where did he go?”
“He’s getting supplies in town. He should be back any moment now.” Anna could feel panic building. “We need to get moving. Now!”
She could tell that this was going to be bad. They got bad weather now and then, but it had been a long time since a storm had been this bad. Anna checked all the doors. Then she remembered the rickety henhouse. If they managed to get out…
She took off, running toward the chicken coop. Halfway across the yard, something flew through the air toward her. Anna screamed and dived sideways, the huge shape missing her head by inches before clattering hard against the stables. Had one of the doors come off?
“Anna!”
She almost burst into tears when she heard Edwin’s voice. Then her cousin was beside her, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her upright.
“Are you all right?” he shouted over the wind.
“I’m fine.” She didn’t feel fine, but she wasn’t about to admit that. “I need to get to the henhouse.”
“Not in this!” Edwin pointed out.
“I have to!”
“Anna!” It was Travis.
The sound of Travis’s voice made Anna’s knees feel weak, and she almost collapsed. Edwin held her up as Travis rushed over, immediately taking her from Edwin’s arms. He held her tightly, and Anna found herself clutching onto him. She couldn’t stop herself, even as the tears built.
“It’s turning into a tornado,” she heard Travis say over the noise howling around them. “We need to get inside.”
“The hens…” Anna began, but he cut her off.
“They’ll be fine. Right now, my priority is you and your employees.” He looked over his shoulder. “I can only hope that the supplies are still there once it ends.”
“Why don’t we get it in now?” Edwin suggested. “Better to do it now and not lose them in the storm.”
“All right,” Travis said grimly. He broke his embrace with Anna. “Get inside, Anna. Edwin and I will get the supplies inside.”
“No, I’m helping you.”
Trevor shook his head and spun her around, gently pushing her toward the house.
“Don’t argue with me. Just go!”
Anna wanted to fight back, but the storm was growing stronger by the minute, the wind roaring in her ears.
She could barely stand. They needed to get to safety.
She stumbled toward the house, trying to keep her feet, while Travis and Edwin began to unload the cart Travis had just brought in.
Mrs. Mason was at the door as Anna clambered onto the porch.
“Oh, my child! Get inside, quickly!” Mrs. Mason ushered Anna inside, leaning against the door as the two men approached. “Hurry!”
Anna collapsed onto the stairs, her legs shaking and her ears roaring from the sound of the wind. She suddenly felt very cold, and her hands were trembling. It had been a long time since a tornado had hit the ranch, but she could still remember how scary it had been last time.
For a fleeting moment, she wished Pa were there. He would know what to do, and he could calm them down.
Travis and Edwin finally finished getting the supplies into the house, and then Edwin ducked back out again as Mrs. Mason started to close the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she hollered after him.
“We need to get the horse to the stable!” Edwin shouted back. “I’ll be right back.”
The last thing Anna saw was her cousin rushing off, ducking out of sight as the door shut. With that, the sound of the wind became muted, and Anna felt like she’d gone deaf. Sweat streamed down her face as she leaned her head against the wall.
“I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Mrs. Mason said, her expression worried. “Nobody should be out there in that.”
“It just came on so quickly,” Travis replied, shrugging out of his coat and hanging it up, his Stetson going on the hook as well. “I’m glad I got everything we needed before things got bad. Everyone started rushing inside in town.”
“We get storms, but nothing like this. Not very often, anyway.”
“Then you’re lucky. Where I grew up, tornadoes were very normal in cooler weather.” Travis ran his fingers through his hair, sweat and water spraying everywhere.
Anna didn’t want to think about it. It made her even colder to think about it.
“Anna?”
She jumped when someone touched her shoulder, almost falling off the step. She looked up and saw Travis leaning over her, a worried expression on his face.
“Are you all right? You look very pale.”
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t believe that, and Anna slumped.
“All right, I’m not. I can handle storms that come on without any warning, but when it starts tearing my ranch apart…”
“You don’t need to try and be brave for me.” He put an arm around her shoulders and stroked her hair, the action surprisingly soothing. “You can lean on me, especially after something like what you went through.”
That seemed to be enough for Anna. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulders.
His arm tightened around her, and they sat like that for a while, Anna allowing the moment to sink in.
She liked having Travis’s arm around her, making her feel grounded and relaxed. The tension was easing from her body.
“It was very scary,” she said quietly.
“But you didn’t. Don’t think about it like that. You need to take a deep breath and think about how we’re going to sort this out once the tornado’s passed over us.”
Anna knew he was right, but she was still shaking from the close call. It wasn’t often that she was scared, but she certainly was that time. Mrs. Mason hurried over and touched her head.
They all huddled in the relative safety of the house, the shutters secured.
“You wait right there, my dear,” Mrs. Mason said, “I’ll go and make you some coffee.”
“There’s no need…”
But Mrs. Mason had already hurried off, disappearing from view. Travis stood and tugged Anna to her feet.
The rain pummeled the roof, the wind throwing drops against the windows. Thunder roared overhead, lightning flashing brightly.
“Let’s go into the sitting room. It’ll be more comfortable.”
He led her into the room, and Anna flinched as the shutters rattled. Mrs. Mason must’ve done it in the time everyone else had been outside. One of the shutters suddenly burst open, glass shattering across the floor. Anna screamed and practically jumped into Travis’s arms.
“It’s all right.” He rubbed her back gently before pushing her behind him. “Wait here.”
He made his way over to the window, kicking the glass against the wall. Then he managed to grab the shutter as it swung wildly in the wind, pushing it closed. Anna didn’t breathe properly until the latch was firmly secured.
“I… I’m not normally this jumpy,” she murmured.
He gave her a comforting smile.
“I’m not the best in tornado weather, either. We just have to be calm and wait it out.”
Anna rubbed her arms absently. She was beginning to feel embarrassed. Her nerves were getting the better of her.
“It’s fine, Anna.” Travis reached her and took her hands. “You can take a breath now. You’re safe in here.”
“Why don’t I feel safe?”
He didn’t say anything to begin with, and then he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head as he tucked her against his chest.
“You’ll be safe with me,” he whispered. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
As he held her, Anna believed him.