5 #2
When I stand up and reach the truck, I’m a living disaster: my hair is a mess, my shirt is soaked in sweat, my pants are covered in dust, and I look like I’m about to commit murder.
“Does this look normal to you?” I snap at Darana, planting myself half a yard away from her.
“You’ve got a kleptomaniac, psychopathic donkey on the loose around here, and you’re not even capable of warning me?
He almost destroyed weeks of work! Do you have any idea how hard it is to reconstruct this data? ”
She raises an eyebrow with a nonchalance that drives me up the wall.
“His name is Angus,” she replies matter-of-factly, as if that explains everything.
“I couldn’t care less if his name is Angus or Federico!” I yell at her, waving the drool-stained notebook in front of her eyes. “He almost ate my notebook!”
Darana pushes away from the hood. She takes a step toward me, closing the distance so much that I can smell the clean scent of her skin mingled with the sun. She leans forward slightly, invading my personal space in a way that makes my heart skip a beat.
“Just so you know, Angus goes on these little outings with the workers. And herding donkeys isn’t included in the administration’s duties, Bennet,” she says with a cockiness and sensuality that make me clench my teeth.
“You need to learn to deal with life around here if you’re so proud of your ability to handle storms. Although, from what I just saw, a simple donkey gives you more trouble than an EF5 tornado. ”
I stare straight into her eyes. And for an endless second, everything else disappears: the suffocating heat, the dry dust, that idiot Angus…
“Storms don’t bite notebooks, Calloway.”
“No,” she replies, fixing her honey-colored eyes on mine. “But they sweep away everything in their path. And you know a thing or two about that, don’t you? You know exactly what it’s like to leave a trail of devastation behind you.”
I feel my pulse racing. Neither of us looks away. The tension is so intense that sparks are practically flying between us. I’m dying to answer her, to defend myself, to remind her that things aren’t as black-and-white as she thinks, but the roar of several engines shatters the moment.
We both turn our heads and see two vehicles approaching along the main road, kicking up a huge cloud of dust in the distance.
“Thank the God of Thunder for thinking of me and getting here first,” I tell myself.
“Well, looks like your cavalry of nerds is already here,” Darana says.
“Yeah. Just in time,” I reply, trying to brush the dust off my clothes to regain a modicum of dignity.
The vehicles come to a stop. Ethan gets out of his vehicle, followed by Kira, who’s already scanning the surroundings with her tablet in hand.
“Camila!” Ethan calls out, hurrying over. “What a place, huh? A guy named Albert told us you’d be around here and let us borrow some equipment. Have you already started the party without us?”
I glance at my notebook, smeared with donkey drool, and then give him a scowl.
“You don’t want to know. Let’s just say I’ve had a close and unexpected encounter with the local wildlife.”
Kira raises an eyebrow, stopping beside me and scanning me from head to toe. Then she looks at Angus, who’s wandering around as if nothing happened.
“Well, now I’m really curious to hear the details. What happened to you?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I reply, shaking my head. “Now let’s get down to business. There’s no time to waste.”
Darana steps forward, crossing her arms and once again assuming her impeccable posture as the lady of the ranch.
“You can start with the northern enclosure,” she informs them in a clear, authoritative voice, addressing my companions. “I suppose Bennet has already filled you in on how tricky the terrain is around here for your machines.”
I notice her sly gaze fixed on me, but I decide to ignore it.
“She’ll do that right now,” Ethan interjects with a smile.
I nod, immensely grateful that the focus of attention has shifted.
“Come on, let’s get started setting up the relay station before it gets dark,” I say, feeling calmer now.
“The terrain is quite uneven and clay-like, so we’re going to need to use an auger to reinforce the weather tower anchors as much as possible if we don’t want them to blow away with the first gust of wind.
Kira, start checking the slope levels on that hill over there.
Ethan, open the trailer and unload the additional sensors. ”
Kira has already crouched down to examine the consistency of the soil.
“We’ll have to level that area very carefully,” she says, pointing to a specific spot within the fenced-off area. “And we’ll need to add extra wiring.”
“Yes,” I confirm, crossing my arms. “And besides, after what I saw today, I don’t trust those loose animals one bit.”
Ethan lets out a hearty laugh as he unloads a heavy box from the trunk before spotting Angus.
“Don’t tell me that donkey’s already been up to his old tricks,” he guesses. Then he lets out a whistle. “Well, well. Camila Bennet, the great storm tamer, defeated and humiliated by a mere donkey.”
“Laugh all you want, smart-ass,” I reply, joining them to carry the equipment, “but that notebook contains field notes worth their weight in gold. Miss Calloway…” I turn to her and raise an eyebrow.
“Is there any chance we could keep our friend Angus securely locked up in a corral for the duration of our scientific expedition?”
Darana readjusts her cowboy hat, looking at me with a mischievous grin.
“I can ask the guys to move him,” she admits in a drawling tone. “But I’ll warn you about one thing, Bennet: Angus is a free spirit. He doesn’t like restraints, fences, or rules… Just like you.”
The Calloway storm is about to hit, and I seriously doubt my meteorology team is prepared for the impact.