My chest twisted as my thoughts started to race. Thunder shook the entire house and all of the alarm bells rang in my head. I reached over, giving Priscilla a gentle shake.
She immediately turned over, lifting her head. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry to wake you up, darling,” I whispered. “Did Sky tell you they were going somewhere?”
She shook her head and then sat up, looking up at the ceiling as the sound of rain became torrential.
“Fuck,” she whispered. “Do you think . . .”
“That they left us?” My throat squeezed. There was no way, right?
Suddenly I worried that I’d moved too fast with them.
Priscilla’s eyes widened in the dark. “No, Beau. I don’t think they did. Not after last night. Could they have gone outside to look at the storm?”
“Maybe. I don’t like this,” I said.
“Me neither. Let’s find them,” she said.
Lightning flashed again as we both got out of bed, quickly throwing on our clothes. I heard boots out in the hallway and my door flew open, Benny poking his head in.
“Oh god?—”
“We’re dressed,” Pris said quickly. “What’s wrong?”
“This storm is bad,” he said. “We’re all getting up.”
“We’re up,” I said. “Let’s go out and secure the stables if we have time.”
He nodded and took off. My heart skipped a beat as I looked over at Pris. “I have to go help. You should grab Winnie and Boone and head to the storm shelter.”
“I’m going to find Sky,” she said, her eyes blazing with determination.
“Just be careful,” I said. “I’ll keep an eye out for them.”
She rushed over to me, grabbed me by my face, and planted a kiss on my mouth. “You be careful, too,” she said. “Go.”
I nodded and left the bedroom, rushing down the hall and knocking on any door that was shut. The last one was Billie, and I kicked it open without warning.
“Get up,” I called. “There’s a storm.”
She sat up in bed with a curse and then scrambled up, kicking into emergency mode. “I’m up,” she said. “Fuck. Tornado?”
“Maybe. We’re going out to secure the stables, but everyone else should head to the shelter.”
“Got it,” she said, already pulling on her boots. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
I ran through the house and out the front door.
The rain was pouring, but I didn't care. The ranch always came first.
Come hell or high water, flood or fire—the ranch always came first.
We had to make sure our horses were going to be okay. I sprinted across the road, looking around for Sky. I glanced back at the garage, noting that the door was open.
Goddamnit. They’d gone storm chasing.