CHAPTER 14
Haley paced the bunkhouse, weather report in hand, rehashing the previous afternoon as the bright morning sun streamed through the windows. The tornado she’d nearly intercepted had been classified EF-1. It had ripped off a barn roof, tossed a trailer, and taken down a bunch of tree limbs, but no one had been injured. Thank heaven. In every other respect, yesterday afternoon had been a total clusterfuck. Between the loss of her equipment and whatever was going on between her and Axel, she was more nervous than ever about her possible promotion. Why couldn’t Axel see how important it was for her to be able to do her job well?
Why did he have to be so damned irresistible?
The way he’d picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, had gotten in her face about her safety? Damned hot. And when they’d kissed in the aftermath… holy hot mama, Batman. His kiss had incinerated her. Made her lose her mind. That was the only explanation for why they’d had hot, angry sex in a ditch. Axe made every last cell in her body melt and fuse together. He’d turned her into some kind of a depraved sex zombie.
How in the hell was she supposed to concentrate in dangerous situations when he went all caveman? Maybe she needed to fire him. She’d have to ask if Cissy’s brother, Darwin, was still in town. Darwin, at least, didn’t set her body vibrating in the heat of the moment the way Axel did.
She ran a hand through her hair, trying to screw up the courage to call Forte. He would not be pleased to know his drone was unflyable. At least she’d deployed the probes. Hopefully the pick-up team had located them by now and had uploaded the data.
She could spend the day collecting her instruments. They’d at least done their job. The supercell they’d intercepted yesterday afternoon had eventually merged with another and had become a line of thunderstorms with straight-line winds as it passed through Prairie. And there was still plenty of work to be completed while she waited for a new drone and more probes – weather balloons, surface readings, scouting for the other teams to her north and south.
Haley pulled in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She couldn’t put off the call any longer. Slowly, she walked to the small table and grabbed her phone, dialing his number.
“Forte here,” he answered on the second ring.
“It’s Cooper, do you have a minute?”
“How’re things on the ranch? They treating you well?”
Yeah. The sex is great. “Fine, fine, thanks.”
“I understand you intercepted a storm yesterday.”
“Yes. I did. Actually that’s why–”
“I want details.” His voice grew eager and excited. Sometimes Haley got the feeling that Zack Forte only developed CPARC because he thought chasing tornadoes was just some giant game. Like he was a gladiator and Mother Nature was the beast. Mother Nature was a beast, undoubtedly. But Forte didn’t get that while they might make a little headway – win a battle or two – Mother Nature was ruthless and would win. Every damned time. Whenever they had a small victory, like deploying the probes yesterday, it was a lucky break in the fight to keep humanity safe.
“We intercepted,” she spoke slowly, searching for the right words. “We… ah, ran into some complications, though.”
Forte immediately grew terse. “What do you mean, complications?”
Like having angry, animal sex with my driver after a near miss? She swallowed hard, trying to calm the sudden heart-rate spike that accompanied her vision of them going at it in the ditch. “I was nearly run over by two recreational chase vehicles while I was piloting the drone. As a result, I dropped the control box, and the drone crashed.”
After a long silence, Forte spoke, his voice flat. “I see. Damages?”
“Crushed nose, broken port wing.”
His answer was a grunt of aggravation.
“I deployed all three parachute sensors into the storm though. The pick-up team should already have the data.” Hopefully that would ease the blow? “I’ve already contacted the Doppler on Wheels team with its location. They should be able to get it back to you this afternoon for repairs.”
“I’ll need a full incident report sent to me by noon. I want to know everything that happened.”
Sure. Except for the sex. That wouldn’t be going into any report. “You’ll have it in twenty minutes, sir. I completed it last night.”
“Is there anything else?”
Great. She was being dismissed. Her heart sank. Did this mean she was out of the running for the Field Director position? She never should have let Axel distract her the way he had. Never should have given in to her attraction to him. Whether she liked it or not, the whole debacle was her fault. She had no one to blame for these mistakes but herself. If she hadn’t been so bent on impressing Axe, or if she’d been more aware of her surroundings, she’d have noticed the chase vehicles. She’d have been able to step out of the way, land the plane and safely deploy the intercept probe. Haley let out a frustrated sigh. She would just have to do better.
“No. No, sir. There’s nothing else.”
“Fine, then. See that you don’t cost us any more money. Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Did he have to be so condescending? The man shit money and probably used Ben Franklins to wipe his ass. “Yes, sir. I know, sir.”
She disconnected and sank into the chair with a thud. Then slapped the table. “Dammit.”
The truth was, she and Axel made a decent team. Maybe not when he went all caveman, but in general. Where the youthful Axe had been fun and sweet, the mature Axe was all that and more. Intelligent, interested, and way too sexy for his own good. For her own good.
There had been moments yesterday and the night before, where she could feel herself softening. Like the hard knot of worry and sadness that had been her constant companion for as long as she could remember, unwound a little bit. It scared her. Walking away from Axel ten years ago had nearly destroyed her, and she carried the ache and regret like a lead weight around her neck. If she became involved with him again… let herself fall for him again… how could she walk away a second time?
Haley drummed a fingernail on the table. The frustrating part was that she wanted to fall for him again. Wanted to lose herself in his embrace, in his orbit. But just a little bit. Only she knew from experience there was no doing anything just a little bit with Axe. With him, it was all or nothing.
The door of the bunkhouse burst open, sending Haley’s heart to her throat.
“Haley Cooper, why haven’t you come by to say hello?” Axel’s little sister, all grown up now and looking radiantly happy, stood before her, mock anger on her face, and excitement in her eyes.
Haley stood, warmth rushing through her, and crossed the space in two steps. “Hope.” She squeezed the young woman in a fierce hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Hope had been a teenager the last time Haley had seen her. Haley had always admired her independent spirit and had always been a little bit envious of the way Axel and Gunnar had looked out for her. Sure, they teased her unmercifully at times, and Haley had even sided with Hope on a few occasions when the boys had gone too far. But Haley had always understood that Axel and Gunnar would move heaven and earth for Hope.
A twinge of longing fisted in Haley’s middle. She’d always wondered what it would be like to feel that secure, that confident that someone always had your back. But no use going down the ‘what-ifs’ road. It would only give her a bellyache.
Haley stepped back and waved Hope into a chair at the little table. “So I understand from Millie and Emmaline you got married?”
Hope smiled happily and waved her left hand. “At Christmas.”
“I’m so happy for you,” she said sincerely. “I can see it agrees with you.”
“It does. Ben is…” She sighed dreamily. “Everything I could have imagined. But I’m not here for girl talk.” Hope’s eyes gleamed mischievously.
“Oh?”
“I owe Axe a little payback. I’ve been waiting a long time to bring Axe to his knees, and I want you to help me. You in?”
Oh.
These Hansen siblings and their pranks. It surprised Haley they hadn’t outgrown their desire to one-up each other. In years past, she’d always been an outsider looking in. Sure, she’d seen some of the pranks in action, but she’d never been invited to help.
Part of her thrilled at being asked. Like she finally belonged. And as long as it wouldn’t hurt Axe, she’d be game. He could stand to endure a little good-natured public humiliation. Lord knows, he’d dealt enough of it out over the years. This could be just the type of distraction she needed. Something fun to keep her mind off her mess up with Forte and her mixed up feelings about Axe.
“Oh, I’m in.” She grinned across the table at Hope. “What do you have in mind?”