Rielle watched the radar all afternoon as the bonfire approached. The chance of severe storms they were forecasting stuck in her mind as she prepared for her guests. About an hour before everyone was supposed to arrive, the sky darkened, winds picked up, temperature dropped and the rain started. Her phone blew up with texts and calls from friends saying they weren't coming because of the weather. Almost everyone cancelled.
Rielle ran outside and brought everything into the house as quickly as possible as the warning sounded on the kitchen television. The radar flashed up onto the screen as she watched a long line of red and yellow storm cells heading straight for her. She began putting food away into storage containers and filling up her fridge. She turned the volume up so that she could keep track of the timing of the storm. They were calling for strong winds and nickel size hail.
As she was throwing the last of the serving spoons into the sink and starting the dishwater, she heard a knock on the door. She walked to the porch to see Logan standing outside, getting totally soaked in the downpour. She let him in and couldn't help but giggle. She had him stand in the entryway for a moment and grabbed a towel from the laundry room. As she tossed it in his direction, she laughed again.
"You can toss your shirt and stuff in the dryer if you want." She started. "I'm not going to leave you standing around in wet clothes."
As she was finishing the dishes, Logan came up behind her and playfully tugged on her ponytail. She turned around to find him bare-chested, in just his shorts, which were still slightly wet from the rain. Instinctively, she reached out and poked him in the side. "Hey now," Logan responded. "Don't start something you can't finish!"
"Behave yourself" she giggled.
Just then, the television interrupted again with another warning. This time the meteorologist stated that there was a possible tornado forming near the next town to the Northeast. She looked out of the dining room windows and could see the dark clouds.
"Feel like going to watch?" Rielle asked Logan. "We can stand on the porch, shouldn't get totally drenched."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
They headed out onto the porch and watched the clouds as the storm drew closer. The thunder at times was deafening and the lightning flashing out across the fields was intense. As the wind picked up, Rielle stepped closer to Logan. The temperature was dropping, and she chilled. She wasn't sure if it was from fear, excitement, or both.
As she stood closer to him, Logan could smell Rielle's perfume on the wind. The scent stirred thoughts in his mind, but wasn't sure if it was a good time to act on those thoughts. He could feel himself getting aroused as she stood next to him. She looked great, wearing a short halter dress and flip flops. His mind began to wander, until a loud crack of lightning not far from the house accompanied by a heavy gust of wind caused Rielle to jump. Logan laughed.
"I meant to do that, you know." Rielle countered.
"Uh huh, sure you did, Miss Thunderstorm fanatic."
"Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of really, really severe stuff. Especially not this close to nightfall."
"Why's that? Big old farmhouse gets scary for you at night?"
"Possibly. You have one tornado come through your front yard when you're sleeping, you don't forget it." Rielle gestured to the tree stump across the driveway. It was all that remained of a giant oak tree that had been in the yard for years. It had been brought down by a tornado as it touched down, snapping and twisting the tree, dropping it just yards from the house.
And there was Logan's chance. The television in the living room sounded the warning tone again, and they both stepped over to the door so that they could hear the latest. "A Tornado Warning has been issued for the area" the meteorologist said. As they looked north toward town, they could see the funnel off in the distance. They watched as it touched down far away, and Rielle was reaching for her phone camera to take a picture when the power died.
"Logan," Rielle started. "I think it might be a good idea to head for the basement."
"Let's go" Logan replied. "I'll follow you."
"The stairs suck, just to warn you" Rielle said as she grabbed the flashlight at the basement door. She clicked it on and led the way down to a small room under the center of the house. It had a ledge with storage boxes piled high. Rielle opened a bag and pulled out an old faded quilt and a couple pillows.
