Lando dropped the box on the rise and dug her boot into the ground as she pivoted and ran back toward Violet. Taking the cue, Violet turned around and raced toward the Hummer. They needed to put more space between them and the tornado. The hail started immediately, pelting Violet on the head, arms, and shoulders as she moved. Risking a glance at Lando to check on her, Violet stumbled.
Lando caught her arm and helped her to stand just as the floodgates opened and the hail pounded around them ruthlessly. Violet hunched her shoulders, but there was no way to hide from it. They helped each other back to the fence, Diane already inside the Hummer as they climbed in.
Violet spun around to try and make out where the tornado was. She put a hand over her eyes, her back against the side of the Hummer to try and protect some of her body as she gazed out into the field around her. She couldn’t see anything except the hail. Hands on her arms dragged her over and then backward into the vehicle. She reached out and slammed the car door shut to protect herself from the hail that seemed to be growing in size.
“Are you all right?” Lando’s voice was laced with worry as she practically had to yell to be heard over the hail on the metal vehicle.
Violet sat up, pushing some things off the edge of the seat as she realized she was in the back, sitting next to Lando who had wide, fearful eyes. “I’m fine.”
“I didn’t know because you didn’t get in.”
“I wanted to see the tornado.”
Lando sighed, but she didn’t have to say anything. Diane butted in. “How could you see anything in that mess?”
“I couldn’t, unfortunately. Give me the computer so I can track it so we’re not right in the line of fire.”
“It’s not going to move this beast.”
Violet clenched her jaw, and when Diane didn’t hand her the computer, she reached over the seat and took it. She flipped the lid open and found the tornado on her radar maps. Violet whispered, “It got them.”
She looked at Lando first, then Diane.
Shouting, Violet’s excitement rose. “It got them! It picked them up!”
Lando grinned, the smile blooming on her lips beautiful, and bigger than any Violet had seen on her. She stared at the computer as data filled her screen, telling her exactly where the tornado was as their devices swirled around in the vortex of air. Lando leaned over, her eyes glued to the screen, seeing the same information as Violet.
The tornado moved away from them, but Diane didn’t take the car toward it. She didn’t have to now that they could track it in real time. Lando pointed at the screen, to a secondary funnel they had been following that touched down briefly and then left. Violet vibrated with excitement. Diane was on the phone, calling in the storm, tornado, and hail sizes to local meteorologists so they could get the warning out, but Violet ignored her.
Her shoulder brushed against Lando as she stared at her screen, glancing outside every once in a while to see if she could find the storm through the hail. When it started to let up, Violet moved outside, still finding hail hitting her although far less frequently. Lando joined her as they stared at the trail of destruction through the field in front of them. Lando grabbed her cellphone and snapped a picture of the now white field and long trail of dark dirt where the tornado had taken the hail back up with it.
If Violet had a real camera, she could make some definite money off that photo. Diane was still inside on the phone. Lando showed Violet the picture she’d taken. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it, Lando.” Violet grinned, happiness bubbling inside her. “We just had our first break of the season.”
“That was awesome.”
Violet chuckled, wrapping her arm around Lando’s shoulder in a congratulatory side hug. “It was, and you know what, it’s damn addicting.”
They shared another long smile as they stared out at the field. This was what Violet lived for—the storm, the chase, and everything in between. This was what she wanted to be doing every season. And the best part was she couldn’t stop smiling.
CHAPTER8
The chatterin the Hummer all the way to their small hotel was filled with excitement. Lando wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Violet smile that much, riding the adrenaline high. But as soon as Violet and Lando walked into the hotel room, aches started in her head and shoulders.
Violet spun around grinning broadly, her eyes still wide with that excitement. “That was amazing.”
“It was,” Lando answered as she stepped in closer to Violet, trying to ease into that same excitement again, but her body was telling her to sit down. She’d probably done too much after her injury. Still, it had been worth it. Anything was worth it to see Violet as happy as she was.
Violet pulled her wet shirt off and dropped it onto the floor near her suitcase. Reaching behind her, she went to flip the clasp of her bra, but Lando tensed. “Teach!”
“What?” Violet spun around, the beige bra still firmly in place, something Lando was thankful for.
Walking toward Violet, Lando hesitantly reached out and ran her fingers along Violet’s shoulders and upper back. Small dots littered her skin. Some of them were red and pink, but others were already darkening into what Lando could only suspect were bruises. Littered among them was a smattering of freckles she tried to ignore.
“What’s wrong?” Violet asked, turning her neck to look over her shoulder at where Lando stood.
“You’re covered in bruises.”