Chapter Six ~
Jim felt such a loss when Faith left
the vehicle for a minute he couldn't concentrate on his driving. He'd have to
haul it if he was gonna catch-up with the rest of his crew before they reached
Texas. He shook his head to shake-off the odd feeling he was experiencing and punched
the gas. He shoved a CD in the player and the car was filled with the deep
voice of the newest country music star. He settled back against the seat and
tried to concentrate on the road, but the singer was saying something about
girls and all he could think about was amber-colored eyes and dark hair pulled
back in a ponytail. He shook his head again and turned the CD player off,
shrugging his shoulders.
He mentally struggled about calling
her, but lost out. He dialed her number. "Hey Faith, just wanted to make
sure everything's okay on your end. Call me when you get the chance," He
said to the answering machine when she didn't pick up. He sighed and tossed the
phone onto the console between the seats. His crew would tease him if they
realized he had a crush on the cute little meteorologist.
***
Faith was in Michelle's office
listening while she issued severe weather statements for the next day. She
loved being a meteorologist, but she didn't think she'd like her sister's job.
There was way too much responsibility and stress involved. She much preferred
reading the radar and reporting to someone else.
When her sister finished she looked
up at Faith. "Where's the footage you got? Did you enjoy chasing the
storm?"
"I’ve got it right here."
She handed her sister the memory card. "I did enjoy it. It was awesome.
Thanks for letting me go, Shellie, I'll never forget it."
Michelle pushed the SD card into her
laptop and the footage Faith had gotten appeared on the screen. She was so
mesmerized but what she was seeing she didn't say a word until it was over.
"Wow that was amazing. I'm gonna go show the producer. I have an
idea..." She left the room.
Faith sighed and sat down. She was tired, but
too keyed-up to relax. She pulled her new laptop out of its bag and opened it
up. She started analyzing the radar. The storms developing in the gulf were
gonna wreak havoc on Texas tomorrow. The outer edges might even see some severe
weather tonight, she decided. "Wow, I wish I could've gone to Texas with
Jim." She didn't expect anyone to be in the room so she was surprised when
someone spoke back.
"Maybe you can go to Texas. Do you really want to?" Marnie Jones asked
her with a hopeful smile.
"Are you serious? I would love
to go." She realized her rudeness and said, "I'm sorry, I was out of
line."
"It's fine. Your sister brought
me the footage you got and I love it. I know it seems funny to be talking about
ratings for a news show, but I have to. Our ratings have been falling steadily
for the last two seasons. Michelle pitched an idea to me I think would boost
our ratings. She postulated we have a new show called 'Live Shots with Faith.' We would send you out and let you get
extreme weather footage similar to the clip she just showed me. I really think
it'll boost our ratings." She gave Faith a look of hope.
"That would be awesome, but what
if the people don't like it?"
"We'll play the footage in a few
minutes and see what feedback we get. I think I'll put a poll on our webpage
too. That’ll give us a good indication of whether people like it or not."
"But it's really late. A lot of
people are in bed already."
"That's true." Marnie
tapped one long, manicured fingernail on her bright red lips. "We'll start
playing it now and let it go until noon tomorrow. You go ahead and get a bag
packed and catch up with that storm-chasing team. You can tag along if they
don't mind, and if it turns out the public isn't crazy about the idea then
you've just got a free paid vacation."
Faith could tell she was already
coveting the ratings that might come from the new venture.
"My Dad's in the hospital,
though. I'm supposed to pick him up and take him to my house in the
morning." She felt disloyal because she really wanted to go. Her Dad
needed her and she was thinking about herself instead of worrying about him.
Guilt filled her.
"Faith, go pack a bag, I'll pick
Daddy up tomorrow and take him to my place," Her sister said as she
re-entered the room. "You've had him for years. Let me have a few
days."
"Are you sure, Shellie? I know
you're busy..."
"I'm sure," Shellie said.
"I want to spend some quality time with Daddy, and with the farm gone I'll
have the chance." Both women gave Shellie a quick look. "Okay, I know
that sounded bad. I didn't mean it that way, honest. I just meant he won't be
out farming."
"Okay...but you better not say
something like that to him or he'll
be upset," Faith warned.
Faith rushed to her house to pack a
bag. She wasn't sure what to take, but knew she would need a raincoat and a hat
of some kind, and maybe an umbrella. She chose some thick socks and wrote down
on a piece of paper to stop at the gas station and get a bag of ice. It would
be more practical to take some sodas with her than to stop every time she got
thirsty. Some bottled water would be good, too.
She went to the pantry and packed
another bag with emergency items like a flashlight, Band-Aids, and peroxide.
She threw in a bottle of alcohol, too. Hopefully
I won’t need any of this stuff. She slung the bag over her shoulder and
left the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later she was on the
road. She got on forty-four and headed Southwest out of Oklahoma City toward Wichita
Falls. She went down through Chickasha and past Lawton. By that time she was
extremely tired and caught herself nodding off several times. She decided she
would turn around and go back to Lawton for the night. She'd tried to call Jim
several times, but it kept going straight to his voicemail. She pulled into a motel
parking lot and rented a room. She went straight to bed and was out like a
light. She didn't wake up until a little past four-thirty the next morning. She
jumped out of bed and got into the shower. She needed to get on the road if she
was going to make Wichita Falls by daylight.
****
Jim Anderson was up at four-thirty. His
clock went off right on the dot. It was still dark outside and the humidity was
so high his clothes were sticking to his body. He hopped in and took a quick
shower before he walked over to a little diner in the same parking lot as his motel.
He ordered a big breakfast because chances were he wouldn't have a chance to
eat once the day got started. He was in such a hurry he didn't bother checking
the messages on his phone. It lay at the bottom of his pocket, its heaviness
reminding him to do so before he left for the busy day ahead.
****
Faith got dressed and rummaged around
in her sack for the cloth dog carrier she took everywhere she went when the dog
was with her. She'd debated whether to bring Scooby and had decided she would.
She didn't relish the mess she would be faced with if she left him home alone.
A tornado of her own would be her only reward for that action. She found the
carrier and slung it over her head before saying, "Come here Scooby."
He ran to her and jumped up in her arms, showing no ill will toward her when
she tucked him into the bag. He was close to her, and that's all that mattered
to him.
She picked up the rest of her bags
and carried them out to the car before walking over to a little restaurant in
the same parking lot the motel was in. She walked into the quaint little place
and up to the scarred wooden counter. She grabbed a menu and headed toward an
empty table. She still hadn't noticed the man staring at her as if she were an
apparition. She sat down in the seat, arranging Scooby's bag so he was off to
the side of her.
"You aren't really gonna eat
with that thing attached to your side like that, are you?" A familiar masculine
voice asked in amusement.
Faith looked up, right into the face
of the very man she couldn't get off her mind. "Jim! Wow, I am so glad I ran into you. I tried several
times last night to call you but you didn't answer the phone," She gushed
in surprise. Her heart rat-a-tatted against her rib cage and she took a breath
to calm it.
"You did?" He pulled his
phone out and checked the missed calls. He looked up with apology in his eyes. "I'm
sorry. I must not have heard it ring. I was playing music. Is something wrong?”
"No, I was just going to ask if
I could tag along on your next chase. My sister showed the clips I made to the
producer and she had a brainstorm idea for a new segment called 'Live Shots with Faith.' She thinks it'll
boost our sagging ratings." By the time she finished she was breathless.
"I don't mind a bit. I'll have
to ask my crew what they think when they get over here, though. We're a team,
you understand. We're all supposed to meet here by six and it's almost that
now," He said as he flipped his wrist up to glance at his watch.
"That makes sense. Do you think
they’ll care?" She gave him a look of hope and changed the subject so maybe
he’d quit staring at her. “I’m surprised you’re still here. I figured you’d be
in Wichita Falls by now.”
“We got tired and decided to bunker
down for the night.” He reached a hand out to her dog and asked, "Does he
bite?"
"He might, he’s a little leery
around strangers," She warned just as he put his hand under the dog's chin
and scratched. The dog nuzzled up to Jim's hand like he'd known him forever.
"You're not supposed to have
dogs in here," A heavy waitress informed Faith as she arrived at their table.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even
think. I can take him out to the car..." She made to get up but was
stopped by Jim’s words.
"Mabel, stop that. Faith's a
good friend of mine and her dog's harmless."
The way he said it let Faith know Jim
knew the waitress.
"I didn’t figure it for an
attack dog, I just don't like any women sitting with my man," She told him
bluntly.
Faith laughed in delight and Jim
looked at the waitress as if she'd gone crazy. "Mabel, you're already
married. You need to stop flirting with me before Joe comes over and rearranges
my face for me."
"Joe ain't gonna do no such
thing. Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him," Mabel said as she
winked at Faith.
"I think you should give him a
break Mabel." Faith looked over at Jim and gave a small smirk. "I
think he's taking you seriously."
"Surely he knows better by
now?" Mabel asked with a worried expression on her prematurely-lined face.
"I don't think he does. I think
I'll have the pancakes with bacon," Faith said without pausing. Change the subject.
Mabel wrote her order and disappeared
into the kitchen behind the counter.
"She's just ribbing you. She
winked at me when she was flirting so I think it's all an act she's putting
on."
"Well she shouldn't do it, no
matter the reason. She's a professing Christian woman."
"What's that got to do with
anything?" Faith asked in confusion. "I'd rib somebody that way.
There's no harm in it."
"It wasn’t meant to be that
way."
He didn't elaborate and Faith didn't argue.
She was pretty sure it would end up in a disagreement and she couldn't afford
to make him angry right now.
"Here they come," Faith
said as she looked toward the door. Just
in time.
Alex Jones was the first one through
the door. Faith was immediately reminded of the reason why she hadn't cared for
him. "Hey there pretty lady, what are you doing here, or do I even need to
ask?" The innuendo was plain in his voice.
"Alex, I've already made it
plain that your behavior toward Faith is uncalled for. Don't give me a reason
to send you home. I can always give your job to her."
"I can go home right now if you
want me to," Alex returned in anger. His handsome face was a picture of
petulant rage.
Faith rushed to head-off a full-blown
argument. "Jim, there's no need to do that. I can overlook his adolescent
behavior."
"I'm not acting like an
adolescent," Alex retorted as he took a step toward her.
"Yes you are. There isn't
anything going on between Jim and me, and even if there were, it wouldn't be
any of your business.”
***
Jim's heart did a somersault at
Faith's words, but he had to take control of the situation before it spiraled
out of control. He'd worked with Alex for several years and this wasn't like
him. What he had to do saddened him greatly, but he knew it had to be done.
"Alex, go on home, you're fired. I'll send your last pay check in the
mail."
"You mean you're really going to
fire me over this little bit of fluff?" Alex asked incredulously.
"Yes I am, but she isn't just a
bit of fluff, Alex. She's a trained meteorologist. She can be my spotter until
I find a new one. I'm sorry it had to come to this." Jim’s eyes had the
hard glint of finality in them.
Alex stalked off toward the SUV he'd
been riding in. The rest of the crew watched in amazement as he pulled out his
phone and called for a ride.
"Is there anyone else I need to
have words with before we get started?" Jim asked, looking at each one of
his crew members.
They looked at each other and shook
their heads no.
"Is everything okay with you,
boss?" Bobby Cantor asked, his forehead wrinkled in concern.
"Yes, but the way Alex womanizes
has gotten on my nerves for a long time. When he started in on Faith it was the
last straw. He looked at her with such tenderness Faith’s heart ached.
When he looked up, all of his people
were staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing, boss," Bobby said,
shooting a warning look to the others.
"Uh...not a thing..." John
Haney stuttered.
"Nothing's wrong boss, really,"
Vince also hurried to reply.
Jim looked at them one by one until
his gaze landed on his sister's. "Are you going to tell me what all this
secretive stuff is about?"
"Bro, don't make me say it out
loud. You know I can't lie to you, but I don't want to be embarrassing."
Jenny's eyes fell on the laptop she'd
brought into the restaurant. "Jim, there's a fatty on the ground two miles
North. If we hurry maybe we can fly a birdie into the swirl!" She shut the
lid and picked the laptop up. She stuffed it back in the bag and headed out the
door, expecting them to follow, and they did.
There was a wild scramble as everyone
hurried after her.
Faith rushed out with them and
stopped abruptly, not knowing where she would ride. She stood outside the
restaurant door in uncertainty, waiting for Jim to say something.
"Leave it, we'll come back and
get it when we're done," He said, understanding the look.
"That's fine with me." She
rushed over and climbed into the passenger seat of his SUV.
He climbed in the drivers’ side and
they sped out of the parking lot after the rest of the team.
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