Chapter Two ~
Jim watched as the young woman ran
toward them. She looked to be about twenty-five or so, give or take a year or
two, either way. She was very cute. She couldn't be much over five foot, but he
bet she made up for it in personality. She had long, flowing dark brown hair
and a strange color eyes he could only describe as amber. He'd had to catch his
breath when she'd turned them on him the first time. He'd never seen such a
color and he was immediately attracted to her. He prayed his mind would stay
where it should and watched intently as she stopped abruptly in front of her
father.
"It's still there Daddy. Why
don't you let me carry that feed for you?" She asked, reaching for the
bucket.
"No, I got it just fine. I'm not
feeble, you know," He said.
Jim laughed and said, "I already
offered, but he turned me down flat. I need to apologize for my rudeness
earlier. I didn't introduce you to the rest of my crew." He came to a
complete stop and said, "This is John Haney. He's the camera guy. He's the
one that takes all the awesome footage for my show." He gestured to a
tall, skinny red-headed, freckled man in his early thirties.
Faith shook his offered hand and
smiled. The return smile she received was one of conquest. She looked away to
discourage any advances he might try. "It's nice to meet you John."
She dropped his hand and turned her attention to the next guy in the group.
"This is Alex Jones. He spots
for me, and he's good at it too," Jim said. He seemed oblivious to his spotter's
hungry stare in her direction.
John didn't miss it, though. He
reached over and punched Alex in the arm with enough force to cause him to tip
to the side. "She's not lunch, so quit staring at her like she’s the main
course," He demanded.
Alex's leers hadn't gone unnoticed by
the rest of the crew, either. He was the 'lover boy’ of the bunch and he had
his sights set on the new woman, and their knowing looks said they knew.
"Alex is the flirt of our little
group," Jim continued. "He thinks he's God's gift to all women even
though we're always telling him he isn't." He grinned in the spotter's
direction.
"Whatever Anderson, you're just
jealous because the ladies come to me in droves," He returned. Everyone
laughed and continued walking as he took Faith’s hand and brought it to his
lips. Wolf-whistles went around the group as his lips touched the back of her
hand.
Faith colored with embarrassment and
said, "Nice to meet you, Alex." She tried to pull her hand away, but
he held onto it for a few seconds longer, until he noticed the look of
disapproval on his boss's face. This guy
gives me the creeps.
Jim cleared his throat and cut his
gaze to a medium-sized man and continued with his introductions. "This is Bobby
Cantor. He's my navigator. He makes sure we get where we're going, and in one
piece, too. He trained as a stunt driver so he knows what he's doing." There
was a measure of pride in his voice when he said, “He’s also my best friend.”
"It's nice to meet you,
Bobby." She shook his hand and was glad she felt none of the revulsion she
had with Alex.
"We call Bobby Mr. Clean," The
spotter informed her. "He has a phobia about touching other people and
things that don't belong to him, plus he's bald," He guffawed.
She could tell they all loved the
navigator and it warmed her to see such friendship flow between them. "I'm
sorry Bobby. I didn't know you were uncomfortable shaking hands."
"It's okay. I didn't mind it a
bit." He gave her an equally sincere smile. He threw a dirty look in
Alex's direction, and then turned back toward the boss.
Jim could tell all his men had an
interest in the new woman. Being a meteorologist wasn't hurting anything,
either. "Last but not least, meet Jenny Harris. She's a genius in all
things computer. Anytime we need someone to show us something new, she's on top
of it. She takes all the data we collect for scientific study and compiles it
into easy to read charts and graphs. She's also my sister." He threw a
doting smile toward the quiet girl.
At Faith's quizzical glance he said,
"Jenny got married when she was eighteen, but her husband was killed in
Iraq four years ago. She's been chasing with us ever since."
Faith smiled and held out her hand.
The girl took it and shook it firmly. "It's nice to meet you."
Faith said, "It's nice to meet
you too."
Her father re-joined and said, "The
horses are fed and I'm ready to go."
His voice was full of tiredness and
resignation and Faith’s heart filled with compassion. “Are you ok, daddy?”
“I will be, just give me time.” He
smiled and put his arm around her as they walked toward the storm-chasing
vehicles.
When they got to the truck Faith
turned to Jim and asked, “Where should we ride?”
"You can ride with me if you can
stand the smell of black cherry.” He winked and gave a wry grin.
"That's fine. I love the smell
of black cherry. Are you okay with it Daddy?"
"Yeah, I don't mind it, either.
It was one of your mother's favorite scents." He opened the back door and
got in, moving as slow as a tortoise.
Jim looked at Faith and motioned her
over to him. "Maybe we should have him checked out at the hospital. I
think he's in shock. Maybe he needs medical attention."
"I'm beginning to think so, too.
My Daddy's a strong man. He's been through a lot, but he’s always managed to
rise above it, but this might’ve put him over the edge." She walked around
to the passenger side and settled in the front seat. Scooby jumped up on her
lap, turned a circle, and lay down. He was asleep before Jim got the SUV
started.
The smell of black cherry was
pleasant and as she rested against the plush leather seat she sighed deeply.
Jim looked in the mirror and asked Arnold,
"Are you hungry? I can stop and grab us a burger and fries on the way, if
you like."
"I am kind of hungry now that I think about it, thanks for asking,"
Arnold said.
"There's a great little Mom and Pop
restaurant up on the next road," Faith volunteered. She hadn't realized she
was hungry until Jim mentioned food.
"Are you talking about Ethel's
Kitchen?" He asked with the hopeful look of a little boy.
Faith smiled and asked, "You
know about Ethel's kitchen?"
"Yes, I've eaten there many
times. Ethel knows me by name. She even knows how I like my steak. I come through
here a lot during the spring and summer. It is
part of Tornado Alley."
"Of course, I wasn't thinking. I've
always wanted to chase, but never found the time." Why did I tell him that?
"Have you really? You can join
us anytime you like. I'm sure the others wouldn't mind."
The CB radio made a static noise and
a voice came through the speaker. "Jim, do you copy?"
Jim picked up the mic and pressed the
button on the side. "Yes, what's up?"
"There's a huge wedge on the
ground up ahead, do you see it? I can see it on radar," Alex exclaimed. "Do
we go, or do we retreat?"
"Retreat for now, there'll be
others before the day is through. We're gonna stop at Ethel's and get something
to eat."
A yell of approval was heard over the
CB and Jim smiled broadly. "We all love Ethel's cooking. She's a great
lady," He said. "Her husband isn't as nice..."
"He isn't nice at all. He's a
raging alcoholic with perverted ways and eyes to match," Faith said hotly.
She colored and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I know that
sounds rude, but the man is a leach, and a perverted one at that."
"Whoa now, I didn't mean to
start your motor." He grinned in her direction. "I happen to agree
with you. I've helped her on several occasions when I would show up at the
restaurant and he was drunk, causing a scene. What we have to remember is he's
a human being and needs to be saved like everybody else."
