The Grumpy Storm Chaser - Page 8

I smile at her. “I know enough about you to know that I can’t possibly give you up. And I’ll get to know the rest with time. We can start now. Tell me something about yourself.”

She laughs, a full, hearty laugh, that’s one-hundred-percent Petra. My baby doesn’t half-ass anything. If she does everything with passion and heart. It’s crazy that I already know that about her, but I know it’s true.

“I’m a hairstylist,” she says. “So, I can give you free haircuts.”

“Excellent,” I say, grinning.

“Tell me something about you,” she demands.

“I have a younger sister, Marjorie. She’s my manager. She’s not going to like that I’m leaving Rise and Shine, Los Angeles, but she’ll adore you, so she’ll get over it.”

“Won’t you miss the perfect weather in southern California?” Petra asks.

“Not even a little,” I say, kissing her gently on the nose. “Who needs sunny California when I can see a perfect, cloudless sky every time I look into your eyes?”

“Who knew that a tornado could bring the perfect guy straight to my—” She gasps, sitting upright in a panic. “The tornado! All of my friends and family are in Mercury Ridge. Were they hit, too?”

“Let’s find out.”

Chapter 6

Petra

I lost my phone to the tornado, but Colby still has his. He hands it to me to do a quick search while he finds us fresh clothes in his duffel bag.

He just hands it to—freely, and without hesitation. Marcus always guarded his phone so closely. Because he was a cheater. How could I have been so blind for so long?

I do a quick Google search and my heart seizes in my chest when I see the news reports coming out of Mercury Ridge. They took a direct hit. I quickly punch in Cressida’s phone number. She doesn’t answer.

Oh, God. Please let her be okay…

I try my grandmother next. She answers on the first ring. “This is Betty Lou McMillan.”

“Grandma! Thank God, you’re okay!”

“Petra? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I assure her.

“Petra’s safe!” Betty Lou shouts, and I wince, pulling the phone away from my ear. A crowd cheers in the background.

“Are Cressida and Jonah okay?”

“Yes,” my grandmother says. “They’re fine. There have been two fatalities discovered so far, but I don’t think they were anyone you know. Sweet Mercury bakery is gone, but Holly and the rest of the staff were all seeking shelter at the firehouse at the time.”

“That’s good,” I say, relieved.

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” she demands. “We’ve all been worried sick about you.”

“The tornado leveled Marcus’s house and my phone was one of the casualties.”

Betty Lou gasps. “Were you injured?”

“I don’t have a scratch on me,” I promise. “I hunkered down in the bathtub, just like I promised Cressida I would.”

“Are you calling from Marcus’s phone? Are you with him again?” There’s disappointment in her voice. Apparently, everyone but me knew that Marcus was a loser.

“No. I’m calling from Colby Raynes’ phone.”