On the outside, we were both all smiles, but inside, my heart splintered at the knowledge that she was getting to an age where she noticed more adult things like this. How could I tell her that running the farm was a two-man job? Jackson and I were supposed to have been looking after it together, but I had to do everything myself now. Once he’d ditched us, he had the time spare that he could go out and meet people, hook up, whatever. I didn’t because I was essentially working two full-time jobsandbeing her primary caregiver. Where was I supposed to find the time to date?
Thankfully, I was spared any more humiliating questions about my social life, or lack thereof, when we pulled into the gas station. I’d already noted that my fuel was lower than I liked it being, so I parked next to one of the pumps, figuring I could grab some gas while we were there. I hopped out of the cabin and waved at the attendant, Gabe, who was standing at the window, watching for customers. He waved back and flicked the switch to allow me to pump what I needed.
Rose hopped down from her seat and called Bucky to follow. He was a well-trained pup, and Gabe knew him well, so I wasn’t worried that she was taking him into the store with her. “If you wait for me to finish pumping the gas, I can help you find what you need.”
After making sure Bucky had his leash clipped to his harness securely, she shook her head. “Nah. Starlet Scarlett’s in there. She’ll help me.”
Sure enough, when I looked through the windows to the rest of the store, Scarlett, Gabe’s work colleague, was packing the shelves. Somewhat relieved that Rose had a woman she could ask about these things and proud as all hell that she didn’t feel embarrassed to ask for that help, I said, “Okay. Don’t take too long, yeah? We need to get home just in case a tornado touches down.”
She waved over her shoulder at me as she walked into the store and headed straight for Scarlett, her long brown hair swinging in the breeze that had been present all day.
I watched Scarlett stand up straight, then tilt her head to the side as she listened to Rose, then nod before she cast a quick glance out the window to see me watching them. With a cheeky grin on her face, she signed something to Rose, who laughed andnodded. They both then headed to a different shelf and paused like they were discussing something.
Eventually, Rose nodded again and hugged Scarlett before she headed to the rear of the store, where the restrooms were located. Given the high windows somewhat hindered my view of the store interior, I couldn’t see where Bucky was, but I was sure he’d dutifully followed Rose. We’d trained him early on that whenever he had his harness on, he was to stick close to whoever held the leash. Regardless, both Gabe and Scarlett loved him, so if he hadn’t clung to Rose, he’d be fine with them until I went in to pay for everything. I watched Scarlett grab a couple more things from the shelves before she headed to the counter to leave them there, no doubt for me to pay for when I went in.
After the pump kicked off to let me know I’d filled the tank, I replaced the nozzle and frowned when I realized how dark the sky had become in the short time since we’d arrived. The pumps were all under a canopy, so I didn’t have a clear view of the sky, but looking out at the horizon, I could see the dark clouds from before had dropped further and had tinted a worrying shade of green.
Clenching my jaw, I grabbed my phone, wallet, and keys from the cab, locked the truck, and hightailed it to the store. I needed to pay for our stuff immediately and get Rose and Bucky homenow.
The sound of the bell tinkling when I opened the door to the store barely registered as I walked briskly in. I hadn’t bothered to put my wallet away while I approached the counter, finding ibuprofen and chocolate alongside an opened pack of pads waiting for me. I scanned the store only to gather that Rose was still in the restroom with Bucky. Not having her in my sight when the weather had turned so nasty worried me something fierce, but I figured she’d be out soon enough. It couldn’t take that long to do whatever she needed to do, surely.
Gabe greeted me with the total of my gas and goods and his own look of worry. As I tapped my card to the machine, Gabe turned the radio he’d been listening to up so I could hear it too.
“We have reports of a tornado on the ground in the township of Rockdale. I repeat, we have reports of a tornado on the ground. If you are in Rockdale, we urge you to move to shelter immediately. This is not a drill. A tornado emergency is now in effect. Find shelter immediately.”
What fingernails I had were rapidly tapping away on the counter as I stared at Gabe. In unison, we turned to look outside to see heavy droplets of rain begin to fall.
My heart thumping hard, I grabbed the bag of stuff I’d purchased off the counter. “You’ve got a storm shelter in here, Gabe?”
“Yeah,” he said, kicking into high gear as well and putting things away behind the counter. “In the back.”
“Anyone else here? Or is it just you and Scarlett?”
“Just us. Drew’s running errands.” He looked around the store, locking onto his colleague who had resumed packing shelves. “Hey, Scarlett! Emergency closure procedure!”
I took a deep breath in. With Gabe’s boss, Drew, away from the store and no other customers that I could see, we might be okay. “I hope it’s big enough for four people and a dog.”
He nodded as he flicked the radio off, and Scarlett hurried up to the counter to check in with him. “Plenty of room.”
“Good.” Leaving them both to do what they needed to do and with the bag in hand, I ran first to the shelves for a flashlight, figuring that we were going to need one if the power went out, then for some batteries. “Gabe, I’ll pay for these later!”
“Yup!” he called distractedly, his and Scarlett’s sneakers squeaking on the shiny linoleum as they rushed around the store to complete their tasks.
I held the flashlight in the crook of my underarm as I ripped into the packaging for the batteries and pulled out what I needed. While dumping the trash and leftover batteries into the bag, I headed to the restroom to pound on the door. “Rose! We need to take shelter!”
“You’ll see the sign on the door out back,” Gabe called after me. “Open it to find the stairs.”
“Got it!” I called back.
There was some sound of movement before the door opened, and then all I could see were two wide brown eyes staring at me in concern. “What?”
“Twister.” I handed her the bag and fiddled with the flashlight to pop two batteries in as I walked her and Bucky to where Gabe had said the shelter was. I looked over my shoulder to see him talking to Scarlett, who was just as wide-eyed as Rose was, but she was nodding at whatever it was he was saying. Turning my attention back to my daughter, I handed her the flashlight and searched for the door Gabe had said to look for, letting out a quick breath when it appeared quickly and exactly where he had said it would be. I held the door open for Rose and ushered her inside. “Take this. Go down the stairs and get as far back from the door as you can. Stay there, okay? We need to lock up the store.”
Her hands shook slightly as she took the flashlight from me, but her obvious concern didn’t stop her from saying, “I can help.”
I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a tight hug while Bucky fidgeted at our feet. His tail was low and not swinging from side to side like it usually did. It was obvious that he knew something was up. “The best thing you can do to help is to get in the shelter and wait for us.” I kissed her on the forehead. “Love you, kiddo.”
“Love you too, Daddy Danny.” She gripped my waist, then pulled away and tugged on Bucky’s leash. “Come on, Puppy Bucky.” With a mixture of love and worry in her eyes, Rose glanced at me one last time before she disappeared down the stairs.
