She nodded. She had been surprised at the age of the owner of the motel. She was probably early thirties. Her family had owned the place, she’d told them, and she took over when they wanted to retire. Like Hailey, she had expected the oil boom to sink farther south, and when it hadn’t, she had pivoted and turned some of the units into apartments.
Espy admired a woman who could own a business and pivot like that. And, hey, Broken Wheel seemed full of female entrepreneurs. Mrs. Lopez and the grocery store, Hailey and The Wheel House, Sofia and the motel.
“Are all the businesses in town run by women?”
He flashed a grin at her. “About half, maybe. Another friend, Ginny, owns the diner. Well, she also kind of took it over from the previous woman, who was also a woman. And a woman runs the taco place. Hey, I never thought of it before. But yeah, maybe a little more than half.”
Espy’s phone chimed and she checked it to see a text from her sister. The familiar thrill ran through her when she saw the picture of the radar all lit up, and she turned to her right to look out the window.
“I think it’s time to head north,” she said, and gestured to the building cumulonimbus on the horizon. She’d been so involved in their conversation, she hadn’t been paying attention.
Javi leaned forward to look past her, and she heard him take a deep breath.
“Okay. Next road, we head north.”
CHAPTER8
Javi’s heart pounded as they drove toward the clouds, made darker, he knew, by the reflection of the sunlight behind them, but so ominous. He hated storms, for obvious reasons, and here he was driving right into one, leading a van filled with people straight toward it.
If he was objective, he would find it beautiful, really, the contrast of dark clouds and the light sandy ground, the green of new growth brighter against the dark clouds.
The flashes of lightning were still too far away to hear the thunder.
Beside him, Esperanza was fairly buzzing. “Angelica is confident this storm has a hook, but I’m worried the tornado will be rain-wrapped and we won’t get a good look at it.”
Javi blinked, but then he had to remind himself the whole reason they were out here was to look at the tornado.
To follow it.
Esperanza leaned down and brought her bag into her lap, her gaze remaining straight ahead as she drew out a camera. Of course she’d want to take pictures of the storm, and that seemed to be the kind of camera to do it, with a long lens and lots of controls and buttons.
She started to lower the window, to lean out.
“Do you want to pull over for a picture?” he asked. That seemed to be a better solution than trying to get one out the open window. For one, the picture would be clearer, and she wouldn’t be risking dropping her obviously expensive equipment.
“Um. Maybe, for just a minute.” Her hand already rested on the door handle. “I am wanting to capture the contrast, and maybe a few lightning flashes.”
“How far away is it?” Mr. Laughton asked, leaning forward in his seat as Javi signaled to pull the SUV over to the side of the road.
“Pretty far, still. Maybe thirty miles?” Esperanza started opening the door before Javi was completely stopped.
“Watch out for snakes!” he managed, just before she hopped out. Those little shorts wouldn’t give her much protection against weeds and wildlife.
While Esperanza focused on the storm, Javi focused on her, watching her fingers move surely over the levers and switches of the camera, while holding the camera to her face at the same time. She moved around the front of the SUV, not watching where she was stepping, and her lack of concern made Javi nervous. He checked his rearview mirror for oncoming traffic before he opened the door and slid out to be her lookout.
She looked up from her camera when he joined her, and lifted her eyebrows in question.
“You’re not paying attention to where you’re stepping, so I will,” he said with a shrug.
She didn’t argue with him, just nodded and lifted the camera to her face, holding perfectly still, as if the storm could sense her movement, and being still would bring her the shot she wanted. Again, he didn’t watch the storm, just her, as she nearly held her breath.
Then a smile curled her lips and the shutter clicked in quick succession. Only then did he turn toward the storm as a bolt of lightning was fading from the clouds.
“Gorgeous,” she said, lowering the camera and turning to grin up at him.
Yes. Yes, she was.
“Shall we get back on the road?” he asked, gesturing to the passenger side of the vehicle.
