Page 76 of Recipe for Rivals
Ben is freaking out
My stomach tightened. I could picture that tiny kid panicking at the thought of an enormous tornado ripping through his little apartment. That was extremely unlikely to happen, but they didn’t know that.
Dusty
Want me to come over? It’s just a watch, so we really don’t have anything to worry about
Nova
What does that mean? When do we start worrying?
I debated texting more, but just dialed instead. It was difficult to determine tone through messages, but she seemed pretty nervous.
“Hey,” she said, answering quickly. She sounded breathless.
“So a watch just means the weather is right for a tornado. We get watches all the time, and they don’t usually turn into anything. When it changes to a warning, then you need to turn on the news.”
“Why?”
“To see where the tornados are, what the trajectory is, if they’re hitting down. A warning means the storm is in your area and possibly creating a tornado. You don’t need to wait out the whole thing in your bathroom, though. The news will keep you pretty educated.”
“Okay,” she said, still breathless. “This is new for us.”
I paused my movie. “I’ll come over.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I want to. If it’s not a bother, at least.” I went still, an idea growing in my head. What this family needed was a distraction. If they panicked every single time we got a tornado watch, they would spend the spring and fall rainstorms in a constant state of worry. “Are any of you allergic to cats?”
Nova was silent for a minute. “No. Why?”
“Um, you’ll see.” I’d planned on an early night since I started my next shift in the morning, but it was only seven-thirty. I had plenty of time to see the Walkers and still get a full night’s rest. “I’ll be there in ten.”
We got off the phone, and I went to brush my teeth and gather Leia before heading out. Ten minutes later I was on their porch, holding my cat against my chest and knocking on the door. Nova swung it open. Her hair was back in a French braid, and she wore a cozy looking pullover.
Her eyes dropped to my orange striped cat, her eyebrow lifting. “You brought an animal.” She smiled. “Hello, gorgeous.”
I stroked the back of Leia’s head to keep her calm. “I thought you weren’t a cat person.”
Nova shrugged, opening the door wider. “This one looks pretty cute. It also explains why you were buying so much cat food when we met.”
“I like to give her a treat when I get off work sometimes, and she loves wet cat food. You know, bribe her to love me despite leaving her alone during my long shifts.”
“I don’t think she needs much bribing,” Nova said, eyeing how content my cat looked in my arms.
Alice stood against the wall, watching me eagerly. Nova’s computer sat on the counter, the news playing loudly.
“We moved to a warning,” she said, her brown eyes wide.
I’d gotten the alert on my phone while I was driving. “Don’t worry,” I said quietly. “It’s going to be okay.” I turned my attention to Alice. “Should I sit on the couch so you can come meet this lady? Her name is Princess Leia, but I just call her Leia.”
Alice nodded. It took about ten minutes of coaxing to get Leia to allow Alice to hold her, then she jumped to the floor and slinked away to explore the house. Ben and Alice followed her around at a distance while Nova sat beside me on the rich blue cushions, her laptop perched on her legs and the news playing loudly, the weatherman constantly repeating himself.
Ben giggled from behind the chair where he and Alice were bent, trying to see where Leia had hidden under the table.
“I’m gonna be honest,” Nova whispered. “I’m almost as terrified as Ben.”
We looked at him laughing with Alice, not a hint of concern on his face.