Taking Chances: Tangled Up Part 6

As she made her way back to his truck, Bree acknowledged that they had a lot bigger things to concentrate on at the moment. Well, maybe not bigger, but more urgent, anyway.

But they would have to talk about what had happened. And if it was going to happen again. And what it meant. Her body tingled at the thought even as she felt a knot of unease in her gut.

She forced herself to focus on the moment and her job. They would have a chance to talk later after the immediate issues were taken care of. Max would be there for them all to lean on.

But her stomach twisted again. She needed Max to be there. Forever. Had they just ruined that?

They stopped and checked three more cars abandoned on the road. All empty, no one injured lying in the road or ditch.

Bree made a call to the office with the license plates so that they could work to track down the owners and be sure everyone was safe and accounted for.

"I need to go to the station," she told Max as she disconnected. "They're calling everyone in."

He nodded. "I a.s.sumed. I'll go with you and see what they know. I need to call Mom and Dad and then find Jake and Dillon. We'll do whatever we can."

Bree didn't miss the irony of having three of the most prominent men in Tornado Alley's emergency management all together in Chance for the third EF4 in a row.

Her mind went to her parents and friends as well. Her mom and dad were in Puerto Rico at the moment and wouldn't be home for a couple more weeks. Bree would let them know she was okay, but they probably wouldn't hear about the tornado until she told them. She really needed to talk to her friends Avery and Kit. Not only did she want to know they were okay, but she needed to talk to them professionally as well. Avery was the fire chief, and Kit was the town's psychiatrist. They would be knee-deep-maybe even armpit-deep-in the storm recovery as well.

They pulled up in front of the police station and took the steps two at a time together.

Chief Mitch.e.l.l was there with the mayor, Frank Harvey.

"Max, thank G.o.d you're here," Frank greeted Max.

Wes Mitch.e.l.l looked relieved to see him as well. He shook his nephew's hand. "It's rough. Have you seen much?"

"We just got back to town," Max said. "We were out spotting."

Wes nodded. "Bree called, and then I heard your report over the radio."

"Have you been out?" Max asked.

"Just heading there now. The reports so far say it's a big mess over in the trailer park, several other houses, too, but the school was worst hit."

Bree sucked in a breath. That's where Avery had been, helping set up for the alumni dinner tonight. That's where a lot of people had been.

"Everyone is accounted for except Avery and Jake," Wes said a moment later, as if he'd read Bree's mind.

Bree and Max exchanged a worried look.

"I thought Jake was at home with his mother," Wes said of his son. "But I just talked to her. He headed out a while ago. They reported from the school that Jake was up there before the touchdown," Wes said. "No one's seen him or Avery since."

"I saw him driving that way when I was picking Bree up," Max confirmed. "I'll head over there now. I haven't tried getting a hold of him."

"I tried his cell, but he didn't pick up," Wes said.

Bree wanted to say something but had no idea what it would be. Clearly her boss was concerned about his son, but he had to concentrate on the community as a whole as well.

"What can I do, Chief?" she asked.

"Go on patrol," he said. "We need to check homes and buildings, make sure we can account for everyone who is supposed to be in town tonight. If people are missing, we need to track them down." He sighed. "We have a lot of work to do. We might have to do some digging, too. The Methodist church was. .h.i.t, but the three people inside have already been rescued."

Bree knew that at this point the digging would be through ruined buildings and homes to find people . . . or bodies. She nodded her understanding.

"I'll help with all of that," Max said. "But I need to find Jake first."

Wes nodded with a look of grat.i.tude. "Thank you."

"I'll find him," Max said confidently. "Then we'll put his a.s.s to work."

Wes grinned at that, and Bree felt a surge of . . . something . . . toward Max. He had an easy way about him. He was laid-back but confident. It was hard to get too worried or nervous or worked up around him.

Unless there was an EF4 twister bearing down.

Or he had his hand in her pants . . .

"Bree? Okay?" Max asked.

She shook her head and focused. "Um, sorry, what?"

"I'm going to head to the school," he said, clearly repeating himself. "Wes and Frank are going that way, too, but they're going to swing through the trailer park. You grab a couple other officers and start on the other side of town, okay?"

"I was hoping to talk to Avery."

Max glanced at Wes and Frank, but they were already discussing a new topic. "I'm going to find Jake," he told her.

She nodded. "I know, but-"

"Jake was up at the school. Avery was up at the school. I think it's safe to a.s.sume that when I find him, I'll find her."

Bree had to admit he had a point. Jake and Avery rubbed each other the wrong way, but they couldn't seem to stay away from each other. Bree knew they had some history that dated back to high school. She also suspected there was more to it than Avery had told her. But Avery was a tough nut. She didn't share personal thoughts and feeling easily.

"Okay," she agreed. "But call me when you know something."

"Promise."

She nodded her thanks.

He moved his hand as if he were about to lift it. But it dropped back to his side. "Be careful out there."

Had he been about to touch her?

He wanted her to be careful. It wasn't like he'd never said that to her before, but for some reason this time felt different.

The ditch? Had that changed things? And if it had, was it for the better . . . or not?

She nodded.

"Say it," he said softly. "Tell me you'll be careful."

Okay, that was definitely new. Him needing to hear it, him giving her a soft, firm order.

Her finding that kind of hot.

"I'll be careful," she promised.

He started to turn away, and she wanted to grab him. There was something there, almost like he was . . . frustrated? That couldn't be right. She wanted to know more about all the emotions behind his eyes. But they all had work to do.

Max found Jake and Avery. Together. With Avery in nothing but high heels, sweatpants with the high school's logo on them, and Jake's dress shirt.

There had always been something brewing between Jake and Avery. It looked like Jake had finally done something about it. Or lost his mind during a tornado.

Max knew a little about that.

Rather than curiosity or humor about Jake and Avery, he was. .h.i.t by a strong wave of jealousy, and that did not amuse him.

f.u.c.k.

He'd kissed Bree. In a ditch. During a tornado.

He wasn't sure which one of those things was the most dangerous of the three. The ditch had been dirty. The tornado could have killed them.

But yes, the kiss had been the most dangerous. For sure. And then there was what had followed the kiss.

What the f.u.c.k?

He lifted his bottle of water and took a few long swallows. He was now at the temporary shelter for workers at the Lutheran church with Jake and Dillon after several long hours of work. The three had been in different places around town all night. Jake had done what Max had-hit the streets, checking buildings and homes, making a record of who was where and what shape they were in and which buildings were of concern, and helping clear roads so emergency personnel could get through. Dillon had been at the hospital helping with medical cases.

The immediate stuff was done, and they were now taking a break, debriefing one another and trying to come down from the emotions of the night before trying to sleep.

The three of them had worked similar situations together in the past. Many times. They'd all three gone straight into the National Guard after graduation and had been at several disaster sites together. Bigger disasters than this, with casualties and years of rebuilding ahead.

But this one felt worse to him, and Max knew his cousins felt the same way. This was home. These were their neighbors, friends, and family.

In fact, their family's business had been directly impacted. Montgomery Farms was a mess. One metal storage building had been blown over, another had a tree sitting on half of it, and the main building had definite roof damage. The house, too, had lost shingles, some siding, and a couple of windows. About a third of the pumpkin patch had been tossed, there was a deep rut cut through the middle of the strawberries, and they were waiting until daylight to see how the orchard looked.

It was no exaggeration to say that the town's well-being hinged on the sale going through to the Kansas family, and their visit in two weeks would be their first in-person look at the farm and the town.

The farm and the town that was currently a bedraggled, stirred-up mess.

Max felt a tight knot in his gut, and his knee throbbed. It had been ever since the ditch and dive/fall on top of Bree. As usual. Whenever he was with Bree for more than a few hours, his knee felt it.

But the feeling that everything was a mess wasn't just because of the pumpkin patch or his leg.

He'd been feeling it since Bree had kissed him. When he should have been making plans and strategizing and prioritizing to get Chance dug out and fixed up, his brain wouldn't let him leave that ditch, or Bree, or the feel of her coming apart around his fingers . . .

"You and Avery in the shed, huh?" he said to Jake.

He needed to get his mind on something else. Something that would make him feel better. But he wasn't sure that the subject of Jake and Avery would do it. It simply reminded him that crazy stuff had happened during the tornado.

Jake glanced at Max with a mix of annoyance and resignation that said, You just can't let it go, huh?

Nope.

"Avery?" Dillon repeated. "You get your kiss already?"

Jake kissed Avery every time he came home to visit. Just a kiss. But enough to keep him on her mind once he left. Max could only a.s.sume the flirting and kissing that exasperated the pretty redhead was Jake's way of getting back at her for breaking his heart right after high school.

Max could relate to that. For years, he'd wanted Bree to regret her decision to dump him. Then, after she'd turned him down for a romantic night in front of the fire in Colorado two years ago, he'd realized that it wasn't him, it was her. But it had nagged at him until he'd truly accepted Bree for who she was. She wasn't wired for a relationship like the one he wanted. It wasn't her fault. It was just the way it was. And the only sucky thing in his life.

He was an expert at ignoring it now. She'd said romance between them would change their relationship. Of course it would. That was what he wanted. But it was definitely not what she wanted. So now he automatically tamped down any thought of changing things between them. Which meant that getting her off in the ditch had been a stupendously stupid thing to do.

That had, without question, changed how he'd look at her forever. He'd wanted her before. Now he was expecting some very dirty and inappropriate dreams. Forever.

Jake glanced over at the cot where Avery had fallen asleep. "We went out to get more streamers," he said with a shrug. "And . . . things happened."

"Things?" Dillon c.o.c.ked an eyebrow.

"Things," Jake told him. "Like a tornado. For instance."

"You kissed her," Max said. "During a tornado. Again."

"She kissed me, actually," Jake said.

Max and Dillon both raised their brows at him. Avery usually avoided and ignored Jake as much as possible.

"Seriously. She initiated it."

What had been swirling around in that cloud that had made all the women go crazy?

"She walked out wearing only sweatpants and your shirt," Max added, making sure Dillon had all the details he had.

"That's a . . . long story," Jake said.

"Are you satisfied now that you got her naked again?" Dillon asked.

Max watched Jake with interest. Was he? Could he get Avery out of his system?

Because satisfied was really not what Max was feeling at the moment. In fact, if he had to label how he felt about his tornado tryst, it would be p.i.s.sed off. Because what had happened in that ditch had been 10 percent about him . . . and 90 percent about that f.u.c.king tornado.

He knew Bree. He knew how she worked, what made her tick. Adrenaline got her going-fast and hard. And along with everything else swirling around in that ditch, there had been plenty of that.

It was just like Bree to get turned on by a tornado. He just happened to be the guy in the ditch next to her.

Maybe that was what had happened in the shed. Jake just happened to be there when Avery got all wound up.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.