CHAPTER ONE
Lauren should have called in sick to work today. What were the odds that, out of all the rookie reporters at Tulsa One, she would end up covering the state science competition?
She held her smile for the last shot, grasping the microphone so tightly that her hand ached as she stared straight into the camera and fought the urge to run. Where was a good tornado to chase when she needed one
Her tailored suit jacket stuck to her back, the heat still stifling in mid-August despite the air conditioner working overtime. The muggy convention center ballroom overflowed with laughing teenagers and their proud parents. Individual conversations pulled at her concentration, and she fought to block them out. Lauren Reynolds, Tulsa One News, didn’t notice those things, even if plain old Lauren did.
Beside her, a teenage boy with shaggy brown hair shifted from foot to foot, threatening to blow her concentration more than the entire crowd combined. A first place trophy hid most of his torso, and a lopsided grin revealed metal braces with florescent blue bands. But it wasn’t his constant fidgeting that distracted her. It was how much he reminded her of another boy, who’d worn an almost identical smile after winning his own trophy his senior year.
Lauren’s breathing quickened at the memory, and she fought to keep her brow from creasing as the camera continued to roll. She wouldn’t let being here get to her. This would be the best human interest piece the station had ever seen. If she wanted so much as a prayer of landing the roving reporter spot next year, she needed to impress her boss, Doyle.
“And cut,” Shannon said from behind the camera, her voice rough and raspy. The red light underneath the lens blinked off, and she lowered the heavy equipment from where it rested on one shoulder.
Lauren let the microphone drop. Finally, she could escape this dark pit of unwelcome memories. She turned to the boy, extending a hand even though what she really wanted to do was bolt. It wasn’t his fault he reminded her of someone else.
“Congratulations again,” she said. “The spot should air on the ten o’clock news tonight.”
“Thank you.” He shifted his trophy to one hand, then gave hers a firm shake. The action was so completely Tanner that it had her heart slamming against her ribcage. Lauren had been so proud of his win, and still in shock that such a funny, intelligent senior had chosen her, a mere sophomore, as his girlfriend. Life had seemed perfect. Back then, it had never occurred to her that they might not be together forever.
Then a tornado had launched her parents’ car into a tree, killing them instantly, and Lauren’s entire world had come crashing down around her. Tanner had tried to forcibly repair that world, creating a fissure in their relationship wider than the Grand Canyon.
The boy raced over to parents who enveloped him in a hug. Even his walk reminded her of Tanner—a little unsure and clumsy, like someone who had grown too fast and wasn’t used to his new body.
Guilt coated Lauren’s tongue, thick and bitter. She’d been here a month and was no closer to apologizing for the past than she had been while a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. When she’d received the job offer from Tulsa One, exhilaration had battled with fear. The possibility of covering storms in Tornado Alley was a dream come true, but finally facing her past felt like a nightmare.
But four years was long enough to run. She was no longer a scared eighteen-year-old paralyzed with grief. One of these days, she’d actually make the hour-long drive to Sunset Plains, instead of turning back halfway there like she’d done half a dozen times in the month since her move to Oklahoma. Odds were Tanner didn’t even live there anymore, but she had to try to find him and apologize.
“You did great,” Shannon said, breaking Lauren out of her thoughts.
“Thanks.” Lauren shoved her microphone in the duffel bag of equipment, more than ready to get out of here. Her entire body hummed with the need to chase a storm. Tonight’s weather forecast was promising. Tornado season was typically ended in Oklahoma right about now, but the weather patterns had been unusual this year and meteorologists predicted at least a few more tornadoes through September.
“This piece should turn out halfway decent,” Shannon said. “At least it wasn’t another slice of bread toasted to look like Woodie Guthrie, right?”
Lauren laughed. Last week had been slow for news, and Doyle had picked them to cover that particularly bizarre tale. It hadn’t been easy to keep a straight face while filming the piece. “Yeah, I guess that’s something.
She lifted her hair off her neck, desperate for a breeze, while Shannon lovingly packed up her camera. Could she possibly move any slower? Lauren jealously eyed Shannon’s frayed boyfriend shorts, white tank, and frizzy auburn hair pulled back in a messy bun. Shannon looked cool and refreshed, whereas Lauren knew she was sporting more than a healthy glisten. She’d forgotten how hot Oklahoma summers could be.
Maybe she should have become a professional storm chaser instead of a journalist. No one had cared what she wore during her summers working with the crew. But she’d always planned on being a news reporter, and her parents had enthusiastically supported that goal. Despite abandoning every other reminder of her past, Lauren had stubbornly clung to that one tenuous connection, her anchor in the midst of the hurricane.
Shannon finally zipped the tote bag closed and slung it over her shoulder. Lauren quickly picked up her own bag and wove through the crowd, eager to escape this building filled with unwelcome reminders. Tanner had kissed her breathless in that alcove. She’d held his hand as they walked through those doors. Each of the sweet memories had been tainted by their last three weeks together, and the shame that had clung to her like a shadow for four years.
Lauren burst through the doors, immediately feeling her muscles relax. She peered up at the sky, but no funnel cloud was in sight and no sirens wailed a warning. Just an overcast sky that barely even hinted at rain. She hoped the forecast was right, and the storm was on its way. Didn’t Tulsa know that she hadn’t moved back for clear skies?
Shannon exited the building and raised an eyebrow, the doors swinging shut behind her. “Where’s the fire?”
Lauren raised an eyebrow, pretending to be confused. “What do you mean?”
“You seem awfully eager to get away from here.”
“Just dying of heat stroke,” Lauren said, keeping her voice light. “Hey, Doyle said a thunderstorm’s supposed to hit tonight. Maybe the station will let us tag along for practice.”
“Okay,” Shannon said easily. She popped open the van’s back doors, and they both placed their bags inside.
“I’ll ask Doyle when we get back,” Lauren said. If they were really lucky, a funnel would form, and they’d catch the vortex on camera.
Lauren climbed into the passenger seat of the van, eager to get back to the station. She pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through emails while Shannon cursed their way through the afternoon rush hour traffic. Lauren deleted the emails containing coupons she wouldn’t use before opening the daily digest from The Sunset Plains Chronicle. The newspaper was her daily dose of home. She’d subscribed shortly after leaving, and each piece of information was bittersweet. She hadn’t been there when her best friend from high school, Vanessa, got married and had her first baby. Didn’t get to hear the town gossips titter when Cassidy, Tanner’s little sister, got engaged to a famous movie star. But there hadn’t been a single piece of news about Tanner in four years. Lauren had searched for information about him online with no luck—he’d never been the type to spend much time on social media.
The lack of news was both a relief and a source of stress. No news meant she had no idea what he was up to, but it also meant he probably wasn’t engaged, married, or a father. She knew it was unfair to hope he was still single, but a tiny part of her heart had never fully let go.
A photo appeared at the top of the email, the familiar face making Lauren suck in a breath. She stared at the headline, her heart suddenly beating painfully in her chest.
Obituary for Dana Olson.
What had happened? Mrs. Olson couldn’t have been more than fifty. She’d been Lauren’s favorite high school teacher and her mother’s best friend. Lauren could still see Mrs. Olson’s neat all-caps handwriting filling the whiteboard as she lectured on weather systems. Could still hear her clear voice singing Amazing Grace with the church choir at Lauren’s parents’ funeral.
She’d met Tanner in Mrs. Olson’s classroom. Fallen in love with him there as they connected over their mutual love of meteorology.
Lauren clicked on the link with a shaking finger and quickly scanned the article. Breast cancer. They hadn’t caught it until it was too late. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked, forcing them back.
Shannon glanced over at Lauren, her own eyes filled with concern. “Hey, is everything okay?”
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