The Rancher's Miracle Baby. April Arrington

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СКАЧАТЬ she sped over the crest of the hill and down the other side.

      Two dirt driveways appeared ahead, one on either side of the road and framed by a line of trees. There were no houses visible, but both roads had to lead somewhere. And wherever they ended, there had to be a better chance of shelter there than on the barren highway.

      “Which one?”

      Tammy hesitated, eyeing each entrance and catching sight of a wooden fence lining the dirt road on the right. A fence was promising. It meant a house might follow and, hopefully, people.

      “Right.” She shouted the word, demanding her stiff fingers loosen their death grip on the wheel long enough to make the turn.

      She slammed her foot on the accelerator again, turning her face to the side as a fresh surge of rain flew through the busted windshield, smacking against her cheeks. The truck bounced over the uneven ground, jerking her around in the cab and slinging her bottle of soda from the low cup holder to the floorboard.

      Tammy ducked her head, rubbed her wet face against her soggy shirtsleeve, then braved the lash of the rain again to scrutinize the end of the driveway.

      There was a house, a truck...and a stable.

      “Thank God,” she whispered, jerking the truck to a stop. “We’re going to be okay, Razz.”

      Tammy laid on the horn, then shoved the door open with her shoulder, forcing it out against the wind. No one emerged from the house, and there was no movement outside.

      Please. Oh, please let someone be here.

      “Help!” She pounded her fist on the horn twice more before jumping out of the cab.

      Her boots slid over the slick mud of the driveway, and she gripped the hard metal of the truck, forcing her way through the violent gusts of wind to the trailer.

      Razz jerked her head against the open slats. Her dark eyes widened in panic, stark against the black and white markings surrounding them.

      “I’m right here.” Tammy strived for a calm tone as the spray of wind and rain whipped her bare neck and arms. “I won’t leave you.”

      She ducked her head and continued, making it to the back end and grabbing the latch on the gate. There were deep dents and dings where the hail had hit, making it difficult to pry the door open.

      Razz cried out and thrashed against the walls of the trailer. Each panicked act from the horse sent a wave of dread through her.

      “I know.” Tammy jerked harder at the handle, the bent metal cutting into the sensitive flesh of her palms. “I’m gonna get you out, I promise.”

      A strange stillness settled around the truck, and the lashing rain stopped. She froze, her hand tightening around the latch.

      Moments later, a distant rumble sounded at her back, the rhythmic roar growing louder with each lurch of her heart. Tammy slowly turned and peeled the wet strands of her hair from her eyes with shaky fingers.

      There it was. A towering funnel, churning less than a mile away across the landscape, lifting above the hill she and Razz had just traveled over and bearing down on the other side of the road. Its snakelike outline widened with each passing second, growing in size and tearing across the landscape opposite her.

      She stood, transfixed, as her eyes tracked its powerful spin. Trees hid its base, but large chunks of debris lifted higher into the air with each second, floating on the outskirts of the black spiral before hurtling to the ground.

      The jagged objects were too big and solid to be bits of vegetation. They flipped and twirled like confetti and loose pieces of paper, but they looked firm and heavy. Definitely man-made.

      “Oh, no.” Tammy’s strangled whisper sounded foreign even to her own ears.

      Broken beams of wood. Fragmented sections of brick walls. All pieces of a home. There’d been a house at the end of the other driveway, too. And, possibly...people.

      Her heart stalled. “No...”

      The trees standing at the base of the twister bent, touched the ground, then disappeared into the black swirl of wind. A fierce chorus of cracks and growls erupted into the air, and the furious churning of wind howled across the field.

      Tammy squinted in confusion when the sidetracking motion of the tornado stopped. It was odd. There was movement. Large chunks of debris still twirled with the powerful twister, lifting and lowering with each roar of wind. But, somehow, it was standing still.

      How could—

      Her muscles seized. It wasn’t standing still. The twister had shifted its path and was heading across the field again. In her direction.

      She spun back to the trailer and jerked on the latch violently. “Help! Please!”

      The wind swept away her cry, her lungs burning as Razz’s kicks rocked the trailer.

      Tammy squatted low and yanked harder on the handle, her heart hammering painfully. She needed to run to the house. But to leave Razz without a chance—

      “Please.” She pulled harder, her arms screaming in protest.

      A shrill noise erupted at her side. Something flashed in the air—flat and silver—then slammed into her temple, knocking her to the ground.

      Tammy blinked hard, a sharp pain slicing through her head and a flash of light distorting her vision. Wetness trickled down her cheek.

      Touching a trembling hand to it, she stared at the dark sky above her and noted the absence of rain. The white spots dancing in front of her eyes cleared, and she pulled her hand from her face and held it up. Red coated her palm.

      “It’s just blood, Razz,” she whispered amid the mare’s cries, studying the black clouds through the gaps in her spread fingers.

      A hard blow to the head. That was all. Something her father had doled out on a daily basis by the time she’d reached sixteen.

      A large shape shifted, moving above her and obscuring the dark clouds. Tammy lowered her palm and her gaze locked with a pair of stormy gray eyes.

      A man stared down at her, his broad shoulders and muscled girth blocking the wind. He had tanned skin and black hair sprinkled with silver. The striking mix as deep and rich as the storm overhead.

      His big hands reached for her.

      “My horse needs help,” she rasped, scrambling back.

      His piercing gaze cut to the trailer as Razz’s kicks and desperate cries strengthened. He swung around, gripped the bent latch and wrestled the gate open. A moment later, Razz burst out of the trailer with disoriented jerks.

      “Get,” he shouted, smacking the horse’s rear.

      Razz leaped and took off, galloping out of sight.

      “Come on.” He yanked Tammy to her feet, tucked her tight to his side and ran across the front lawn toward the house.

      Tammy pumped her legs hard, keeping up with his СКАЧАТЬ