The girls settled into a comfortable routine that might have been monotonous for anyone but them. They'd get on the ATV and go down to the barn and check on the horses. Maybe one of the hands might have seen something interesting and would tell them about it. Or someone was trying out a new reining routine or was practicing cutting and the girls would watch for a while before taking off.
Katie was envious of the relationship her sister had with her husband. She hadn't expected Travis to be such a tender and caring person. He treated Coralee like a queen, and she could tell her sister appreciated it.
They were riding away from the barn and into the hills when they stopped because Coralee wanted to take a closer look at an interesting cloud formation. For the most part, the sky was always a clear blue, the intense heat they were experiencing would cause any clouds that formed to evaporate.
They wandered around for a bit, and Katie asked a question that she had refrained from asking her sister for fear of upsetting her.
"Coralee, aren't you going nuts not being able to ride? I mean, you've always been on horseback whenever you had the chance, don't you miss it?" Katie looked at her, waiting for an answer.
"Of course, I do, if it was okay I'd be riding. I lost one baby, and I don't want to lose this one, too. If I wanted to ride, believe me, I'd find a way." Coralee hoped this would be enough of an answer.
Katie sighed. "You know," she said, "I always thought that you and I would find a couple of local boys and get married, and then we'd get pregnant around the same time. I envisioned our kids being born a few days apart, and then growing up together like we did, you know, with our cousins, even though they're older than us. I never dreamed you'd get married and move away like you did. I miss you every day, you know." A few tears formed in Katie's eyes.
"Look, I miss you too, and Mom and Dad and our sibs. Sometimes it's hard, harder than I expected it to be. I had no idea that I was going to marry Travis and leave Montana. I always thought what you thought, that we'd do all those things and raise our kids together. But I'm married to the man I love; I can't see being married to anyone else. Texas is hard for me, but I'm getting used to it. All I can tell you is that you should come down here as often as you can so we can spend time together like we used to."
The little cloud didn't disappear, and several others began to join it. Coralee didn't worry, there were no storms predicted so it was probably nothing.
But something strange was happening. The clouds kept gathering and went from puffy white to a darker grey. Coralee kept looking up, and soon she could not hide her concern from Katie.
Katie could tell something was bothering her sister. "What is it, Cory?" she asked, "Those clouds don't look like rainclouds."
"No, but I've learned not to trust the weather here. You know what they say about Texas, tornado season is three-hundred-and sixty-five days a year. I don't think a tornado is coming, but I think we may be in for a storm. On the one hand, that's a good thing, we could use the rain, but storms here can get out of hand, and we might wind up with a flood, or a washed-out road. I think we should head back; I don't want to get stuck in a rainstorm, not if I can help it. I hope Travis notices it, or at least I hope I'm just being paranoid."
They got into the ATV and went as quickly as they safely could to the house. Katie felt a few raindrops and said, "Well, it's rain but it doesn't seem so bad."
"It could get worse and can," her sister told her, "We have some spectacular thunder and lightning storms in Montana, but you ain't seen nothing until you've experienced a storm here. After that, Montana's storms will seem like nothing, and if we have a tornado, it will be even worse."
"No," said Katie, "no tornados please. If we have a tornado I'm going back to Montana."
More clouds came in and the sky continued to get darker. The wind started to come up, blowing the rain around. Travis got the horses in and then came to the house; it was no use working outside when the weather was like this. The clouds were starting to look like thunderheads, and it was obvious now that they were facing the possibility of a lightning storm.
He shook the moisture off his hat and hung up his damp denim jacket. "No sense staying out in that, I think we're in for a big one. I should check the lightning rods, but I think they're secured.
Coralee poured a whiskey for him. "Elena fixed dinner, then left. It's in the oven so we can eat when we like. There's chili rellanos, black beans, and rice. She also made a salad that's in the refrigerator. Are you going to hook up the generator?"
He took his drink and kissed her. "I probably should, but I'd like to take it easy for a minute. Why don't I build a fire and you get out the candles and the Coleman lanterns?"
"Umm, that sounds nice. We can do without TV, we've got the radio if we need to find out what's going on. It's kind of nice to have candlelight instead of electric light, and we'll get all the warmth we need from the fireplace. Does that sound all right to you, Katie?"
Katie couldn't understand why Travis and Coralee sounded so casual. Wasn't there an imminent threat of a tornado? Didn't they sometimes start like thunderstorms?
"Is there a tornado coming?" the panic was plain in her voice, "Are we in danger?" She could hear the wind coming up and suddenly a bolt of thunder seemed to hit right over the house.
"No Katie, it's not a tornado," Travis tried hard not to laugh, "You'll know when a tornado is coming, it makes a noise like an express train, it's very distinctive. This is a good, old fashioned, Texas thunderstorm. The only thing I'm worried about is flooding, and the road washing out. That's the worst of it."
"Do you think the culverts I asked you to put in might help divert the rain?" asked Coralee, "Do you think they'll work?"
"Well, sweetheart," he said, "we'll see. That was a good idea that you had and though I don't want us to deal with flooding, I'm eager to see if it worked. If so, it may save me from having to rebuild the main road. In that case, I'm going to start adding some more."
At that moment they heard the clap of thunder, and Katie screamed for it sounded like it was just overhead.
He poured Katie a whiskey, saying, "Here, that's not the only one you'll hear tonight. The storm is going to get worse before it gets better. We'll have some spectacular lightning, too, so stay away from the windows. I left the puppy with the wranglers, I'm sure she'll be all right, but I expect she's going to be as scared as you are.
Coralee got out plates and silverware. Just as she set the table the lights flickered and with the next roll of thunder, they went out. Unfazed, she began lighting candles and took a Coleman lantern to Katie's room, then one to her and Travis's.
"We better eat before dinner before it gets cold. Katie, with all the thunderstorms we've gone through in Montana, I'm surprised you're scared by a little thunder and lightning," Coralee said.
"This is different," mumbled Katie, "Montana's storms were never as scary as this."
"At least there won't be any fires, not with all this rain, and we need the rain, you know." Coralee sounded cheerful and Katie wanted to kill her, but she and Travis were calm, seeming unconcerned, and it helped to calm her down, a little.
The rain came down harder. The log and adobe walls were sturdy, but the thunder rattled the windows and shook the metal roof. Katie wondered at the way Travis and Coralee could sit and calmly eat their dinner; each clap of thunder made her wonder if a window might be broken, or the wind might force the door open.
No TV and nothing was interesting on the radio, all they could do was wait out the storm.
"How long will this last?" Katie asked because she didn't know if she could take any more.
"It will probably be over by tomorrow morning," Travis answered her, "And for a few days we'll have fresh grass and everything will be green again for a while. The weather here can be harsh, you never know what you'll get. My only concern is that the road doesn't wash out." He stood up and offered Coralee his hand, "Come on babe, let's go to bed. Take a candle with you when you go upstairs, Katie. The Coleman lantern will provide you with plenty of light in your room."
"I think I'll stay here where the fire is," Katie told him, "I feel safer here."
She watched as they disappeared upstairs and then threw a couple of logs on the fire. She watched as they caught, the flames cheered her up, and sitting in front of a fireplace always made her feel better.
Coralee came downstairs, carrying a quilt and a pillow. As she wrapped the quilt around her sister they heard another clap of thunder, only this time it seemed further away.
"Does that mean the storm is moving away?" She asked Coralee and her sister nodded.
"It's probably heading north. Just wait, there will be fewer and fewer thunderclaps. The storm is dying down and will be gone by morning. I hope the power is on by then, Texas has a lousy power grid system and sometimes the power can go out for days. With that idiot we have for a governor I don't see things getting better." She sighed and looked at Katie's whiskey, she'd love to have a sip or two but she'd promised Travis she wouldn't drink during her pregnancy, and she was determined to keep that promise.
"Katie," she said to her sister, "I want to tell you something but don't breathe a word of this to Travis. I hate Texas, I hate it. Sometimes the people are wonderful, but the politics here can be ugly. I hate the heat, but I hate how you can't count on the weather. I'm not scared of thunderstorms, but if it doesn't rain there's a possibility of fire. And when it rains like it did tonight, there can be flooding, the flash floods can be deadly.
"I miss Montana, you know? I miss the mountains, the forests, and the rivers, but most of all I miss green. Everything here is brown; the sun burns everything, and I hate it."
"Then why did you move here?" asked Katie.
"Because Travis loves Texas, this is where he grew up. He hates snow as much as I hate the heat. He's been so happy since we moved here, and he's always wanted his equine training facility. I know he's going to do well; I believe in him. It's just that it's hard on me. Texas tests you, it really tests you."
"Does he know how much you hate it here? Have you told him?" Katie was wondering if her sister had married the right person after all.
"No, and I'll never tell him. I don't want to be that kind of wife. He promised me that I could visit family if I got too lonely and I think Dad would like the ranch if he saw it. It's just so hard being away from everything I know, sometimes I wonder if I'm going to survive Texas!