Hello all, I've had the start of this sitting for awhile, turning it into a fanfic. Let's see what you all think of it.
It was hot, gross, sticky hot, one of those days when you walk outside and it takes your breath away it's so hot, the way a lot of late June days are in Minnesota. The t-shirt I am wearing is sticking to me, and I could smell my body odor, yup a shower would be in order tonight. Letting out a sigh as I toss the last bag of dog food into the bed of my old worn out chevy. Letting out a groan of annoyance when I slam the tail gate and it falls off, sprinkling rust to the ground. "I really need a new truck" I grumble, to myself of course, as no one is around. I bend down and pick up the rusted tailgate and toss it into the bed. "no sudden peel outs" I remind myself as I hop behind the wheel. Stomping in the clutch, turning the key, I'm delighted when the rusty pile of crap actually starts. "good girl" I pat the dash, and toss it into gear, and make my way out of the parking lot. Now normally I would just jump on the freeway, it's quicker, but with the tailgate laying in the bed of the truck I decide to take the back way. A decision that will forever change my life, but of course I didn't know that at the time. I reach for my pack of Marlboro's. Yeah, I smoke, the one nasty habit I had picked up. Started when I was 12, I've tried to quit numerous times, with no success, eh you only live once, right? Lighting my smoke, I take a drag and ash out the window, of course the beasts air conditioning went out with Y2K, so I have both windows down and zipping down the road at 55 miles an hour, the ashes I had just flicked out, just came back in, landing on my shirt, shaking my head. I'm not concerned by the ash on my shirt, I turn my attention to the road. Up ahead I can see some dark, angry clouds and could hear the faint rumble of thunder in the distance. Smiling, I love a good storm, I reach over and hit play on the radio and smile as my favorite Pink CD starts to play. Yes, I said CD, don't judge me I'm a child of the 90's through and through. I'm even supporting a pair of airwalks I found at the local thrift store. Ten bucks, almost brand new and my size, how could I pass that up? I'm pretty sure I had the same pair in high school. Finally, I come to my turn, slow down to take it, the rumble of thunder, now more of a roar, lightning flashes can be seen now. Normally, when I take this way, once I hit this dirt road, I put the peddle down, and laugh as I fishtail on the gravel, but of course today, and the missing tailgate, means I have to take it easy. It was now starting to rain, I'm not talking small drops that is cold to begin with, no this rain was monster drops and coming down fast. Tossing my half-smoked cigarette out the window, I reach for the crank and roll it up. Groaning when I remember the passenger side window is down too. This means I have to pull over and lean over the warn out seat, and roll it up manually. Stopping the beast and leaning over I catch a glimpse of something in the field, it was hard to see through the rain, but I can see taillights, a closer look I see some tire tracks leading into the corn field. This wasn't one of my brightest moments, because now the monster rain was coming down in sheets, and lightening flashing all around me, the rumble of thunder was now constant. I quickly rolled up the window, stomping on the parking brake to make sure the beast wouldn't roll away I hop out. "hello" I call out, holding my hand in front of my face to try and shield the rain. I got nothing, so I try again "hello, is someone there?" still nothing, taking a deep breath I make my way closer to the car, seeing the taillights light up. "shit" I say to myself as I move closer. From the town I can hear the faint sounds of the tornado siren, that's just outside the town. "shit" I say again as I move quicker, "hello" I say again, the driver's door opens and I lose all train of thought, as a woman gets out. This wasn't any woman; this was the woman of my dreams. I couldn't hear her over the rain, but I see her mouth the word hi. "are you ok?" I raise my voice so maybe she can hear me over the rain.
"what?" she asks, of course we can't hear each other, dumb me, by this time the wind had picked up "are you ok?" I say louder, she shrugs her shoulders. I hear a weird sound and look to my left "shit" I look at her reaching out my hand "come with me, we have to go now" she must have seen it, as she quickly grabs my hand. I led her to the passenger side door, open it for her and run to the other side. Not caring about my seat belt or the 20 plus bags of dog food I have in the bed of the truck, I peel out, and speed down the road only slowing to take the next turn. I heard the squeal of the tires as they hit the blacktop. "whoa" she says once the turn is made.
"sorry" I mumble as I speed down the road, finally coming up on the driveway, I pull in, pressing the accelerator down. As dust flies behind us, it hadn't rained here yet, but it will soon. "when I stop the truck, jump out and head towards the barn, we need to get to the storm cellar"
"ok" I hear faintly as I stomp on the brakes, then quickly stomping down on the parking brake, turning the key, I jump out, and we run towards the storm cellar, luckily my dad and best friend had just made it their when we pulled in and waited to lock the door. My dad holds it open as we rushed in "come on" I say motioning for her to sit "have a seat"
"guy on the radio said it's headed this way" dad says once the door is secure and we can all finally breathe, he looks over at the intruder "who's this?"
"um" I shrug as he hands me a towel
"Zo, finally found a friend" my best friend laughs
"you got jokes today" shaking my head I hand the woman a towel, she was shaking "we're safe in here" my voice is soft
"my daddy made this as a bomb shelter" my dad says "ain't nothing getting through it" he taps the wall. Letting out a breath and looking at my companion "I'm Zo" I reach out my hand. "this is my dad, Daniel, and"
"I'm Alex, the best friend" Alex says reaching out his hand, causing me to shake my head, now was not the time for his jokes. She looks at the three of us almost like we're aliens, then shakes her head "Callie" she shakes my hand "thank you for" she gestures towards the door. I nod, and flinch as something hard hits the door. "hope it misses the kennel" my dad says "those dogs are probably scared shitless"
"that building is reinforced, it'll be fine" Alex says as he reaches into a tote, and pulls out four bottles of water. "it ain't cold but it works" he smiles as he hands one to Callie. I watch as she takes it, with a smile. "so" he starts to say when dad turns on the old cb radio we keep down here, we have it turned onto the storm spotter channel. Normally Alex and I would be out there chasing, but not today. "the rotation is just west of 35 and headed to the east at 50 miles an hour"
"at least it's headed away from us" he says picking up a bottle of water and taking a long drink "Alex and I were working out back when we heard the rumble"
"I saw the clouds as I left town" I say wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand
"you take the back way" he asks
"hmm" I hum, as I too take another long pull off my bottle of water, I watch as he turns his attention towards Callie. Callie, such a pretty name for a pretty lady. Shaking my head at that thought, I know nothing about her, and there's a tornado raging outside, I need to focus on that "so what has you out this way?" his voice cuts through my thoughts
"I was" she starts to say but looks at me "I was out for a drive and something ran out in front of me, when I swerved to avoid it, I" she stopped, I see her tilt her head in confusion "somehow I ended up losing control and ended up in the cornfield"
"dude you pulled her out of a cornfield" Alex laughs
"well, not exactly" I shake my head "I was lucky I saw you, I only pulled over to roll the window up"
"thank god for old shitty trucks" Alex laughs again, shaking my head. The radio crackles "the rotation has now moved past 35" looking at the radio I let out a sigh of relief "Zo you guys good there?" comes out of the speakers. I reach for the mic, hitting the button "we made it down in time, I'm not sure what the damage is yet"
"it went just north of your property"
"ok thanks" I say
"let me know if you need anything I have my cell on"
"thanks Brad" I say and put the mic back on the hook and look at my dad who says "we should be good now" dad says, and moves towards the stairs, unbolting the door, pushing it open. "well damn" he says as he steps out. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see what he was talking about. This little farm had been in our family since his grandpa bought it when he came to America way back when. I've heard the story so many times I should know it by heart. I nod for Callie to head up first and follow. Damn, she's got a nice body, Alex must have caught me checking her out, as I felt a slap on the back of my head. I turn to look at him and he smiles. We got lucky, other than a few down trees, I didn't see anything else. "oh damn" Alex laughs I turn my attention to where he's looking, and laugh also. A tree had landed on the cab of my truck. "guess I'm getting that new truck after all"
"you can fix it" Callie says surprising us all
"um" I say walking closer to it "maybe"
"my dad can fix it" she smiles
"honestly" I laugh "I'm not sure if I want it fixed or not" I walk closer, seeing the bags of dog food still laying in there "this thing is almost older than me"
"I'm gonna go check on the dogs, I'll bring the tractor around and we can unload the food" Alex says making his way towards the building. I follow him with my eyes and note that the sign was dangling, shaking my head I survey the rest of the land. The house was fine, along with the few out buildings we had. Brad did say it went just north of us, I remind myself. I turn towards Callie, "just let me get this unloaded then Alex and I will take the tractor to get your car"
"ok" she nods, luckily the rain had stopped, but you could still hear the rumble of thunder off in the distance. "do you need to call anyone?"
"no" she shakes her head and looks down at the ground shyly, I momentarily contemplate asking her what was up, but decide not to. "can I get you a cold drink? Even if the power is out, everything should still be cold"
"I'd like that" she looks up at me, and I nod towards the house, moving some tree limbs as we went. As predicted the power was out, this always happens when there is a storm. Inside the kitchen I quickly open the fridge and reach for two cans of coke. "I hope coke is ok, we have other flavors in the kennel"
"coke is fine" she smiles as she takes it, I nod for her to take a seat at the table, we're both quiet for a few minutes, when I hear "I want to thank you again for"
"you're welcome" I see her looking around the room "would it be possible for me to" she pauses and squirms in her chair "to use your bathroom?" she finishes with a blush.
"sure, it's that way" I say pointing to the doorway "first door on the right"
"thanks" she jumps up and leaves the room, I try not to watch her but it's inevitable. Letting out a sigh I reach for my drink and take a sip. Hearing the door slam, I look up seeing Alex, he looks around, then at me confused "where is she?"
"bathroom" I nod towards the doorway and see him smile "so you just randomly found a hot chick on the side of the road?" rolling my eyes I shake my head "we already explained how I found her"
"there's gotta be more to it" he sits down, shaking my head I reply "there isn't"
"hmm" he hums and smiles, hearing the bathroom door creak open, we both turn our attention to the intruder. Alex clears his throat "I brought the tractor around, if you wanna get the food unloaded"
"ok" I stand then look at Callie "you can either chill in here or come out with us" I see her smile and nod. As I follow Alex outside, the clouds have parted and the sun is shining now, as Alex and I make our way to the truck. "dude it's a goner" he laughs
"yeah, well" I shrug the damn thing was almost as old as Alex and I, jumping up into the bed I start to hand Alex the bags of food. "how are the dogs?"
"they're fine" he says taking the bag from me and putting it in the trailer that was hooked up to the tractor. Repeating the process a few more times until everything is unloaded. Alex gets on and fires it up, the engine is loud, and smoke hangs in the air. It's a little cooler now, but not much. I jumped off the truck and find Callie standing on the stoop of the house. "just gotta unload now" I see her nod then walk towards me, causing me to smile. There was something about this woman that had me feeling weird, she catches up to me and walks beside me. "so I saw a picture in there, of what looks like a younger you, and you were wearing a dress" I laugh, shaking my head. "that was when I was about 12 or so" I cringe at the memory "my mom made me wear a dress to my uncles wedding"
"so you are a" she starts to say and I stop to look at her with a confused look, I'm not sure if she's going to finish her question or just let it go, but my question is soon answered when she says "a female, sorry I just, with the storm and" she looks me up and down, shaking my head "how I'm dressed" I add, seeing her nod. "sorry to disappoint you" I say quietly, and start to walk, I feel her reach for my arm. Other than helping her out of the ditch this is the first time we have touched, and I feel a tingle run through my body "hey" she says softly "you didn't disappoint me, I was just curious that's all" she smiles "are you?" rolling my eyes knowing what her next question was going to be I answer before she can finish "yes" she smiles, and I notice the dimple on the right side of her face "good" she said quietly "now come on Arizona, let's go help Alex unload that dog food" Arizona? Where'd she come up with that? "nobody calls me that" I mumble
"well they do now" she turns and smiles, shaking my head I follow her, still baffled by the conversation. Catching up to her I lead her through the main door of the kennel. "this is Robbins Kennel" I start to explain "I know the name is very unique but it's what we could come up with in short notice. We board all sorts of dogs here, usually there's more, and the dogs have a lot of fun" one runs up to us waving its tail. "this is Jack, he's ours" I scratch his ears "how you doing buddy" I bent down to talk to him "did the storm scare you?" waving his tail and licking me, I know he's happy, another dog runs up, waving her tail "and this is Jack's girlfriend" Jack barks, letting me know I was wrong "oh sorry wife, this is Jack's wife Rose"
"Jack and Rose, very creative" Callie laughs
"what can I say I was a big fan of titanic back in the day"
"how old are they?" she asks bending down next to me
"well" I say scratching Rose's ears "Jack is about 15 and Rose is" I pause to look at her "Rose is 12" a voice says from behind me, I didn't have to turn I knew it was my dad. "Zo here was obsessed with the movie Titanic when she was younger, and when it came to naming these two she just had to name them Jack and Rose" everyone is laughing, everyone except me of course. "hey" Alex calls out from the back "a little help here"
"shit" I mumble "sorry buddy"
"I'll stay here with Jack and Rose" Callie says
"alright, shouldn't take too long"
"it didn't when you loaded it" she winks and I walk away. I was sure I was wrong, but I swear I could feel her watching me as I did so. I hope she likes what she sees, shaking my head to get that thought away I reach Alex who had already unloaded half the food "good, you do the rest" he says and goes to sit on the tractor again. Shaking my head I begin, and a few minutes later I'm done. "alright done"
"good" Alex says starting the beast up and pulling it around front. I close the door and make my way back towards the front, where my dad, and Callie are in conversation, she was still petting the dogs. "hi" she says when she sees me.
"Alex is pulling the tractor around, did you want to come with us or hang out here?"
"well" she looks at my dad, and then at the two dogs "I think I'll stay here if that's ok"
"that's fine" I smile
"I'll see what I can find for supper" dad says making eye contact with me, I nod and head out the kennel. Alex is waiting for me "hop on, I'm driving" shaking my head I jump up on the tractor and hold on as we start to roll down the driveway "where is her car at?"
"about a mile down 4" I say hearing him let out a groan, this thing wasn't comfortable at all, and couldn't go over 30, and not to mention bouncy as hell. "better hold those down or you'll get a black eye" he says commenting on my boobs. Shaking my head, he wasn't always like this, Alex and I have been friends since we were in diapers. Our moms were best friends back in the day, and somehow, it just clicked with us. I love him, he's my ride or die. He knew I was gay before I did, and I knew things about him before he did. I won't get into that just yet, we have a car to pull out and a pretty lady to get back to. "how much do you know about her?" Alex's voice is heard over the loud tractor.
"not much" I shake my head "just what she told us"
"hmm"
"what?"
"she could be a serial killer on the run"
"why would a serial killer be way the fuck out here?" I ask, and see him shrug "I'm just saying" he smiles, I shake my head "it's just up a head" I point in the direction "or it was" Alex starts laughing "guess Brad was right when he said it was just north of the property line"
"shit" I look around, from the looks of the corn, the tornado went right through here. He stops the tractor and we both get off to look around. The car is nowhere to be seen "it probably ended up in Kepner's barn" Alex said, I shake my head and laugh, it seemed like every time there is a storm something ends up in Kepner's barn, that thing has been rebuilt so many times I lost count. "well hop on, not much we can do right now" a look to the west, let us know the sun was getting ready to set for the night. I didn't realize it was that late. Last time I saw a clock it was only 3, but I guess that was when I was headed into town. Looking around for Callie's car as Alex drives us back to the farm, I didn't see it anywhere. I wasn't dreaming, was I? She's real, right? As if he can read my thoughts "she's real, she's back at home hanging out with Pop" Pop is what he calls my dad. I let out a grunt, as we pull in the gravel drive. Hopping off I see the power is now back on, or maybe dad fired up the generator. I'm surprised that thing still worked, although we don't use it too often. "hello" I call out when I open the door.
"in here" dad says, when I make my way into the kitchen I see my dad and Callie standing at the counter both with aprons on. "how's fried chicken sound?" my stomach grumbles loud causing Callie to laugh "I think that's our answer"
"sorry" I mumble and head to the sink to wash my hands "the power came back on when you left" dad says "why don't you shower before supper, it'll be a bit yet" letting out a sigh, I nod, turning the water off. To be honest a shower sounded amazing after the day I've had. "did you get the car?" he asks as I'm about to leave the room. I turn in the doorway looking at him, then at Callie "well" I let out a sigh "remember how Brad said the tornado went just north of us?" dad nods "well, it must have picked up the car and" I hear Callie laugh then say "my car is missing?"
"well" I laugh, because her laugh is infectious "Alex thinks it landed in Kepner's barn"
"wouldn't doubt it everything ends up in Kepner's barn" dad says "well go get showered you can take her home after supper"
"yes sir" I nod and make my way towards the stairs to my room to get some clothes.
Xxxxxx
Once I'm showered, and dressed I head back downstairs and hear laughing coming from the kitchen, and I have to stop and smile. It's been a long time since laughter was in this house. Sure, Alex and I laugh all the time but not like this. My mom, may she rest in peace, was the one who had everyone rolling, with her smart comments on everything. Looking around in the living room, I see the picture Callie saw earlier. I was 12, my uncle Bert had gotten married, and my mom made me wear a dress. Of course, I pitched a fit, I didn't want to be caught dead wearing a dress, and this picture was taken just when Alex said something stupid and made me laugh, which is the only reason I'm smiling in the photo. "hey" I hear that sweet voice say, and I turn to look at her "hi"
"supper is ready" she says softly, the look on her face let me know she knew my mind was elsewhere, I nod "thanks" she smiles and turns towards the pictures. "your mom was a beautiful woman"
"yes she was, in more ways than one" I smile as we look over the pictures on the wall "oh" she sees one and studies it more. "I can tell that's you, but" she looks closer. It was a picture from graduation of me and Alex, although he went by Alexandra back then, or Lexie, as he'd rather be called "wait is that, Alex?" I nod. "I'll let him tell you the story" she meets my eyes and nods, the sound of plates being set down on the table could be heard "come on, before they eat it all" she smiles, reaching for my hand she leads me to the kitchen. I don't even know her last name, but I could tell I was already falling for this mysterious woman who came into my life out of nowhere. We are now all sat at the table, I wasn't sure if I should give Alex a heads up or not, but turns out I didn't need to, the subject was never brought up. "once everything is cleaned up Zo can drive you home" dad says placing his plate in the sink
"oh" she says looking around "that, that would be"
"you don't want to go home?" I ask quietly
"well" she says "I just" she shakes her head
"you can stay if you want" my dad says "although I don't know why anyone would want to stay here willingly" I roll my eyes and go about washing up the dishes, we didn't have a dishwasher, mom used to say why do we need one when I, meaning me, have two perfectly good hands. Once that is done I head out to the porch for a smoke. Dad didn't mind that I smoke, I just couldn't do it in the house, which sucked during the winter, but it is what it is. The sun had set, leaving it dark out now, the moon, not quite full, was casting a small glow over the field that sat adjacent to the house. At one point we owned it, but dad sold it off when he decided he didn't want to farm anymore. That was when we came up with the idea for the kennel. Sitting back in the old rocking chair I let out a puff of smoke, when I hear the door slam shut. "oops sorry" I have to hold back a smile "your dad told me I could find you out here"
"yup" I smile
"you don't say much" she says sitting down in the other chair
"I do when I have something to say" I wink at her
"and you don't have anything to say to me?"
"well" I say taking a drag off my smoke, watching as the smoke hangs in the air for a moment then floats away "I guess I just don't know you well enough"
"hmm" she hums, great another sound that makes me want to, shaking my head to clear that thought, she laughs and I internally groan "you have me a little baffled" I say
"oh? How?" she smiles
"well, you've been here for hours but yet I have no clue on your last name" she laughs again, causing my heart to skip a beat "I'll clear that up for you" she smiles "it's Torres, Callie Torres"
"Torres?" she nods "as in Torres dealership?"
"that's my dad, but yeah" she nods. Great of all the women I could meet, it had to be the daughter of one of the richest men in southern Minnesota. "hmm" I hum and take another drag off my smoke. "how old are you" I blurt out, then cringe momma always said never to ask a lady her age. "well from the pictures I'm guessing to be around the same age as you" she winks
"how do you know how old I am?"
"well" she smiles "from the pictures" she gestures to the house "I'm guessing you graduated around 2000" I nod "which you'd have been around 18" I nod again "and since is 2023, that would make you"
"42 next month" I add and see her smile "I'll be 42 in September"
"hmm" I hum again taking another drag off my smoke, then stomping it out in the ashtray. "and Alex is the same age?" she asks, I nod. Feeling myself relax a little I look at her "now that I know who you are and how old you are" she tilts her head "will you tell me why you were out driving, and getting caught in a tornado?"
"well I didn't get caught in a tornado, someone saved me from that" she winks causing me to laugh, she scoots closer to me "my hero" rolling my eyes, and feeling that weird feeling inside of me when she lays her head on my shoulder. "my boyfriend proposed"
"boyfriend?" I repeat softly
"ex now" she adds, she's quiet a moment, then says "I said no, and when my dad caught wind of it he went off on me, so I took off in my car"
"which is now missing" I chuckle
"yeah" she laughs, as Jack decides now is a good as time as any to get some lovins, he nuzzles his way in between us. "hello Jack" Callie says scratching his ears. "where's Rose?"
"she died on the Titanic" I laugh
"you know there was enough room for both of them on that door"
"Alex and I have had that argument a million times" I laugh "my other favorite movie is Twister"
"I loved that movie too" she smiles "I saw it in the theater"
"me too, Alex and I went"
"so Alex" she says, Jack had wondered off, so she sat back in her chair "like I said I'll let him tell you that story"
"what story?" Alex asks coming out of the house to join us.
"she saw the pictures" I shrug
"hmm" he hums handing me a can of coke, and one to Callie "and you want to know?"
"why you're wearing a dress and looking all girly" she says not holding anything back. I liked that about her. She wasn't afraid to say what she's thinking.
"oh" he says sitting down, reaching for my pack of Marlboros and lighting one "well I never felt right in my body, like I didn't feel like I was a girl, and that picture hanging in there is the one and only time I've ever warn anything close to a dress"
"did you have the surgery?"
"yes and no" he says taking a drag off his smoke "I've had the top half done, but not the bottom"
"he runs around here on hot days with his shirt off, kinda makes me jealous" I laugh
"well you could do it too" Alex laughs,
"my luck Mrs. Webber would come to drop Sheldon off and have a heart attack" the three of us laugh, I look at Callie "you know Mrs. Webber?"
"I do" she nods "and to give the old bat a heart attack would almost be worth it"
"hey she's a nice lady" Alex cuts in
"only because she has a thing for him"
"I can see that" Callie laughs and the three of us sit there talking until Alex decides he's had enough, and heads to bed. "let me show you to the guests room" I say making my way to the stairs with Callie following me "here we are" I open the door "it might be a little dusty, I'm not sure the last time someone stayed in here" I walk into the room "I'm sure it's not what your used to"
"it's perfect" she smiles, I run my eyes up and down her body.
"I'll get you something comfortable to sleep in" I say and turn to leave before she can say anything, quickly returning with a t-shirt and shorts. "they might be a little big for you, but it'll work" I say handing her the clothes "thank you" she smiles
"well" I wipe my hands on my shirt "I'll leave you to it, if you need anything I'm the next room over" I point towards the wall "if you knock loud enough I'll hear you, these walls are pretty thin"
"got it" she smiles and my heart skips a beat again "well good night" I turn to leave and reach for the door when it's about half way shut I hear "Arizona" looking at her I nod "I don't know if I've thanked you for saving me"
"no need to thank me" I smile, seeing her nod "good night" I say again
"good night" she says softly and I close the door, leaning my head against it I let out a deep sigh. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea the day would end like this. Although tomorrow I have a lot of cleaning to do around the property, I know I won't be getting much sleep tonight. Taking another deep breath, I lift my head off the door and head into my room. I've at least gotta try and sleep.
Well there's chapter 1 should I continue?