No Place Like Home

She turned her attention to the group occupying the table in the center of the cafе, wondering which one was Stormy—the burly old man in coveralls, the dark-haired devil using a laptop or one of two slender young men who looked like they belonged on safari. Realizing she’d have done better to blend with this group clad in khaki and denim, she envisioned herself in her Levi’s and forced a smile.

“Hello. I’m Mariah Morgan from the Wichita office of Plain View Magazine. I noticed the plates on the white truck outside and wondered if one of you folks might be Stormy Taylor.”

Eyebrows raised. Skeptical glances were exchanged. No one offered a word.

Then a husky voice drawled from behind her, “I’m Rafe Taylor.”

Mariah clenched her jaw. Hanging on to her smile with effort, she faced those assessing eyes once more. “Mr. Taylor.”

The occupants of the table behind her snickered.

“Rafe will do.”

“Rafe, then.” She would remain gracious; she preferred gracious to groveling, which was probably closer to the truth, all things considered. He hadn’t responded to any messages she’d left him at his headquarters in some obscure little map dot in southwest Kansas called Tassel. His secretary had finally deigned to take her call, only to send her on this goose chase to track him down—an obvious ploy to discourage her. The death of his wife during a tornado last spring, leaving him with a daughter to raise, had apparently triggered an animosity for all journalists, not just those who went after his tragic story. With a confidence she didn’t feel, she continued, “Your secretary helped me locate you.”

Another round of snickers ensued, which Rafe silenced with a wry glance.

…eight…nine…ten. Mariah exhaled and continued again. “As I told your friends, I’m from Plain View Magazine. We’d like to do a feature regarding your work as a storm photographer.”

“Why?”

Why? Most people didn’t care why. They just wanted to be written up in a magazine. Heaven only knew what it would take to tempt this man who obviously despised journalists. Striving for professionalism, she quoted, “Editors at Plain View believe your occupation appeals to human interest, thus enabling us to entertain readers while at the same time raising their awareness of the dangers of—”

“What do you believe?”

Feeling suddenly transparent, her jaw aching with tension, she said tightly, “Pardon me?”

“Why do you want to write this feature?”

Because if I don’t, my job will vanish, as surely as if one of your tornadoes swept it away. Mariah swallowed, her throat dry as Kansas dust. “Perhaps you’ll let me buy you lunch while I explain what the ed—what I have in mind.”

She thought he might refuse. She could see it in his eyes, in the stubborn thrust of his unshaven jaw. He was a handsome rogue, with an almost sultry sulky mouth and high cheekbones buffed by wind and sun. His brown hair shone as if in sunlight, some crisply cut strands standing on end—more a reflection of his impatience than the wind, she imagined. But it was her fingers, not his, that she envisioned pushing through the silky looking strands….

A cup clattered atop the counter, making her jump.

“Here’s your coffee, Stormy. Now quit harassing my customer and let her sit down.”

Trixie, Mariah surmised, flashing the small but sturdy woman behind the counter a grateful smile. Rafe shrugged his acquiescence, rising slightly from his stool in a faint show of manners. She’d bet there wasn’t an ounce of fat hidden beneath his rumpled shirt, his body lean and long, his jeans stretched taut over his muscled thighs. Mariah slipped onto the stool beside him, her black pumps tangling with his dusty hiking boots, her gaze locked with his for an electric moment before he sat, too. Hooking her heels on the rungs of the stool, she placed her purse on the counter, battling another irritating round of flutters.

“What’ll you have, miss?” Their hostess waved her hand dismissively at Rafe. “He’s already eaten.”

Taking an immediate liking to the denim-clad woman with her firm drawl, coffee-brown eyes and shoe-polish-black cropped hair, Mariah smiled. “I’d like iced tea and a BLT.”

“White or wheat?”

“Wheat, please.” She turned to ask politely if Rafe cared for anything, only to find his attention turned to the dark-haired devil at the table, who’d slipped on a headphone. Rafe seemed to wait for some sign as the man listened intently, obviously tuning out the conversation that had picked up around him.

Mariah took the moment to study Rafe. He didn’t strike her as crazy, as he was purported to be, following some of his risky chases. Despite the unholy gleam she’d seen in his eyes, he seemed intelligent, a deliberate type, diligent in his quest for…storms. Mariah sighed. There was just no getting around the fact that the man chased storms for a living, an absurdity she had to showcase on paper.

Trixie set a glass of iced tea on the counter and, murmuring a thank you, Mariah turned dismally to it, stirring in extra sugar from small pink packets on the counter. She was tired and hungry and more than a little discouraged. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately. After a restless night, she’d left Wichita, driving a hundred miles in search of “Stormy” Taylor, to write a story she didn’t want to write in order to save a job that her thoughts hadn’t centered around of late.

The scrape of a chair from a corner of the cafе drew her attention. A small boy, clad in an oversize T-shirt and baggy, denim shorts, climbed to a standing position on the chair and fed a quarter into an ancient pinball machine, putting a ball in play. He was cute, maybe six, with a mop of black hair that made her suspect he belonged to Trixie. It seemed she was always noticing kids these days. Probably because her sister and brother-in-law, who lived in Kansas City, had a baby on the way. Her brother and his wife in California already had three sons. The twinge of envy that accompanied her thoughts had become familiar. Turning thirty, with no husband in sight, apparently left a woman susceptible to such feelings.

The game ended abruptly. The boy stood forlornly on the chair, stirring her sympathy. Having grown up the poor kid on the block, she knew all too well what he felt like. When the quarter was gone, it was gone.

Which served to remind her why she’d chosen to write the story of her career about “Stormy.” She turned to face Rafe, only to find him studying her, as if he had his camera in hand, contemplating a portrait. Mariah froze, unblinking, acutely conscious of their knees brushing, of her face turned up to his.

“Ever seen a tornado?” he asked, the way one might ask if she’d ever seen a rainbow.

But there was a gleam of challenge in his eyes that put her on the defensive, that reminded her he was a journalist, too. “My mother always made me go into the basement when there was a tornado coming.”

Her sarcasm had Rafe chuckling before he could stop himself, a fact his fellow chasers didn’t miss, judging by the second silence from the table behind him. That she’d categorized him as an “outlaw” who chased only for the thrill was obvious. But it didn’t take a professional chaser to spot the storm brewing in Mariah’s pretty blue eyes. They were downright turbulent. Though when she’d watched Trixie’s boy, they’d gone soft and gentle, in that way a woman’s eyes softened only for a child.

At least, most women. His wife, Ann, had proved to be in a class all her own. He’d known and loved her all of his life, thought his dreams had come true when she’d loved him back. Sunny had come along before he’d realized that Ann had seen him, and the notoriety that came with his profession, as her ticket out of Tassel. She’d craved media attention as much as he’d come to despise it.

He’d made clear that for him, there was no place like home. Now he had to live with the guilty secret that Ann had been leaving him—and Sunny—the night she was killed. Getting past that guilt wasn’t easy with the press continually dredging up the story of her death. He was determined to shield Sunny from those trying to capitalize on his personal life.

Although, he had to admit, Mariah wasn’t sending out the usual greedy vibes. She seemed downright reluctant, maybe even resentful to be here. He cocked his head. “How come I get the impression you didn’t raise your hand for this assignment?”

Color rose in her cheeks. In her sophisticated clothes and hairdo he’d put her close to thirty, but she seemed very young in that moment, silky curls frizzing about her face, a dash of golden freckles showing through the dusting of powder on her pert nose. But the blush quickly gave way to that determination he’d come to expect from those seeking his story.

“I’m sorry if I gave that impression.” She held his gaze firmly. “I can assure you I’ll do my professional best if you’ll grant me two weeks of your time for an in-depth interview.”

Two weeks?

His comrades seated at the table had quieted again. He could feel their gazes trained on his back with the same intensity they applied to the sky. Stormy Taylor didn’t give interviews anymore, but they apparently sensed a change in the atmosphere.

They were wrong. The lady herself might be tempting, but the “in-depth” interview wasn’t. He rose from his seat, careful to keep from brushing against her silk-clad legs. “Sorry. But I’m not interested.”

“But you haven’t even considered—”

“I don’t need to.” He leaned near her to warn, “I won’t have my daughter reliving the pain of her mother’s death again through Mariah Morgan’s point of view.”

He could see the temper flash in her eyes, like a lightning strike. He could see each dark, curling lash. He’d lost track of position, gotten too close, the supreme mistake of curious chasers.

“Plain View is not a tabloid, and I am not a tabloid journalist.”

“That’s what they all say.” He stepped back, intending to join his chase partner, Jeremy, at the table. But Trixie’s boy, Jess, came running from the pinball machine, blocking his escape.

“Hey, Stormy. You goin’ on a chase?” Acutely aware Mariah listened, he said noncommittally, “Could be.”

“Jess, come around here and fill these sugar bowls,” Trixie directed her son. Then she added pointedly, “Stormy doesn’t have time to answer questions today.”

“Aw, Mom.” Jess rolled his eyes and plodded around the counter, climbing onto the stool his mother pulled up for him. Rafe felt like rolling his eyes, too, but Trixie would be burning his steaks for a month if he did. She could usually be counted on to run interference for him, but for some reason, she’d left him at Mariah’s mercy. Probably sworn off men again. Come to think of it, she’d burned Jeremy’s steak today….

Deciding not to meddle with those particular forces of nature, both women glaring at him now, he strode to the table and leaned over to study the data on Jeremy’s laptop.

But it was hard to concentrate with Trixie frowning at him, Jess pouting and Mariah turning her back to sit stiffly facing the counter, making him feel like he’d made it rain on their picnic.