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Lando snorted, then bust out laughing. She clutched her stomach as the sound rumbled through her chest and into the store. Violet’s echoing grin was just what she wanted to see. Holding onto Violet’s arm, Lando used the other hand to wipe her eyes. “You’re dead serious, aren’t you?”
“Kind of.”
“Have you just been going to every hardware and lumber store trying to find me?”
“First guess,” Violet murmured, her voice taking on a hushed tone.
“Oh?”
“I remembered you mentioning something about your job last quarter. I took a chance that you’d tried to get it back.”
“Smart woman.” Lando squeezed Violet’s shoulder and went back to work. “It would be wonderful if you could get me that money, but don’t stress yourself too much over it, Vi. I have better things to do with my time than worry or think about Diane.”
“Don’t we both.” Violet’s tone dropped. “Thank you, for being so understanding.”
“Any time.” Lando winked at her. “But really, I have to get back to work if I’m ever going to finish this display before lunch.”
“Right. I guess I’ll see you around.” Violet offered a small smile and her hand.
Lando took it, shaking Violet’s hand as if it was going to be the last time they talked. She wasn’t sure, but something about it felt so final. As Violet walked away, Lando’s chest tightened. She probably should have done or said something else, but she hadn’t. Turning around and looking at the display that she’d just started to build, Lando rolled her shoulders and got back to work. Something in her gut told her that she was going to see Violet again, even if it was only at school when she finally got back to working on her degree.
CHAPTER19
Violet couldn’t stay still.She’d cleaned her entire apartment top to bottom. She’d unpacked and gone grocery shopping. She’d done everything she could think of to entertain herself for the last few days. That first initial look of Lando’s when Violet had seen her at work would not shake from her mind. It hadn’t been anger or fear, it had been devastation. Violet had broken the flimsy threads of friendship they had by being friends with Diane.
It wasn’t until then that Violet had realized truly how much Diane had affected her life, her relationships with others throughout the years. She wondered just how deep and how widely that spread, but as Lando had told her once, Violet could do nothing to change the past.
She checked the radar multiple times during the day as was her habit, but she was tracking a smaller storm that was set to hit their town near sunset. She guessed it would be a beautiful storm, bringing in all the light from the setting sun but also the lightning and thunder that was contained in the power of a storm cell.
Violet needed to relax, and she needed to find her love of storm chasing again. When all was set and she had nothing left to do, Violet packed up her bag and left her computer on her dining room table. She was going to use her instinct and her senses to tell her what was going on with this storm.
She drove out toward the edge of town, where the city left off and the farming picked up. She didn’t live in Kansas City proper, but in one of the small outskirt towns. Close enough to the big box stores should she need, but far enough that she lived in what was considered a small rural town. It was the perfect balance for her. Diane, however, had moved straight to the city and hadn’t looked back.
Her phone buzzed. Reaching for it at a stoplight, she saw Diane’s name and immediately silenced the call. She wasn’t sure what to say to her yet. She’d sent a formal email requesting all the files and finances Diane had and that she expected them by the end of the week. Well, it was the end of the week, and she still had nothing.
Violet ground her teeth and drove a little farther out to what used to be one of her favorite spots to storm watch. She used to come here in the middle of the quarter when she was still teaching and couldn’t leave to chase. She’d even taken students there on an extra credit field trip so they could do some field observations.
Parking, Violet rummaged in her backpack for her camera, realizing too late that’s she’d also brought the one fromIndigo. She set it on the passenger seat, pulled out her newer camera, and changed out the lens. She would do some wide shots before narrowing in and doing some long exposure to catch the lightning.
Violet lost herself in the moment, taking photo after photo. She got down onto the dirt road, looking up at the sky as it swirled around and the storm clouds came closer, taking photo after photo using the long grass for some contrast. She walked down the road and found a tree, using that to offset the solely sky photos.
By the time she really looked up again, the storm was getting closer to hitting town. Violet walked back to her car and pulled out her tripod, setting up the camera. Lightning had been flashing through the sky for nearly thirty minutes at that point, and she didn’t want to miss any more of it.
As she clicked the shutter, Violet stepped back and watched. This was where her passion had begun. Growing up in a small town in rural Kansas had meant that she’d lived through storm after storm just like this. While so many of them seemed similar, they were all different in how they affected her. She’d convinced her mom more than once to take her out chasing when she was little, but it hadn’t been as often as she’d have liked.
Still, it had been enough to give Violet a taste for it. She’d gone to school to appease her parents, but mostly so she could learn more about these devastatingly beautiful natural phenomena. She couldn’t live without them. The quiet and stillness in the air was perfect, and it soothed Violet’s weary soul.
For years she had given herself over to Diane’s whims, but the last few weeks had taught her more than she could ever imagine, and she wouldn’t do it again. The loneliness that had settled in her chest vanished as the winds picked up and the storm threatened rain. The cold air bit at her cheeks. Violet crossed her arms and closed her eyes, breathing in the deep earthy scent that was her lifeline.
She needed her own team, just her and one or two other people where she was in charge. She had a grant she needed to fulfill. However, it wasn’t just to make sure she lived up to her obligations. Storm chasing was her life, and it wasn’t something Violet was willing to give up. She needed these moments.
It might take her a month to get going again, but that was something she wanted. She’d call Erik first thing tomorrow and see if he’d be willing to join her without Diane, although she still felt she owed him for the last season. Violet checked the photo before setting up for another one. A few cars came and went, but not many. This storm, to them, wasn’t anything special. But to her it was the defining moment in the rest of her future.
A small sedan drove by, the dust from the wheels spinning up. Violet raced to the passenger side of her car and grabbed Eli’s old camera. In seconds, she had a photo, the dust creating a surreal effect as the storm came in. It was beautiful. It was an image that described how she felt perfectly. Old, dusty, worn out, but still going. Laughing at herself, Violet straightened her back and went to the camera atop the tripod. Moving it, she refocused the lens and set up for another shot.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
Violet tensed, her back going ramrod straight. Turning, she glanced over to see Lando walking toward her, hands shoved into her cargo pants, loose t-shirt fluttering in the wind as it picked it up, her hair unmovable as it was gelled into place. Violet raised an eyebrow. “I thought I could do some storm watching even if I wasn’t chasing.”
