Be My Guest (4 page)

Rain pelted down to soak her knit top as she
walked to her car. Pondering her revelations, she slid into the
little car and steered toward U.S. Highway 84, intent on reaching
Post by the fastest route before dark.

Heavy rainfall made progress very slow.
Several vehicles pulled to the side of the road to wait out the
downpour, but she pressed onward. The turmoil of the day left her
fatigued. Her thoughts centered on finding a quiet, comfortable
motel for the night.

Rain and wind pounded harder against the
little car as it barely crept along in the low visibility. Even
with the car's windshield wipers on their highest speed, Aurora
could hardly see the lane’s stripe. At every dip in the highway,
water pulled against the car’s undercarriage.

She drove in heavy rainfall routinely in
Port Arthur and Houston, but never in a deluge to match this. In
the recesses of her mind she recalled hearing about the danger of
flash floods in this type terrain. What should she do? If only she
had stayed in Snyder. Too late now.

Aurora drove into fast-moving water before
she realized she crossed not just a low spot of the road, but the
edge of some overflowed watercourse that rushed madly across the
highway. She tried to reverse the car, but the low-slung Mustang
stalled in the rising water. Fear gripped her. Remain calm and
think logically, she told herself.

Since rain caused the flood, it seemed
logical the floodwater would recede once the rain stopped. She
needed only to sit in her car until the rain ceased and the
floodwater drained away. That seemed simple--until she checked out
the car window.

As she peered through the glass, she saw
water rapidly rising. She must seek higher ground, even if it meant
leaving her car. Salvage what you can. Aurora slipped the strap of
her handbag over her head and pulled her arm through bandolier
style. She took the headband from her hair and tied one end to her
wrist and the other to her halogen torch.

The briefcase contained her laptop computer
and her financial records. She must save the briefcase at any cost.
If she carried her briefcase and one suitcase, she might manage
against the storm. Everything else must be abandoned. With great
difficulty, she struggled to open the car door against the rising
water’s pressure. Cold, muddy water rushed into the car as she
struggled for her life.

Chapter Two

Will
Harrison's soul reverberated
with anger directed toward every aspect of his life. His heart
throbbed with anger for the cancer that robbed him of his sweet
wife Nancy three years earlier. His mind pulsed with anger toward
the cow he chased when his horse fell on him and broke his leg,
causing him months of pain and inconvenience. His being raged
against the drought that baked the land dry and hard as stone and
kept his grassland from growing properly last summer. Finally, his
senses raged against the deluge of rain which now flooded his ranch
and caused his lights and phone to quit, and probably had many of
his cattle stranded, injured or drowned.

Finally, dammitall, he was angry with
Aurora, too. He couldn't decide quite how he could be angry with a
beautiful woman he’d met only once, but it definitely suited his
current mood. Perhaps it had something to do with her thinking him
married and her refusal of his offer to take her on a tour of the
area. Yeah, like that was her fault, Harrison.

He flexed his left hand several times and
stared at the now bare ring finger. What would Nancy think of this
recent behavior? They intended the ring she placed on his finger to
remain there forever. Twelve years is not forever. Even thoughts of
another woman caused him to feel unfaithful to Nancy. Would he ever
overcome this feeling? Will doubted anyone could ever take Nancy's
place. He struck the window frame with the side of his fist, then
leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the window. If only
memories of Nancy didn't hurt quite so much!

Kelly and Lori Beth might be right. Perhaps
dating other women would help ease the pain in his heart from
Nancy's death. He needed someone to resurrect those parts of his
being that died with his wife--if that were possible. Even this
morning when he’d promised his daughter he would remove his wedding
ring if he met a woman who interested him, he sincerely doubted
that day would ever come.

What strange tricks life played. Not five
hours after he made that promise, he met a woman who set him on his
heels, one who even now flowed in and out of his mind. Was it
possible? Was there be a chance he might feel whole once more?

Though he might never see Aurora again, he
admitted he found her intriguing and very much wanted to meet her
once more. More than that, he found a kinship with her and found
her quick wit stimulating. That surprised him. Her body stimulated
him in a different way, which also surprised him. She resurrected
feelings he thought dead. He saw her in his mind as clearly as if
she now stood in front of him. Her thick auburn curls bounced
across her shoulders and green eyes flashed like emeralds, her
saucy smile tempted from perfect ivory skin.

Will gave himself a mental shake, disgusted
with his daydreams. Aw, why think about her? All that talk with
Kelly and Lily this morning started it. He just got caught off
guard, that's all.

Even as the thought popped into his mind, he
knew he lied to himself. There seemed something special about
Aurora. At least, for a little while, she made him feel alive
again. For a brief time today he forgot to mourn.

He’d made the promise to Kelly this morning
in good faith, and he kept it. When he placed his wedding ring in
the little white box in which it came twelve years ago, he sensed
himself at a crossroad. It seemed as if, with that action, he moved
from one phase of his life to the next. That feeling remained with
him all evening.

Earlier in the day, Nick reminded him to
stay off his injured leg, but Will found it difficult to follow
those instructions. He stood now at the window, the weight of his
six-foot-four frame rested heavily on his sturdy right leg while
crutches balanced loosely under his arms. Will reached for the cell
phone from the nearby table. He dialed his mother's number in
Lubbock, and his daughter answered. Static in his ear failed to
diminish his relief to hear Kelly's voice.

"Daddy, we tried to call you but you didn't
answer. We thought the phones there were out."

"They are, and I’d left my cell in the
truck. I wanted to tell my best girl good night, but I can barely
hear you. What did Dr. Novak say about your braces, and how did
your shopping trip go?"

Kelly must be yelling into the phone,
because her voice became easier to hear. "Dr. Novak said I'm doing
great and then tightened the braces again. They kind of hurt this
time." Dental pain became quickly forgotten in the excitement of
new clothes. "Oh, Daddy, wait 'til you see the great stuff we got.
I got some pink jeans and some lavender ones and some of the
regular kind. And I got the greatest tops. Marcie will just die
when she sees them."

His daughter's enthusiasm brought a smile to
his face. "That's great, Punkin'. Good thing you stayed with
Grandma, though. It's flooding here and the electricity's off. I'll
have to start the emergency generator soon to keep the refrigerator
working and keep the food cold. How's Aunt Lori Beth?"

Even the static of the phone could not hide
the excitement in the girl's voice. "The doctor said she's doing
fine and so's the baby. She let me feel her stomach when the baby
kicked her. It was really neat. Oh...Uncle Tommy wants to know how
much rain's there and were the winds really bad?"

He peered out the window again. A flash of
lightning revealed the lake that now replaced the creek in front of
his house. "There's water everywhere. The rain gauge is
overflowing, which means we've had over six inches already and it's
raining really hard. I'm sure all the highways near the ranch are
closed by now."

"Wow. It hasn't rained nearly that much
here."

"Kelly, there's so much static I can hardly
understand you. I'm going to hang up now, Honey, and borrow your
portable radio. Maybe I can get a weather report. I'll call you in
the morning. Good night, Punkin', and be a good girl for
Grandma."

"I will. 'Night, Daddy."

As Will disconnected the phone call, he
gazed again through the window in front of him. Watching the much
needed rain falling far too rapidly to soak into the hard-packed
earth, Will stared forlornly and once again cursed the extremes of
Texas weather. He frowned and rubbed at the glass of the window
with his sleeve, uncertain of what he saw. Was that a light on the
railroad tracks?

Yes, it had to be. He watched closely as the
light bobbed slowly along the rails. What on earth could cause that
light in the middle of nowhere? Unlike the light one saw on a train
or even one of the small handcarts, this appeared smaller but
distinctly bright.

He watched a few seconds more and decided it
could only be a person walking along the tracks. Who would be out
in this storm? The glow appeared like one of those halogen lights,
maybe a hand torch or small lantern. This puzzled him even more.
The only reason for someone to walk along the tracks in this
weather would be if someone stranded by the storm sought the safety
of the high earthen railroad bed.

As he debated the reason for the light, Will
saw the light stop briefly before it streaked down the bank of the
road bed to sink beneath the water. He thought the mysterious
person dropped the light. Maybe he imagined it. Wait. Further down
he saw it resurface and shine around from the largest of the
cottonwood trees by the creek. He watched with fascination and
realized the person on the rails went into the water, climbed into
the tree, and must have the light in his hand.]

Will grabbed his crutches firmly and moved
rapidly across the room. It would not be easy, but he must help
whoever sat stranded in that tree.

* * *

Aurora clung to the trunk of the large
cottonwood tree in which she perched. Her left side ached horribly
from her collision with the tree after her fall into the flood. She
lost all track of elapsed time, but thought she dozed off or
blacked out for a while after the last wave of nausea.

The blow affected her vision, too. Now she
thought she saw the headlights of a car or truck moving toward the
railroad bed. You have a concussion, she thought, and you're seeing
things.

She blinked and tried to focus. No.
Headlights stopped near the tracks---and a person left when the
vehicle's interior lights came on. The truck headlights burned two
bright beacons as the truck remained near the tracks. The beams of
light disclosed person who walked toward her. She hoped fervently
this proved real and not a hallucination due to the injury to her
head.

Locked in her grip on the tree, she watched
as the dark figure, whether real or imagined, approached. A new
wave of nausea diverted her attention from the figure on the
railroad tracks. She retched again into the muddy water beneath
her.

Suddenly, a light beamed her way from the
tracks and she heard a man's voice call over the sound of the
storm. She directed the beam of her own torch in his direction. The
light revealed a man on crutches. His face blurred in rain and
shadow, but she thought instantly of the man she met earlier in the
day. This must be the cowboy, Will Harrison. After all, how many
men on crutches lived in this area?

Giant fingers of lightning reached across
the night sky to spread eerie illumination. Will coiled the rope in
his hands and yelled at her to grab the loop he threw. Time after
time the rope hit tree limbs or fell beyond Aurora's grasp as the
rope fought the storm.

At last she caught the loop, and almost fell
from the tree in the process. Aurora now could barely move her left
arm. Dangling precariously from her perch, she slid the rope over
her head and secured it under her arms.

The man knelt on one leg with the other
stuck out at an angle. Suddenly, her body jerked as the rope went
taught and pain again shot through her back and ribs. She
struggled, powerlessly against the torrent as her cold and
stiffened muscles refused to cooperate.

Finally, her feet touched the roadbed
beneath and she grabbed the hand the kneeling man offered. He
pulled the rope with one hand as he used the other to hoist her
onto the part of the roadbed near him. Rain pelted fiercely against
them. The night was black as ink between flashes of lightning.

A giant display of Zeus' power lit the sky.
Will stared at her in disbelief then yelled above the storm.
"Aurora? What in the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I didn't just decide to go for a
swim," she yelled back at him as rain streamed down her face. What
a stupid question. Did he think she planned to be here? She tried
to stand and fell.

Will caught her before she hit the ground.
"Can you stand up? I don't know how I could carry you and manage
crutches too.”

Aurora put her hand on his shoulder. "I can
walk, just give me a few minutes. My legs are just a little
wobbly." Struggling against the wet fibers, she removed the rope
from under her arms and stepped out of the loop.

Before he threw one end of the rope to her,
Will had tied the other end of the rope around the track rail to
secure it in case he lost his grip on the rain slicked hemp. His
cast-encased leg jutted to one side as he knelt on his good knee to
cut the rope near the track. He picked up his crutches and used one
to point toward his waiting truck as he rose.

"You start moving and I'll follow you. It's
a long walk to the truck."

The clouds renewed their assault against the
two mortals on the railroad tracks. Rain lashed at Aurora's face
and wind drove the cold through her soaked clothing. She doubted
she would ever be warm again.