BEAUTIFUL CRAZY

seven. shit

She still wore his shirt.

She had put a black tank top on, but when she walked out of the bathroom with his shirt still on her shoulders, he couldn’t stop the smile from pulling at his lips. He was certain that she looked better in his clothes than he ever would.

But she still refused to hold his hand completely. He’d tried again as they walked to the diner across the street, but she merely latched onto just two of his fingers as she and Savannah caught up.

“So how’s Austin?” Wren asked, glancing at the girl.

Savannah smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear, “he’s good. A little pissed at me that I drove all the way out here without him, but he’ll get over it.” She lifted her shoulder in a shrug, making Wren laugh. “He’ll be glad to hear that you ain’t in a ditch somewhere.”

Wren rolled her eyes a little, and Tyler couldn’t stop the heavy feeling that tugged at his chest… was it jealousy?

No, couldn't be.

“He’s just dramatic,” Wren waved off the comment. “Be nice to see him again though.”

“Maybe you can come home for a while, you’ve been on the road for months. We miss having you around.”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” she shrugged a little.

“So,” Kate spoke up. “You and Austin are still together?”

Tyler let out a relieved breath as he moved forward, holding the door open for the three women, “thanks, cowboy.” Wren mumbled, getting a smile from him as she passed him.

Savannah smiled over at the blonde, a little surprised she even remembered, “yeah, we, uh, we tied the knot a little over a year ago. We wanted to send you an invite, but Wren talked me out of it. Said you wouldn’t wanna see us after…”

“Let’s just find a table,” Wren rushed out and Tyler’s brows pinched, noting how the mood had shifted so suddenly and he wasn’t sure why.

“Oh, there’s Javi,” Kate managed a smile as she made her way over towards him.

“I didn’t mean to…”

Wren nodded, forcing a smile, “I know, it’s okay. Just hard to talk about,” she reached up and rubbed her shoulder as if talking about it made the scars ache a little. Which Tyler noticed.

Savannah nodded, following after Kate, but Tyler pulled Wren back a little, “what am I missin’?”

“Nothin’. Just, uh… me and Kate weren’t always friends. That’s it.” She smiled, shrugging her shoulders a little. He knew she was lying, but he just nodded. He could tell that it was hard for her to talk about, and he didn’t want to push.

“Hey, we’re just gonna get something quick,” Kate walked over.

“What? Why?” Wren glanced over her shoulder to see Javi hugging Savannah, then her eyes moved to the two men that sat at the table he stood up from. “Who’s that with Javi and the prick?”

“I don’t…” Kate shook her head, kind of thrown off by Javi's weird reaction. “Marshall Riggs. An investor I think, can we just go?”

“Yeah, yeah of course.” Wren nodded. “Sav!”

“Bye, Javi.” The girl waved before making her way towards the others. “So, what’s happening?”

“I’m just gonna…” Kate left and Savannah looked over at Wren, who shrugged her shoulders.

“Guess she’s not hungry,” she muttered.

“Well, I’m getting food.” Savannah turned and Wren smiled a little, turning to follow her, but Tyler held her back.

“You know who that is?” He nodded towards the table Javi sat at and she glanced over at them. Noting the harsh tone that sounded so unfamiliar coming from him.

“No, why?” She asked softly, meeting his seemingly angry eyes but he took a breath  and shook his head. “Ty?”

“It’s nothing, baby.” He smiled, not wanting to bring her into it, especially since she wasn’t in the storm chasing business. “How about some food?” She nodded as a smile tugged at her lips and he leaned down, softly kissing the corner of her mouth before leading her towards the table Savannah sat at.

>>>>> • <<<<<

Tyler didn’t stick around too much longer, telling the two he had to check in with the crew. Wren smiled as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, and Savannah smirked, waving as he left, then he tipped his hat before he went.

“Thought you weren't into tornadoes any more,” Wren stated once they were alone, her tone a little harsh but Wren knew it was purely out of worry.

She shrugged a little, raising her glass of iced tea to her lips, “when Javi called I didn’t expect this. I just wanted to talk to Kate, but I got sucked back in.”

“And does a certain Tornado Wrangler have anything to do with this?”

“Tyler? No, I met him before Javi called, seeing him here was a coincidence.” Wren swirled her straw in her drink, watching as the ice shifted around. “But seeing him again…” she smiled.

“You like him.”

“No, well, yeah. He’s kinda pretty and he’s great in-”

“No, Wren, I mean you actually like him.” Savannah cut her off. “I ain’t seen you like this since that guy you met in Stillwater. The biker.”

“The dick, you mean.” Wren corrected, shaking her head a little. She’d met him two years ago and she was obsessed with him. From his bike to his big leather boots and that jacket. She’d even spent a couple months riding around with him.

She thought she was in love, thought he loved her too… until one day he told her he was done and drove away. “Yeah, this ain’t like that. It’s just a fling, he has his job and I have… dingy bars to sing in.”

But even just saying it made her chest ache.

“Wren-”

“Just the way it is.” She shrugged then she pushed herself up dropping a few bills on the table. “It has to be,” she mumbled because she knew that if it was anything more that she’d be crushed when Tyler decided he was done with her.

On her way to the door, Javi, Scott and Riggs beat her there and she only overheard  snippets of the conversation, something about land and numbers and how they needed the data.

Then Kate came running over.  “We gotta go,” she grabbed Javi’s arm.

He led her away from Scott and the investor, “we’re almost done here.”

“Now,” she urged. “We got something big.” And that seemed to light a fire under his ass as she nodded and quickly called the other guys over.

“Let’s go, guys! Let’s go!” he shouted as they all ran for their cars and Wren made a b-line right for Javi’s truck. But before they were even in their cars, Tyler drove by, honking almost mockingly as he and the rest of his crew pulled out of the lot.

“Damn, Tyler’s on it,” Kate muttered, but they didn’t slow down as they buckled up then Javi was following them out of the parking lot.

Javi hit the gas, passing the camper and Kate leaned forward to get a better look at the sky, “what do you see?” Javi asked and Wren looked up from her phone, which was blowing up with texts from Savannah. But she just turned it off and tossed it into the seat next to her.

“It’s beautiful,” Wren mumbled as she leaned forward between the two seats.

Kate chuckled a little, pulling her sunglasses from her face, “yeah. It has a nice structure. Moisture levels are just right and lots of cape.”

A hint of a smile crossed Javi’s lips, while Wren just watched the storm brewing ahead of them, “what else are you seeing?”

“Flow is clean. Pulling tons of warm moist air from the south.”

Wren listened, her eyes still on the sky. She wished she knew even half of what Kate knew, she wished she could read the sky the same way, predict it even.

“Whoa,” it left the girl on a breath as a thin funnel formed.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Javi muttered just as it touched down. “Yes! Yeah, baby!” he cheered.

Wren was simply amazed, as she rolled the window down and pulled herself out. She locked her foot under the seat as she held on to the top of the truck just as another small funnel formed. A smile pulled at her lips, even as the wind whipped her hair off in every direction.

“Wren!” Kate shouted, but it fell on deaf ears as the girl laughed in pure delight.

She’d never seen anything so beautiful, even as they pulled apart.

Javi jumped a little when Wren smacked the top of the truck, “go faster!” she shouted, her voice just barely audible over the wind. “Faster, Javi!”

Kate smiled back at the girl for a moment, reaching back to hold her leg just in case, “she’s right.” she nodded and Javi hit the gas.

“Hell yeah!” Wren cheered, her smile wide as she watched the tornadoes drift farther apart. She hadn’t even noticed that they were next to Tyler until he shouted her name.

“Wren!” She turned, her smile wide as she waved, and Boone made sure to get her on camera – so she wiggled her fingers at him. “What the hell are you doin’?” He was amazed by her, she seemed fearless. But he was also worried. “Get back in the truck!”

“No!” She shouted back, her eyes on the tornadoes again. And that feeling was back. She was in awe of them, they were beautiful. And she was sure she’d never see anything like it again.

“Baby, please!”

“Come on, Wren!” Kate shouted, tugging on her leg. “Please, before Javi has a heart attack.”

“You guys are no fun,” she muttered mostly to herself as she pulled herself back into the truck, wiggling her fingers at Tyler.

“You’re insane!”

“I know!” She shouted back before rolling up the window. “Now, Jav, pedal to the metal.”

He laughed, “all right.” he hit the gas, finally overtaking Tyler, only to have him pass them again.

“All right, guys. Let’s stop playing games. Let’s cut these guys off,” Javi told the rest of the team as he sped up once more. They came up on Tyler’s side and Wren did his little tornado motion as they passed them, then the rest of the team followed suit.

“There you, Owens,” Javi laughed. “Alright, which one’s gonna stay? Which one’s it gonna be, Kate?”

“Okay, I’m on it,” she leaned forward, her eyes scanning the computer. “Let’s go for the right. Uh, there should be a road coming up.”

“Alright, right, guys. Right.” Javi told the rest of the team.

Wren leaned forward as they reached the fork in the road, her eyes on the sky with creased brows, “maybe we should go left.” she mumbled, mostly to herself. She wasn’t sure why, it was stupid to say that it just called to her, but she just had a feeling.

“She’s right,” Kate nodded, seeing the wind shift over the wheat field. “Go left!”

“What?”

“Take a left!”

He did as told, nearly going up on two wheels and Wren braced herself on the back of Kate’s seat so she didn’t get slung around.

“Javi, you sure?” Scott asked over the radio. “The right one’s got better numbers.”

Wren turned around, watching as Tyler's truck headed right for the other tornado and she was confused as to why he was so sure his truck wouldn’t be lifted off the ground. She had seen it before, but it still didn’t make any sense. She was convinced he was crazy.

But her confusion faded when the tornado died out before ever reaching him and a laugh left her lips.

“Whoo! Baby, let’s go!” Javi excitedly hit the steering wheel. “That was amazing. How did you know that?” He glanced back at Wren for a moment, then at Kate before his eyes settled on the road.

“Well, did you see the wheat?” Kate answered, “Winds moved to the north, just what this one needed. How did you know?” She asked looking back at Wren.

“Had a feelin’?” She raised her shoulder in a shrug and Kate just smiled at her.

Then they all got to work, Scarecrow and Tin Man were quick to get into position. Then Javi stopped right in the path of the tornado and they all jumped out, and while Kate and Javi got the equipment out Wren just stood there, her eyes on the tornado.

When the day had started, she hadn’t planned to join them again. She was gonna lounge around, maybe find a bar, then spend one more night with Kate and Javi – and maybe a certain cowboy – before getting back on the road. But after Savannah had brought up her ex, all she wanted to do was stand in the path of the tornado. She wanted to watch as it got closer because she knew that nothing could make her feel the way watching a tornado did… like she was free.

Well, maybe someone, could–

“Cortez! Let’s go!” Javi shouted, stopping the thought from even forming in her head and she turned, making her way back towards the truck. She saw the rader shake a little, but she looked up to ask Javi if it was gonna hold, both he and Kate were already in the truck.

“Wren!” Kate shouted out the window, but a piece of wood flew by and nicked her arm.

“Fuck!” She rushed forward, holding her arm as she opened the back door and jumped in. “Go! Go! Go!” Javi hit the gas, slinging the truck around and Wren pressed her hand into the floorboard but she was still thrown about as he sped away from the tornado. Having to drive backwards.

“Javi, it’s turning fast!” Kate shouted and Wren squeezed her eyes closed… if they didn’t make it out of this, she knew it was her fault. She had gotten distracted by the storm and she put them at risk.

“How we looking, Wizard?” Javi shouted, turned around in his seat. “Talk to me!”

“We lost your radar, Javi. You got eyes on the tornado?”

Wren sat up, staying out of Javi’s eyeline and her eyes went wide. It was right there, tearing down trees and power lines and a barn that sat on a patch of grass. Then a small wooden structure hit the back of the truck, jerking them around.

“What was that?” Kate asked, her hand pressed against the window to steady herself.

“I think I killed some chickens!”

Javi lost control and the truck jerked a little, they slid off the road and into the ditch before the truck came to a stop.

“Get down!” Javi shouted and both girls ducked their heads and he turned, trying his best to cover both of their heads as the truck shook with the force of the wind and the debris that smacked into them.

“I’m sorry!” Wren was nearly in tears… she had done it again. “I’m-” the window to her left shattered when a piece of wood hit it, the girl let out a cry as the glass embedded itself in her left arm and the piece of wood got lodged in her side.

Then suddenly it was over.

The truck steadied and they all sat up, all breathing hard, “thank god it just grazed us.” Javi let out a relieved breath as he turned on the wipers to brush away the dirt.

“Uh, Javi,” Wren groaned, her hand pressed into her side around the piece of bark that was stuck in her side. It wasn’t a big piece but it still hurt like a bitch.

“Shit.”

“Wren!” Kate turned in her seat, trying to get a better look at it. “No, don’t-” Wren grabbed it and pulled it out, wincing as she did so.

“I’m fine,” she told them, carefully shrugging out of Tyler’s shirt. “Help me – ugh! – tie this.” Javi reached back, holding one sleeve as she shifted forward and tugged the other sleeve around her. “Now, pull it tight.” she told him once he had both sleeves, he did and she groaned, pressing her head against the back of Kate’s seat.

“Sorry,”

She shook her head, “It needs to be tighter.”

“You need a hospital,” Kate told her as Javi knotted the sleeves.

“I’ve had worse,” she muttered as she pulled a few remaining shards of glass from her arm – and she didn’t mean the scars that trailed down her right arm. Then all three jumped when a chicken landed on the hood of the truck. “Think she wants to avenge her friends?”

The two up front chuckled, shaking their heads a little. Neither could believe that she was joking after just yanking a piece of bark out of her side.

“Javi? Javi, you hear me?” Scott’s voice came over the radio.

“Yeah, I hear you.”

“Kate, really, I’m fine.” She said when glance glanced at her again.

“We’ve got two radars looking good. Third one was getting great data. We need to find it and download it all.” Scott told him just as something on the doppler caught Kate’s attention.

“Javi, the tornado’s heading to a small town.”

“What?” Wren leaned forward to look at the screen.

“They already called it in,” he merely shrugged it off. “There’s nothing we can do now.”

“There sure as hell is,” Wren huffed. “We can go help.”

“Yeah,” Kate nodded.

“There’s a GPS tracker on the radar. We need to find it before it dies. And we need to get her to the hospital.”

“Javi, we’ve to go help!”

“Like right now,” Wren added.

Javi took a breath, looking between the two before his eyes settled on Kate. And Wren saw the moment he caved. He nodded his head and pulled out onto the road, letting Kate tell him where to go.