She’d seen Heather at the grocery and she told Cait she’d misjudged Coop. “I saw him at the Hattens’ and he was really nice. Jared likes him a lot. They—Oh! Sorry, Cait. I better be going. I’m meeting them—” She waved her hand. “You probably don’t want to hear that. ’Bye.”

“Yeah, ’bye.” Cait tossed broccoli in the basket. “Jared and Cooper as friends. Perfect.”

When Cait got to her Jeep, she resisted the urge to cry. It’s not like she and Cooper could ever be a couple. Not a real one. He was the type of man who wanted, needed, a family. He’d already been married. That his wife had cheated wasn’t his fault. Coop had complained of his date with Heather, that she wanted marriage and kids. But now that he had job security, was going to have what would be a beautiful house and was occupied in town, maybe things were different. Maybe now he liked Heather’s desire for home and family. It’s something that they might have in common.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Three days later there was a tornado warning; the sirens went off, and Caitlyn was terrified. Where was Cooper? He was from California, so what did he know about tornadoes?

She called the clinic but no one answered. Of course not. The warning sirens were screaming, so they were taking shelter. They weren’t sitting by a phone hoping the roof wasn’t lifted off.

She tried to remember if she’d heard anyone complain about a sick animal. Hoof-and-mouth? Anthrax? Swallowed anything? Nothing came to mind. Where can he be?

The answer came to her. The Fredericks house, of course. The uncles said they often saw him there. No purchase deal had been made, no papers drawn up, but Coop often went there.

Alone? she’d wondered when told of his visits, but she didn’t ask.

Now was not the time to think of that. She ran to her Jeep. There was the urgency of finding Coop, but she also didn’t want her father or uncles to see her. If her dad saw her getting into a vehicle when a tornado was coming, he’d... She didn’t want to think of what he’d say, but the words stupendous stupidity were sure to be part of his bawling-out.

The sky was dark and Caitlyn drove with her face as close to the windshield as she could get it.

She couldn’t see the tall funnel but that meant nothing. They could turn on a dime.

She was concentrating so hard that she didn’t see the big black truck until she almost hit it. She swerved hard and went into a deep ditch. Her forehead hit the steering wheel. Then everything was a daze.

“Caitlyn!” a man was shouting at her. “Caitlyn!”

She thought it was her father and turned with a smile. “Hello.”