This Time by Rachel Hauck Page A

stepping past him into the summer night. Stars
twinkled down at her from the night sky and a light wind brushed
through her hair. "I can't believe it," she whispered. "It's so
calm and peaceful."
    " Amazing, isn't it?"
    She nodded, her eyes following
the glow of the flashlight as she panned the grounds. Debris
littered the yard and one of the large cottonwoods had been
uprooted and smashed into the front porch. Miraculously, that was
the only damage left in the storm's wake.
    " We gotta find Daddy," Belle said, running for her
truck.
    Burke reached for her.
"You can't drive your truck."
    She followed the beam from
his light. A few yards away, her classic '57 Chevy lay on its side,
wheels spinning, going nowhere. "We can turn it over," she blurted
out.
    " That truck weighs a ton."
    She faced him, shining her
light in his face. "He's out there and I'm going to find
him."
    " Hold up, Belle. Take a minute to think. Where are you going
to look? You don't know where he is. He could be in town, at a
neighbors, or friends."
    " Think? There's no time to think, Burke. Jake said he rode
off on Pepper. My guess is that he's--"
    Headlights flashed from the
driveway, and a sheriff's truck pulled alongside them.
    " Paul," Belle said, desperation in her voice as she peered
in the driver's window. Gates' husband was a welcome sight.
"Daddy's out there somewhere."
    " Where?" Paul asked, the squawk of his radio detailing the
disaster of the tornadoes.
    Burke stepped up to the
window. "We don't know."
    " I think he's in the south pasture," she replied.
    Paul tipped his head
toward the doors. "Get in."
    He took the four-wheel drive
truck overland, his angular face stern, and his thick hands
gripping the wheel. Desperate weather reports confirmed Belle's
worst fears. An F3 tornado touched down north of the county and
ripped its way south. The grazing land they'd planned to fence in
lay right in its path. If Duke left the ranch after dinner to
survey the fence line, he rode right into the storm's path.
    She fretted as images of life
without her loving, stable, wise father haunted her. If anything
happened to him, how could she live with herself?
    The truck tore over wet prairie
grass, bouncing and crashing over knolls. The radio broadcasted one
emergency call after another and declared that a third twister had
ripped through the eastern part of the county. In the midst of all
the radio noise, Burke's cell phone rang. Belle glanced at him,
annoyed.
    " The tornado missed the Circle B. The horses are over
there," he explained briefly.
    A moment of relief hit her, but
it didn't last.
    In the next few anxious moments,
the truck's headlights caught the black coat of Duke's mare racing
wildly across their path.
    " Paul, there's Pepper."
    " Careful," Burke warned with a low tone. "Don't spook the
old girl. She's had a rough night."
    Belle nudged Paul, telling
him to cut the wheel hard left. "I know where she's
going."
    " The corral?" Burke asked.
    " Yep."
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    Duke lay face down in a swirl of
mud and water. Belle stumbled from the truck and knelt next to him,
panicked.
    Paul and Burke hustled to her
side. Burke rolled Duke over and rested his head on his legs.
    Belle watched,
unbelieving. "Oh Lord," she prayed with a sob, the reality of
Duke's fate taking hold of her.
    Burke performed CPR while Paul
tried to radio for help. But the storm had rescue crews scattered
all over the county, and it became apparent that Duke would have to
be transported in Paul's vehicle.
    Calmly, Burke commanded
Belle. "Go to the truck, get my phone and call Dean. His house is
not far from here, and he's an EMT."
    " Good plan," Paul said.
    She stumbled to the truck
and dialed the number. "Dean," she said, tears in her words. "It's
me, Belle. Paul Fuller, Burke, and I are in the south range by the
big corral. It's Daddy, Dean." Weeping overcame her.
    " I'm on my way, Belle. I'm on my way."
    ***
    In the bathroom outside the
hospital emergency room, Belle clung to