Aiden

Aiden

I couldn’t believe I ran into Mindy O’Sullivan, of all people, stranded on the road in the middle of the worst thunderstorm outbreak of the year… and now, she was in my truck… coming to my house… because of a tornado.

She’d caught my eye last spring when I was helping her parents out. They had hired me, even though I was new in town and didn’t have anyone to vouch for my credibility. I didn't want to screw up a well-paying gig, but that didn’t mean I hadn't dreamt of her almost incessantly.

Her strawberry blond hair and blue eyes had me at hello. Then there was the way she had climbed up and over the split-rail fence almost effortlessly. The woman was strong, graceful, and everything I wanted to wrap my arms around. It had taken every ounce of will-power to steer clear of Mindy while I was working. It felt unprofessional and unethical to hit on my boss’s daughter. I had every intention of asking her out once I wrapped up with her parents, but by the time I’d finished everything they needed help with, she was back at school finishing up her semester.

I'd never thought I'd see her again… let alone be saving her .

Focus.

Hurrying as much as I dared, we flew into my driveway. I threw the truck into park, rocks crunching at the hard stop, and looked at Mindy. “Ready to run inside?”

She nodded, her eyes moving quickly as her attention was all over the place. “Let's go.”

I opened my door and had to hold on tight to keep a gust of wind from taking it. “Come out my door. This wind is insane.” I reached into the truck cab, eager to have her hand in mine again. Just as Mindy was stepping out, another gust of wind whipped around the truck. It tossed her my way, but before I could catch her, she stumbled and half-fell into the puddle next to my truck. I reached down to help pull her up. “You okay?”

She stood as quickly as she’d fallen. “It’s water. I’ll live. Let's get inside.”

I clocked the panicked expression all over her face, and as much as I wanted to pull her into a hug and erase some of the fear from her eyes, we needed to get inside. Now. With her hand still in mine, we ran the short distance to my back door and into my kitchen. I let out a relieved sigh as I slammed the door shut, happy to block out some of the wailing tornado siren sound. “Basement is that way.” I pointed to the closed wooden door ahead of us.

Mindy opened it, flipped on the light to the stairwell, and headed down, the pounding of her feet on the stairs stopping after only three steps. “Aiden? Where are you?”

I ran out of the bathroom, carrying a couple towels and my first aid box. “Grabbing a couple of things. Get downstairs. I’m right behind you.” As I rushed back through the kitchen toward the basement, I also grabbed one of my flashlights from the counter and clipped it to my belt. Just in case. I hadn’t quite gotten around to investing in a whole-house generator, and I didn’t want to fumble across the basement for my battery lights if the power cut right now.

Mindy chuckled as she stepped off the stairs and walked further into the basement and looked around. “Let me guess, your little lounge is in the southwest corner?”

I nodded approvingly as I glanced over at the loveseat, dorm fridge, and side table in the corner. “Yep. You and I both know how wild summer storms can get around here. If I'm going to be down here a bunch, I might as well be comfortable.”

“No complaints here.” She shrugged off her dripping raincoat and glanced down. There was a small puddle forming around her drenched tennis shoes. “Well, at least part of me stayed dry.”

There was a clear line across her thigh where her raincoat had protected her. “Would you like something dry to wear? I think I have something in the dryer. I can throw your jeans in the washer and dryer once the storm passes… if we still have power.”

Mindy arched an eyebrow and gave me a wry smile. “Don’t want your precious couch getting wet?”

No, I want you wet, but in a completely different context. I shook my head, desperately wanting that sentiment far from my mouth before I opened it. She didn’t need to know how much I wanted her, even if she was single. “I don’t give a shit about the couch right now, I’m far more concerned about you being comfortable and thought you might be interested in dry pants or shorts.”

“Oh.” Mindy let out a tense breath and glanced down for a moment. “I would appreciate something dry to wear if you have it. Thank you.”

I would have given her the shirt off my back if I thought it would help and not make her uncomfortable. “Give me your raincoat. I’ll hang it up on my way over to the laundry room.” I handed her one of the towels as I took the dripping jacket from her. Smiling at her, I turned and headed to the opposite corner of the basement, praying as I opened the dryer. The gods were smiling on me as I pulled out a couple tshirts and some basketball shorts. Perfect. I gave Mindy a smile as I walked toward her. “Well, you won’t be winning any fashion shows, but you’ll be dry. ”

“Thanks.” She glanced around, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Um, where can I change?”

“Oh, right. Sorry. I don’t have anything in the way of a wall, but I can turn around and promise not to look until you tell me you’re dressed.”

Mindy nodded quickly. “Um, okay. Thanks.”

Giving her what I hoped was a polite smile, I turned around and put my hands on my hips and stared at the cinderblock wall in front of me. There was an old water stain from when the window leaked during last year's storms, and I focused on it. “So, what made you bail on a date before ordering food?”

There was rustling of fabric behind me. “You want to talk about my failed date? Right now?”

I chuckled. “Unless you want relative silence where I will fail at pretending not to listen to you change. I can tell a terrible date story, too, to even the score.

She snickered and then let out a tiny yelp when a significantly louder crack of thunder exploded outside. “Okay. Miserable date story time it is.”

The tell-tale metallic sound of a zipper going down had me swallowing and immediately counting the cement blocks on the wall. All I could think about was if her hips and thighs were still as powerful and gorgeous as they were last summer, when she and her best friend were having a dance party on the back deck.

Now is not the time.

“Well, it started when I ordered whiskey on the rocks.”

I tipped my head to the side, grinning about the same liquor sitting in the plastic tote on top of my fridge. “Excellent choice.”

She let out a tiny grunt, and there was a wet flop. “Finally. I thought I'd never peel those off.”

I glanced up at the ceiling, took a slow breath in, and held it for a couple seconds as I willed my dick not to make an appearance. Lord, why are you testing me? I saved her from being stranded in her car during a tornado. Cut me some slack, please? I cleared my throat. “So, what was his problem with you ordering whiskey? I do it all the time.”

Mindy let out a slight chuckle as I heard the rustling of fabric. “Oh, right. Well, according to him, ladies aren’t supposed to order straight whiskey.”

I just shook my head. “Do I even want to know why?”

“Apparently only old men and pretentious alcoholics drink their whiskey straight. And then when I didn’t want his hand up my shirt or in my crotch, he called me a prude.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but a bright flash of light outside caught my attention. As a near-deafening clap of thunder immediately rattled the house, the lights flickered and then went dark. “Damn, that one was close.” After a couple of seconds, the lights came on again, but it was oddly silent behind me. “Mindy?”

Nothing.

“Mindy, if you don’t answer, I'm going to turn around.” When the only response was a whimper, I spun on my heel. She was sitting on the ground, now wearing my shorts, with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her face was down, covered by her wet hair, and her entire body was shaking. I rushed to her side, kneeling next to her. “Hey, you okay?”

Mindy nodded and then shook her head.

“Those are mixed signals, Min. I need a clear answer.”

She took a shaky breath before picking up her head, locking her gaze on me. “I hate storms… and I hate being in the dark.”

The fear in her bright blue eyes and the tremble in her voice gutted me. “I can fix this.” Standing up, I rushed over to the tote on top of the fridge, opened it, and pulled out a battery-powered lantern, immediately turning it on. “Ta da! Let there be light.”

Mindy let out a shaky breath that sounded like a half-hearted chuckle, and when I looked over, she was standing again, arms crossed over her chest. “Well, aren’t you the prepared one?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I gestured to the mini lounge in the corner.

A smile appeared on her face as she nodded. “Fair enough. ”

My shorts looked entirely too good on her, and I wanted to be closer to her without being a creep. “You warm enough? It can get chilly down here sometimes.”

She shrugged. “I’m okay.”

I gestured to the couch, happy to see I'd left a blanket draped over the back of it. That will be useful later . “Well, then make yourself comfortable.”

She sat on the side closest to the corner, and just as I took my spot next to her, more thunder shook the house and the power went out again. Mindy dropped her head in her hands, took a deep breath, and I could have sworn I heard her mumbling, “It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” What I wanted was to pull her into my arms and hold her, but once again, I didn't want to freak her out. Just about the time I was going to go to the tote on the fridge and pull out the whiskey, she finally responded.

“Can I rest my head on your shoulder?”

“Of course. You can even hold my hand if you want.”

When more thunder boomed overhead, this time even startling me with the volume, Mindy jumped closer, wrapped her arms around mine, and clung to my hand. I gave it a gentle squeeze and covered hers with my other hand, soaking up how good it felt to have her soft skin on mine, even if her hand was too cold for my liking. “You’re safe, Min. I promise.”