Only For Love (A Novella)

Only for Love - Chapter One

Wichita, Kansas 1875

The wind howled, rattling against the window panes. Inside, Clara Byfield watched the black clouds making their way across the sky. Only moments ago, the sky had been blue, with only a few wisps of white clouds. 

"Darling!" Clara turned as her beau, Arthur Cheathum, moved to her side, "My parents feel we should go down to the cellar to be safe." 

Clare stepped back to the window to look up at the clouds. They were black, but she saw no circular movement. She had lived on the prairie of Kansas for all of her eighteen years and she knew what the sudden appearance of the black clouds meant. 

Tornado! 

"But my parents." 

"They will be fine." Arthur took her arm to escort her across the sitting room to the foyer where his parents, Thomas and Mary Cheathum, were waiting. 

Mary reached over to squeeze Clara's hand, "It will be alright, my dear. Nothing to worry about." 

As they stepped out onto the front porch, the wind pushed and pulled at their clothing. Arthur wrapped an arm around Clara's shoulders as they followed his parents around the side of the house to the double wooden doors that led down into the underground cellar. 

Below, Mary lit a single candle, and set it on a natural shelf in the wall, "It will all be over soon." 

As the men secured a thick board across the doors from the inside, the two women settled on a pair of old crates, "I do hope my family will be alright." 

"I'm sure they will be fine, dear." Mary reached over to pat Clara's hand.

The sound of wind above became deafening. Terrified, Clara left the crate, and moved closer to Arthur who wrapped his arms around her. "You are trembling, my darling. You should not worry. We are safe here."  

A loud rattling sound filled the air as the force of the wind shook the cellar doors. "Will they hold?" Clara whispered, her voice trembling with fear. 

"Of course." Thomas gave her a reassuring smile, "your father helped me reinforce those doors just the same as he did the ones on your farm. They will not come loose." 

After what seemed like hours, but was actually only minutes, the sound of the wind died down. Thomas and Arthur opened the doors, and assisted the women out of the cellar. 

The ground was littered with tree branches, and other debris left behind by the wind, but all of the buildings seemed to be intact. "It did not come close." Clara breathed. She turned beseeching eyes to Arthur, "I am worried about my family." 

"It is still a bit windy," Arthur stated, "I do not think it is safe..." 

"Please, Arthur. I need to see they are safe." 

With a sigh, he nodded, "I'll get on the buggy." 

She paced in front of the house, anxiously twisting her hands until he arrived with the buggy. Lifting her skirt, she climbed aboard beside him, "Please hurry." 

"The rain has made the roads muddy," he said as he urged the horses to a walk along the road, "It is unsafe to move any faster." 

Anxious about her family, she twisted her hands together, "Please, Arthur, can you not go a little faster. They could be injured." 

"The storm was not that bad, Clara. I am sure the farm faired the same as our home." 

No, something was wrong, very wrong. She could feel it deep inside. Grabbing the reins from his hands, she slapped them harshly against the horses back, "Yaw, Yaw!"