Priceless

Chapter 13: Authenticity

Nessa's eyes flew open, her mind and body instantly awake as a thunderous boom resonated through the room. Her heart pounded in her chest, pushing blood to her muscles in case she had to flee. She took a deep breath, willing it to slow down as she turned her eyes to the window. A flash of lightning lit up the sky for a few seconds, spilling into her room long enough for her to see that Reba hadn't so much as flinched.

That girl could sleep through anything.

Nessa, on the other hand, had a small phobia surrounding thunderstorms. Rain she could handle. Thunder and lightning freaked her out just a little. She reached for her phone on the nightstand, wondering about the time and knowing it had to be early because her alarm hadn't gone off yet.

The glow of her screen announced that it was barely four o'clock. She had another hour before she needed to be up to help Thane with the horses. Though with this kind of weather, she wasn't sure anyone would be riding today. They had checked the weather before turning in for the night and while rain had been in the forecast, it wasn't supposed to be heavy.

Apparently, that changed.

She swiped her finger across the screen to unlock it, jumping as another loud boom filled the air. Good grief! She glanced over at Reba again, not understanding how she didn't wake up. Turning her attention back to the phone, she opened the weather app and loaded the details for Colorado. The radar map showed an intense line of storms moving over them, with another line behind it to move in later.

Nessa groaned, lamenting both the storms themselves and the fact that it would lose them another day of riders. This would be the second ride they had to cancel. Adding that to the riders who cancelled last week due to a delayed flight, that made three of the past seven business days that they weren't bringing in money.

She wondered if this happened frequently or if it bothered the boys as much as it bothered her.

The creak of floorboards in the hall drew her eyes to the door and she listened, wondering who else had been woken by the storm. Knowing she wouldn't be going back to sleep until the thunder and lightning ceased, she tossed the covers aside, leaving her phone on the bed, and crossed to the door. She quietly pulled it open, peeking into the hall.

A surprised pair of brown eyes met hers as Thane flinched, not expecting her door to open as he passed. She offered a smile, whispering, "Sorry. I heard footsteps and wondered who else heard the storm."

Thane motioned her out into the hall with him, saying, "Just me. I decided to go check on the weather. Didn't expect this."

Nessa stepped out of her room, closing the door silently behind her. "Way ahead of you. There's a line of storms moving through right now, but it doesn't end there. Another line is following it not too far behind. I'm guessing it would arrive just as we're ready to head out on horseback."

Thane grimaced, reaching up to run a hand through his already mussed hair. Despite the early hour, Nessa's tummy did a happy dance as she looked at him, finding him just as attractive in disarray as any other time.

"We've been losing rides like crazy this past week. But I guess there's nothing we can do about the weather."

Nessa shook her head, not able to reply before another boom of thunder filled the air, causing her to jump. She glanced up at the ceiling as if she could see through it to the storm, her nerves tingling a little more every time.

"You okay?" Thane asked.

She pulled her eyes back to him, shaking her head. "Not really. I'm a wuss when it comes to storms. Rain is no big deal, but I don't like thunder and lightning. There's no way I'll fall back asleep until it's over and by then, it'll be time to get up."