Chapter Text
Kate could barely hear Javi calling her name over the rushing in her ears. The tornado was gone, but the sound would not stop. There's no escape from the storm. Or the guilt.
It was her fault that Addy, Praveen…and Jeb were dead. She’d always know that. Hearing Javi blame her though - it was like a knife to the gut, reopening a wound that was only recently starting to heal.
She couldn't be here anymore. Her vision narrowed on the beat-up Storm Par truck near the front of the motel. Somehow it was still there despite the storm. Escape was her goal.
Reaching the door, she fumbled with the handle, her breath coming out in gasps. It was locked. Where are the keys? She patted her pockets frantically.
“Kate.”
She continued searching her pockets.
“Kate,” Tyler’s soft voice broke through her panic as he touched her elbow. “Just take a breath, Kate.”
She tried to follow his instructions, but the air just wouldn't enter her lungs. It's like she forgot how to breathe. Her eyes flitted around, seeing all the damage and devastation left, panic blurring everything.
“Kate,” he cupped the back of her neck gently, forcing her to look at him. “Follow my breathing.” He exaggerated the movement of his chest so she could mimic him. “You are fine. I am fine. That mother and daughter are fine. You saved us.”
I couldn't save them, echoed in her head.
It took a few more minutes of coaxing from Tyler for Kate’s breathing to return to some normal rhythm.
“Hey there, Sapulpa. You back with me?” Tyler asked, his voice gentle and teasing. She appreciated the latter - too much coddling would send her into a spiral at the moment.
“Thanks,” she said roughly as he dropped his hand.
“Anytime.”
Her mind was slightly clearer now, her fingers finally landing on the keys in her pocket. Pulling them out, she looked at the truck.
“Where you headed, Sapulpa?”
It wasn't until he asked the question that Kate knew where she was going.
“I need to go home.”
“Can I take you?”
“You don't have to.”
“I know. I want to. I’m not ready to have you out of my sight yet.”
They had been through something intense together. Where Kate tended to isolate herself after trauma, it seemed that Tyler was the opposite. At least when it came to her.
“Listen, Kate. I'll drive you straight there, drop you off and leave. We don't even have to talk on the way.”
“Alright,” Kate agreed. In truth, in the wake of her panic attack, she was exhausted mentally and physically. And Tyler had proved to not be horrible company despite their early animosity. She set the keys on the head of the truck, noticing the tremor in her hand. Crossing her arms to hide it, she said, “Can we go now?”
“Absolutely.”
Thankfully, the Wrangler hadn't been damaged in the storm, other than needing a good wash. Tyler guided her to it with a hand hovering on the small of her back.
“Kate,” Javi called. She could hear the apology in his voice, but she couldn't deal with it right now.
“Not now, Javi,” Tyler's hard tone seemed to startle him enough that he stopped, giving them enough time to get into the truck without being bothered.
Kate noticed Tyler wave at Lily as he peeled out of the parking lot, swerving to avoid debris and having to drive over the rest.
“Will they be okay?” she asked quietly.
“Who?”
“Lily and Boone and the others.”
“Of course, They don't really need me. Leader in name only,” he joked self deprecatingly.
That wasn't true. Kate had seen how much the crew respected Tyler. More than that, they were a family, like her crew had been. Kate rested her head on the window, watching the emergency vehicles fly down the road towards where they just come from. There was nothing left to say.
The encompassing darkness of Oklahoma roads soothed her raging emotions, or at least dulled them temporarily. Lost in her own thoughts, Kate had no idea what time it was. Peeking at the clock, she was startled that thirty minutes had already passed. Tyler had promised they didn't have to talk, but she was surprised by his silence. Shifting in her seat so she could look at him, Kate took in her travel companion.
There was obviously more to Tyler Owens than she thought at first glance. Oh, he was confident, wild, and a little crazy, but he knew what he was doing. And he loved it – Kate could tell in the the way he spoke at the rodeo. He loved it the way she used to.
And he was kind. From the work his team did in tornado ravaged areas to checking on an almost stranger with food and an invite. Even if that invite hadn't turned out how he wanted. Tyler Owens was a lot more than some YouTube famous cowboy wrangler.
He caught looking at him with a smile, “How are you, city girl?”
“We back to that name?”
“I'll have you know I'm the king of nicknames. You never know what will come next,” he teased. It wasn't enough to make her laugh, but her smile was genuine.
Until he asked, “Do you want to talk about what sent you running?”
Kate sighed, looking away.
“Never mind,” Tyler backtracked. “None of my business. I'm just your friendly Uber driver.”
He wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't tell him. He wasn't that kind of guy. And maybe she needed to tell someone.
“I didn't know about Riggs,” Kate said quietly. “Not until I did some research after you told me.”
“Shoot, Kate, I'm sorry, I thought you knew who Storm Par chased for.”
“I don't work for Storm Par. Javi's an old friend and he needed my help. I should have asked more questions.”
It was clear from the cloudy look of anger on his face that Tyler thought Javi should have told her more. He dropped it, though. “What happened tonight?”
“I confronted Javi about his work for Riggs, how it took advantage of people who lost everything. He fired back with some truths that I wasn't ready to hear.” Losing three of my best friends while you were trying to get money for your science project. Kate could feel her heart starting to pound again, panic starting to crawl of her body.
A hand landed on her bicep, Tyler's voice breaking through.
“Kate, come back to me.”
Gasping, Kate croaked, “I’m sorry.”
“Don't be. I shouldn't have gone after you about Riggs. It wasn't fair.” Tyler dropped his hand to the console between them.
“I’m glad I know.” She wouldn't want to be in the dark about this.
They let the silence linger for a few moments before Tyler said, “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“Riggs is a sensitive subject for me.”
Kate had never heard him sound so serious.
“My family owned a ranch in Arkansas near the Oklahoma border. I thought I was going to grow old there. I don't regret where I am now, but I resent how we lost the place.”
She twisted slightly so she did look at him better, “What happened?”
“Couple years of drought, wind damaged crops, increasing seed prices. It was a perfect storm for the Arkansas equivalent of Riggs to swoop in and buy it for almost nothing. My father took the money and blew it on alcohol and gambling. Became even more of an abusive bastard than he’d been before. Left when I was 16, haven't been back since.”
“I'm sorry, Tyler.” She squeezed his hand where it still rested on the console. “What about your mom?”
“She died when I was a kid.”
Kate interlaced their fingers, her heart breaking for Tyler. He put on such a persona of someone who was happy and lived for fun. It was another layer in the mystery of Tyler Owens.
“I spent a lot of time with my aunt and uncle after her death. When my father was really bad, they tried to get custody of me but he always convinced child services that I was lying.”
“Are they…?”
“My aunt’s in Fort Smith. I see a lot in the offseason. Despite her regret at introducing me to tornadoes,” Tyler gave her a cheeky grin, “she's our biggest fan.”
“I'd like to meet her someday,” slipped out before Kate could think.
“I'd like that.”
~~~
The day that I met you, the world had just spit me out
On my way to the bottom, sure I'd never be found
Then you saw me for me, made me believe in myself
On the day that I met you, it all turned around
You said, "Close your eyes, don't look down"
Fall Into Me – Forest Blakk