UNDER MY SKIN

nine. cowboy scientist

A smile rested on Sam’s lips as her eyes scanned the parking lot of the motel. People milled around, there was a fire going, people were strumming guitars, others were listening to music from their radios. Everywhere she looked there seemed to be a party going on, and she loved it.

But she couldn’t help the sadness that had crept in, it all reminded her of her time on the circuit. It was the same atmosphere, everyone just loving life and having a good ol’ time.

She hiked her bag up over her shoulder, looking over at Kate as she lightly bumped her shoulder, “you good?”

Sam nodded, glancing around the lot again, “makes me miss the circuit.”

Sam sent her a sad smile as she wrapped her arm around her shoulder, and the two started across the dirt parking lot.

“Haven’t we stayed here before?” Javi asked, joining the two.

Kate chuckled, “Yeah, Javi. We’ve stayed in every motel in Oklahoma.”

“Remember we used to have Addy check in,” a sad smile crossed Javi’s lips. “Then later we’d all sneak into the room so that we could all save ten bucks. We’d have Addy do it cause she was–”

“‘Cause she looked so sweet,” Kate finished, a melancholy smile tugging at her lips as the memories flooded. “Oh, and there was that one time Sam flirted with the guy at the front desk.”

“Oh, God.” Sam groaned, her nose scrunched in embarrassment as Kate and Javi laughed.

“Didn’t he give you his number?” Javi asked, looking over at the shorter blonde as she nodded.

“And I had to break his heart, felt kinda bad for him.”

“No, you didn’t,” Kate shook her head and Sam rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue.

Javi smiled at the two, it felt almost like it used to, and he wasn’t ready for that to end, “hey, um, you guys wanna hang out later?” He asked, slowing to a stop and they turned towards him. And Sam watched his eyes scan Kate’s face, that same look in his eyes that she had seen in New York. “I’ll, you know, go up to the room real quick and, obviously, shower and we can come back out here.”

Kate hesitated a moment, and Sam watched as she seemingly argued with herself, “um, look, I’m real tired. But maybe another time?”

Javi tried, and failed, to hide his disappointment, “Yeah, alright. Night.” He managed a smile and Kate turned, making her way towards the motel, but Sam looked over at Javi again. But his eyes were still on Kate.

“Night,” Kate waved.

“It’s good to have you back.”

“I'm not back,” Kate reminded him.

He smiled, not quite reaching his eyes, “I remember. One week.” And that was the moment it all sunk in, and it hit like a ton of bricks. He looked back at the girl that still stood there, maybe she wanted to hang out and they could talk. “Sam?”

“Naw, I – I’m–” a bark cut her off then she felt something against her leg and she looked down at a large brown dog. “Buck.” A smile tugged at her lips as she rubbed her hand over his head.

Javi seemed annoyed, even by the mere presence of the dog but only because of his owner, but he ignored it. “You wanna hang out?”

“No, Javi.” She looked up at him, still petting Buck.

“Come on, we used to be friends.”

“Answer me this, and be honest… how long have you been into Kate?”

His eyes went wide, his jaw falling open as he tried to grasp what she had asked, “wha – what… what are you-”

“Don’t play dumb, please.” She wasn't even mad, she just wanted the truth. “I’ve seen the way you look at her. The moment she stepped into that conference room, I saw it. It took me a while to get there, to understand it. But it's obvious.”

“Sam-”

She held her hand up to stop him, “how long, Javi?” When he didn’t answer, she chuckled humorlessly. “That why you asked me out? ‘Cause she was with Jeb? Was I the next best thing?”

“No, Sam, it wasn’t like that.” He rushed out, but she just raised an eyebrow, making him sigh. “It-it started out that way, but I really did love you.”

She nodded her head, grateful to have Buck at her side because it hurt. She had moved on, she had put herself back together and she was happy… but it still hurt like a bitch. Like falling off of a horse.

“Not the way I loved you.”

“Sam…”

She turned, patting her thigh as she whistled and Buck followed, a smile tugged at her lips when she saw Tyler’s truck, the crew hanging around it and Kate on the landing of the concrete stairs leading to the second floor.

Ben was scribbling in his notepad as Dexter explained what cap meant when it came to tornadoes.

“You really should watch your dog a little better,” Sam mused as she neared them and Tyler’s eyes landed on her, a smile playing on her lips but she didn’t look okay. Her smile was fake, which he could tell from a mile away.

Her smile only became slightly more real as she hugged Dexter, then Lily, and Dani, who handed her a beer, before telling her to drink up.

Tyler followed her with his eyes as she popped the tab of her beer open, “he seems to be in good hands.”

She chuckled, rolling her eyes a little as she rounded the truck, then she looked up at Kate, dodging Boone's foot as he tried to point her with the toe of his boot, “hey, I think I’m gonna hang out here for a little bit.”

Kate nodded, but she could see something on her sister’s face, “you okay?”

She wasn’t, but she really didn’t want to get into it, “yeah.”

“She’s in good hands,” Tyler told her, but his eyes were still on Sam as she dropped her duffle into the bed of his truck, and with the click of her tongue Buck jumped up before she lifted herself onto the tailgate.

“We’ll take good care of her,” Dani added, her smile wide, which made Sam chuckle before she took a sip of her beer.

Kate’s brows pinched, not only did the fact that Sam seemed to know all of them make no sense, she was curious about the crew itself. “Where did you guys all meet? Did you, uh… did you study meteorology at the U of A?”

They all chuckled, all but Ben, who didn’t get it, and Tyler, who was still watching Sam as she smiled and kissed Buck’s forehead. 

“No,” Lily shook her head, looking up at the blonde, before going back to working on her drone, Cairo.

“All right, Kate, me?” Boone started, hanging onto the roll cage to keep his balance. “You know, I just flow with the wind. You know what I’m saying?” He took a sip of his beer, “Yeah, I-I never went to, like, school or nothing.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Sam hummed. “He’s the smart one.”

“Naw, naw,” she shook his head, but he smiled over at the girl. “Tha – that’s Tyler. He – he studied meteorology.”

Sam laughed at the pure confusion on Kate’s face, which had Tyler rolling his eyes. “Him?”

“Yeah,” Boone went on and Sam turned, meeting Tyler’s eyes. “You know, he’s a cowboy scientist.” The blonde made a teasing face, making Tyler chuckle as his ears turned pink. “You know, he’s got this natural instinct-”

“Okay, Boone,” Tyler went back to fixing the truck, peeling his eyes off of Sam.

Boone continued, “taught me everything I know, so…”

“Boone,” Tyler said firmly, shutting the babbling boy up, then he looked up at Kate – he didn’t like that she was seemingly judging his crew. “You know, our crew’s not like your crew, Kate. We don’t need PhDs and fancy gadgets to do what we do. I guarantee you, these guys have seen more tornadoes than anyone else in this lot combined.”

Sam looked up at her sister as a bitter smile crossed her lips, “that right?” Tyler didn’t know. Sam had told him about the storm, but not much and it seemed he still hadn’t pieced together that Kate was her sister.

Sam let out a breath and laid back, using her bag as a pillow as she rubbed Buck’s back, her eyes on the sky and Tyler’s eyes moved over again, more concerned with her then with what had been broken.

“Do you think there’s a chance we’ll see one tomorrow?” Ben asked, looking up at Kate then over at Tyler, who was still preoccupied.

Dani tossed him a beer can, but it hit his arm and he just barely caught it, “oh, yeah.”

“Oh, yeah,” Boone nodded. “Outbreak, baby.”

“You know, if you can keep up, we’ll put you in the episode.” Tyler told them, before raising his beer to his lips. “Both of you,” he looked over at Sam again as she tilted her head back , meeting his eyes.

“Wow,” Kate mumbled sarcastically.

“Now, there’s an idea,” Sam mused. “Maybe I could be convinced.” A smirk toyed on her lips, making one tug at Tyler’s lips – he knew she would love it and he wanted to share that part of his life with her.

“Where you chasin’ tomorrow?” Lily asked, looking up at them.

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” Tyler cut in before Kate could answer. “Not falling for that again. Kate’s from New York. Can’t trust a thing she says.”

“Well, you can always trust a guy that puts his face on a t-shirt,” she shot back before making her way up the stairs and the all oohed, teasing him as Sam laughed. Her eyes were closed, her hand on her stomach as she nearly rolled across the bed of the truck. “Night, Sam!”

“Night!” Sam shouted back, still laughing as Tyler jumped into the bed of the truck, then he squatted down next to the laughing blonde, he was close to her head. “Hey, cowboy.”

“You okay, baby?” He asked softly, reaching out to brush her bangs out of her eyes as he settled next to her, his feet stretched towards the cab of the truck. “You seem a little off.”

She reached up and patted his cheek, her thumb sliding over his stubbly, “I’m better now.”

He smiled as he wrapped his fingers around her wrist, then he moved her hand and lightly kissed her palm, “anything else I can do to help?”

“This is good,” She shifted onto her elbows, being careful not to disturb Buck as she laid her head on Tyler’s thigh. “I missed you.”

He brushed his fingers through her hair, a smile on his lips as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, “I missed you more.”

>>>>> • <<<<<

Sam was sure she hadn't laughed so much in nearly a year, it felt foreign almost as she sat in a folding chair with a beer in her hand and Buck at her feet.

Most of the storm chasers had turned in, giving Sam and the Tornado Wranglers free rein of the parking lot, so they had migrated over towards the fire pit to keep warm as the chill in the air got a bit stronger.

She sank into her chair, letting the familiar feeling of belonging sink in. She hadn't felt that way about anything since the accident… well, maybe one thing made he feel that way even over the phone.

“So,” Tyler leaned towards the blonde, his elbows on his knees as the laughter died down, Boone has recapped their last several tornadoes for the girl, and he got very animated with it. “When are we gonna get you in that truck?”

She had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him that he had, in fact, gotten her into that truck several times, but for a much different reason.

She knew the crew knew about them, it wasn't like they were super secretive about it, especially when it was just them. But she didn't think they needed to know that she and Tyler had done some non-storm related things in that truck.

“I don't know, cowboy.” She simply lifted her shoulder in a shrug, raising her beer to her lips. His eyes tracked the movement and, damn, he was jealous of a can. “Don't think it's my kinda thing.”

“You ride broncs,” Dani stated and Tyler watched as her smile faded and she shifted in her chair. “This can't be much scarier than that.”

Sam tried to brush off the sinking feeling in her gut, the self-hatred that reared it ugly head and almost sang scaredy cat. Because she hadn't ridden in a year.

The laugh she forced out sounded rough, maybe even a little bitter, “yeah, guess not.”

“What's it like?” Ben asked, because despite saying he was gonna head to bed two hours before, he had stuck around just listening to them talk. They were a fascinating bunch, and he wanted to get to the very heart of them for the article.

“What?” Sam asked, her brown eyes wide as she looked over at the gangly man. She was drowning in a sudden rush of panic, and she was fighting hard to breathe, much less to understand the question, simple as it may be.

“Broncs? What's it like riding a horse like that?”

Tyler reached over and placed his hand on her knee, the action alone had everything in her halting. The panic slowly faded away, chased out by his warmth and the way he moved his thumb against her jeans.

She shifted in her chair, turning her legs towards him so her knee brushed against his, and she could breathe again.

“It's late,” Tyler stated before she could answer the man's question. “We should all hit the hay.”

They all groaned, complaining about him being a buzz kill, but they all packed up their chairs and made sure to throw away their trash. After a few good nights, and Boone leaving a kiss on Sam's cheek, which made her smile, Tyler and Sam were left alone. Mostly. Buck was still asleep at the girl's feet.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, picking at the tab in her empty can.

He smiled at her, lightly squeezing her thigh, “you looked like you were about to crawl outta your skin.”

“It's not all the time, but, uh, I get panic attacks when it's brought up. I – I’ve gotten better, but…” She trailed off.

“Hey, you ain't gotta explain anything to me, if you don't wanna. I get it.” He told her and she smiled over at him. “Now, I was serious, we should head to bed.”

She chuckled, but nodded. They packed up their chairs, checked the ground for trash, and put out the fire. Then, with Buck in tow, he led her to his room – making sure to grab her bag from the bed of the truck.

“Can you stay with me, or is Kate gonna miss you?”

“I'm all yours, cowboy.”

He grinned, “I like the sound of that.”

After they both showered – separately  – they settled into the rather uncomfortable mattress with Buck at their feet. Tyler smiled at the girl, her hair pulled into a messy bun, an old rodeo sweatshirt hanging loosely from her torso, and even if she was under the covers, he couldn’t stop thinking about the little cotton shorts she had strolled out of the bathroom in.

“What?” She asked softly, meeting his eyes in the dark – they were on their sides, facing each other.

“Nothing,” he shook his head, because he couldn’t tell her. It would ruin everything. They were friends, best friends, even if he wanted more. “I just like havin’ you in my bed.”

She chuckled, rolling her eyes a little, and she was glad it was dark enough to hide the blush on her cheeks. “Goodnight, Tyler.” She let her eyes drift closed, only to have him wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she smiled against his chest before pressing a soft kiss right over his heart.

NOVA SPEAKS

another update just cause 💕