UNDER MY SKIN

nineteen. harness up

Sam sat on a stool, her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands as she watched Tyler. She had an almost dreamy look in her eyes as he got his computer set up, he had even taken the time to explain a few things. And, surprisingly, Sam had followed almost everything he said. There were some parts that she was a little uncertain about but she knew the basics of storms and tornadoes.

And she loved watching him as he got excited about the prospect of Kate’s experiment, which he had expressed almost every couple of minutes. Each time he did, Sam would lean over and kiss his cheek and in return he’d lean over and brush his lips against hers.

Finally, he got everything set up, typing in the needed conditions into the simulator, which Sam had asked about a million questions about. He thought it was the most adorable thing when she’d lean over and point at the things on the screen, and he would take the time to answer.

Admittedly, Kate was slightly annoyed with the two. They were nauseatingly in love.

“So, this is an EF1.” He told him, his hand pressed into the table and Sam wrapped her arms around his before leaning in so she had a better view. “Perfect conditions.” Sam watched as a model of a tornado spun on the screen, she was amazed. Tyler smiled at her, before nodding towards Kate, “run your experiment and see if it works.”

Kate leaned over, typing in the number, “okay, so fifteen hundred kilos of polymer absorbing three hundred times its weight.”

“So, it’s, uh, four hundred and fifty kilos…” he mumbled, doing the math in his head. “-of precipitation loaded into our water-filled polymer to load the updraft. Let’s see how the model responds.” He hit the spacebar and the simulation started, all three watched, hoping for the best.

“Buoyancy of the rising air is reducing,” Kate noted, reading the stats as they changed.

“It’s reducing – slowing the updraft,” Tyler added.

“It’s slowing down,” Sam was amazed, leaning over a little more to watch as the digital tornado evaporated

“Kate, in theory, this should’ve worked.” Tyler was in awe. He’d never seen anything like it, never even thought something like that was possible.

“In theory,” she nodded, with a sigh as she leaned against the table. “But it wasn’t an EF1 that day. I mean, we never had a chance.”

Sam offered a small smile, holding her hand and Kate took it. She appreciated the small gesture.

Tyler looked over at Kate, who just looked completely hopeless, then he turned his head towards Sam, who was nothing but concerned for her sister. Then something caught his eye… on the loft, pushed to the back, sat several yellow barrels and an idea formed in the big brain of his, “you want one?”

Kate looked up at him, her eyebrows pinched, then she followed his eyes to the barrels. She swallowed hard and squeezed Sam’s hand, which she still held. Kate met Sam’s gaze, who nodded with an encouraging smile. Then the youngest Carter girl slowly nodded.

>>>>> • <<<<<

Sam happily sat in the shotgun seat of Tyler’s truck, and though Kate had been annoyed that she’d lost their game of rock-paper-scissors, that soon faded when she climbed into the backseat and got a look at all the modifications. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the cab, Sam laughed because that had pretty much been her reaction the first time she had seen the truck all tricked out a while back.

Though, Sam hadn’t lost all sense of personal space like Kate had. The younger girl had leaned forward between the two front seats turning the knob on the radio, which made Sam laugh, but Tyler seemed confused.

“Yeah, that’s my radio.” He nodded, but Kate had already moved on, leaning down to look at a few things in the back. It was mostly filming equipment.

“What’s all this for?” Kate asked.

“Wait, what are you touching back there?” Tyler glanced back, and Sam just watched as Kate moved on once again. She leaned forward, hanging over her sister as she pulled the visor down.

“That’s a mirror, Katie.” Sam told her, her tone a bit teasing and condescending. Kate pushed it back into place and shot Sam a quick glare.

“Gotta lot of stuff in here,” Kate mumbled before pulling the glove box open and Sam watched with wide eyes as signed pictures fell into her lap. “Oh,” Kate mumbled, pushing it closed.

“Have you ever been in a car before?” Tyler huffed, it was like letting a kid loose in a candy store.

Sam pulled the glove box open again and pulled out one of the pictures, she wasn’t ever gonna let him live it down.

“Isn’t he just so handsome?” Sam waved the picture teasingly, her eyes on the cowboy, whose ears had turned pink before he reached over and snatched the photo from her. He put it back in the glovebox and pushed it closed. “Awe, come on! They were cute!” She teased and he narrowed his eyes playfully as he looked over at her. She let her eyes drink him in, not paying much attention to Kate as she continued to mess with things.

The cowboy had traded his cowboy hat for a worn out ball cap that he had placed on his head backwards, and he looked damn good in it. It was safe to say, her mind was anything but storms. He wore one of his usual flannels, and those jeans that drove her insane. He looked so damn good that she pulled her phone out and snapped a picture of him, which drew his attention to her.

But before he could say anything, Kate started messing with the switches on the console, “yeah, don’t-don’t touch – there’s guards there for a reason.”

“If she gets to press buttons, I wanna press buttons,” Sam mumbled as she reached over.

“Baby, no-” but it was too late, she pressed the button then she and Kate jumped at the loud noise as the rockets were shot into the air. Tyler turned slowly, his eyes meeting Sam’s wide eyes. Her lips were rolled over her teeth in hopes of stopping her smile, but it was a losing battle and even he couldn’t stop his smile from growing as he looked back at the road.

“That’s a rocket.” He mumbled and Kate situated herself in the backseat before sitting on her hands. But Sam just smiled as she looked over at her boyfriend. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Or what?” She asked, sitting up a little straighter as he titled her a little in challenge. “You’d spank me?”

“Oh, God, Sam!” Kate groaned, slapping her hands over her ears, making Sam laugh as she settled into her seat. And when she glanced over at Tyler, he had a dark look in his eyes, like a silent promise. Sam swallowed hard as she shifted in her seat, her eyes falling on the doppler in front of her – if she had picked up anything, it was how to read a doppler.

Tyler smirked, loving that he could render her speechless with just a look. He glanced from the road to the girl, then to the screen, “alright, what about these two little ones? Just west of Enid?”

Kate leaned over Sam’s shoulder, “yeah, but this one to the east has the sky all to herself.”

Sam chuckled as Tyler narrowed his eyes skeptically at Kate. “Yeah, I’m not falling for that again.”

“Baby, I think she’s serious.” Sam told him as Kate settled into the back seat again.

But the cowboy was still skeptical as he looked over at his girlfriend before glancing back at Kate in the rearview mirror, “you serious?”

“I’ll tell ya later.”

Tyler just hummed, looking over at Sam, “she really is your sister.”

Sam just grinned, looking back at Kate, who laughed. It was good to see Kate’s smile that wide, it felt like it had been forever since she last saw it.

“Oh, after this, we should go on a trail ride.” Her smile was wide as she looked back at her sister.

Kate watched as Tyler looked over at Sam as his hands rested on her thigh, she saw the look in his eyes in the rearview. There was nothing but love in his eyes, it has been the same look he had every single time Kate had found his eyes on Sam over the last couple of days.

It was sincere and incredibly earnest, Kate wasn't sure had ever seen a man look at a woman like that before.

“Ya know what, why don't you two go. You can take him to the lake over by Mr. Compton’s property.” Kate told her, a soft smile on her lips.

Sam grinned before looking over at Tyler, “what do you say, cowboy? Wanna go for a ride?”

“With you? Always.” He grabbed her hand, bringing a smile to her lips as he brought her hand up to his lips and brushed a soft kiss to her knuckles. Then he let their hands rest in her lap.

After a little while of driving, the storm grew visible and Tyler just had to pull over to admire the beauty of it. He barely put the truck in park before he jumped out, his smile wide and the Carter sisters followed.

Kate had her camera raised, her own excitement growing, “dew point is steady! Wind shear is good! Holy shit! Oh, my God, the whole updraft is rotating! Holy cow!”

Sam grinned as Tyler jumped around like a little kid, shouting over the wind, “I mean, look at those striations! It’s low precip! You can see everything! Aw, she’s perfect!”

“Only understood half of that, but she's gorgeous!” Sam shouted, her excitement feeding off of theirs. Tyler turned, eyes on her as she smiled up at the sky, her hands in her hair to keep it out of her eyes. She giggled a little bouncing on her toes, the feeling she felt rivaled that of the feeling she got the moment right before she climbed into the shute and onto the back of a bronc.

She met his eyes, feeling them on her, and she smiled up at him as he made his way towards her. He stopped in front of her, his hands on her hips as Kate snapped several pictures of the sky.

“It's cute the way you get all excited,” she told him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck.

He chuckled, his eyes dropping to the ground for just a moment before they met hers again. “You have no idea how long I've wanted to share this with you. It's been my every thought since the very beginning. Every time we'd drive into a storm, I just… I kept thinking what if Sam was here?”

“Well, I'm here now.” She stretched up and brushed a kiss to her lips just as Kate turned, but she just smiled at the couple before snapping a quick picture – she thought they might like it someday.

“Okay, we get it,” Kate started, making the two pull apart. “-y'all are in love. It’s adorable.” She went on and Sam’s cheeks flushed as she leaned into her boyfriend's chest. He chuckled and tightened his arms around her, holding her close as he kissed the top of her head. “But come on! She’s gonna give us something! I call shotgun!”

“What? No!” Sam shouted, pulling away from Tyler then she and Kate took off towards the truck, both girls nearly slamming into the side as they started bickering. Tyler laughed, shaking his head a little as he made his way towards the truck as the two started up a game of
rock-paper-scissors.

Sam won, again. Kate was anything but happy, but her annoyance faded as they followed a dirt road towards the forming storm, she leaned forward, holding onto the back of Sam’s seat, her eyes bright and her smile wide.

Sam chuckled, turning a little to look at her sister then she stealthily fished out her phone and took a quick picture – she made a mental note to make it Kate’s contact photo. Sam grinned at the photo, before clicking her phone off and tucking it under her thigh.

“Sam,” Tyler reached over, nudging her thigh with his hand a little and she looked over at him, but he just pointed out the windshield. She turned, her eyes going wide as a thin funnel formed several yards from where they were, and they were headed right for it. The cowboy squeezed her thigh a little, he could see the hesitation in her eyes, but there was something else...

She looked excited.

“Alright, let’s harness up,” he told the two, moving his hand from Sam’s leg, he pulled his harness on then traded hands on the wheel, pulling the other strap over his shoulder. Sam took a breath, but she’d seen enough of his videos to know how it worked.

Kate, on the other hand, was caught off guard, “uh, we’re just gonna drop the trailer in its path right?” She asked, as Tyler reached over, tugging on Sam’s strap to make sure she was in tight.

Tyler smirked, meeting her eyes in the rearview, “tell ya later.”

“Shit,” Kate muttered as she leaned back into the seat behind her sister, who laughed at her realization. Kate was muttering to herself as she pulled her seatbelt on, then she quickly pulled the harness over her shoulders and clipped the front before tightening it up.

Tyler’s laugh soon joined Sam’s, the two in the front seats, seemingly having a great time as Kate panicked.

“We – we don’t have to drive into it! It’s really dangerous!”

“Oh, that’s why we have to drive into it,” he told her matter-of-factly. “Can’t miss from in there.”

“Oh, shit,” Kate muttered, her hands gripping the harness straps that were around her as Tyler hit the gas and pulled off the road, hitting a small hill that had the front wheels leaving the ground for a moment.

The three there jerked around a little, but the harnesses did their job. Sam grinned, looking over at Tyler, who looked so comfortable and more in his element than ever before.

“Come on, Katie. Live a little.”

“Says the girl that rides horses of death,” Kate muttered, her hands shaking a little.

“Now, look,” Tyler started, trying to calm the younger girl down. “This thing's-”

“Oh, shit.”

“-rathed for EF1s, okay?” He continued as she muttered those two words on repeat. “We got extra weight on the chassis. We got anchoring down two feet.”

“Yeah, Katie, don’t worry.” Sam added. “He’s a professional.”

“He’s an asshole!” She snapped, sinking farther back into her seat.

“Be nice to my boyfriend,” Sam scolded playfully.

“He’s insane!” Kate reached up and grabbed the handle above the door.

“Very true,” Sam hummed, twisting her arm back between the seat and the door to offer Kate her hand, which she latched onto her as they got so close that the force of the wind had the truck shaking just a little.

“Hold on,” Tyler turned, taking them right for the vortex.

“Oh, Tyler, this is dumb. This is really dumb.”

“In my experience, the dumb things are always the most fun,” Sam told her, though her own nerves had peaked. Her palms had started to sweat so she wiped her free hand on her jeans.

“Alright, we got this,” the cowboy reassured them. “Here comes the kick.”

“Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!” Kate repeated, her eyes closed as she squeezed Sam’s hand and turned her head to the side as she readied herself for impact.

The truck shook more violently, debris smacking into the metal and the windshield but Tyler kept going. Sam’s eyes were wide in awe, her jaw falling open as she leaned towards the window. She couldn't see much other than the massive swirling vortex.

“Are you seein’ this?” She nearly shouted, having to raise her voice over the wind and Kate slowly peeled her eyes open, her shoulders relaxing and her jaw falling over as she leaned towards the window.

Tyler grinned at the blonde to his right, he always knew she’d love it.

“Alright, slowing down,” he mumbled as he came to a stop, then he grabbed the handle on the console and hit the red button, “anchoring.”

Sam couldn't do anything but watch him, she knew he was smart – she always said he was the smartest person she knew, aside from Kate. She had seen it all in his videos, even when they’d spend hours on the phone, but seeing it in person… she was sure she couldn’t love him anymore than she did at that moment.

She watched as he flipped the guard over the newest button he had installed, with Sam’s help. Well, she kept him company while he worked, even holding a flashlight when he needed a little bit more light. And she had been the one to write Kate’s Barrels on a piece of duct tape before slapping it down under the button.

But he didn’t press it, he just let his hand hover over it, waiting for the right moment. He looked over at Sam, feeling her eyes on him and he smiled, “you’re missin’ it, baby.”

She shook her head a little, “got the best view.” She watched as he licked his lips, and she knew what he wanted, she wanted it too. His lips on hers, but neither were dumb enough to unharness in the middle of a tornado.

He nodded his head towards his windshield, and she turned to watch as it all spun around her, she felt like she was stuck in that one scene from The Wizard of Oz.

“Here she comes,” he grinned almost giddily, the feeling would never go away, he was sure of that. And when it was in the perfect spot, he pressed the red button, “now!”

Sam jumped a little at the sound of the lids of the barrels flying off, but she and Kate both watched with matching expressions of awe. Not even when Tyler reached for her hand did she turn away from the window as she watched the storm suck up all of the substance that was in the barrels. And she swore the sky lightened for a moment.

She’d never seen anything like it. It felt just like when she had ridden her first bronc, her heart pounded in her chest, her arms and legs thrummed with excitement, adrenaline pumping in her ear, and she felt like she was free.

She didn’t know anything else could make her feel that way.

And just like that, it moved over them. Leaving them and the truck unscathed. Sam couldn’t stop the giddy laugh that left her as she looked over at Tyler, his own laugh mixing with hers as he gripped her hand.

“Did you see that?” Kate shouted, her excitement peaked.

“I saw it,” Sam nodded, her breaths a little labored due to her still pounding heart.

“Did it work?” Tyler asked, bringing Kate back to earth.

“Oh, right,” she struggled with her harness, “so many belts.” Then she finally got them undone and practically fell out of the truck and rushed to watch the tornado.

Tyler reached over, undoing Sam’s harness, “you good, baby?”

“Never been better,” she slipped out of her harness and leaned over the console to press a kiss to his lips. “I love you, you crazy cowboy.”

“I love you more,” he brushed his lips against hers and she giggled.

“Come on, I wanna see if it worked,” she turned and opened her door before jumping down but as she looked up, holding her hair out of her face, she could see that it hadn’t worked. When Tyler rounded the truck, he placed his ball cap on her head, so she didn’t have to fight with her hair to keep it out of her face, then they made their way towards Kate.

“It’s not working.”

All three watched as the tornado continued, upset that it hadn’t worked. Sam placed her hand on her sister’s shoulder and squeezed, but Kate just watched the storm with a blank face.

“I made sandwiches.” Sam stated, “if y'all are hungry.”

Tyler smiled as he pulled her into his side, and she looked up at him, laughing at his hat hair.

“I could eat,” Kate hummed, turning away from the storm and three made their way back towards the truck.

Sam and Tyler had finished their sandwiches before Kate had, so while she sat on the top of the truck, the couple danced.

Slow Dance in a Parking Lot by Jordan Davis was playing from the radio, and though they weren’t in a parking lot, they danced. Sam laughed as Tyler spun her out then back into her chest, and without having to tell him that she had two left feet, he tightened his arm around her waist and lifted her up before putting her on his feet.

She smiled up at him, just like she had that night in that bar three years ago. Only now she knew that even then, she was falling in love with him.

“How you feelin’, baby?”

“I’m great,” she told him, her fingers lightly brushing through his messy hair. “It was like – like riding a bronc for the first time. It was scary and excitin’ an-and such a rush.”

He chuckled, “a real Tornado Wrangler in the making.”

“This mean I get my face on a t-shirt?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, hold on now-”

“Boone would wear it.” She smiled up at him as he swayed them back and forth. He couldn’t disagree, Boone would totally wear a shirt with Sam's face in it if for no other reason than to bug the cowboy. “Oh, and we could make little shirts for Buck and Grizzly.”

He laughed, his head thrown back and she watched as his eyes crinkled, “you’re insane.” he hummed, brushing his nose against hers.

“Have to be to keep up with you.”

Kate smiled as she watched them, then she put her sandwich to the side and snapped a couple pictures of them. In one Tyler had kissed the side of Sam’s head as she grinned, in the next they were both laughing, his head thrown back and his eyes closed while Sam rested her forehead against his chest. And the last one Kate had snapped just as Tyler dipped Sam.

Kate sat her camera down and picked up her sandwich, but before she could take a bite, a thought crossed her mind. “What if it’s the model?”

“What?” Sam asked, looking up at her sister, her arms still around Tyler. Neither had actually heard her.

“The model. What if it’s the problem?”

Tyler’s brows pinched a little, looking up at her, “how do we create a better one?”

“Well, we’d need better data,” She told him.

“Javi’s data,” Sam mumbled and Kate just nodded.

“You okay with that?” She asked.

“Yeah, Katie. It’s alright with me. You gotta do what you gotta do.”

“You sure?” Tyler asked, he was still pissed that Javi had yelled at her.

She smiled up at him, stretching onto her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips, “I’m sure.”