Page 52 of Derecho

Her hand waved dramatically in front of her face as she rolled her eyes. This woman and her constant need to diminish herself…

“I’m fine.” That was all it took for her eyes to lock back onto mine. “I’m worried about you. Do you need me to see you, without asking questions?”

I watched as her hand landed on my arm, gently squeezing before realization washed over her features. Lainey pulled her hand back, her focus now locked in on twisting the cap off her bottle.

“It was touch and go there for a minute, but I’m good now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you. Why was your mom doing your therapy technique? Can I have a piece of watermelon, please?”

I grabbed a slice from the plate in front of me and handed it to her, trying not to laugh as she bit into it, the sweet juice running down her chin before she had time to wipe it away.

“I just started to spiral a bit…”

Down the watermelon went. “Okay. Let’s get back.” Lainey pushed up from the picnic table, but I wrapped my hand around hers before she could get too far.

“No. Finish your snack. And you haven’t been swimming yet. That was the whole point of this.”

“I don’t need to. I got to stick my feet in, I talked with Jessie, and I’ve been fed. It’s been perfect so far.” She brought her hand up to her mouth, covering a yawn. “I could actually use a nap. I think since I slept so well last night, my body thinks I’m on vacation or something.”

“That water would be great for getting rid of some of your hip and back pain though, Lain.” Birdie sat down across from us, handing Juniper back to Beau.

“And today is looking like the last day of good weather for a while. There’s a big storm coming through in a couple days. I’ve already got the guys moving the herd in closer because it’s supposed to be bad,” Beau added.

I nodded at my brother. “I heard that, too. Grabbed my storm lanterns out of storage. Gotta get to the well house for some water…”

“I’ll drop off a couple gallons later,” Dad offered.

“Thanks. That’d be great.”

Birdie shifted nervously in her seat. “Lainey, maybe you should come stay with us before it comes through?”

“Why?” she asked, taking a sip of water from her bottle.

“It’s just that…a lot of labors start during storms. And the roads out here tend to flood…”

“Yeah.” Lainey sighed. “I remember.”

I looked down at her leg, the scratch she arrived on my doorstep with nearly healed.

“That’s probably a smart idea,” I admitted. Lainey’s body stiffened beside me, but she shook her head.

“I still have a few weeks left. I’ll be fine.”

“Just think about it, okay? No harm in having a sister sleep over, right?”

Lainey laughed at that. “I don’t know. I think my hair is still recovering from the last sister sleep over.”

“That wasn’t my fault!” Birdie giggled. “You told me it would be okay to bleach your hair! I didn’t know it would break off like that!”

“It’s been twelve years, and I still haven’t recovered.”

“Well, I can promise no bleach or hair dye will be on the agenda. Just some sister snuggles and a little bedtime chaos with our berry girl.”

“Who, me, Mama?” Beau’s voice went an octave high as he waved Juniper’s hand.

“Yes, you, mischief maker.” Birdie kissed her toes, and Juniper laughed in delight.

“I’ll think about it. I promise.” Lainey swept her hand over her belly, and I squashed down the itch to reach over and place my hand there, too.