Read Online ChasingSin by Sara Brookes - Free Book Online

dangerous to feel so comfortable here
in his arms, but a few minutes couldn’t hurt, right?
    She buried her nose in his chest, inhaling the familiar
scent of his soap that mixed with the sharp salt air from the water. “I don’t
deserve you two.”
    “Bullshit, you have every right to be with us.”
    Those soft words were a weight in her chest, and despite the
pain it caused, she pulled away from the warmth of his body. He muttered a
protest as she hopped off the railing. She stopped after opening the door and
glanced back over her shoulder.
    He looked so damn handsome sitting there with the panoramic
view of the beach spread out behind him. Disappointment darkened his gaze and
she fought to find the courage necessary to walk away.
    A gust of wind blew through the porch, whistling against the
aging planks. The sound reminded her of the violent storm that had gotten her
into this predicament in the first place.
    Instead of courage, that reminder gave her the strength to
do what she had to.
    “I can’t, I’m sorry.”
    * * * * *
    Snyder leaned against the wall and quietly watched Kate
work. The television across the room blared as a meteorologist talked about the
hurricane’s brush with an island in the Caribbean.
    The interaction with Cuba caused it to lose some of its
energy, but not all. But it was enough to still cause concern about their
position. The island wasn’t forecasted for a direct hit, but nearby Galveston
to the north had suffered from several devastating hurricanes through recorded
history. These kinds of storms were unpredictable. Ultimately, it was what made
chasing so much fun.
    Paper shuffled and he looked away from the television to
find Kate smiling at him.
    The glasses she wore when she worked on the computer sat on
the end of her nose and were endearing to him. “You hate just sitting here,
don’t you?”
    She shrugged. “Somewhat. Chasing hurricanes requires a
completely different approach to tornadoes. A lot of sitting around doing a
bunch of nothing.”
    “You know how it is. Spend the spring chasing tornadoes and
then summer waiting for the hurricanes to chase you. Boredom central.”
    One of her eyebrows rose as she reached for the glass near
her mouse. “Says the man who flies into the heart of some of those violent
storms.”
    “Always have to go where the action is.” The air between
them crackled with energy from his meaning and he cleared his throat to snap
everything back into focus. He gestured to the screens in front of her with his
chin. “Anything different?”
    “No. Still looks to hit New Orleans head-on. The front
pushing off the Pacific won’t get here soon enough to affect the track they’ve
been calling for.”
    “And what do you think?” Computer models and forecast tracks
were one thing, but nothing beat good old-fashioned instinct. Kate had it in
spades and that’s what made her so damn good at what she did.
    She snorted and swirled the cursor around on the screen.
“They get paid the big bucks, not me. I’m just a professor with a lab and a few
brave souls who follow me out into the heart of the monster.”
    “Kate, cut the bullshit.”
    The glass hit the countertop with a heavy thud. “It’s going
to shift, Snyder. That front is going to move differently than the computer
models are suggesting because of this right here.” She tapped the screen and
Snyder pushed away from the wall to cross to her. He came to stand next to the
table and leaned closer for a look, curious as to what she was up to.
    She’d created her own storm track and overlaid it with the
forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Though the
line was nearly the same for the next day, after that Kate’s forecast veered
further to the west with a sharp curve NOAA’s model didn’t indicate. He leaned
closer as she hit a button to put the map into motion.
    “We’re looking at a direct hit. Almost as if we had a great
big target on my roof.” Sometimes it was