Something brown lunged from the brush near her face and she screamed, throwing herself back so hard she lost her balance and fell. The fluffy white tail of a rabbit bobbed through the brush as the terrified animal bounded away. She stood and brushed herself off. What if it had been a snake? She needed to be more careful.
A low rumble attracted her attention skyward. Huge thunderheads rose from the tops of the trees and billowed into the cobalt blue sky. It was going to rain. Good, maybe it would cool things down a little. Although a thick layer of clouds hid the sun, the air wasn't any cooler. If anything, it was even hotter. The air was still and the heat stifling. How could the ground be so parched when the air was so waterlogged?
She closed the book and turned to the house. It must be nearly 115 degrees. Even in the desert the heat had not been so oppressive...and one day it had reached over a hundred. The thermometer nailed to the porch read eighty-five degrees. It had to be wrong. The heat was suffocating. She took a deep breath - as much to convince herself it was still possible as for need of air. She sighed. At home her apartment would be cool. She would be getting ready for a dance or the movies - with Denton? That did it. Thinking of Denton made it much less attractive.
A flash of lightning jerked her attention to the clouds again. The dark base of the mountainous thunderheads had a greenish tinge. She watched, fascinated, as the storm crept closer. A jagged bolt of lightning pierced the angry black clouds. She moved away from the edge of the porch. In Los Angeles they sometimes had thunder and lightning, but not like this.
Thunder clapped and echoed through the hills. A gust of wind delivered the smell of raindrops on parched soil. She glanced at her watch. Seven, and it was already getting dark.
The wind came suddenly with a vengeance, bouncing leaves and small branches across the yard. With a startled gasp, she dashed into the cabin, struggling to shut the door against the rising wind. With the door closed, she ran to the window to gaze in horror as the trees tossed their limbs in protest of the wind. With a clatter and scrape, the rocking chair turned on its side and skidded several feet across the porch. A brilliant flash of lightning was followed by thunder so loud that it rattled the windowpanes in their frames.
The room was filled with dust as the wind whistled through the screens, ruffling the pages of her book as it lay on the floor. She dashed around, pausing to gape at the storm as she closed each window securely against its fury. Should she seek shelter? Where? Lightning flashed and another deafening clap of thunder brought her hands instinctively to her ears. Immediately another bolt of lightning blazed a trail through the dark sky and thunder exploded. She fell to her knees, still holding her ears. A sob forced its way through her constricted throat.