writing-until-i-drop - Tumblr blog

[writing-until-i-drop]

My mom has officially weighed in on my fics

I've been writing since I was 8? I'm 24? This is the first time she's ever read more than a few sentences of my writing - still a little mortifying but at least she's enjoying herself?

[writing-until-i-drop]

Listen, I only watched Outer Range because our baby Lewis Pullman is in it, and while I have no love for the plot - I have NOTHING but love for the trainwreck cowboy Rhett Abbott

Our master list might be expanding soon

you look like you love me

[writing-until-i-drop]

What Kind Of Extra Content Do Y'all Want???

More aesthetics??? More playlists??? Random blurbs??? 21 questions type information about Meg and Daisy???

Let me know in the comments and I'll give it to you

my love language is acts of service and gifting and I want to give y'all little treats for reading my stories

[writing-until-i-drop]

@dizzybee03 its a good thing the gang loves her because Daisy's got a habit of spiking their anxiety 😅🤣

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 12

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Daisy needs to be alone to get her latest draft done but that leads to an unexpected situation...and confession...

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

I had checked into a hotel room a week ago to get some writing done, which had been driving Jake crazy. When I was approaching a deadline I took a note out of Maya Angelou’s playbook, except, to a more extreme extent. She would rent a hotel room in her hometown, using it as an office of sorts, removing all distractions while she got her writing done. As a procrastinator who worked at the whims of her muses, I condensed the routine into a sprint. I wrote from 6am to 9pm with nothing in the room to distract myself except for a deck of cards and a thesaurus. 

The reason it was driving Jake crazy was the fact that I wouldn’t tell him which hotel I was at and that I would only text him before 6am and after 9pm. If given the chance, I knew he would have caved by day three and stopped by to see me, which would have derailed the entire process, Jake had begrudgingly agreed to her reasoning of keeping him out of the loop.

Cassandra was closing in on her killer, her and her partner Timothy were standing in front of the apartment door, weapons drawn and ready to go. They were going to do it. Except the scene that was in my head wasn’t the one that ended up on the page, Timothy kicked the door open and the apartment was empty except for a note addressed to her. The killer got away. For now at least. Jason and Grace would be ecstatic that the sequel was perfectly lined up but for me it felt like a blow to the chest. My detectives always got their man by the end of the story. Always. 

I spent close to four hours trying to rewrite the scene in a way that even vaguely made sense but nothing felt right. I glanced at the clock, it was past ten o’clock, Jake was probably ready to file a missing persons report at this point. I chuckled to myself, thinking about how he was. Jake liked to be by my side, even without the looming threat of me running off because of Rudolph Lance, he spent so much time at our apartment that Natasha had joked about charging him rent…which he had shrugged at and asked how much. 

When I pulled my phone out of the room safe I had three missed calls from Jake and Natasha and texts from most of the Daggers telling me to please, please, please call my boyfriend and best friend.

“Baby,” Jake sighed on the other side of the call. “Everything okay?” I giggled, it wasn’t even a full hour past when I was supposed to check-in and Jake sounded like I had been missing for days. “Daisy,” His serious tone cut my laughter short. Something had to be wrong. 

“I’m fine, Jake. What’s going on?” There was a long pause that had my heart rate shooting through the roof. “Baby, what’s wrong?” 

“What hotel are you at?” I started to repeat what I had been telling him all week about the importance of being left alone but he cut me off. “Daisy, I love you and I respect your process but I’m going to need you tell me where the fuck you are.” I flinched, surprised, he had never taken that tone with me before. 

“The Marriott on Sixth and Kewee. What the hell happened?” Jake shouted that I was okay to whoever he was with, probably Natasha. It hit me at that moment that Jake had just said he loved me but the next words out of his mouth ruined the moment.

“There was a big fire at the Marriott on Stiltson, the news said people died.” All the air rushed out of my lungs. All I had told him and Natasha was that I was staying at a Marriott, they must have been so worried. 

“Shit, Jake. I’m so sorry, I’ll come home. I can be there in-” Jake cut me off again,

“Stay put, I’m coming to you.” I plopped down on the bed, chewing on my thumbnail. The hotel was a five minute drive from our apartment, twenty from his. “We’re not doing this again, okay? Somebody needs to know where you’re at, somebody. Even if it’s Amelia for Christ’s sake.”

“Okay, baby, I promise.” Jake exhaled sharply. “I’m in room 108, come in the front doors and go right, I’ll be just a few steps away.” Another exhale, “Unclench your jaw, pretty boy, or you’ll give yourself a headache.” He didn’t say anything but I knew he was listening to me. “Now relax your fingers, you can drive at a speed I don’t want to know about without white knuckling it.” The time the huff had a hint of a chuckle, “You can’t come yell at me then smother me in kisses if you wrap your truck around a palm tree.” 

“I’m not going to yell at you,” He didn’t sound convincing, like he was still mulling it over. We sat in silence while he drove, a few torturous minutes passed by. “I’m here,”

“I really don’t want to know how fast you were going.” Jake sighed, “I’m not going to lecture you, just don’t tell me. I’m going to unlock the door for you.” I crossed the room, flipping the latch so that the door was held open, then I stepped back towards the center of the room. Jake rushed into the room not long later, sweeping me into his arms.

“Hi, baby.” He kissed my temple, hands shaking as he held me. Jake’s whole body was tense around me, showing just how concerned he was. I rubbed his back,

“Let it out, Jake, don’t keep it in.” He pulled away, gripping my face tightly but not harshly. Jake looked wrecked, eyes rimmed red, brow pinched, his jaw tensing and relaxing like he was fighting himself. “I’m right here.” 

“At least last time I knew where you were,” Jake’s tone was harsh. “I knew that you were safe,” I gripped his sides, digging my fingers in. He kissed me fiercely but pulled away before I could respond. “I don’t want to be a controlling boyfriend who tells you what to do, Daisy, but you’ve got to stop doing this to me.” Guilt flooded through me, my grip on him loosening. Jake shook his head tersely, “Please don’t pull away from me.” 

“I’m not pulling away, Jake,” I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m right here, tell me what you need.” Jake buried his face in my neck, hugging me tight. “Tell me what you need,” I whispered. “I love you too, Jake Seresin, just tell me what you need.” He didn’t say anything right away, he just held me. With every breath I felt him relax just a little bit more into me until it felt like I was holding all of his weight. “I love you, Jake. Just tell me what you need, I’ll give it to you.” Jake stayed quiet and I found myself filling the gap. “Have you heard of Life360? It’s an app, Harvey and his wife have it, lets them track each other's locations. I just won’t look at the weekly driving report so I won’t see how fast you speed.” 

“You don’t have to,” He kissed the crook of my neck, pulling away just to rest his forehead against mine. “If it makes you uncomfortable.” 

“I don’t mind, Jake,” I kissed him softly, “Not if it gives you peace of mind. Okay?” I slipped my hands under his shirt, resting them on his warm back, pulling him even closer. “Are we okay?”

“I love you, Daisy.” Jake kissed my nose and pulled away, smiling softly at me. “Not exactly how I planned on telling you, it just kind of slipped out.” I giggled, pulling him to lay on the bed with me.

“Well, nothing about this relationship has exactly been normal since the whole ‘FBI showing up at my house’ thing. So, I think it’s fitting.” I sat back on the pillows and Jake laid his head in my lap, I carded my fingers through his hair. “Let’s talk about things, Jake. What do you need?” He looped an arm between my legs, snuggling me like a pillow. 

“Can we get that tracking app? I promise I won’t look at it unless I’m worried.” I rolled my eyes, knowing that if he checked the app every time he was worried about me, it would be constantly open on his phone. The…hypervillegance surrounding my whereabouts on Natasha’s orders had lessened but hadn’t faded away entirely. It was something I had learned about Jake, he cared with his whole heart about all of the people in his life, and with that came a certain level of anxiety. 

“Check it as much as you need to, pretty boy,” I kissed his hair. “What else?” 

“I want to take you home for Thanksgiving, introduce you to my mama,” My fingers paused in his hair, the thought swirling around in my mind. What would meeting Jake’s parents be like? Would they be warm and welcoming or stoic and standoffish? What about his sisters? Would they like her? “Stop thinking so hard, that hamster wheel in your head is starting to smoke.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, my fingers moving in his hair once again. “Yes, I’ll meet your mama, what else?” Jake gently bit my thigh and I tapped him on the head, “Jake, baby, is there anything else you need to feel better?” 

“I’m going to marry you one day,” 

“Okay.” Jake turned to look up at me and I’m sure I had multiple chins at that angle but he was looking at me with nothing but love in his eyes and I couldn’t find it in myself to care.

“Wait, so, asking you to meet my family takes a full minute for you to think about but getting married is an instant yes?” 

X

Daisy tilted her head back against the headboard, a small smile on her face. In the last few hours, my emotions had been wrecked. Going from bored, sitting on the couch listening to Rooster and Phoenix argue about something I wasn’t paying attention to, then worried beyond belief when the news alert popped up on our phones, and then instant relief when her name flashed on caller ID. 

“I’ve never met a boy’s parents before,” 

“One, I’m a man, baby.” Daisy scoffed at me, her hand resting on my chest. “Two, you’ve never met someone’s parents?”

“Jake, I hadn’t even cuddled someone before you,” I couldn’t help the smug smile that grew on my lips. Daisy liked cuddling but she needed the conditions to be just right, apparently I was a “human heater” and she needed a fan to be running, more than one if she wanted to keep her beloved pajama pants on.

“My mama’s going to love you, already does,” I reached up, wrapping my fingers around the duplicate dog tags of mine she wore around her neck to pull her down for a kiss. The angle wasn’t perfect but her lips on mine could never be wrong. “Told her all about your lasagna and the way you’ve been feeding the team. My sisters already love you too, they’re both true crime junkies, apparently they have all of your books.” 

“No way,” She snorted, dissolving into a fit of giggles. Her whole body shook as she laughed and it was a beautiful sight. “I’ll sign them when I come to visit. Did I ever tell you that Grace and Jason spent a week arguing over how my signature should look?” 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously, I thought I had carpal tunnel by the time we figured it out. Well, I probably do but that’s neither here nor there.” I made a mental note to Google that later, see if there was anything to do to make it better. “What about your pops?” 

“God, he cannot wait to meet you,” I groaned, pulling her down for another kiss. “Pops won’t stop asking about his “new daughter” when I call him. I think my family’s going to propose to you on my behalf.” Daisy laughed but it wasn’t really a joke, my whole family had been calling, texting, even emailing me for information on Daisy and our relationship. Pops had even offered up his parents’ rings for us to use.

“There seem to be a lot of expectations for me to live up to, Jake.” She kissed me one, twice, three times before sitting back up, that same soft smile on her lips. “But I’m telling you now, if you propose to me before we’ve known each other for at least a year, I’m telling you no.” 

“Noted.” 

Taglist: @dizzybee03 @littlezee80 @nervousenemyduck @carolina-on-my-mind03 @mizzzpink @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @hookslove1592

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

They're so in love, its ridiculous!

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 12

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Daisy needs to be alone to get her latest draft done but that leads to an unexpected situation...and confession...

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

I had checked into a hotel room a week ago to get some writing done, which had been driving Jake crazy. When I was approaching a deadline I took a note out of Maya Angelou’s playbook, except, to a more extreme extent. She would rent a hotel room in her hometown, using it as an office of sorts, removing all distractions while she got her writing done. As a procrastinator who worked at the whims of her muses, I condensed the routine into a sprint. I wrote from 6am to 9pm with nothing in the room to distract myself except for a deck of cards and a thesaurus. 

The reason it was driving Jake crazy was the fact that I wouldn’t tell him which hotel I was at and that I would only text him before 6am and after 9pm. If given the chance, I knew he would have caved by day three and stopped by to see me, which would have derailed the entire process, Jake had begrudgingly agreed to her reasoning of keeping him out of the loop.

Cassandra was closing in on her killer, her and her partner Timothy were standing in front of the apartment door, weapons drawn and ready to go. They were going to do it. Except the scene that was in my head wasn’t the one that ended up on the page, Timothy kicked the door open and the apartment was empty except for a note addressed to her. The killer got away. For now at least. Jason and Grace would be ecstatic that the sequel was perfectly lined up but for me it felt like a blow to the chest. My detectives always got their man by the end of the story. Always. 

I spent close to four hours trying to rewrite the scene in a way that even vaguely made sense but nothing felt right. I glanced at the clock, it was past ten o’clock, Jake was probably ready to file a missing persons report at this point. I chuckled to myself, thinking about how he was. Jake liked to be by my side, even without the looming threat of me running off because of Rudolph Lance, he spent so much time at our apartment that Natasha had joked about charging him rent…which he had shrugged at and asked how much. 

When I pulled my phone out of the room safe I had three missed calls from Jake and Natasha and texts from most of the Daggers telling me to please, please, please call my boyfriend and best friend.

“Baby,” Jake sighed on the other side of the call. “Everything okay?” I giggled, it wasn’t even a full hour past when I was supposed to check-in and Jake sounded like I had been missing for days. “Daisy,” His serious tone cut my laughter short. Something had to be wrong. 

“I’m fine, Jake. What’s going on?” There was a long pause that had my heart rate shooting through the roof. “Baby, what’s wrong?” 

“What hotel are you at?” I started to repeat what I had been telling him all week about the importance of being left alone but he cut me off. “Daisy, I love you and I respect your process but I’m going to need you tell me where the fuck you are.” I flinched, surprised, he had never taken that tone with me before. 

“The Marriott on Sixth and Kewee. What the hell happened?” Jake shouted that I was okay to whoever he was with, probably Natasha. It hit me at that moment that Jake had just said he loved me but the next words out of his mouth ruined the moment.

“There was a big fire at the Marriott on Stiltson, the news said people died.” All the air rushed out of my lungs. All I had told him and Natasha was that I was staying at a Marriott, they must have been so worried. 

“Shit, Jake. I’m so sorry, I’ll come home. I can be there in-” Jake cut me off again,

“Stay put, I’m coming to you.” I plopped down on the bed, chewing on my thumbnail. The hotel was a five minute drive from our apartment, twenty from his. “We’re not doing this again, okay? Somebody needs to know where you’re at, somebody. Even if it’s Amelia for Christ’s sake.”

“Okay, baby, I promise.” Jake exhaled sharply. “I’m in room 108, come in the front doors and go right, I’ll be just a few steps away.” Another exhale, “Unclench your jaw, pretty boy, or you’ll give yourself a headache.” He didn’t say anything but I knew he was listening to me. “Now relax your fingers, you can drive at a speed I don’t want to know about without white knuckling it.” The time the huff had a hint of a chuckle, “You can’t come yell at me then smother me in kisses if you wrap your truck around a palm tree.” 

“I’m not going to yell at you,” He didn’t sound convincing, like he was still mulling it over. We sat in silence while he drove, a few torturous minutes passed by. “I’m here,”

“I really don’t want to know how fast you were going.” Jake sighed, “I’m not going to lecture you, just don’t tell me. I’m going to unlock the door for you.” I crossed the room, flipping the latch so that the door was held open, then I stepped back towards the center of the room. Jake rushed into the room not long later, sweeping me into his arms.

“Hi, baby.” He kissed my temple, hands shaking as he held me. Jake’s whole body was tense around me, showing just how concerned he was. I rubbed his back,

“Let it out, Jake, don’t keep it in.” He pulled away, gripping my face tightly but not harshly. Jake looked wrecked, eyes rimmed red, brow pinched, his jaw tensing and relaxing like he was fighting himself. “I’m right here.” 

“At least last time I knew where you were,” Jake’s tone was harsh. “I knew that you were safe,” I gripped his sides, digging my fingers in. He kissed me fiercely but pulled away before I could respond. “I don’t want to be a controlling boyfriend who tells you what to do, Daisy, but you’ve got to stop doing this to me.” Guilt flooded through me, my grip on him loosening. Jake shook his head tersely, “Please don’t pull away from me.” 

“I’m not pulling away, Jake,” I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m right here, tell me what you need.” Jake buried his face in my neck, hugging me tight. “Tell me what you need,” I whispered. “I love you too, Jake Seresin, just tell me what you need.” He didn’t say anything right away, he just held me. With every breath I felt him relax just a little bit more into me until it felt like I was holding all of his weight. “I love you, Jake. Just tell me what you need, I’ll give it to you.” Jake stayed quiet and I found myself filling the gap. “Have you heard of Life360? It’s an app, Harvey and his wife have it, lets them track each other's locations. I just won’t look at the weekly driving report so I won’t see how fast you speed.” 

“You don’t have to,” He kissed the crook of my neck, pulling away just to rest his forehead against mine. “If it makes you uncomfortable.” 

“I don’t mind, Jake,” I kissed him softly, “Not if it gives you peace of mind. Okay?” I slipped my hands under his shirt, resting them on his warm back, pulling him even closer. “Are we okay?”

“I love you, Daisy.” Jake kissed my nose and pulled away, smiling softly at me. “Not exactly how I planned on telling you, it just kind of slipped out.” I giggled, pulling him to lay on the bed with me.

“Well, nothing about this relationship has exactly been normal since the whole ‘FBI showing up at my house’ thing. So, I think it’s fitting.” I sat back on the pillows and Jake laid his head in my lap, I carded my fingers through his hair. “Let’s talk about things, Jake. What do you need?” He looped an arm between my legs, snuggling me like a pillow. 

“Can we get that tracking app? I promise I won’t look at it unless I’m worried.” I rolled my eyes, knowing that if he checked the app every time he was worried about me, it would be constantly open on his phone. The…hypervillegance surrounding my whereabouts on Natasha’s orders had lessened but hadn’t faded away entirely. It was something I had learned about Jake, he cared with his whole heart about all of the people in his life, and with that came a certain level of anxiety. 

“Check it as much as you need to, pretty boy,” I kissed his hair. “What else?” 

“I want to take you home for Thanksgiving, introduce you to my mama,” My fingers paused in his hair, the thought swirling around in my mind. What would meeting Jake’s parents be like? Would they be warm and welcoming or stoic and standoffish? What about his sisters? Would they like her? “Stop thinking so hard, that hamster wheel in your head is starting to smoke.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, my fingers moving in his hair once again. “Yes, I’ll meet your mama, what else?” Jake gently bit my thigh and I tapped him on the head, “Jake, baby, is there anything else you need to feel better?” 

“I’m going to marry you one day,” 

“Okay.” Jake turned to look up at me and I’m sure I had multiple chins at that angle but he was looking at me with nothing but love in his eyes and I couldn’t find it in myself to care.

“Wait, so, asking you to meet my family takes a full minute for you to think about but getting married is an instant yes?” 

X

Daisy tilted her head back against the headboard, a small smile on her face. In the last few hours, my emotions had been wrecked. Going from bored, sitting on the couch listening to Rooster and Phoenix argue about something I wasn’t paying attention to, then worried beyond belief when the news alert popped up on our phones, and then instant relief when her name flashed on caller ID. 

“I’ve never met a boy’s parents before,” 

“One, I’m a man, baby.” Daisy scoffed at me, her hand resting on my chest. “Two, you’ve never met someone’s parents?”

“Jake, I hadn’t even cuddled someone before you,” I couldn’t help the smug smile that grew on my lips. Daisy liked cuddling but she needed the conditions to be just right, apparently I was a “human heater” and she needed a fan to be running, more than one if she wanted to keep her beloved pajama pants on.

“My mama’s going to love you, already does,” I reached up, wrapping my fingers around the duplicate dog tags of mine she wore around her neck to pull her down for a kiss. The angle wasn’t perfect but her lips on mine could never be wrong. “Told her all about your lasagna and the way you’ve been feeding the team. My sisters already love you too, they’re both true crime junkies, apparently they have all of your books.” 

“No way,” She snorted, dissolving into a fit of giggles. Her whole body shook as she laughed and it was a beautiful sight. “I’ll sign them when I come to visit. Did I ever tell you that Grace and Jason spent a week arguing over how my signature should look?” 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously, I thought I had carpal tunnel by the time we figured it out. Well, I probably do but that’s neither here nor there.” I made a mental note to Google that later, see if there was anything to do to make it better. “What about your pops?” 

“God, he cannot wait to meet you,” I groaned, pulling her down for another kiss. “Pops won’t stop asking about his “new daughter” when I call him. I think my family’s going to propose to you on my behalf.” Daisy laughed but it wasn’t really a joke, my whole family had been calling, texting, even emailing me for information on Daisy and our relationship. Pops had even offered up his parents’ rings for us to use.

“There seem to be a lot of expectations for me to live up to, Jake.” She kissed me one, twice, three times before sitting back up, that same soft smile on her lips. “But I’m telling you now, if you propose to me before we’ve known each other for at least a year, I’m telling you no.” 

“Noted.” 

Taglist: @dizzybee03 @littlezee80 @nervousenemyduck @carolina-on-my-mind03 @mizzzpink @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @hookslove1592

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

Tyler Owens is nothing if not a good man and I will stand by that 💕

What's In A Name? Chapter Five

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: Meg has to make a very interesting phone call...

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Meg woke up with Tyler curled around her, his heavy arm draped over her waist, a large hand splayed across her stomach, keeping her tight against him. It had been the best night of sleep of her life and she stubbornly gave credit to the softness of Boone’s shirt for it. She carefully slipped out of his hold and down the ladder.

At some point, the Wranglers had driven the camper and the rest of their vehicles to a different motel and they were all gathered up outside, bundled in blankets, sitting around an extinguished fire. Boone was the first to notice her, popping out of his chair to hug her tightly, rocking her back and forth.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Doc, and thank you, thank you, for keeping T safe.” The rest of the Wranglers were quick to join in on the hug, even Ben after she heard the shutter of his camera. Meg almost started crying from the sheer amount of love surrounding her, feeling at home again in Oklahoma for the first time in five years. “You hungry, Doc?”

“Starvin’,” Her stomach growled in agreement.

“I’ll rustle something up,” Boone patted her on the shoulder. “Also, do your parents watch our streams?” She nodded. “They were name-dropping you something fierce in the chat last night, asking for updates if you were okay.” Of course, they had. Meg knew better than to think it was just her dad demanding answers in the chat.

“The whole crew’s probably at my parent’s house debating whether they should drive out here.” She shook her head with a huff of laughter. “Dex, can I borrow your phone? I don’t know what happened to mine.” He obliged and she dialed the house phone, putting it on speaker.

“Harding’s phone,” Rabbit picked up. “Meggy, this you?” Dexter’s mouth fell open, putting all the pieces together faster than the rest.

“Yeah, it’s me. Y’all can stop freaking out, all limbs are accounted for and in working order.” 

“Bill, Jo, guys, it’s Meggy!” 

“Meggy, honey,’ Preacher’s voice was the next on the line. “You scared us half to death.” 

“Margaret Marie Harding,” Her mom shouted into the receiver. “Have you lost your damn mind?” Meg cringed,

“Mama, I’m just following in dad’s footsteps.” There were shouts of “The Extreme” in the background. “Also, y’all might be on speaker with the Tornado Wranglers.” 

“Holy shit, Meggy,” That was Beltzer.

“We’re big fans,” And that was Haynes. The Wranglers were watching her with amused and star-struck looks. Ben, thankfully, was the first to recover.

“Your daughter is quite remarkable.” 

“And alive,” Boone added, giving Meg a thumbs up that she returned, mouthing good job.

“We’re glad to hear it. Hi, Pumpkin.” 

“Hiya, dad. Did you want that mug of yours signed? Pretty sure I can swing it.” 

“Dani, get the man a mug!” Dexter pushed a laughing Dani towards the camper where Tyler still slept. The Wranglers and the original team energetically traded exclamations of excitement and amusement that Meg had kept her last name a secret for so long. That was until her mama started shouting again. 

“I don’t want you anywhere near a tornado unless you’re harnessed  in, do you understand me, young lady?” 

“Mama, please, you’re embarrassing me.” 

“Let me talk to Dexter,” Jo demanded. “He seems like the only responsible one.” Meg didn’t argue, taking her mom off speaker and handing the phone to Dexter.

“Yes, ma’am?” There was a shout of her name from inside the camper, signaling to everyone that Tyler had woken up to an empty bed.  The Wranglers snickered at her, Lily giving her a good-natured shove to the shoulder. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll make sure of it.” 

Tyler came stumbling out of the camper, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, a grinning Dani right behind him with a mug and a marker in either hand.

“Where’s Meg?” 

“That’s Meg Harding to you, Ty,” Lily teased and Tyler’s eyes went wide. “Yup, your girlfriend’s the daughter of storm-chasing legends.” Meg flushed, hoping her parents hadn’t heard that. Tyler looked at her, dumbstruck.

“Your parents are…”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit,” Tyler ran a hand through his already chaotic hair. “You’re a-,” He pointed at her, “Your parents are-” Meg nodded. “Holy shit.” 

“My parents are big fans of your channel, Ty.” She saw the moment Tyler’s brain fully stopped functioning, giggling. 

“I need coffee,” Tyler’s shoulders slumped. He sat down in Boone’s abandoned seat beside Meg, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, like he was afraid she’d run off on him. Meg squeezed back. “Who’s he talking to?”

“My family.” Meg could get used to surprising the hell out of Tyler, laughing at the startled look on his face.

“Doc, Rabbit wants to talk to you.” Dexter jogged the phone over. “Can I meet your parents?” He whispered and Meg nodded, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“What’s up?” 

“Don’t let your mom fool you, Meggy. She’s giddy as hell you’re chasing again.” Meg knew that in her heart but the reassurance made her smile. “Also, we’re betting on how long it takes you to ride the cowboy. Don’t tell your dad.”

“Rabbit!” Meg shrieked, slapping a hand over her mouth. She glanced over at the sleepy man beside her who didn’t seem to have heard what Rabbit said. Meg was going to turn that man into rabbit stew the next time she saw him.

“Blame Haynes, her idea.” 

“Don’t blame me, blame Joey!” 

“She knows damn well it wasn’t me, it was definitely Lawrence.” Could they get any more embarrassing? She felt like she was fifteen again, listening to the group place bets on how her first date would go.

“Guuuuyyyyysss. Can you please just put my dad on the phone?” There was a brief shuffle.

“Hey, Pumpkin. What was Rabbit saying?” 

“Nothing, just being annoying. She glanced at her blonde cowboy, getting a mischievous idea. “Tyler’s here if you want to talk to him, he’s a fan of yours.” She giggled at the look on his face. “Well, you talk, he’ll hyperventilate.” 

“Be nice to that boy,” Her dad scolded playfully. “I’ve got fifty bucks on you marrying him.” 

“Oh my God, that’s so much worse!” She wanted to disappear into thin air. Tyler took the outstretched phone.

“This is Tyler Owens, sir.” Tyler sat up straighter in his seat, running a hand through his bed head.

Boone came jogging back to the group, holding a 7/11 bag above his head.

“I got you coffee, a muffin, and a burrito.” Giving Tyler’s hand one last squeeze, Meg went to collect her breakfast, thanking the man with a kiss on the cheek. “Dani said you take lots of cream and sugar.” Meg looked at the woman who shrugged,

“I guessed.” 

“You guessed right, Sweet Thing. Thanks again, Boonie Baby,” She gave him another kiss on the cheek before going back to her seat. Meg kept the burrito, passing Tyler the blueberry muffin.

“Yes, sir. No, sir,” Meg couldn’t help but wonder what her dad was asking him, nibbling on the corner of the lukewarm burrito. Bean and cheese, nice. “No, she didn’t tell us her last name.” Tyler chuckled, “Yes, sir. I’m starting to understand that.” He paused, eyes going wide. Meg shifted in her chair, letting her legs fall across Tyler’s lap. He rested a hand on her knee and Meg couldn’t help but think that she could do this every morning, sitting there, admiring Tyler’s stubbled jaw line while the rest of the Wranglers joked around with each other. “I’d be honored but first we’ve got to go find Kate, yes, sir. Sapulpa.” He tapped her knee, “Here, darlin’.” He passed the phone, trading it for her coffee, his nose scrunching up. “I prefer black.”

“Not everything’s about you, Arkansas.” Tyler stuck his tongue out at her. “Hey, dad.” 

“You should marry that boy, Meg.” Her eyes cut to Tyler who was eyeing her back with a small smile on his face, making him even cuter than normal. 

“We’ll see, dad,” She sighed. “Gotta chase down my other half first. Now go feed the guys, I love you.” 

“I love you too, Pumpkin. Come home before you leave.”

“I will, should I bring Kate?” 

“And Tyler. Keep an eye on the sky, Pumpkin.” Meg hung up, mumbling through a mouthful of burrito.

“Trouble makin’ busy bodies, the whole group of ‘em.” 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were Jo and Bill Harding’s daughter,” Her mom would have liked the way he put her name first. “No wonder you’ve got such good instincts.” 

“Get ‘em from my daddy.” Dani came over, presenting Tyler with the mug to sign.

“And here I didn’t think you could get any cooler, Meg,” Dani teased. “We gotta keep you around.” 

“Here here,” Boone raised his coffee in cheers. “T, buddy, don’t go fucking this up for us.” The Wranglers all added their agreement, making Meg laugh. She swiped the coffee back from Tyler, admonishing him for drinking more than half the cup if he didn’t like it. Then it hit her and she nearly spit out her mouthful of coffee. Lily had called her his girlfriend and neither she nor Tyler had corrected her. What the hell did that mean?

“Stop thinking so hard, darlin’.” Tyler squeezed her knee like he could read her mind. “Just enjoy the morning.” His hand moved up to her thigh as he kicked back in his chair to eat and she rested her hand on top of his, letting her attention fall to Boone and Dani as they teased Dexter for his fangirling. Ben started snapping pictures and Meg didn’t let herself worry about how she looked wearing borrowed clothes, eating a gas station burrito, mud from the night before still on her cheeks, with Tyler’s hand on her thigh.

Unlike when he was chasing, Tyler was an incredibly safe driver on the way to Sapulpa. Meg on the other hand was an incredibly unsafe passenger. She had the passenger seat pushed all the way back, her feet kicked up on the dash, and her boots abandoned on the floorboards.

Lily had lent her a pair of mismatched socks, one was striped and the other was dotted. They were both singing along to the country music blaring on the radio and Meg couldn’t remember a time she felt happier. And she was sad she had to ruin it.

“I should probably tell you what you’re gettin’ into before we get there, Ty.” Tyler turned off the radio, giving her as much attention as he could while driving.

“What, darlin’, you hiding a boyfriend from me in Sapulpa?” Meg snorted, she wished that’s all she had to confess. Instead, she held out her hands in front of her. Her fingertips were all kinked, not quite straight. They were also calloused and scarred, not only from chasing but from her time as a paramedic. Her favorite scar was one on the pad of her thumb, permanently messing up her fingerprints, from when she stuck herself with an EPI pen instead of the patient. 

“You ever notice how crooked my fingers are?” 

“I was a bull rider, healed breaks are normal to me.” She hummed at his non-answer, answer. 

“I met Kate in college and we became close, our friend Addy used to call us two shades of the same color. Always the same but slightly different.” Dandelion and Sunflower, shades of yellow, were her favorite comparison to make. She’d always make a joke about how they were happiest when the sun was hidden behind clouds, so they needed to be surrounded by bright colors. “Mama was her thesis advisor. There were six of us helping her with the research.” 

Meg let the tears roll down her cheeks without wiping them away.

“Parveen and Kate spearheaded the actual idea, Javi collected the data with Dorothy, Addy was there to take photos, Jeb,” She chuckled. “Jeb was just in love with Kate, so he’d follow her anywhere, and I was there to make sure no one got hurt. But they did.” She had spent a lot of time on her partner’s couch drinking and thinking about the situation, coming to grips with the fact that her EMT certification couldn’t have saved her friends that day. “Everything was going great and then an EF-5 came out of nowhere.” 

Tyler exhaled heavily, reaching out to rub her knee.

“We thought it was going to be an EF-1, maybe 2, so we didn’t have the good sense to be scared until it was too late.” 

“I’m sorry, Meg,” Tyler offered in sympathy. Because what the hell else do you say when someone’s telling a story like that?

“Our only hope was an underpass, which tells you how shit outta luck we were. Parveen couldn’t run so fast and was swept up first, then I fell and I dug my fingers into the dirt to hold on.” Her fingers and wrist ached at the memory, “I broke every single one of my fingers and debris shattered my wrist. While I was layin’ there, I heard Addy and Jeb fly away, screaming for their lives.” 

“Shit, Meg. That’s horrible,” She hummed in agreement.

“Kate survived of course but she won’t talk about it and Javi was in the follow vehicle. All he could do was watch as the tornado headed our way. To hear him tell it, it was the worst day of his life and it probably was.” The hurtful things Javi said the night before filtered through her mind, making her sick to her stomach. “Police officer found me and Kate stumbling along the highway, trying to get back to Javi, and took us to the hospital.” 

Meg took a long, deep breath. If things had gone differently that day, her life would have turned out a lot differently. She never would have moved, none of them would have.

“Kate ran away to New York, Javi joined the military, and I went to New Orleans. I was a wreck on the job but my partner Nick’s always had my back. You’d like him,” Nick was her rock, both on and off the job. “He took me to my first second line after one of our GSW patients, Tayvon, a fifteen-year-old kid, didn’t make it.” 

It had been her second week on the job, she had never been on the scene of a drive-by shooting before, there had been so much chaos and blood. They worked on him for a few minutes before they decided it was best to work while driving. Meg had still been an EMT, so Nick worked on Tayvon in the back of the rig while she drove through the busy streets like a bat out of hell. By the time they passed him off to the doctors, things were looking up.

  “To see everyone smiling through their tears and celebrating that kid’s life, it healed me more than anything else ever could. Everyone needs a Nick and Kate didn’t have one.” 

“I think I want to meet this Nick guy,” Tyler squeezed her knee, “Buy him a beer and thank him for taking care of you.” Meg chuckled, thinking about all of the embarrassing stories Nick would tell him about her.

“He’d buy you a beer, tryin’ to charm you into making me your problem instead of his.” 

“Be my problem, baby,” Tyler’s hand moved upwards to squeeze her thigh. Meg laid her hand over his, tears starting up again.

“I’m crying about my dead friends while you drive me to see my traumatized other half. Hate to say it, Sweetie Pie, but I think I’m already your problem.” Laughter filled the truck, first hers and then Tyler’s. “A little late to back out now.” 

“I’m not backing out, Meg, just making sure we’re on the same page.” 

“Which is?” She feigned ignorance. 

“You’re my problem, baby. All mine.” Her dad was going to be over the moon whenever she told him about this conversation. So would Nick.

“Thoughts and prayers, Cowboy. You’re gonna need ‘em.” 

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 12

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Daisy needs to be alone to get her latest draft done but that leads to an unexpected situation...and confession...

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

I had checked into a hotel room a week ago to get some writing done, which had been driving Jake crazy. When I was approaching a deadline I took a note out of Maya Angelou’s playbook, except, to a more extreme extent. She would rent a hotel room in her hometown, using it as an office of sorts, removing all distractions while she got her writing done. As a procrastinator who worked at the whims of her muses, I condensed the routine into a sprint. I wrote from 6am to 9pm with nothing in the room to distract myself except for a deck of cards and a thesaurus. 

The reason it was driving Jake crazy was the fact that I wouldn’t tell him which hotel I was at and that I would only text him before 6am and after 9pm. If given the chance, I knew he would have caved by day three and stopped by to see me, which would have derailed the entire process, Jake had begrudgingly agreed to her reasoning of keeping him out of the loop.

Cassandra was closing in on her killer, her and her partner Timothy were standing in front of the apartment door, weapons drawn and ready to go. They were going to do it. Except the scene that was in my head wasn’t the one that ended up on the page, Timothy kicked the door open and the apartment was empty except for a note addressed to her. The killer got away. For now at least. Jason and Grace would be ecstatic that the sequel was perfectly lined up but for me it felt like a blow to the chest. My detectives always got their man by the end of the story. Always. 

I spent close to four hours trying to rewrite the scene in a way that even vaguely made sense but nothing felt right. I glanced at the clock, it was past ten o’clock, Jake was probably ready to file a missing persons report at this point. I chuckled to myself, thinking about how he was. Jake liked to be by my side, even without the looming threat of me running off because of Rudolph Lance, he spent so much time at our apartment that Natasha had joked about charging him rent…which he had shrugged at and asked how much. 

When I pulled my phone out of the room safe I had three missed calls from Jake and Natasha and texts from most of the Daggers telling me to please, please, please call my boyfriend and best friend.

“Baby,” Jake sighed on the other side of the call. “Everything okay?” I giggled, it wasn’t even a full hour past when I was supposed to check-in and Jake sounded like I had been missing for days. “Daisy,” His serious tone cut my laughter short. Something had to be wrong. 

“I’m fine, Jake. What’s going on?” There was a long pause that had my heart rate shooting through the roof. “Baby, what’s wrong?” 

“What hotel are you at?” I started to repeat what I had been telling him all week about the importance of being left alone but he cut me off. “Daisy, I love you and I respect your process but I’m going to need you tell me where the fuck you are.” I flinched, surprised, he had never taken that tone with me before. 

“The Marriott on Sixth and Kewee. What the hell happened?” Jake shouted that I was okay to whoever he was with, probably Natasha. It hit me at that moment that Jake had just said he loved me but the next words out of his mouth ruined the moment.

“There was a big fire at the Marriott on Stiltson, the news said people died.” All the air rushed out of my lungs. All I had told him and Natasha was that I was staying at a Marriott, they must have been so worried. 

“Shit, Jake. I’m so sorry, I’ll come home. I can be there in-” Jake cut me off again,

“Stay put, I’m coming to you.” I plopped down on the bed, chewing on my thumbnail. The hotel was a five minute drive from our apartment, twenty from his. “We’re not doing this again, okay? Somebody needs to know where you’re at, somebody. Even if it’s Amelia for Christ’s sake.”

“Okay, baby, I promise.” Jake exhaled sharply. “I’m in room 108, come in the front doors and go right, I’ll be just a few steps away.” Another exhale, “Unclench your jaw, pretty boy, or you’ll give yourself a headache.” He didn’t say anything but I knew he was listening to me. “Now relax your fingers, you can drive at a speed I don’t want to know about without white knuckling it.” The time the huff had a hint of a chuckle, “You can’t come yell at me then smother me in kisses if you wrap your truck around a palm tree.” 

“I’m not going to yell at you,” He didn’t sound convincing, like he was still mulling it over. We sat in silence while he drove, a few torturous minutes passed by. “I’m here,”

“I really don’t want to know how fast you were going.” Jake sighed, “I’m not going to lecture you, just don’t tell me. I’m going to unlock the door for you.” I crossed the room, flipping the latch so that the door was held open, then I stepped back towards the center of the room. Jake rushed into the room not long later, sweeping me into his arms.

“Hi, baby.” He kissed my temple, hands shaking as he held me. Jake’s whole body was tense around me, showing just how concerned he was. I rubbed his back,

“Let it out, Jake, don’t keep it in.” He pulled away, gripping my face tightly but not harshly. Jake looked wrecked, eyes rimmed red, brow pinched, his jaw tensing and relaxing like he was fighting himself. “I’m right here.” 

“At least last time I knew where you were,” Jake’s tone was harsh. “I knew that you were safe,” I gripped his sides, digging my fingers in. He kissed me fiercely but pulled away before I could respond. “I don’t want to be a controlling boyfriend who tells you what to do, Daisy, but you’ve got to stop doing this to me.” Guilt flooded through me, my grip on him loosening. Jake shook his head tersely, “Please don’t pull away from me.” 

“I’m not pulling away, Jake,” I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m right here, tell me what you need.” Jake buried his face in my neck, hugging me tight. “Tell me what you need,” I whispered. “I love you too, Jake Seresin, just tell me what you need.” He didn’t say anything right away, he just held me. With every breath I felt him relax just a little bit more into me until it felt like I was holding all of his weight. “I love you, Jake. Just tell me what you need, I’ll give it to you.” Jake stayed quiet and I found myself filling the gap. “Have you heard of Life360? It’s an app, Harvey and his wife have it, lets them track each other's locations. I just won’t look at the weekly driving report so I won’t see how fast you speed.” 

“You don’t have to,” He kissed the crook of my neck, pulling away just to rest his forehead against mine. “If it makes you uncomfortable.” 

“I don’t mind, Jake,” I kissed him softly, “Not if it gives you peace of mind. Okay?” I slipped my hands under his shirt, resting them on his warm back, pulling him even closer. “Are we okay?”

“I love you, Daisy.” Jake kissed my nose and pulled away, smiling softly at me. “Not exactly how I planned on telling you, it just kind of slipped out.” I giggled, pulling him to lay on the bed with me.

“Well, nothing about this relationship has exactly been normal since the whole ‘FBI showing up at my house’ thing. So, I think it’s fitting.” I sat back on the pillows and Jake laid his head in my lap, I carded my fingers through his hair. “Let’s talk about things, Jake. What do you need?” He looped an arm between my legs, snuggling me like a pillow. 

“Can we get that tracking app? I promise I won’t look at it unless I’m worried.” I rolled my eyes, knowing that if he checked the app every time he was worried about me, it would be constantly open on his phone. The…hypervillegance surrounding my whereabouts on Natasha’s orders had lessened but hadn’t faded away entirely. It was something I had learned about Jake, he cared with his whole heart about all of the people in his life, and with that came a certain level of anxiety. 

“Check it as much as you need to, pretty boy,” I kissed his hair. “What else?” 

“I want to take you home for Thanksgiving, introduce you to my mama,” My fingers paused in his hair, the thought swirling around in my mind. What would meeting Jake’s parents be like? Would they be warm and welcoming or stoic and standoffish? What about his sisters? Would they like her? “Stop thinking so hard, that hamster wheel in your head is starting to smoke.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, my fingers moving in his hair once again. “Yes, I’ll meet your mama, what else?” Jake gently bit my thigh and I tapped him on the head, “Jake, baby, is there anything else you need to feel better?” 

“I’m going to marry you one day,” 

“Okay.” Jake turned to look up at me and I’m sure I had multiple chins at that angle but he was looking at me with nothing but love in his eyes and I couldn’t find it in myself to care.

“Wait, so, asking you to meet my family takes a full minute for you to think about but getting married is an instant yes?” 

X

Daisy tilted her head back against the headboard, a small smile on her face. In the last few hours, my emotions had been wrecked. Going from bored, sitting on the couch listening to Rooster and Phoenix argue about something I wasn’t paying attention to, then worried beyond belief when the news alert popped up on our phones, and then instant relief when her name flashed on caller ID. 

“I’ve never met a boy’s parents before,” 

“One, I’m a man, baby.” Daisy scoffed at me, her hand resting on my chest. “Two, you’ve never met someone’s parents?”

“Jake, I hadn’t even cuddled someone before you,” I couldn’t help the smug smile that grew on my lips. Daisy liked cuddling but she needed the conditions to be just right, apparently I was a “human heater” and she needed a fan to be running, more than one if she wanted to keep her beloved pajama pants on.

“My mama’s going to love you, already does,” I reached up, wrapping my fingers around the duplicate dog tags of mine she wore around her neck to pull her down for a kiss. The angle wasn’t perfect but her lips on mine could never be wrong. “Told her all about your lasagna and the way you’ve been feeding the team. My sisters already love you too, they’re both true crime junkies, apparently they have all of your books.” 

“No way,” She snorted, dissolving into a fit of giggles. Her whole body shook as she laughed and it was a beautiful sight. “I’ll sign them when I come to visit. Did I ever tell you that Grace and Jason spent a week arguing over how my signature should look?” 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously, I thought I had carpal tunnel by the time we figured it out. Well, I probably do but that’s neither here nor there.” I made a mental note to Google that later, see if there was anything to do to make it better. “What about your pops?” 

“God, he cannot wait to meet you,” I groaned, pulling her down for another kiss. “Pops won’t stop asking about his “new daughter” when I call him. I think my family’s going to propose to you on my behalf.” Daisy laughed but it wasn’t really a joke, my whole family had been calling, texting, even emailing me for information on Daisy and our relationship. Pops had even offered up his parents’ rings for us to use.

“There seem to be a lot of expectations for me to live up to, Jake.” She kissed me one, twice, three times before sitting back up, that same soft smile on her lips. “But I’m telling you now, if you propose to me before we’ve known each other for at least a year, I’m telling you no.” 

“Noted.” 

Taglist: @dizzybee03 @littlezee80 @nervousenemyduck @carolina-on-my-mind03 @mizzzpink @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @hookslove1592

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

What's In A Name? Chapter Five

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: Meg has to make a very interesting phone call...

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Meg woke up with Tyler curled around her, his heavy arm draped over her waist, a large hand splayed across her stomach, keeping her tight against him. It had been the best night of sleep of her life and she stubbornly gave credit to the softness of Boone’s shirt for it. She carefully slipped out of his hold and down the ladder.

At some point, the Wranglers had driven the camper and the rest of their vehicles to a different motel and they were all gathered up outside, bundled in blankets, sitting around an extinguished fire. Boone was the first to notice her, popping out of his chair to hug her tightly, rocking her back and forth.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Doc, and thank you, thank you, for keeping T safe.” The rest of the Wranglers were quick to join in on the hug, even Ben after she heard the shutter of his camera. Meg almost started crying from the sheer amount of love surrounding her, feeling at home again in Oklahoma for the first time in five years. “You hungry, Doc?”

“Starvin’,” Her stomach growled in agreement.

“I’ll rustle something up,” Boone patted her on the shoulder. “Also, do your parents watch our streams?” She nodded. “They were name-dropping you something fierce in the chat last night, asking for updates if you were okay.” Of course, they had. Meg knew better than to think it was just her dad demanding answers in the chat.

“The whole crew’s probably at my parent’s house debating whether they should drive out here.” She shook her head with a huff of laughter. “Dex, can I borrow your phone? I don’t know what happened to mine.” He obliged and she dialed the house phone, putting it on speaker.

“Harding’s phone,” Rabbit picked up. “Meggy, this you?” Dexter’s mouth fell open, putting all the pieces together faster than the rest.

“Yeah, it’s me. Y’all can stop freaking out, all limbs are accounted for and in working order.” 

“Bill, Jo, guys, it’s Meggy!” 

“Meggy, honey,’ Preacher’s voice was the next on the line. “You scared us half to death.” 

“Margaret Marie Harding,” Her mom shouted into the receiver. “Have you lost your damn mind?” Meg cringed,

“Mama, I’m just following in dad’s footsteps.” There were shouts of “The Extreme” in the background. “Also, y’all might be on speaker with the Tornado Wranglers.” 

“Holy shit, Meggy,” That was Beltzer.

“We’re big fans,” And that was Haynes. The Wranglers were watching her with amused and star-struck looks. Ben, thankfully, was the first to recover.

“Your daughter is quite remarkable.” 

“And alive,” Boone added, giving Meg a thumbs up that she returned, mouthing good job.

“We’re glad to hear it. Hi, Pumpkin.” 

“Hiya, dad. Did you want that mug of yours signed? Pretty sure I can swing it.” 

“Dani, get the man a mug!” Dexter pushed a laughing Dani towards the camper where Tyler still slept. The Wranglers and the original team energetically traded exclamations of excitement and amusement that Meg had kept her last name a secret for so long. That was until her mama started shouting again. 

“I don’t want you anywhere near a tornado unless you’re harnessed  in, do you understand me, young lady?” 

“Mama, please, you’re embarrassing me.” 

“Let me talk to Dexter,” Jo demanded. “He seems like the only responsible one.” Meg didn’t argue, taking her mom off speaker and handing the phone to Dexter.

“Yes, ma’am?” There was a shout of her name from inside the camper, signaling to everyone that Tyler had woken up to an empty bed.  The Wranglers snickered at her, Lily giving her a good-natured shove to the shoulder. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll make sure of it.” 

Tyler came stumbling out of the camper, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, a grinning Dani right behind him with a mug and a marker in either hand.

“Where’s Meg?” 

“That’s Meg Harding to you, Ty,” Lily teased and Tyler’s eyes went wide. “Yup, your girlfriend’s the daughter of storm-chasing legends.” Meg flushed, hoping her parents hadn’t heard that. Tyler looked at her, dumbstruck.

“Your parents are…”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit,” Tyler ran a hand through his already chaotic hair. “You’re a-,” He pointed at her, “Your parents are-” Meg nodded. “Holy shit.” 

“My parents are big fans of your channel, Ty.” She saw the moment Tyler’s brain fully stopped functioning, giggling. 

“I need coffee,” Tyler’s shoulders slumped. He sat down in Boone’s abandoned seat beside Meg, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, like he was afraid she’d run off on him. Meg squeezed back. “Who’s he talking to?”

“My family.” Meg could get used to surprising the hell out of Tyler, laughing at the startled look on his face.

“Doc, Rabbit wants to talk to you.” Dexter jogged the phone over. “Can I meet your parents?” He whispered and Meg nodded, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“What’s up?” 

“Don’t let your mom fool you, Meggy. She’s giddy as hell you’re chasing again.” Meg knew that in her heart but the reassurance made her smile. “Also, we’re betting on how long it takes you to ride the cowboy. Don’t tell your dad.”

“Rabbit!” Meg shrieked, slapping a hand over her mouth. She glanced over at the sleepy man beside her who didn’t seem to have heard what Rabbit said. Meg was going to turn that man into rabbit stew the next time she saw him.

“Blame Haynes, her idea.” 

“Don’t blame me, blame Joey!” 

“She knows damn well it wasn’t me, it was definitely Lawrence.” Could they get any more embarrassing? She felt like she was fifteen again, listening to the group place bets on how her first date would go.

“Guuuuyyyyysss. Can you please just put my dad on the phone?” There was a brief shuffle.

“Hey, Pumpkin. What was Rabbit saying?” 

“Nothing, just being annoying. She glanced at her blonde cowboy, getting a mischievous idea. “Tyler’s here if you want to talk to him, he’s a fan of yours.” She giggled at the look on his face. “Well, you talk, he’ll hyperventilate.” 

“Be nice to that boy,” Her dad scolded playfully. “I’ve got fifty bucks on you marrying him.” 

“Oh my God, that’s so much worse!” She wanted to disappear into thin air. Tyler took the outstretched phone.

“This is Tyler Owens, sir.” Tyler sat up straighter in his seat, running a hand through his bed head.

Boone came jogging back to the group, holding a 7/11 bag above his head.

“I got you coffee, a muffin, and a burrito.” Giving Tyler’s hand one last squeeze, Meg went to collect her breakfast, thanking the man with a kiss on the cheek. “Dani said you take lots of cream and sugar.” Meg looked at the woman who shrugged,

“I guessed.” 

“You guessed right, Sweet Thing. Thanks again, Boonie Baby,” She gave him another kiss on the cheek before going back to her seat. Meg kept the burrito, passing Tyler the blueberry muffin.

“Yes, sir. No, sir,” Meg couldn’t help but wonder what her dad was asking him, nibbling on the corner of the lukewarm burrito. Bean and cheese, nice. “No, she didn’t tell us her last name.” Tyler chuckled, “Yes, sir. I’m starting to understand that.” He paused, eyes going wide. Meg shifted in her chair, letting her legs fall across Tyler’s lap. He rested a hand on her knee and Meg couldn’t help but think that she could do this every morning, sitting there, admiring Tyler’s stubbled jaw line while the rest of the Wranglers joked around with each other. “I’d be honored but first we’ve got to go find Kate, yes, sir. Sapulpa.” He tapped her knee, “Here, darlin’.” He passed the phone, trading it for her coffee, his nose scrunching up. “I prefer black.”

“Not everything’s about you, Arkansas.” Tyler stuck his tongue out at her. “Hey, dad.” 

“You should marry that boy, Meg.” Her eyes cut to Tyler who was eyeing her back with a small smile on his face, making him even cuter than normal. 

“We’ll see, dad,” She sighed. “Gotta chase down my other half first. Now go feed the guys, I love you.” 

“I love you too, Pumpkin. Come home before you leave.”

“I will, should I bring Kate?” 

“And Tyler. Keep an eye on the sky, Pumpkin.” Meg hung up, mumbling through a mouthful of burrito.

“Trouble makin’ busy bodies, the whole group of ‘em.” 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were Jo and Bill Harding’s daughter,” Her mom would have liked the way he put her name first. “No wonder you’ve got such good instincts.” 

“Get ‘em from my daddy.” Dani came over, presenting Tyler with the mug to sign.

“And here I didn’t think you could get any cooler, Meg,” Dani teased. “We gotta keep you around.” 

“Here here,” Boone raised his coffee in cheers. “T, buddy, don’t go fucking this up for us.” The Wranglers all added their agreement, making Meg laugh. She swiped the coffee back from Tyler, admonishing him for drinking more than half the cup if he didn’t like it. Then it hit her and she nearly spit out her mouthful of coffee. Lily had called her his girlfriend and neither she nor Tyler had corrected her. What the hell did that mean?

“Stop thinking so hard, darlin’.” Tyler squeezed her knee like he could read her mind. “Just enjoy the morning.” His hand moved up to her thigh as he kicked back in his chair to eat and she rested her hand on top of his, letting her attention fall to Boone and Dani as they teased Dexter for his fangirling. Ben started snapping pictures and Meg didn’t let herself worry about how she looked wearing borrowed clothes, eating a gas station burrito, mud from the night before still on her cheeks, with Tyler’s hand on her thigh.

Unlike when he was chasing, Tyler was an incredibly safe driver on the way to Sapulpa. Meg on the other hand was an incredibly unsafe passenger. She had the passenger seat pushed all the way back, her feet kicked up on the dash, and her boots abandoned on the floorboards.

Lily had lent her a pair of mismatched socks, one was striped and the other was dotted. They were both singing along to the country music blaring on the radio and Meg couldn’t remember a time she felt happier. And she was sad she had to ruin it.

“I should probably tell you what you’re gettin’ into before we get there, Ty.” Tyler turned off the radio, giving her as much attention as he could while driving.

“What, darlin’, you hiding a boyfriend from me in Sapulpa?” Meg snorted, she wished that’s all she had to confess. Instead, she held out her hands in front of her. Her fingertips were all kinked, not quite straight. They were also calloused and scarred, not only from chasing but from her time as a paramedic. Her favorite scar was one on the pad of her thumb, permanently messing up her fingerprints, from when she stuck herself with an EPI pen instead of the patient. 

“You ever notice how crooked my fingers are?” 

“I was a bull rider, healed breaks are normal to me.” She hummed at his non-answer, answer. 

“I met Kate in college and we became close, our friend Addy used to call us two shades of the same color. Always the same but slightly different.” Dandelion and Sunflower, shades of yellow, were her favorite comparison to make. She’d always make a joke about how they were happiest when the sun was hidden behind clouds, so they needed to be surrounded by bright colors. “Mama was her thesis advisor. There were six of us helping her with the research.” 

Meg let the tears roll down her cheeks without wiping them away.

“Parveen and Kate spearheaded the actual idea, Javi collected the data with Dorothy, Addy was there to take photos, Jeb,” She chuckled. “Jeb was just in love with Kate, so he’d follow her anywhere, and I was there to make sure no one got hurt. But they did.” She had spent a lot of time on her partner’s couch drinking and thinking about the situation, coming to grips with the fact that her EMT certification couldn’t have saved her friends that day. “Everything was going great and then an EF-5 came out of nowhere.” 

Tyler exhaled heavily, reaching out to rub her knee.

“We thought it was going to be an EF-1, maybe 2, so we didn’t have the good sense to be scared until it was too late.” 

“I’m sorry, Meg,” Tyler offered in sympathy. Because what the hell else do you say when someone’s telling a story like that?

“Our only hope was an underpass, which tells you how shit outta luck we were. Parveen couldn’t run so fast and was swept up first, then I fell and I dug my fingers into the dirt to hold on.” Her fingers and wrist ached at the memory, “I broke every single one of my fingers and debris shattered my wrist. While I was layin’ there, I heard Addy and Jeb fly away, screaming for their lives.” 

“Shit, Meg. That’s horrible,” She hummed in agreement.

“Kate survived of course but she won’t talk about it and Javi was in the follow vehicle. All he could do was watch as the tornado headed our way. To hear him tell it, it was the worst day of his life and it probably was.” The hurtful things Javi said the night before filtered through her mind, making her sick to her stomach. “Police officer found me and Kate stumbling along the highway, trying to get back to Javi, and took us to the hospital.” 

Meg took a long, deep breath. If things had gone differently that day, her life would have turned out a lot differently. She never would have moved, none of them would have.

“Kate ran away to New York, Javi joined the military, and I went to New Orleans. I was a wreck on the job but my partner Nick’s always had my back. You’d like him,” Nick was her rock, both on and off the job. “He took me to my first second line after one of our GSW patients, Tayvon, a fifteen-year-old kid, didn’t make it.” 

It had been her second week on the job, she had never been on the scene of a drive-by shooting before, there had been so much chaos and blood. They worked on him for a few minutes before they decided it was best to work while driving. Meg had still been an EMT, so Nick worked on Tayvon in the back of the rig while she drove through the busy streets like a bat out of hell. By the time they passed him off to the doctors, things were looking up.

  “To see everyone smiling through their tears and celebrating that kid’s life, it healed me more than anything else ever could. Everyone needs a Nick and Kate didn’t have one.” 

“I think I want to meet this Nick guy,” Tyler squeezed her knee, “Buy him a beer and thank him for taking care of you.” Meg chuckled, thinking about all of the embarrassing stories Nick would tell him about her.

“He’d buy you a beer, tryin’ to charm you into making me your problem instead of his.” 

“Be my problem, baby,” Tyler’s hand moved upwards to squeeze her thigh. Meg laid her hand over his, tears starting up again.

“I’m crying about my dead friends while you drive me to see my traumatized other half. Hate to say it, Sweetie Pie, but I think I’m already your problem.” Laughter filled the truck, first hers and then Tyler’s. “A little late to back out now.” 

“I’m not backing out, Meg, just making sure we’re on the same page.” 

“Which is?” She feigned ignorance. 

“You’re my problem, baby. All mine.” Her dad was going to be over the moon whenever she told him about this conversation. So would Nick.

“Thoughts and prayers, Cowboy. You’re gonna need ‘em.” 

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

My mom just finished reading what I've posted so far and texted me that she's eagerly awaiting the next chapter 😭 I'm both mortified and pleased she likes my writing??? This is the first time she's ever read what I've written??? This is not how I thought she'd be introduced to my writing???

What's In A Name? Masterlist

Summary:

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

More To Come!

[writing-until-i-drop]

Guys, my mom wants to read my fics...she knows my ao3 handle because I made a joke about it... Y'all, my mom is going to read the smut I wrote 😭

[writing-until-i-drop]

What's In A Name? | Aesthetics

Margaret "Meg" Marie Harding

Meg, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mud Bug, Meggy, Doc, Darlin', Pumpkin, Baby

Tyler Michael Owens

Ty, T, Sweetie Pie, Arkansas, Cowboy, Darlin'

[writing-until-i-drop]

@hookslove1592 1000% Javy loves his boy but would not hesitate

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 2

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Daisy meets the rest of the Daggers and one cocky pilot finds himself experiencing a first.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

“I don’t want to go,” I whined, packing up the individual bags of cookies I had made for dagger squad, Penny, and Maverick who were all going to be at the Hard Deck. Natasha was determined to get me out to the bar in something other than pajamas, holding up a denim mini skirt I hadn’t worn since college and black tank top.

“You’re going, I’ll buy you as many shots of tequila as it requires to get you to stay.” Tequila. My weakness. I ran a hand through my hair, glaring at the tiny skirt.

“I don’t even know if my ass still fits in that.”

“Just put it on, we’re leaving in ten.” I grabbed the outfit, grumbling in protest. 

Much to my surprise, the skirt did fit. Barely. I sure as hell wasn’t going to be playing pool in it because if I bent over to take a shot, my whole ass would be out. I threw on a red lip and some black cowgirl boots, slipping a book and a notebook into my bag just in case I needed a reprieve.

“Is your fine ass ready to go?” Natasha shouted up the stairs, “We’re going to be late!”

“Oh no, I’d never want to be late for something I didn’t want to do in the first place.” Natasha rolled her eyes at me, pulling me out of the apartment as quickly as her legs would take us. “I am going to drain your bank account with the amount of tequila I’m about to drink, Tasha.”

“Do your worst, Daisy.”

The bar was loud and filled with too many people for my liking. True to her word, Natasha bought me two shots of tequila and a beer to kick off the night before we even got to the table where all her friends were hanging out.

“Daisy!” Rooster shouted in greeting and Bob gave me a small salute. What the hell did they put in the water around here? There were three more handsome guys with the group, all of which offered me a smile and a once over.

“Hey, guys. You must be Payback, Fanboy, and Coyote. Natasha’s told me about you all.” 

“All bad things?” The man I recognized from the pictures as Fanboy guessed, chewing on a toothpick.

“Always,” Natasha slugged him on the shoulder. “Where’s Bagman?”

“Right, here. Hey, darlin, thanks for the lasagna.” A heavy arm draped over my shoulder, pulling me in for a kiss on the forehead.

“Um, hi.” I looked up, swaying a little when I saw him. Phoenix hadn’t shown me any pictures of Hangman, claiming they weren’t close enough to have any pictures together. He was tall, blonde, with a jaw sharp enough to cut glass with, staring down at me with pretty green eyes. “Glad you liked it.” My voice was far too soft and breathy to be considered normal. Hangman winked and my whole face flushed red. “Tasha.” 

“That’s enough, Bagman.” Natasha tugged me from his side, “First Rooster and now you, I told your animals to behave around her.” Hangman and Rooster shared looks of mock offense, grinning.

“I’m behaving,” Bob piped up, a mouthful of peanuts.

“Yes, thank you, Bob, you’re behaving.” Natashja sat me between her and Bob at the table, keeping an arm around my waist.

“I’m behaving too, Phoenix,” Coyote grinned, leaning across the table. “See? Listen, Daisy, are you liking it in Cali so far?”

“It’s a little hot but the change in scenery is nice, have some cookies.” I dug into my bag, “Chocolate chip or M&M?” 

“You made cookies?” Fanboy nearly spilled his beer. “I can be good too! You’re a writer, right, Daisy?” 

“M&M, please.” Coyote immediately dug in.

“I am, do you want M&M too?” The whole group started asking me questions, being rewarded with their own bag of cookies. Natasha teased that I was treat-training them like a pack of wild dogs. 

Eventually, my newness wore off and the group separated. Hangman and Coyote went for darts and the rest went for the pool table. After a few more shots and a dance around the floor with Rooster, Bob, and Coyote, I finally escaped from Phoenix long enough to grab my notebook. There was a new character in my head, speaking softly about what she saw and what she wanted. 

The words flowed freely, blue ink cursive neatly filling page after page. My publisher was going to be giddy at the prospect of another series, I could already hear her excited laughter ringing in my ears, followed by the click of her gold cigarette lighter. I smoke menthols, the unnamed character whispered to me, and I drink my coffee black. A tough woman, an agency legacy. FBI? CIA? NCIS. I chuckled softly, glancing up at all the uniforms drinking around me. I should have seen that one coming. 

“You’re cute when you’re focused,” Hangman’s southern drawl broke my concentration, the still nameless woman slipping away back into my imagination. Damn it. “You bite your bottom lip.” 

“You must have lost at darts if you were paying that much attention to me, pretty boy.” Hangman’s smirk morphed into a grin, making him even prettier than before, which was a problem. My stomach fluttered in a way that was concerning to feminism.

“If that’s supposed to be an insult, I don’t understand how. I’m the prettiest boy in this goddamn state.” And he was, I laughed, forcing myself to look away from him and back at my notebook. “What are you writing?”

“A new-” Hangman slid into the booth next to me, his warm, masculine scent filling the space around us. “Um,” What was I saying again? He was watching me squirm, sipping on his beer as my blush deepened. “I got a new idea and I had to write it down before I lost it.” Hangman’s eyes flickered to the notebook and I quickly flipped it shut.

“Even your handwriting is pretty, darlin. Almost as pretty as your cooking,” The line itself didn’t make sense but his delivery made it work.

“You like my cooking?” 

“I like everything about you, Daisy,” He slid even closer. Hangman was just as confident and flirty as Natasha had warned me and despite how pretty he was and how into me he seemed, I didn’t buy his interest for a second. I burst out laughing, covering my mouth with my hand.

“You’re really laying it on thick, aren’t you?” Hangman’s brow scrunched in confusion, “The whole hot aviator hitting on me every thirty seconds is just too much.” Hangman sat back, watching me laugh until I couldn’t breath, his eyebrows raised. 

“Are you done, darlin?” I held up a finger, trying to catch my breath. “You know, I think this is the first time a woman’s ever cracked up at my flirting.” 

“Happy to be your first, Hangman.” I pushed his shoulder, filing the fact that his muscles felt extremely soft to the touch in a filing cabinet deep within my brain never to be opened. 

“Well, if hot shot Hangman isn’t your speed, then hi.” He held out his hand, his eyes going soft, “I’m Jake Seresin, thank you for sending me dinner last night. It was the best meal I’ve eaten since Christmas.” Oh. Oh. 

“Nice to meet you, Jake. I’m Daisy Prentiss and I’ll cook whenever you’d like.” 

“Now who’s flirting?” 

“It’s not flirting,” Okay, it was a little bit of flirting, I couldn’t help myself. “I’ll feed the rest of the daggers too.” Jake smiled and this time it wasn’t cocky or flirting, it was soft and genuine.

“I look forward to it, sweetheart.”

X

I watched closely as Hangman sat with Daisy, convincing her to drink water between shots of tequila, which were actually water because he was filling the shot glass with it every time she looked away. I’d never admit it but they looked like a happy couple, having a night out on the town. 

“I’ve never seen him look at a woman like that,” Coyote sidled up to me at the bar, offering me a beer. “Hangman is nowhere in sight.” 

“I’ll beat the shit out of him if he hurts her, Javy.” His pinky brushed mine and I had to fight a smile.

“I’ll hold him down for you.”

[writing-until-i-drop]

@hookslove1592 I hope you love it! Let me know if you want to be on the tag list 💕

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 1

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

AO3 Link

“I think that’s the last of it,” I wiped my hands on my thighs, not yet used to the California heat. Natasha, my god send in cut-off sweats, passes me a cold beer, sitting on the edge of a box.

“I’m so glad you’re finally here, Daisy, It’s been impossible being surrounded by the asshats in my squadron.” Ah yes, the infamous dagger squad. Natasha had shared a little bit (or a lot) about each member of her team, leaving out any of the classified details of the mission that had brought them all together except for the fact it had led to permanent assignment for all of them. “When I told them my friend was moving in, they were chomping at the bit to see a picture of you.” My eyes cut to her, taking a long swig of my beer.

“And what picture did you show them?” As best friends since college, there were a lot of embarrassing pictures Natasha had access to that outweighed any of the hot ones on my Instagram. Natasha refused to meet my eyes, my heart sank. “Please tell me it wasn’t the one from-”

“It was.” Nathasha confirmed my worst fears with a proud smile. “You’d be surprised how well it worked for them. I told you, those Tweety Bird shorts- hey!” She rubbed where I punched her shoulder. The photo in question was me, drunk as a skunk, leaning over a frat house toilet while I puked my guts out. It had been a pajama party and my Tweety Bird pants had been cropped to show the entirety of my ass.

“You’re the worst, I’m never meeting your friends. You’ll have to suffer the testosterone alone.” 

“Noooo,” Natasha whined. Rolling my eyes, I focused my energy on unpacking. 

Surprisingly, I didn’t have a lot of boxes. Packing up my entire life had mostly been packing up my books and pajama pants that I wore for every occasion except weddings and funerals. My agent supported the move, saying that military novels were all the rage right now in the romance and crime communities, and he was hoping I would take advantage of my new situation for my next series. 

I was one of the lucky authors, I had gone from self-publishing to being picked up by a moderately sized publishing house, my books taking off more than in my wildest dreams. My best-selling series was a 1920’s lady detective, followed by a hard-nosed New York cop hunting a serial killer. Despite this, my agent wanted me to take a swing at a smutty romance novel to capitalize on the buzz around them but I was hesitant.

“Have you forgiven me yet?” Natasha yelled from downstairs, “I ordered pizza!” 

“Pepperoni?” I shouted back, getting an affirmative answer. “I forgive you!” My growling stomach marched me downstairs despite the few boxes still needing to be unpacked in my room. Tasha couldn’t cook, much to her mom’s disappointment, and lived solely off of cup noodles and takeout, something I planned to change the moment I could get to a grocery store. 

Tasha was curled up on the couch, the pizza box and two fresh beers on the coffee table. I took my spot beside her, grabbing a greasy slice.

“We’ve got to decorate your place, Tasha. It’s depressingly bare.” Natasha shrugged, putting on some shitty action movie. “You’ve lived here for six months.”

“I didn’t expect it to be a permanent assignment and then I didn’t know where to start.” I rolled my eyes, opening Amazon and adding an insane amount of decor to the cart as we ate in comfortable silence. If this was going to be home, it was going to be cozy. No matter how much my bank account cried.

It took a week but the apartment was finally starting to feel like home. The brown couch now had throw pillows, there was art on the walls, and rugs on the floor. Everything was calming shades of brown, green, and cream, and there were string lights in every room that could be turned on instead of the overhead lights. 

Tasha: Bringing some friends over for dinner - that cool?

I rolled my eyes, she was lucky I always cooked enough to feed an army.

Daisy: Sounds good. Get more beer.

Tasha: Already got it, babe.

I grabbed two more of the new placemats and finished setting the table. Tonight’s dinner was an authentic lasagna, garlic bread, and salad - it truly was far too much for just the two of us. Once everything was laid out of the table and I had myself a glass of wine, the door opened.

“It smells fucking delicious in here,” A man in an extremely loud button down exclaimed, followed by a boyish man with glasses who nodded in agreement. I snorted with laughter, drawing their attention. “And you are beautiful.”

“Nice to meet you too, Rooster. Hi, Bob.” 

“Hi, ma’am.” I cringed,

“Daisy, please. Now why don’t the three of you wash up and then we’ll tuck in.” The boys, who had clearly been here before, took off for the bathroom while Phoenix shook her head, putting the case of beer on the counter.

“They’re ridiculous but they’re right, you and dinner are both delicious.” 

Dinner went by with little conversation, the three pilots hungrily devouring the food in front of them so fast I was surprised they hadn’t passed out from lack of oxygen. 

“Rooster, you have a roommate, right? I’ll make a plate for you to take home for him.” 

“Hangman will be fine but I’ll take a plate for work tomorrow, honey.” I rolled my eyes, 

“Tasha, text Hangman I’m sending home food for him and he’s to tell me if Rooster eats it. Bob, do you have a roommate?”

“No, ma’am - I mean, no, Daisy.” 

“Then I’ll pack you something for lunch, there’s plenty - and yes, Tasha, you’ll have enough for lunch too.”

“Sweet!” 

“Thank you, Daisy.” 

“You know, once you meet, Hangman you’re not going to send him food anymore.” Phoenix and Bob laugh with him,

“I warned her about Bagman but Daisy’s sweet as can be. She’d give a cannoli to her worst enemy.”

“You’re wrong,” I wrote a quick, little note on Hangman’s box. Natasha gives me a uh huh look before I finish, “I would never share my cannolis.” 

X

Phoenix: Daisy’s sending dinner home with Rooster for you - he’s going to say it’s for him, don’t believe him

Confusion wrinkled my brow as I tried to recall knowing a Daisy. It took a minute but eventually I remembered Phoenix talking about her new roommate. She had cooked dinner? Besides Bob, no one in the squadron knew how to cook much, if at all. So a home cooked meal would be the best part of my day. 

Hangman: Tell the little lady thank you

Phoenix: Tell her yourself, she’s coming to the Hard Deck tomorrow even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming

I chuckle, refocusing on ironing my uniform for tomorrow. I even take pity on my roommate and iron his, not wanting to hear him crashing around the apartment bright and early trying to do it in the morning.

“Hagman, have you eaten?” Rooster called out, slamming the front door shut. There was not a single subtle thing about that man. Not his clothes, his flying, or his mannerisms. 

“No but I heard you brought me something.” When I reached the kitchen Rooster was standing there, staring at the container of food. “Is that for me?”

“She even wrote you a note. She’s perfect, man. Funny, pretty, cooks well.” He slid me the still-warm container with a pink note sticking on the top. There was a hangman doodle with the note.

E N    O Y    H     N E Y

“This is the best lasagna I’ve ever had.” Rooster nodded, passing me a beer. “I’ve got to meet this girl.” 

“Try not to scare her off, bud. Or else she’s going to stop feeding us.” 

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

I feel your love and support and appreciate it 🥹💕 Javi was such an ass for both the original scene and for what he said to Meg - It was a good thing for Javi that Meg had Tyler to hold her back. That girl has been in some dicey situations as a paramedic and DEFINITELY knows how to throw a good punch.

What's In A Name? Chapter Four

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: If Meg was more of a religious person, she would have sworn she felt Jeb’s strength helping them pull Tyler to safety at just the right moment.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

It had been a good night until everything went to shit. Tyler had been trying to get Kate to open up and she had turned the tables on him, getting Tyler to spill the details of his first tornado. Meg had felt a second of uneasiness when Tyler had asked Kate about her first tornado, something that he had said he only asked pretty girls, but the second the wheels in her head started spinning, Tyler’s hand had fallen on her thigh. Even with his attention on Kate, Meg felt connected to him, butterflies in her stomach taking flight. 

Then the tornado decided to ruin the moment. Meg had a bone to pick with Mother Nature but first, she needed to survive. Tyler had a death grip on her hand and she was pulling Kate along, when they got to the motel lobby, she was livid.

“Nine times out of ten, it’s a false alarm,” The snobby girl in the chair announced like she knew everything. 

“Are you willing to bet your life on it?” She shouted, “Because there’s a tornado coming and we need to get underground. Now!” The siren stopped and while the woman felt vindicated, Meg’s stomach dropped, knowing that it only meant the storm was close. Too close. 

“Come on,” Kate shouted. 

“Follow her,” Tyler ordered, guiding the mom and daughter out of the door. “Run, Meg,” She hesitated, not wanting to leave his side. “Please, darlin’, run.” And she did, taking off, helping the mom and daughter across the road to the pool. She and Kate helped them into the pool, Meg pushed Kate down next, 

“Tyler!” She shouted, urging him to run faster, watching the winds take away the truck the couple from the lobby had climbed in.

“Get in the pool!” He shouted back, “Now, Meg!” Not wanting to lose sight of him but also not wanting to roll the dice against Mother Nature, Meg quickly descended the ladder. Kate was waiting for her, steadying her on her feet.

“Help the kid, Kate,” She pushed her friend towards the pipes. “Tyler!” Meg shouted for him again, getting a second of relief when he jumped down beside her.

“Stop worrying about me, darlin’, go,” He pushed her towards the pipes like she had to Kate. Meg rushed to the pipes, looping her arms around them and squatting as low as she could go beside Kate. She couldn’t breathe watching Tyler crawl across the bottom of the pool to get to the motel manager,

“Please come back, please come back.” Meg chanted, feeling Kate cry against her. “Please come back to me.” She screamed, seeing the horse trailer fly towards Tyler, leaning out as far as she could go without releasing her hold on the pipe, she screamed for Tyler to take her hand. Kate leaned out too, grabbing his wrist when Meg took his hand, the two girls pulled with all their might.

“You’re not going to lose him like I did,” Kate grunted and Meg wanted to cry. Jeb. If Meg was more of a religious person, she would have sworn she felt Jeb’s strength helping them pull Tyler to safety at just the right moment. Tyler wrapped his arms around them both, shielding them from the storm with his body but nothing could stop the sound of the tornado bearing down on them.

In Meg’s mind, she was back in the tornado from five years ago. She heard Parveen’s scream as he was swept away, she could see her friends ahead of her. And then her foot caught on something, sending her to the ground. There was no way that she could make it to the underpass, she knew it.

There was only one option and that was to dig her fingers into the dirt as far as they would go. The winds howled around her, screaming like a freight train. She could feel it as each of her fingers broke, her screams of pain lost in the wind as the tornado passed over her. Meg heard it when Addy and Jeb were swept away, and, and-

“Meg, Meggy, Margaret!” Kate’s shouting snapped her out of it, bringing her back to reality. Meg launched herself at her friend, hugging her tight.

“I love you, I love you, I love you so much and I’m never lettin’ your stubborn ass go.” Kate hugged her back just as tight.

“I love you too, Mud Bug. So much,” Kate pulled back, brushing the hair out of Meg’s blue eyes. “But I’m going to need you to hug Tyler right now. Man looks like he’s going to have a heart attack.” Tyler. She whirled around and there he was, standing with his arms loose at his sides, tears in his eyes.

“Ty,” Meg threw herself at him, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso like a koala bear.

“You’re okay,” He buried his face in her neck, one hand supporting her by her thigh, the other carding its way through her tangled hair. “You’re alive.”

“You scared me so bad,” She whispered, tears flowing freely. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, you understand me?” Meg pulled back with a fierce look in her eye, daring Tyler to rationalize the situation but he didn’t. He just pressed his forehead against hers, whispering in a raspy voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Yes, ma’am.” 

They separated, climbing out of the pool. Lily and Ben met them at the top, doting over the trio like mother hens.

“No more rodeo for you, Doc,” Lily hugged her tightly.

“I’m glad you’re okay, you too, Ben,” Meg hugged the reporter who didn’t hesitate to return the gesture. 

“Seems like you’re a Wrangler now, Mud Bug,” Kate whispered, kissing Meg’s temple. “I’m happy for you.” 

“I’m whatever you are, Katie my Lady, always.” 

“Traumatized?” She sassed with a humorless laugh,

“Yeah, that too.” Meg felt Tyler behind her, his hand coming to rest on her hip, the warmth of his skin bleeding through her soaking clothes. Javi started yelling for Kate and Meg but Meg didn’t move from the Wrangles. Dani ran at her through the debris to sweep her into an air-stealing hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Doc.” 

“Thought I was goin’ to die again,” Meg’s breath shuddered, mind slipping again. Her fingers and wrist were on fire, burning with a pain she knew was completely in her mind but she couldn’t shake it. Not until Dani let her go and she inspected them for herself. 

Meg flexed her fingers, they were all at an acceptable angle and the right color. Definitely not broken. Next, she checked her wrist, poking at it, looking for any sign of swelling or tenderness but there was none to be found. 

“That one enough to scare you, Oklahoma?” Tyler’s tease fell flat, he turned her around by the waist so that they were face to face. Tyler was scared, Meg could see it in his green eyes and the way his bottom lip trembled, and besides the memories of the EF-5 haunting her, she could honestly say she wasn’t.

“Not scared of the tornado, Arkansas.” Meg shook her head. “Terrified of dyin’ or losin’ someone I cared about?” She felt so incredibly small and weak, like a child as she shook from her cold clothes. “Maybe a little.” She suddenly realized who wasn’t by her side anymore and felt dread constrict her head, mind going fuzzy. “Where’s Kate?” Tyler’s face softened, he turned her by the hips again and when Kate came into view she relaxed.

“Kate’s fine, she’s talking to Javi over there, see?” She did see and it was almost enough to make her smile. That is until she heard what Javi was yelling.

“I don’t know what it’s like, Kate? How about my friends died because you were chasing grant money for your stupid science project?”

“What the fuck did he just say?” Tyler sounded as angry as Meg felt. Kate ran off towards the decimated motel, Javi calling after her. Meg let out what could only be described as a growl as she took off across the lot to confront an old friend, wanting to wring his neck with her bare hands.

“Javier Ernesto Rivera, what the hell did you just say to her?” Javi had the good sense to look ashamed and the even better sense to put his hands up in defense before Meg started swinging on him.

“I’m sorry, Meg! I didn’t mean it like that, I just-”

“I don’t care how you meant it, you bastard! How could you say that to her?” Tyler was at her back, Meg could feel his presence, but he seemed content letting her fight this battle on her own.

“It’s just, we never would have been in the field that day if it weren’t for Kate. There, I said it.” Meg saw red, red hot rage flowing through her.

“How fucking dare you put that on her!” She kicked his shin, “She wasn’t the only one pushing for that storm so if you’re calling her a murderer then call me one too.” 

Javi’s face fell and so did his hands, letting Meg get a good slap in.

“You didn’t hear Addy, Jeb, and Parveen scream for their lives. You didn’t get your leg sliced open by debris,” She shoved his chest with each sentence. “You didn’t break all ten of your fingers and your wrist holding on for your life with a Goddamn EF-5 trying to kill you.” She swung with a closed fist but Tyler was quick, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides. “You lost your friends but you didn’t fucking watch them die. You have no right,” Meg suddenly hit a wall, losing all her steam. Her angry shouts turned into heart-wrenching sobs. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” She kept repeating the words.

“I’m sorry, Meg.” She barely heard Javi’s words over her own crying and didn’t bother to look up at him. Tyler caught her when her knees gave out, holding Meg tightly to his chest.

“How could he?” Meg sobbed, digging her fingers into his torn shirt. “T-Ty?” 

“I’m here, darlin’,” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m right here with you, what do you need?” 

“Get me outta here.” Tyler didn’t need to be told twice. He swept her into his arms, hustling through the debris until he got to the camper. Boone and Dexter had already begun setting up relief outside, shooting Meg worried glances that she responded to with watery smiles. 

“Let’s get you into something warm, Oklahoma.” He put her down on the small couch inside and she watched him dig through everyone’s bags before offering her a bundle of clothes. There wasn’t a bathroom in the camper so he turned his back while she quickly changed into what seemed to be his boxers, Dani’s sweats, and one of Boone’s flannels.

“You should change too, Ty, I’ll, um, cover my eyes.” Not long later, Tyler was sitting on the couch beside her, bringing her onto his lap in a hug. “I need to go after Kate.” Meg muttered into his shoulder, I don’t want her blamin’ herself.” 

“We’ll go first thing in the morning but darlin’, you need to sleep.” Meg wanted to argue but she knew he was right, exhaustion rolling over her as she had just pulled a 12-hour shift on the ambulance.

“I don’t wanna be alone right now, Ty.” Meg looked up at him, knowing her eyes were red and there was most definitely mud staining her cheeks, making her look like the creature from the lagoon, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care when Tyler was looking at her like she hung the moon and the stars in the sky. “Stay with me?” 

“For as long as you want me to,” Those words hung heavy in the air for a long minute before he cleared his throat. “We can sleep in the bed up top, come on.”

Tyler helped her up the ladder and waited for her to get settled in the mismatched mess of blankets and top sheets before joining. When Tyler climbed beneath the sheets, resting comfortably on his back, Meg curled into his side, resting her head on his chest. Neither of them said a word and Meg was glad, knowing if she said another word, she’d probably start crying again.

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

@djs8891 I'll add you! All of them need a really big hug and (more) therapy.

What's In A Name? Chapter Four

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: If Meg was more of a religious person, she would have sworn she felt Jeb’s strength helping them pull Tyler to safety at just the right moment.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

It had been a good night until everything went to shit. Tyler had been trying to get Kate to open up and she had turned the tables on him, getting Tyler to spill the details of his first tornado. Meg had felt a second of uneasiness when Tyler had asked Kate about her first tornado, something that he had said he only asked pretty girls, but the second the wheels in her head started spinning, Tyler’s hand had fallen on her thigh. Even with his attention on Kate, Meg felt connected to him, butterflies in her stomach taking flight. 

Then the tornado decided to ruin the moment. Meg had a bone to pick with Mother Nature but first, she needed to survive. Tyler had a death grip on her hand and she was pulling Kate along, when they got to the motel lobby, she was livid.

“Nine times out of ten, it’s a false alarm,” The snobby girl in the chair announced like she knew everything. 

“Are you willing to bet your life on it?” She shouted, “Because there’s a tornado coming and we need to get underground. Now!” The siren stopped and while the woman felt vindicated, Meg’s stomach dropped, knowing that it only meant the storm was close. Too close. 

“Come on,” Kate shouted. 

“Follow her,” Tyler ordered, guiding the mom and daughter out of the door. “Run, Meg,” She hesitated, not wanting to leave his side. “Please, darlin’, run.” And she did, taking off, helping the mom and daughter across the road to the pool. She and Kate helped them into the pool, Meg pushed Kate down next, 

“Tyler!” She shouted, urging him to run faster, watching the winds take away the truck the couple from the lobby had climbed in.

“Get in the pool!” He shouted back, “Now, Meg!” Not wanting to lose sight of him but also not wanting to roll the dice against Mother Nature, Meg quickly descended the ladder. Kate was waiting for her, steadying her on her feet.

“Help the kid, Kate,” She pushed her friend towards the pipes. “Tyler!” Meg shouted for him again, getting a second of relief when he jumped down beside her.

“Stop worrying about me, darlin’, go,” He pushed her towards the pipes like she had to Kate. Meg rushed to the pipes, looping her arms around them and squatting as low as she could go beside Kate. She couldn’t breathe watching Tyler crawl across the bottom of the pool to get to the motel manager,

“Please come back, please come back.” Meg chanted, feeling Kate cry against her. “Please come back to me.” She screamed, seeing the horse trailer fly towards Tyler, leaning out as far as she could go without releasing her hold on the pipe, she screamed for Tyler to take her hand. Kate leaned out too, grabbing his wrist when Meg took his hand, the two girls pulled with all their might.

“You’re not going to lose him like I did,” Kate grunted and Meg wanted to cry. Jeb. If Meg was more of a religious person, she would have sworn she felt Jeb’s strength helping them pull Tyler to safety at just the right moment. Tyler wrapped his arms around them both, shielding them from the storm with his body but nothing could stop the sound of the tornado bearing down on them.

In Meg’s mind, she was back in the tornado from five years ago. She heard Parveen’s scream as he was swept away, she could see her friends ahead of her. And then her foot caught on something, sending her to the ground. There was no way that she could make it to the underpass, she knew it.

There was only one option and that was to dig her fingers into the dirt as far as they would go. The winds howled around her, screaming like a freight train. She could feel it as each of her fingers broke, her screams of pain lost in the wind as the tornado passed over her. Meg heard it when Addy and Jeb were swept away, and, and-

“Meg, Meggy, Margaret!” Kate’s shouting snapped her out of it, bringing her back to reality. Meg launched herself at her friend, hugging her tight.

“I love you, I love you, I love you so much and I’m never lettin’ your stubborn ass go.” Kate hugged her back just as tight.

“I love you too, Mud Bug. So much,” Kate pulled back, brushing the hair out of Meg’s blue eyes. “But I’m going to need you to hug Tyler right now. Man looks like he’s going to have a heart attack.” Tyler. She whirled around and there he was, standing with his arms loose at his sides, tears in his eyes.

“Ty,” Meg threw herself at him, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso like a koala bear.

“You’re okay,” He buried his face in her neck, one hand supporting her by her thigh, the other carding its way through her tangled hair. “You’re alive.”

“You scared me so bad,” She whispered, tears flowing freely. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, you understand me?” Meg pulled back with a fierce look in her eye, daring Tyler to rationalize the situation but he didn’t. He just pressed his forehead against hers, whispering in a raspy voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Yes, ma’am.” 

They separated, climbing out of the pool. Lily and Ben met them at the top, doting over the trio like mother hens.

“No more rodeo for you, Doc,” Lily hugged her tightly.

“I’m glad you’re okay, you too, Ben,” Meg hugged the reporter who didn’t hesitate to return the gesture. 

“Seems like you’re a Wrangler now, Mud Bug,” Kate whispered, kissing Meg’s temple. “I’m happy for you.” 

“I’m whatever you are, Katie my Lady, always.” 

“Traumatized?” She sassed with a humorless laugh,

“Yeah, that too.” Meg felt Tyler behind her, his hand coming to rest on her hip, the warmth of his skin bleeding through her soaking clothes. Javi started yelling for Kate and Meg but Meg didn’t move from the Wrangles. Dani ran at her through the debris to sweep her into an air-stealing hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Doc.” 

“Thought I was goin’ to die again,” Meg’s breath shuddered, mind slipping again. Her fingers and wrist were on fire, burning with a pain she knew was completely in her mind but she couldn’t shake it. Not until Dani let her go and she inspected them for herself. 

Meg flexed her fingers, they were all at an acceptable angle and the right color. Definitely not broken. Next, she checked her wrist, poking at it, looking for any sign of swelling or tenderness but there was none to be found. 

“That one enough to scare you, Oklahoma?” Tyler’s tease fell flat, he turned her around by the waist so that they were face to face. Tyler was scared, Meg could see it in his green eyes and the way his bottom lip trembled, and besides the memories of the EF-5 haunting her, she could honestly say she wasn’t.

“Not scared of the tornado, Arkansas.” Meg shook her head. “Terrified of dyin’ or losin’ someone I cared about?” She felt so incredibly small and weak, like a child as she shook from her cold clothes. “Maybe a little.” She suddenly realized who wasn’t by her side anymore and felt dread constrict her head, mind going fuzzy. “Where’s Kate?” Tyler’s face softened, he turned her by the hips again and when Kate came into view she relaxed.

“Kate’s fine, she’s talking to Javi over there, see?” She did see and it was almost enough to make her smile. That is until she heard what Javi was yelling.

“I don’t know what it’s like, Kate? How about my friends died because you were chasing grant money for your stupid science project?”

“What the fuck did he just say?” Tyler sounded as angry as Meg felt. Kate ran off towards the decimated motel, Javi calling after her. Meg let out what could only be described as a growl as she took off across the lot to confront an old friend, wanting to wring his neck with her bare hands.

“Javier Ernesto Rivera, what the hell did you just say to her?” Javi had the good sense to look ashamed and the even better sense to put his hands up in defense before Meg started swinging on him.

“I’m sorry, Meg! I didn’t mean it like that, I just-”

“I don’t care how you meant it, you bastard! How could you say that to her?” Tyler was at her back, Meg could feel his presence, but he seemed content letting her fight this battle on her own.

“It’s just, we never would have been in the field that day if it weren’t for Kate. There, I said it.” Meg saw red, red hot rage flowing through her.

“How fucking dare you put that on her!” She kicked his shin, “She wasn’t the only one pushing for that storm so if you’re calling her a murderer then call me one too.” 

Javi’s face fell and so did his hands, letting Meg get a good slap in.

“You didn’t hear Addy, Jeb, and Parveen scream for their lives. You didn’t get your leg sliced open by debris,” She shoved his chest with each sentence. “You didn’t break all ten of your fingers and your wrist holding on for your life with a Goddamn EF-5 trying to kill you.” She swung with a closed fist but Tyler was quick, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides. “You lost your friends but you didn’t fucking watch them die. You have no right,” Meg suddenly hit a wall, losing all her steam. Her angry shouts turned into heart-wrenching sobs. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” She kept repeating the words.

“I’m sorry, Meg.” She barely heard Javi’s words over her own crying and didn’t bother to look up at him. Tyler caught her when her knees gave out, holding Meg tightly to his chest.

“How could he?” Meg sobbed, digging her fingers into his torn shirt. “T-Ty?” 

“I’m here, darlin’,” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m right here with you, what do you need?” 

“Get me outta here.” Tyler didn’t need to be told twice. He swept her into his arms, hustling through the debris until he got to the camper. Boone and Dexter had already begun setting up relief outside, shooting Meg worried glances that she responded to with watery smiles. 

“Let’s get you into something warm, Oklahoma.” He put her down on the small couch inside and she watched him dig through everyone’s bags before offering her a bundle of clothes. There wasn’t a bathroom in the camper so he turned his back while she quickly changed into what seemed to be his boxers, Dani’s sweats, and one of Boone’s flannels.

“You should change too, Ty, I’ll, um, cover my eyes.” Not long later, Tyler was sitting on the couch beside her, bringing her onto his lap in a hug. “I need to go after Kate.” Meg muttered into his shoulder, I don’t want her blamin’ herself.” 

“We’ll go first thing in the morning but darlin’, you need to sleep.” Meg wanted to argue but she knew he was right, exhaustion rolling over her as she had just pulled a 12-hour shift on the ambulance.

“I don’t wanna be alone right now, Ty.” Meg looked up at him, knowing her eyes were red and there was most definitely mud staining her cheeks, making her look like the creature from the lagoon, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care when Tyler was looking at her like she hung the moon and the stars in the sky. “Stay with me?” 

“For as long as you want me to,” Those words hung heavy in the air for a long minute before he cleared his throat. “We can sleep in the bed up top, come on.”

Tyler helped her up the ladder and waited for her to get settled in the mismatched mess of blankets and top sheets before joining. When Tyler climbed beneath the sheets, resting comfortably on his back, Meg curled into his side, resting her head on his chest. Neither of them said a word and Meg was glad, knowing if she said another word, she’d probably start crying again.

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86

Next Chapter

[writing-until-i-drop]

@djs8891 why thank you, thank you very much! They're all so fun to write, the banter comes naturally. Let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list!

What's In A Name? Chapter One

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

AO3 Link

Masterlist

“Well don’t you two look like a couple of city slickers,” Meg teased two of her oldest friends. Javi, who always preferred to be half dressed was in khakis and a wrinkle-free polo, and Kate, who had never been much of a fashionista, was in a turtleneck and a button-down despite the heat of an Oklahoma summer. Meg was dressed in comfortable jeans and an old New Orleans EMS shirt with the sleeves cut off, her style being the only one that apparently hadn’t changed since college. The only thing new about her were the tattoos covering both her arms and her back.

“You’ve spent too much time in Louisiana, your accent’s startin’ to go sour,” Kate teased, pulling her in for a tight hug. “I missed you Mud Bug.” 

“Bite me, Katie my Lady.” Addy had always called them two shades of the same color, a dynamic duo, who had been inseparable from the first day of freshman orientation until their friend’s funerals. It felt like slotting two puzzle pieces together standing side by side again.

“Don’t I get any love?” Javi asked, mock offense filling his voice. Kate and Meg shared a look before each pinching one of Javi’s cheeks, making him wince. “Okay, okay,”

“We missed you too, Jav.” 

“A little bit,” Kate patted him on the cheek. Javi pulled both of the women in for a quick hug before pushing them towards the truck.

“Are you two ready to work your weather magic for me? If I’ve only got you two for a week, I don’t want to waste a second of it.” 

“We’re going to need two sweet teas before we work any magic, Kate’s been in the city far too long.”

“Two sweet teas, coming up. Now get in, get in, we’ve got two cells forming and my team’s waiting for us.” Kate took the passenger seat and Meg climbed into the back, relaxing into the leather upholstery. Javi and Kate kept casual conversation but the tension between the three of them was palpable. Meg sighed, pain in her wrist sparking up, it never used to get this quiet. 

Meg wasn’t paying attention at all when Javi introduced her and Kate to the Storm PAR team, getting weird vibes off of them. They reminded her of how her parents described Jonas’ Nightcrawler team from back in the day. What brought her attention back was the sounds of cheering, loud country music, and honking. Kate looked confused but Meg couldn’t help but smile, it was the Tornado Wranglers. Her dad was obsessed with the channel, watching all of their live streams. Sometimes the old crew would gather at the house and watch the live streams together, cheering and booing like it was a football game.

“Hey, Storm PAR, we’re live on YouTube, say something.” Meg waved at the camera, grinning as she felt her phone buzz, probably her dad having caught sight of her. 

“Blow me,” One of the Storm PAR guys shouted and Scott admonished him. Meg rolled her eyes at their antics, were they grown men or schoolchildren?

“Come on now, guys, science is fun,” Boone shouted as they drove off. Kate’s brows were scrunched in confusion,

“Who are they?”

“Chasers out of Arkansas,” Javi answered at the same time as Scott, who with a lot more venom denounced the group as hillbillies with a YouTube Channel. Meg glanced over at where the red truck was now swarmed with chasers, smiling at the whole situation. Tyler Owens was leaning out of the truck, shouting his silly little catchphrase to get the crowd riled up. Meg glanced at her phone,

Dad: You’re in Oklahoma?!?

Meg: Only for a week

Dad: With Kate and Javi???

Meg: I’ll call you later and explain

Dad: Get me a mug!!

Meg rolled her eyes, she would most certainly not be buying her dad a Tornado Wrangler mug, especially not in front of the entire Storm PAR team that seemed to hate them. Tyler looked over, catching Meg’s eye and tipping his hat. Meg stuck her tongue out, laughing and hoping she got picked up on Boone’s wide shot so that her dad would see her.

“That’s Tyler Owens, he calls himself a tornado wrangler.” 

“What does that even mean?” Kate scoffed like she didn’t used to call herself a tornado tamer on a regular basis. 

“Mean’s our world is going to shit,” Javi sighed. “Alright, let’s figure out which storm we’re going after. Kate, Meg?” He passed them Scott’s tablet. “What do y’all think?” Kate took it, studying it while Meg left her side, going to the open grass where she could stare up at the sky. It didn’t take long for Kate to join her, abandoning the tablet in favor of a dandelion. Meg leaned down, scooping up a handful of dirt. Different shades, same color, doing the same thing in different ways.

“Old school, I like it,” A southern drawl filled with humor called out behind them. Kate turned to look but Meg couldn’t take her blue eyes off of the sky, feeling the instability of the atmosphere in her bones. The storms brewing were pulling her mind in different directions but they couldn’t chase both. She took one last look towards the east and it didn’t feel right, there was no tingling in her fingertips or twist in her gut. It wasn’t the right cell. “Where did you ladies come from?”

“New York,” Kate answered. Meg brushed the dirt off her hands, glancing to the west, the familiar sensations of her undeniable instinct confirming her decision on which way to go. “Mud Mug, mind your manners,” Kate chided, pulling her out of her head. The cowboy was giving both of them an appraising look at Meg and had to admit, he was handsome. Tall, broad-shouldered, obviously strong with the way his muscles filled out his flannel shirt. Maybe she would have to become a subscriber to his channel alongside her dad.

“Sorry, Sweetie Pie. Jav dragged me out here from New Orleans,” After five years, Meg spoke like a local, pronouncing the city with only one syllable. Kate chuckled, “Nice to meet you.” 

“Good to meet you ma’am. So, how are you liking working for Storm PAR?” There was something about the way he asked it that made Meg’s skin crawl like he was asking how she liked working for a sweatshop.

“Tyler!” A clean-cut British man with glasses came jogging up before Meg could question him. “Have you figured out which storm we’re going after?”

“Why don’t we ask-” He pointed between the women.

“Kate,”

“Meg.” Tyler grinned, eager for attention like a golden retriever. Meg smiled back, liking the feeling of his attention.

“I’m Tyler,” 

“And I’m Ben,” The man shook both their hands. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m a reporter here to do a piece on American storm chasing. Tyler here has been kind enough to let me tag along.” Tyler patted Ben on the chest, still grinning like an idiot. Meg wondered if his cheeks ever hurt from smiling so much.

“All Ben here had to do was promise to write nothing but good things.” Kate caught Meg’s eyes, looking towards the sky. Meg nodded curtly, letting her know she was on the same page.

“Well, good luck with that,” Kate sassed, pulling Meg away. “West?” Kate whispered,

“100%,” Meg confirmed.

“Now hold on,” Tyler called out, stopping them in their tracks. He had his hands on his hips, playing the role of the unserious cowboy to a T, but his green eyes were studying them like precipitation charts. “Y’all didn’t say which storm we should be going after. The way I see it, west we double our chances, to the east it’s high-risk, high reward.” Was he testing them? Or was he really that bad at chasing?

“You best go for the reward, Sweetie Pie,” Meg kind of hoped he knew she was trying to play him. Kate caught onto her game quickly, 

“Don’t want Ben here to think you’re boring,” Kate traced a W onto Meg’s back, confirming her gut feeling. Tyler licked his lips, looking between the two of them with a pensive expression.

“Being boring is never an issue with me, Kate.” Kate huffed with laughter, mumbling I bet under her breath.

“The two to the west are fighting over the same inflow, they’ll choke each other out. The one to the east has the sky all to herself. Precipitation, wind shear, instability, she’s got everything you need to give Ben here a good show.” Damn, she was laying it on thick. 

“Don’t you feel it in your bones, Tyler?” Meg teased, turning on her heel. After a few steps she looked over her shoulder to see him watching them with a small smile, “And if you feel it, well, you know.” 

Meg’s dad would be fangirling knowing that she had just had a full conversation with Tyler Owens and she knew that if Tyler found out whose daughter she was, he’d be doing some fangirling of his own. Kate excitedly got Javi into the truck, telling him which storm to chase and he didn’t even hesitate to throw all Scott’s data aside to listen to her. 

Meg’s heart was pounding with excitement, it felt a little bit like old times as she slid into the back seat of the truck. Out of the window she caught sight of Ben and Tyler watching them, Ben looked confused but Tyler on the other hand was smiling. He must have known they had been playing him, which made Meg all the more excited, he was fun and hopefully could take a joke. When he caught her eye as they drove past, Meg made the tornado motion with her fingers and blew a kiss, grinning from ear to ear when Tyler doubled over with laughter. 

“What’s so funny, Mud Bug?” 

“Nothing, nothing at all.”

Next Chapter

A/N: All three of the original tornado tamers needs a really long hug and a cup of hot cocoa. Meg's got her dad's instincts, her mom's need for adrenaline, and has probably made more progress on processing her emotions than Javi and Kate combined. Probably.

I don't plan on taking this story anywhere above a T rating but if there's interest, I might make a collection of post-canon one shots later on that include some smut. Who knows.

Taglist: @writtingrose

Let me know if you want to join the taglist!

[writing-until-i-drop]

What's In A Name? Chapter Four

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: If Meg was more of a religious person, she would have sworn she felt Jeb’s strength helping them pull Tyler to safety at just the right moment.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

It had been a good night until everything went to shit. Tyler had been trying to get Kate to open up and she had turned the tables on him, getting Tyler to spill the details of his first tornado. Meg had felt a second of uneasiness when Tyler had asked Kate about her first tornado, something that he had said he only asked pretty girls, but the second the wheels in her head started spinning, Tyler’s hand had fallen on her thigh. Even with his attention on Kate, Meg felt connected to him, butterflies in her stomach taking flight. 

Then the tornado decided to ruin the moment. Meg had a bone to pick with Mother Nature but first, she needed to survive. Tyler had a death grip on her hand and she was pulling Kate along, when they got to the motel lobby, she was livid.

“Nine times out of ten, it’s a false alarm,” The snobby girl in the chair announced like she knew everything. 

“Are you willing to bet your life on it?” She shouted, “Because there’s a tornado coming and we need to get underground. Now!” The siren stopped and while the woman felt vindicated, Meg’s stomach dropped, knowing that it only meant the storm was close. Too close. 

“Come on,” Kate shouted. 

“Follow her,” Tyler ordered, guiding the mom and daughter out of the door. “Run, Meg,” She hesitated, not wanting to leave his side. “Please, darlin’, run.” And she did, taking off, helping the mom and daughter across the road to the pool. She and Kate helped them into the pool, Meg pushed Kate down next, 

“Tyler!” She shouted, urging him to run faster, watching the winds take away the truck the couple from the lobby had climbed in.

“Get in the pool!” He shouted back, “Now, Meg!” Not wanting to lose sight of him but also not wanting to roll the dice against Mother Nature, Meg quickly descended the ladder. Kate was waiting for her, steadying her on her feet.

“Help the kid, Kate,” She pushed her friend towards the pipes. “Tyler!” Meg shouted for him again, getting a second of relief when he jumped down beside her.

“Stop worrying about me, darlin’, go,” He pushed her towards the pipes like she had to Kate. Meg rushed to the pipes, looping her arms around them and squatting as low as she could go beside Kate. She couldn’t breathe watching Tyler crawl across the bottom of the pool to get to the motel manager,

“Please come back, please come back.” Meg chanted, feeling Kate cry against her. “Please come back to me.” She screamed, seeing the horse trailer fly towards Tyler, leaning out as far as she could go without releasing her hold on the pipe, she screamed for Tyler to take her hand. Kate leaned out too, grabbing his wrist when Meg took his hand, the two girls pulled with all their might.

“You’re not going to lose him like I did,” Kate grunted and Meg wanted to cry. Jeb. If Meg was more of a religious person, she would have sworn she felt Jeb’s strength helping them pull Tyler to safety at just the right moment. Tyler wrapped his arms around them both, shielding them from the storm with his body but nothing could stop the sound of the tornado bearing down on them.

In Meg’s mind, she was back in the tornado from five years ago. She heard Parveen’s scream as he was swept away, she could see her friends ahead of her. And then her foot caught on something, sending her to the ground. There was no way that she could make it to the underpass, she knew it.

There was only one option and that was to dig her fingers into the dirt as far as they would go. The winds howled around her, screaming like a freight train. She could feel it as each of her fingers broke, her screams of pain lost in the wind as the tornado passed over her. Meg heard it when Addy and Jeb were swept away, and, and-

“Meg, Meggy, Margaret!” Kate’s shouting snapped her out of it, bringing her back to reality. Meg launched herself at her friend, hugging her tight.

“I love you, I love you, I love you so much and I’m never lettin’ your stubborn ass go.” Kate hugged her back just as tight.

“I love you too, Mud Bug. So much,” Kate pulled back, brushing the hair out of Meg’s blue eyes. “But I’m going to need you to hug Tyler right now. Man looks like he’s going to have a heart attack.” Tyler. She whirled around and there he was, standing with his arms loose at his sides, tears in his eyes.

“Ty,” Meg threw herself at him, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso like a koala bear.

“You’re okay,” He buried his face in her neck, one hand supporting her by her thigh, the other carding its way through her tangled hair. “You’re alive.”

“You scared me so bad,” She whispered, tears flowing freely. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, you understand me?” Meg pulled back with a fierce look in her eye, daring Tyler to rationalize the situation but he didn’t. He just pressed his forehead against hers, whispering in a raspy voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Yes, ma’am.” 

They separated, climbing out of the pool. Lily and Ben met them at the top, doting over the trio like mother hens.

“No more rodeo for you, Doc,” Lily hugged her tightly.

“I’m glad you’re okay, you too, Ben,” Meg hugged the reporter who didn’t hesitate to return the gesture. 

“Seems like you’re a Wrangler now, Mud Bug,” Kate whispered, kissing Meg’s temple. “I’m happy for you.” 

“I’m whatever you are, Katie my Lady, always.” 

“Traumatized?” She sassed with a humorless laugh,

“Yeah, that too.” Meg felt Tyler behind her, his hand coming to rest on her hip, the warmth of his skin bleeding through her soaking clothes. Javi started yelling for Kate and Meg but Meg didn’t move from the Wrangles. Dani ran at her through the debris to sweep her into an air-stealing hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Doc.” 

“Thought I was goin’ to die again,” Meg’s breath shuddered, mind slipping again. Her fingers and wrist were on fire, burning with a pain she knew was completely in her mind but she couldn’t shake it. Not until Dani let her go and she inspected them for herself. 

Meg flexed her fingers, they were all at an acceptable angle and the right color. Definitely not broken. Next, she checked her wrist, poking at it, looking for any sign of swelling or tenderness but there was none to be found. 

“That one enough to scare you, Oklahoma?” Tyler’s tease fell flat, he turned her around by the waist so that they were face to face. Tyler was scared, Meg could see it in his green eyes and the way his bottom lip trembled, and besides the memories of the EF-5 haunting her, she could honestly say she wasn’t.

“Not scared of the tornado, Arkansas.” Meg shook her head. “Terrified of dyin’ or losin’ someone I cared about?” She felt so incredibly small and weak, like a child as she shook from her cold clothes. “Maybe a little.” She suddenly realized who wasn’t by her side anymore and felt dread constrict her head, mind going fuzzy. “Where’s Kate?” Tyler’s face softened, he turned her by the hips again and when Kate came into view she relaxed.

“Kate’s fine, she’s talking to Javi over there, see?” She did see and it was almost enough to make her smile. That is until she heard what Javi was yelling.

“I don’t know what it’s like, Kate? How about my friends died because you were chasing grant money for your stupid science project?”

“What the fuck did he just say?” Tyler sounded as angry as Meg felt. Kate ran off towards the decimated motel, Javi calling after her. Meg let out what could only be described as a growl as she took off across the lot to confront an old friend, wanting to wring his neck with her bare hands.

“Javier Ernesto Rivera, what the hell did you just say to her?” Javi had the good sense to look ashamed and the even better sense to put his hands up in defense before Meg started swinging on him.

“I’m sorry, Meg! I didn’t mean it like that, I just-”

“I don’t care how you meant it, you bastard! How could you say that to her?” Tyler was at her back, Meg could feel his presence, but he seemed content letting her fight this battle on her own.

“It’s just, we never would have been in the field that day if it weren’t for Kate. There, I said it.” Meg saw red, red hot rage flowing through her.

“How fucking dare you put that on her!” She kicked his shin, “She wasn’t the only one pushing for that storm so if you’re calling her a murderer then call me one too.” 

Javi’s face fell and so did his hands, letting Meg get a good slap in.

“You didn’t hear Addy, Jeb, and Parveen scream for their lives. You didn’t get your leg sliced open by debris,” She shoved his chest with each sentence. “You didn’t break all ten of your fingers and your wrist holding on for your life with a Goddamn EF-5 trying to kill you.” She swung with a closed fist but Tyler was quick, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides. “You lost your friends but you didn’t fucking watch them die. You have no right,” Meg suddenly hit a wall, losing all her steam. Her angry shouts turned into heart-wrenching sobs. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” She kept repeating the words.

“I’m sorry, Meg.” She barely heard Javi’s words over her own crying and didn’t bother to look up at him. Tyler caught her when her knees gave out, holding Meg tightly to his chest.

“How could he?” Meg sobbed, digging her fingers into his torn shirt. “T-Ty?” 

“I’m here, darlin’,” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m right here with you, what do you need?” 

“Get me outta here.” Tyler didn’t need to be told twice. He swept her into his arms, hustling through the debris until he got to the camper. Boone and Dexter had already begun setting up relief outside, shooting Meg worried glances that she responded to with watery smiles. 

“Let’s get you into something warm, Oklahoma.” He put her down on the small couch inside and she watched him dig through everyone’s bags before offering her a bundle of clothes. There wasn’t a bathroom in the camper so he turned his back while she quickly changed into what seemed to be his boxers, Dani’s sweats, and one of Boone’s flannels.

“You should change too, Ty, I’ll, um, cover my eyes.” Not long later, Tyler was sitting on the couch beside her, bringing her onto his lap in a hug. “I need to go after Kate.” Meg muttered into his shoulder, I don’t want her blamin’ herself.” 

“We’ll go first thing in the morning but darlin’, you need to sleep.” Meg wanted to argue but she knew he was right, exhaustion rolling over her as she had just pulled a 12-hour shift on the ambulance.

“I don’t wanna be alone right now, Ty.” Meg looked up at him, knowing her eyes were red and there was most definitely mud staining her cheeks, making her look like the creature from the lagoon, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care when Tyler was looking at her like she hung the moon and the stars in the sky. “Stay with me?” 

“For as long as you want me to,” Those words hung heavy in the air for a long minute before he cleared his throat. “We can sleep in the bed up top, come on.”

Tyler helped her up the ladder and waited for her to get settled in the mismatched mess of blankets and top sheets before joining. When Tyler climbed beneath the sheets, resting comfortably on his back, Meg curled into his side, resting her head on his chest. Neither of them said a word and Meg was glad, knowing if she said another word, she’d probably start crying again.

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86

Next Chapter