HOLY SMOKES

nine. ally

It had been a week. An amazing week, if you asked Boone or Magnolia.

They were seemingly inseparable, so much so that everyone that watched the Tornado Wranglers were certain that they were together. It didn’t help that she had been wearing his bandanas everyday, little did the internet know that it was to cover up the hickies Boone couldn’t seem to stop leaving on her soft skin. He was a little careful with his placement, though.

And they had gone on a date, which turned into a group thing about halfway through when the rest of the crew had stumbled into the bar they were at. But they didn’t stop their date, they danced most of the night, their arms around each other as they talked and laughed. And Boone had nearly fainted when she turned and swung her hips to the beat against him.

He swore his brain stopped functioning for a moment, then he shook away the haze and placed his hands on her hips as he moved with her.

And Dani made sure to film all of it – claiming it was for their wedding.

But while they had spent their few off days goofing off, they spent most of their days chasing. Magnolia was becoming a regular face among the fans, so much so she had been stopped a few times and two guys had even asked for her autograph.

She met with her team every morning, and the new volunteers were more than happy to get to work. They had cleaned up two towns, even raising enough money to put most of the people that lived there up in hotels for a while. A chunk of the money they had raised would go towards rebuilding, which would pick up after tornado season.

And because of their work, Magnolia had unknowingly pissed off Marshall Riggs, and as an extension Scott and Javi – who she had met once at a gas station. Still, all she knew were their names and that Boone didn’t like them all that much.

It had been a pretty calm week, though. No towns had been hit, which was shocking but it was a relief. People were safe and their homes weren’t being ripped apart. It also gave them enough time to get what towns had been hit before cleaned up.

But that all changed when a massive tornado hit a nearby town.

It was chaos. Pure chaos.

Houses had been torn apart, cars flipped over or crushed. Trees had been pulled out of the ground. Pieces of houses were everywhere, there was a bent trampoline in someone’s pool. A camper had been flipped over on its top. And so much worse.

Boone made sure he could see Magnolia at all times as they helped in any way they could. Dani and Dexter were handing out warm food and water, Lily was making sure people got to the ambulances to get checked over. Tyler and Boone were digging for any salvageable sentimental belongings they could return to families.

Magnolia had jumped right into the role of a leader, she had her team spread out all over the place. Some were handing out food, making sure everyone got something. Some were helping those that had lost loved ones or pets look for them. Hunter had a camera going, documenting all the work they were doing.

It bugged Boone that his camera was aimed at Magnolia more than it was anyone else, but he knew that it wasn’t the time or the place to go off on him. So he bit his tongue and continued digging through the debris.

Magnolia groaned a little as she moved a piece of wood, her worn out work gloves did little to protect her hands from splinters, but she didn’t care. She cared even less when she saw a little girl laying in the rubble. The way a tree had fallen, it had made a sort of shelter and the kid was curled up into a ball as she cried.

“Hey,” she spoke softly, taking careful steps towards the girl so she didn’t fall. “Are you hurt?” The girl sat up, wiping her dirt covered cheeks as she shook her head. She couldn’t have been more than four or five. “My name is Magnolia,” she squatted down in front of her. “I can help you, if you’ll let me.”

The girl shifted onto her hands and knees then crawled towards her, once she was close enough Magnolia scooped her up. The girl wrapped her arms around her neck tightly, her face tucked into her shoulder. “I got you.” She mumbled softly as she stood up, keeping her arms tight around her.

“Want my mommy.”

“I know, sweetie, we’re gonna find her.” She rubbed her back, watching her feet as she stepped over the rubble and once she was on solid ground she made her way towards the closest ambulance. “Can you tell me your name?”

“A-Ally.”

“Okay, Ally, there’s a doctor here. She’s gonna look you over real quick, just to make sure you’re okay. Then we’re gonna get you some food, alright?”

“O-okay.” She nodded.

“Can you sit her down for me?” The EMT asked, her voice soft as not to scare the kid.

Magnolia shifted Ally in her arms before sitting her down in the back of the ambulance, then she sat next to her. Ally even grabbed her hand as the EMT checked for any injuries, which she’d had very little of. Just a few scrapes and a bruise or two.

And as promised, Magnolia got her some food from Dani and Dexter. Then with the kid wrapped in her arms she started the search for Ally’s parents. Boone watched as she made jokes, trying to make the kid smile the longer it took to find her parents. He couldn’t help but smile at her, then he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. One just for him, one that would never see social media.

“Hi, excuse me,” Magnolia managed a smile, still holding the kid on her hip as she interrupted whatever conversation Scott was having with an older woman.

“We’re in the middle of something here,” he told her, his tone flat.

“Yeah, well, so am I,” she told him before turning towards the woman. “Sorry, again, ma’am, but do you by chance know her parents?” She turned a little so the woman could see Ally’s face, who had her head in Magnolia's shoulder as she toyed with her braids.

“Ally? Yes, yes I do.” The woman nodded, her eyes wide. “They’ve been looking for her all day. I can take you to ‘em,” she waved her along as she turned, forgetting all about Scott.

“She’s really starting to get on my nerves.” Scott muttered to himself, glaring at the back of Magnolia’s head before he turned around – he was really annoyed that he was having to deal with her while Javi was gone.

She'd been an absolute pain in his ass for the last week and she didn’t even know it.

“Hey, Boone,” Tyler got his attention and he turned, only for Tyler to point towards where Magnolia stood. She had her arms wrapped around a woman who was crying and just off to the side, a man stood with the kid in his arms as he kissed her face over and over again.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” Ally’s mother sobbed as she held onto the blonde. “I don’t know how we’ll ever repay you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” she told her, rubbing her back.

“You brought our daughter back to us.” The man told her. “Thank you just isn’t enough.”

“It is,” she told him as she pulled back from the sobbing woman, who then turned and pulled the little girl into her arms. “This is more than enough, I promise.”

“Wha-what's your name?” The woman’s bottom lip shook a little as she held Ally close to her chest.

“Magnolia,” Ally answered, her voice small.

“My friends call me Maggie,” she smiled at the kid, reaching out to smooth her hair down.

“Thank you, Maggie. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she nodded. “Do y’all have a place to go? Friends or family you could stay with?”

“We’re new in town, haven’t even been here a couple months.”

“Okay, um, y’all can come with me. I have a room at a motel a couple towns over.”

“Oh, we couldn’t possibly put you out.” The woman shook her head. “You’ve done so much already.”

“You’re not putting me out, I promise.” She gave them a warm smile. “Come on, I just got a few things to do, then we can go. Y’all can shower and get some rest.”

“Thank you, seriously. We can’t say it enough.” The man told her and she smiled before leading them towards Dexter and Dani to get some food before she showed them to her car.

Once they were in the backseat and wrapped in blankets she always kept in her Bronco, Magnolia made her way towards the others.

“Hey, baby,” she called out and Boone made his way towards her, his hands landing on her hips as his eyes scanned her for any injuries.

“You okay?”

She smiled up at him, “yeah, I’m alright. But I’m gonna head out. Got a family that needs a place to stay, told ‘em they could have my room at the motel.”

“Always knew you were an angel.” He mumbled, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen out of her braids behind her ear.

“Just doin’ what I can,” she shrugged.

He shook his head before kissing her forehead, “don’t pretend you ain’t doin’ more than most people would.”

She just smiled up at him, stretching up onto her toes to press a kiss to his cheek, “you’re sweet.”

“Always for you.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, dragging her fingertips delicately up his arms, “So, I was hoping I could bunk with you.”

“‘Course you can, angel,” he nodded. “Now you go, I’ll tell everyone else you’re headed out.”

“Thank you,” she hummed and he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before he let her go. He pulled out his wallet and gave her the key to the room, then she made her way back towards her car, only stopping long enough to let Hunter know she was leaving.

>>>>> • <<<<<

Boone smiled when he opened the door of his room, Magnolia was tucked under the covers with Rusty tucked into her chest. He closed the door softly, then made his way over to the bed before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

A sleepy smile tugged at her lips as she reached her hand out and wrapped her fingers around his, “hey, baby.”

Hey, angel.”

“Come to bed, ‘m cold.”

He chuckled softly, kissing her forehead again, “just gotta shower first.” She groaned a little in protest, bringing a smile to his lips. “I’ll be real quick, promise.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, tucking her arm back under the blanket and he loved that she was wearing one of his tie-dye t-shirts. He kissed her cheek before he stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

As promised, he showered faster than he ever had before then he climbed into bed. She rolled towards him, snuggling into his chest as he pulled the cover up over them. He smiled as she pulled her leg up over his, her entire body pressed against him.

“I love you,” she mumbled, half-asleep as she drifted off and his heart exploded. It had been ten years since he heard those words, well, from her at least. It wasn’t rare that a fan would shout it out every now and then. But it sounded so much better falling from her lips, he closed his eyes and savored those three words. His favorite three words in the entire world, at least when they were strung together and leaving her lips.

“I love you, Magnolia,” he whispered even though she was already snoring softly. “Always have.”