Book 26 Hurricane After Dark #8
“There’s nothing terrible about getting to sleep with you.” He gives her hand a gentle tug. “Lead the way.”
Kelsey gets under the covers and turns to face him.
“Hey there, what’s up?”
“There’s a boy in my bed.”
“Scandal.”
The building creaks and groans as the wind beats against it.
Kelsey glances up at the ceiling. Had that water spot been there before? She isn’t certain. “Storms freak me out. They always have.”
“I’m here to keep you safe.”
She looks over at him. “I’m so glad you’re here, and not just because I was scared of the storm.”
“I’m glad to be here, too. This is much better than sleeping alone.”
As she holds on tight to him, the hurricane-force winds intensify.
Safe in the embrace of her love, the storm might have been a million miles away for all she cares about it.
They make love for the first time, declare their love for each other and get engaged.
It’s the most magical night of their lives.
The full strength of Hurricane Ethel roars ashore on Gansett Island at two ten in the morning, with sustained winds topping one hundred miles per hour.
More than three inches of rain fall in the first hour, and the storm surge brings the ocean inland, flooding many of the lower-lying streets, including Ocean Avenue.
Despite being exhausted from a relentless week, Blaine is awake, listening to the intensifying storm while Tiffany and the girls sleep through it.
A loud crash outside has him sitting up and then bolting out of bed to investigate.
He flips on the floodlights that illuminate the backyard and sees that a tree has come down on Tiffany’s red VW Bug, crushing it.
That will break her heart. She loves that silly little car.
“What is it?” she asks from behind him.
“Your car just met a tree.”
“No! Not my Bug!”
“I’m so sorry, love. We’ll get you a new one.”
“I hate this storm!”
Blaine puts his arms around her. “A car is replaceable.”
“I know, but I’m still allowed to be pissed at Ethel for squishing my Bug.”
“Yes, you are. Let’s go back to bed for a bit.”
The slow-moving storm hammers the island relentlessly, flooding roads as the wind downs trees and power lines, sometimes both at the same time. Power is out to the entire island.
Big Mac is standing at the door to the deck at six o’clock that morning when he receives a call from a neighbor.
“Mac, your barn next to the hotel collapsed in the storm.”
His first thought is for Kelsey, their current tenant and Mac and Maddie’s nanny. He can’t see that building from his vantage point. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“You got people living there?”
“I do.”
“I’ll be out to help.”
Big Mac calls the fire department to report that the building has fallen with a tenant inside and then runs upstairs to get dressed.
“What’s wrong?” Linda asks.
“The barn collapsed.”
“Oh, my God! Kelsey!”
“I’m on my way, and so’s the fire department.”
“Call Mac, too. He’ll want to help.”
“I’ll call him from the truck.” Mac gives his wife a quick kiss. “Try to get a little more rest before the babies are up.”
“I won’t rest until I know Kelsey is okay.”
Big Mac moves a large tree branch that has fallen across his driveway and gets in the truck to call his son.
“What’s up?” Mac asks, sounding sleepy.
“The barn collapsed.”
“Kelsey.”
“I’m on my way, and I called the fire department.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Big Mac is soaked in seconds as he runs toward the pile of rubble where the barn used to be. Kelsey’s car is parked outside, as is a pickup truck Big Mac doesn’t recognize.
“Kelsey!”
He can’t hear much over the storm as he starts pulling at pieces of wood. “Kelsey!”
In the lingering darkness, it’s hard to see much beyond the pile of debris.
Mac arrives a few minutes later, running across the yard behind the hotel. “Anything?” he asks Big Mac, who shakes his head.
“I doubt the fire department will be able to get here,” Mac says. “The roads are nearly impassable.”
Big Mac’s heart sinks at realizing he and Mac are probably Kelsey’s only hope.
“That’s Jeff Lawry’s truck,” Mac tells his father.
“Aw, God, are they both in there?”
“Probably,” Mac says, his expression grim.
“I wish she’d come to stay at the house,” Big Mac says as he helps Mac move a huge piece of splintered wood.
“Maddie tried to get her to stay with us, too.”
Mason Johns and his firefighters come running toward them. “Couldn’t get the trucks here, so we came on foot.”
“Thanks for coming,” Big Mac says. “We believe there are two people inside.”
“Let’s get them out,” Mason says.
Kelsey thinks she hears voices but can’t be sure. The storm is so loud, and the ringing in her ears is even louder. They’d had about two seconds’ warning that the building was coming down, and Jeff dove on top of her, taking the full brunt of the collapse. He’s unconscious and bleeding.
She can feel his blood dripping on her. “Jeff, please… Wake up.”
Her right arm is pinned, so she uses her left arm to caress his hair, hoping to get a reaction from him. The only thing she can tell for certain is that he’s still breathing, but slowly—very, very slowly.
“Kelsey!”
She turns her head toward Mac’s voice. “Here! We’re over here! Mac! Help!”
“We’re coming. Just stay strong.”
“You can’t die on me, Jeff Lawry. I need you too much. I love you. Please, don’t leave me.”
She loses track of time while she waits and hopes and prays for herself and Jeff, but mostly for him. They had such a beautiful night together, the most beautiful night of her life, and it’s just the start for them.
It can’t be the end.
It just can’t.
“I’m not sure if you can hear me,” she says with tears rolling down her face, “but if you can, I want you to remember that I love you. We’re getting married. We’re going to do everything together. But you have to stay with me. I need you to stay with me. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
If, God forbid, he dies, she wants those to be the last words he hears.
They rescue Jeff and Kelsey from the rubble.
Jeff is unconscious and transported by ambulance to the clinic.
Kelsey is transported in the back of Big Mac’s truck.
Her arm hurts, and she starts shivering.
Mac and two of the paramedics get in the back with her, using their coats to shield her face from the rain as Big Mac races toward town.
Blaine gets the call about the collapse of the McCarthys’ barn and goes to the Public Safety Building to provide coverage while the fire department works the scene.
He’s barely had time to pour a cup of coffee when Duke Sullivan comes in, looking terrified. He has colorful ink that stops right below his jawline, long dark blond hair, brown eyes and a goatee.
“What’s up, Duke?”
“There was a woman and baby next door to me. I went over to check on them, and they’re gone. She was there yesterday after the ferries stopped running, and now she’s gone. They’re gone.”
“They’re at my house.”
“What?”
“I picked them up last night. The roof blew off, and she was afraid, so she decided to walk into town.”
“In a hurricane?” Duke asks, incredulous. “With a baby?”
“She had no TV, and her cell phone had died. She didn’t know a storm was coming until it was here.”
“Oh, um… Tell her if she needs anything, I’m next door.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Did you, um, catch her name?”
“McKenzie, and the baby is Jax.”
“Thank you.”
“Thanks for coming in, Duke.”
“No problem.”
Owen gets a call from Daisy Lawrence, letting him know his brother, Jeff, has been brought to the clinic in critical condition. David asked her to notify Jeff’s family.
“I’ll be right there,” Owen says, wondering how Jeff had gotten critically injured.
“What is it?” Laura asks.
“Jeff got hurt somehow. He’s in the clinic. They said…”
She crosses the room to him. “What did they say?”
“He’s in critical condition.”
“What happened?”
“Daisy didn’t say. She just said David asked her to call me.”
“You need to tell the others.”
“Yeah, right. Okay.”
Laura takes his phone from him.
“Don’t tell my mom. Not yet.” They’re having a great time in Italy, and there’s nothing they can do from there but worry.
“I won’t.”
While he stands over her shoulder watching, she texts Julia, Katie, Cindy, John and Josh, letting them know Jeff has been injured and Owen is heading to the clinic to check on him.
“Should we tell Steph, too?” As the Lawry’s stepsibling, she had become part of their family since Sarah married Charlie.
“Yes, of course,” Owen says. “Thank you.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Laura says after she texts Stephanie and hands his phone back to him. “He’s young and strong.”
Owen nods, but his heart is in his throat.
“Call me if you need anything.” She kisses him. “Go to your brother. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” He has the time it takes to walk to the clinic to get himself together to be strong for his siblings, who always turn to him for guidance in times like this.
Mac is the first person he sees at the clinic. He looks rough and has a nasty cut on his face. “What are you hearing?” Owen asks.
“Nothing yet.” Mac runs his hands through soaking-wet hair. “We just got them here a few minutes ago.”
“What happened?”
“They were at Kelsey’s place in the barn, and it collapsed. Took us an hour and a half to get to them. A beam had come down on top of them.”
“Oh, my God,” Owen says on a long exhale. “Were they conscious?”
“Kelsey was.”
The implications hit Owen like a ton of bricks. He doesn’t know what to do with himself as he processes the information, feeling helpless to do anything for his youngest sibling.
Julia and Katie come running into the clinic and hug Owen.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Katie says over her shoulder as she heads for the double doors that lead to the exam rooms. She works as a nurse practitioner at the clinic.
Cindy arrives with Jace, Johnny with Niall, and their stepsister, Stephanie, and her husband, Grant. Josh calls, asking for an update Owen doesn’t have. “I’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything. We’re not telling Mom for now.”
“If it’s bad,” Josh says, “get her home.”
“I will.”