CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE #2
We move down the aisle and quickly locate a beautiful golden star and a cream-colored tree skirt with the twelve days of Christmas items embroidered on it and pay for them.
Dashing to the truck, JJ yanks the door open for me just as a drizzle begins.
I scoot in, and he jogs around the hood and climbs behind the wheel.
“Good thing we didn’t take the motorcycle,” I tease as he turns the ignition.
“Yeah.” JJ glances up at the darkening sky. “I thought we'd better not risk it. Besides, where would we have stored the boatload of ornaments you bought?”
“So funny.”
JJ stays just ahead of the storm and, pulling up to the cabin, we hurriedly unload the packages.
He dashes up the steps to unlock the door while I gather up the shopping bags. Rain pelts down.
As I approach the stairs, I notice a little gift bag sitting on the porch. “What’s that?”
“Dunno,” he replies.
I pick it up, and a tag dangles from one of the handles with my name scrawled across it.
Inside the bag is a little black lab ornament. “Oh, it’s so cute. Just like Buddy. Who do you think left it?”
“Must have a secret admirer.” JJ slides past me to carry the bags inside.
“Maybe it’s from Miles from Silver Bells Ornaments?”
It’s the first ornament I place on the tree.
We finish putting up the rest of the ornaments, and JJ ties the tree skirt around the base of the tree. I climb on the stepstool and attach the star to the top. Then we step back to admire our work.
“You did good,” JJ compliments me.
“It does look nice.” I smile at the twinkling lights and the beautiful ornaments adorning it.
Thunder rumbles in the distance, knocking me out of my thoughts.
Not long after, the rain becomes a downpour, and lightning illuminates the sky like a light show.
“Wow, that moved in fast.” I stand at the window watching the trees sway in the wind.
“Yeah, good thing we didn’t have to drive in this.”
The lights flicker, and I glance at JJ.
“Let’s get some flashlights and candles together just in case,” he suggests.
The lights flicker a few more times as we eat dinner.
Just as I’m carrying the dishes to the sink, the power goes out.
JJ lights a few candles, and we carry them into the living room.
“I wonder if the town has lost power, too.” I watch as lightning breaks across the sky with a crackle.
“With this wind,” he watches our trees swaying under its force, “I’d say so.”
A loud boom has me jumping. “That sounded close.”
“Yeah, it did.” JJ scans the outside trying to see through the rain.
“I hope it passes soon.” I pull my phone out and swipe to the weather app to check the radar. “It doesn’t look like it will.” I hold my phone up for him to see.
My eyes flick over his shoulder. “What’s that glow? Is that a fire?”
Orange light seems to dance through the haze of rain.
“Shit, call 911.” JJ runs to grab his jacket.
“What are you going to do?” I ask, punching in the number.
“See if I can do anything.” With that, he’s through the door and bounding down the steps, Buddy at his heels.
“911, what’s the location of your emergency?”
“Holly Jolly Christmas Tree Farms,” I spew off the address.
“What’s your emergency?”
“There’s a fire.” I glance out the window, and the flames are now visible through the rain. “It’s pretty big. I think a lightning strike started it.” I run to the kitchen and grab a large bucket to fill with water.
“All right, ma’am. I’m sending the fire department. But I’m going to warn you, there are a lot of trees and power lines down. It may take them a little time to get to you.”
“Great.” I disconnect and move as fast as I can, carrying one of those large five-gallon buckets from Wilson’s Hardware.
JJ is spraying the trees with water from the hose.
“I can’t get it to stretch any farther,” he shouts over the wind.
I glance at the fire and see at least five trees ablaze. Even with the rain, I don’t think it has a chance of extinguishing them.
“Use this bucket. I think we have another. I’ll go grab it, and we can try to refill as fast as we can.”
“What about the fire department?” JJ yells, taking the bucket from me.
“Trees and power lines are down. We’re on our own until they can get to us.” I shout over my shoulder.
Soon we’ve got a system going. I fill the bucket, and he takes it to dose the trees, but it’s hard to keep up with the wind, and the blasted rain has eased to a drizzle, so we’re not getting much help there.
I can tell JJ is exhausted. His steps slow with each return trip.
Not to mention carrying a five-gallon bucket full of water is not light.
I carry one bucket until JJ meets me. Then sprint back to the hose with the empty. It’s heart-wrenching to watch our business going up in flames.
Both of us are now soaking wet, and then the rain turns to a pelting hail.
Just when I think neither of us has the energy to keep going, I hear the sirens cresting over the ridge. Thank God, they made it to us.
The fire department gets the rest of the flames extinguished in about fifteen minutes.
JJ and I stand under the porch roof and watch, knowing there’s nothing else we can do now.
He puts his arm around me and gives me a squeeze.
I feel like crying, but try to stay strong.
After talking to the fire chief and watching them pull out, we head inside.
“We should get out of these wet clothes before we get sick,” JJ murmurs.
“Yes.” I move to the bedroom and strip out of my soggy clothes, hearing him trudge up the steps.
When I return to the living room, JJ has his sweats on and a new dry thermal shirt. He stands with a blanket ready for me.
“I thought about starting a fire, but I figured we both had enough of that already.”
“Definitely,” I chuckle, but it comes out sounding hollow. “JJ, what are we going to do?”
“Tonight, we’re going to warm up, get some rest, and wait for the storm to pass. Tomorrow, we’ll assess the damage and figure out what needs to be done.”
I cuddle against him, and his arms wrap around me. I’m so thankful he’s here with me. Just his presence gives me strength.