Chapter Fourteen
For a long moment, Tug simply stood there, unable to tear his gaze from the destruction scattered across the dunes where the diner had once thrived. He couldn’t manage a step, unable to walk given the heaviness of his heart.
A warm tear traced his cheek, followed by another.
Emotions churned inside him like a storm raging in his own heart—grief, anger, despair. Forty years of memories, of hard work and dedication, reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.
The sign, proudly displaying Tug’s Diner to the world, was the only part that had remained intact. The smell of home cooking would no longer fill the air here.
The right side, the dirty side of the storm—that was the wrong side to be on. He’d had a feeling that’s where they were in the scheme of things, but no one on the weather channel, for all the hype and excitement, had said that outright.
Hurricane Edwina was barely a Category 1 by the time she straddled Whelk’s Island, but the backside of that storm had leveled her power all right here, and the heavy rains swept things away as quickly as she could loosen them.
Paul walked over and stood beside him. “Thank goodness you weren’t in the building.”
Tug would’ve at least shrugged, but a lifetime of work gone without a kiss goodbye burdened his slumped shoulders.
He’d thought about retirement a hundred times over the last ten years. It was supposed to be his choice, but now the decision had been made for him.
No, he couldn’t have prevented it from happening, and yes, he probably would’ve been washed out to sea if he’d been here.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, Tug trudged forward, stepping over pots, boards, and siding toward his sign.
He rested his hand on it to steady himself, then looked toward the pier, which had its own troubles. Approximately one-third of the end was completely missing, and the beach entrance was too.
He’d always felt like this location was perfect, being up on the dune.
But there was no taming an angry ocean.
Bright blue and white boards mingled and collided under the pier.
“Which came first?” Paul said. “The diner or the pier?”
“The pier was here first. I fished off that pier as a boy. Caught my first flounder there. Dad and I carved a B in the bench we used to fish from.”
He clutched his chest.
“You okay?” Paul put a hand on his back. “Tug?”
Jason ran over. “Do we need a medic?”
Tug shook it off. “No. I just need a minute.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded.
“We’ll rebuild, Tug. I’ll help. It’s okay—this is all just stuff. We’re safe. That is the most important thing.”
Tug bit down, hoping to temper the anger and sadness swelling inside him. He knew Paul was trying to help, and he knew it was material, but this was his life. His whole life, and it was gone.
“I didn’t expect this.” Tug turned his back to them, trying to keep his emotions in check. “I had a feeling. This afternoon, I just kind of knew something was wrong. After seeing the damage to The Tackle Box.”
“I didn’t expect this either.”
Tug moved forward.
“Careful,” Paul said. “You’re not in the right shoes for this. We don’t want any injuries.”
But Tug didn’t care about that. He was numb. He picked his way through the debris, memories flooding back to him with every step—the countless hours spent behind the counter, the laughter of loyal customers, the camaraderie shared with his employees. It was all gone now, down to the special keepsakes that had once hung on the walls—lost to the fury of the storm.
The freezer stood in one piece behind the cement-block walls.
“I don’t even know if anything in there will be salvageable,” Tug said, pointing to the freezer. “But it looks like the equipment room is standing. We should check while the food is still good.”
“We will,” Paul said. “We’ll figure it all out.”
The road ahead would be long and uncertain.
Tug squared his shoulders. “I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to start all over, Paul.”
“You don’t have to figure anything out right now. But I’m here to help…”
Tug turned and walked to the Jeep, passing Jason.
Paul gave him some space, and Tug appreciated that. He broke down, but only for a moment, or else he might never snap out of it.
First Maeve. Now this? Why would You take everything from me?
Tug stood between the door and the back seat.
“It’s overwhelming. I get it.” Paul’s voice came from behind him.
Tug nodded. “Nothing we can do here that can’t wait.”
Jason climbed behind the wheel. “Want me to take you back? Chief said I could take you down to check on your house.”
“Yeah, let’s see the house. Do you know where it is?” Tug could read the thoughts running through Paul’s mind.
“Chief told me how to get there. I think I know the place.”
Jason started the engine and drove up the road.
“Can we check on Fisher on the way? I’m worried about him. The Tackle Box has a ton of damage.”
“Absolutely,” Jason said. “Where’s he live?”
Tug leaned over the seat, pointing out the way. The water was still high in some areas over here, but the Jeep trucked right through it, sending up wild rooster tails of water behind them.
“Turn here,” Tug said.
Jason had to stop where one of the sand fences had pulled from its place along the dunes and lay blocking the road. Paul jumped out and helped Jason pull it back so they could get by.
“It’s the third little bungalow up here on the right.”
“There’s a lot of water back here,” Jason stated.
“That one.” The water was up about a foot above the front door, splashing against the house from the wake the Jeep had pushed its way.
Jason whistled through his teeth. “Tree down.”
A tall pine lay across the front of the house, right through the roof. It was at a precarious angle, almost like a ramp from the root ball to the top.
Paul pointed. “His bicycle is here. He rides it everywhere.”
“He’s got to be in there.”
Jason hit the siren.
Paul grabbed the handle. “I’ll go check out the house.”
“I’m coming too,” Tug said.
“Let me check first,” Paul said. “No sense in everyone getting wet if he’s not even here.” He dropped to the ground, the water up to his knees, but as he walked toward the house, it was deeper. He cupped his hands over his mouth. “Fisher?”
Paul stood still, listening for a reply. He took a few steps and then stopped and called out Fisher’s name again.
“I heard something,” Tug said.
“Fisher? I’m coming. Are you in there?” Paul lifted his knees and high-stepped to the house. “He’s in here!” he called back to the Jeep.
Jason turned to Tug. “Radio is right here. You sit tight. I’m going to help Paul. We may need you to call for help.”
“Got it.”
Jason raced through the water, and Tug sat watching as he and Paul tried to get the door open. But the way the tree had fallen, the door wouldn’t budge. They seemed to be talking to Fisher from the outside, but Tug couldn’t make out anything from where he sat.
Paul and Jason sloshed through the water toward the back of the house.
It felt like a long time with nothing happening, and Tug’s mind raced. Should he call for help? He glanced at the clock, making a note of the time. He’d give them four minutes to shout or show up.
“We got him!” Paul shouted. Tug let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Jason and Paul came around the side of the house with Fisher propped between them.
“Fisher! Are you okay? Man, I was so worried when I couldn’t get in touch with you.” He didn’t mention The Tackle Box. There was clearly enough trouble already.
They helped Fisher into the front seat of the Jeep, and Jason pulled some supplies from the back.
He handed a bottle of water to Fisher. “Here, drink some water.”
“Thanks for checking on me. Man, my phone wouldn’t work.”
“What happened?” The tree was on top of the house, but why couldn’t Fisher have just gotten the heck out of there?
“When it fell, it sent stuff flying and the entertainment center fell right on top of me. I couldn’t get out from under it. I’ve been laying there on that wet couch, watching the water rise. It was like a bad movie there for a while when the storm was still kicking.”
Paul got into the back of the Jeep. “Had to be terrifying.”
“Wasn’t good, man. It wasn’t good. I thought I had broken my leg, but I can feel my toes and everything.”
“We’ll get you checked out,” Jason said.
“No. I’m fine. Just achy and waterlogged.” He held up his hands, showing them his wrinkled fingers. Jason handed him a blanket. “Wrap up in this. I’ll get you to the hospital.”
“No. I don’t need the hospital. The last thing I need is a hospital bill. I’m fine. I’ll sign something that says you tried to get me to go, but I don’t need to, man. I just need a change of clothes and somewhere dry to hang out.”
“We’ll take care of you. You can stay with me,” Paul said. “And when we get to Paws, I’ve got clothes. We can get you dry and warmed up.”
“And fed,” Tug said.
“Thanks, man.” Fisher chugged the rest of the water and crushed the thin bottle flat, blowing out a breath of relief.
Jason handed him another bottle of water. “We were going to check on Tug’s house,” he told Fisher. “He was the one who said we should check on you.”
“Thanks, Tug.”
“You okay for us to drive over there before we take you back to Paws?” Jason asked.
“Heck, yeah. It’s just right up the road here, man. Be crazy not to.” He turned to Tug. “Your house is on stilts, and you don’t have trees there on the oceanfront. Hopefully, you fared better than I did.”
Tug hoped so, too, but right now nothing would surprise him.
But as they made the last turn, he could see the top of his house in the distance. It looked fine. The roof was there, and it wasn’t in the middle of the ocean. That was a good start.
Resting easier, he closed his eyes and said a quick prayer. When he opened his eyes, they were pulling into his driveway.
“That’s a lot of sand,” Fisher said.
“It is.” So much sand had washed up that it gave his stilted beach house the look of a ranch-style. At his age, fewer stairs wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Only his truck’s windshield was visible. Besides the truck being buried, the house looked fine.
“Fisher, you wait here.” Jason handed him another bottle of water and a pack of Nabs. “Are you warm enough?”
“Yeah. Fine, man,” Fisher said. “I’m feeling better already. I can help.”
“No need,” Paul said. “We’re just going to give it a quick look. There’ll be time for helping later.”
Tug hopped out of the Jeep, with Jason and Paul following. He walked up the newly created dune, right on top of the hood of his truck and stopped. Then he turned to the others and started laughing. It was hysteria. Flat-out crazy coming out of him, because who could process any of this?
“Edwina turned my truck into a stepping stone.” Tug rested his hands on his hips. “Never would have guessed that was even a possibility.”
Paul took his phone from his pocket and started taking pictures. “I can’t believe it—and I’m looking at it.” He turned and took a selfie with Tug on top of the truck behind him. “Amanda will flip when she sees this. As soon as they let us, we’ll get a crew over here to dig this stuff out, and you might as well put in the claim on your truck today. It’s a goner. Salt water and sand. There’s no recovering from that.”
Tug walked over the truck to the stairs, only a few visible now. “It’s a shorter walk to the front door. Maybe I’ll leave it this way.”
“I should have made you bring your truck to Paws and park it inside. I’m sorry, man.”
“It’s my fault. I’ve never seen this much sand come in during a storm. It’s crazy.”
They walked inside. A couple of boards had pulled away, but the storm didn’t break any windows. There was some water in front of the upstairs sliding doors. They sopped that up with towels and hung them over the deck rails to dry before they left.
“Okay, well, this is a relief,” Paul said as they got back into the Jeep.
“I never would have expected this place to outlive the diner,” Tug said.
“Well, let’s not write off the diner yet. There’s insurance. There are options. We’ll figure it out.”
“And we’re all here to talk about it,” Jason said. “We haven’t had one loss of life. So glad you are okay, Fisher. We’re really blessed by that. Now, I know you’re eager to get back home, Tug, but until they officially open the road, I can’t let you stay.”
Tug didn’t have it in him to argue. “I understand. Do you think we could stop back by the diner? If the stuff in that freezer is still intact, we should distribute it to the people here in town. I’d hate for it all to go to waste.”
“Sure.” Jason looked a little sheepish. “We have to drive right by there anyway. Don’t think I need to ask permission for that.”
Paul slapped him on the back. “Sometimes it’s better to just ask for forgiveness.”
Jason nodded like he hoped he wouldn’t have to.
They rode back down to the diner. Tug stared out the window, not even able to look toward what was left.
“No! Man,” Fisher said. “Tug? What the…”
Tug’s heart sank. He hated to tell this young man that his bar made out better than the diner but was still going to be a lot of work.
Jason parked on the far side of the diner this time. From here they could make it to where the freezer still stood, looking oddly out of place, rising from the broken boards and shattered fragments.
“Want me to go look?” Paul asked.
“Would you?” Tug felt too tired to move. It was a lot to takein.
“Yeah. Of course.”
Tug pulled his key ring from his pocket and handed it to Paul. “Check the power meter. It’s got battery backup. You’ll be able to see the temperature readings and any outages and how long they’ve been. I lowered the temperature before I left. With any luck, it’ll be fine. Give some things a squeeze too. I don’t always trust those new gizmos.”
“On it. We might just have one heck of a cookout in the parking lot.”
“Don’t tempt me with a good time now.” Tug forced a smile. These are things. Things do not make us happy or who we are. I know this.
Fisher sat in the front seat, looking shell-shocked. “I can’t believe this. When I was a kid, my dad would say a man couldn’t do anything to withstand Mother Nature if she wanted to take it. Never thought I’d see that play out in our own backyard.”
“I hear you,” Tug said.
Paul and Jason walked away, and Tug counted back the hours to when the power went out, checking his math. He’d never take a chance on thawed food, but there was a thermometer in there that showed the temps over the last four days. It was worth a look, and he loved feeding these people.
He smiled at that thought.
This might be the last time I have the opportunity.