Chapter 7 #2
“I haven’t felt this helpless in a long time,” Sarah said, recalling the nightmare years when she’d felt powerless against an abusive husband who thought nothing of hurting their babies physically and emotionally.
That they each carried emotional baggage from those years was something that weighed heavily on her.
“I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better,” Owen said. “We’ve done everything we can think of to prepare. I think we’re in good shape.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
“Try to enjoy the trip, Mom. We’ll keep you posted. If, for whatever reason, you can’t get through to us afterward, contact the Coast Guard. They’ll have word from the island.”
The possibility of not being able to reach them by phone didn’t bear thinking about. “Will do. I assume you’ve checked in with the others?”
“I have, and Grant, Jeff and I were at your house earlier, boarding up windows and bringing in your deck furniture and grill.”
“Thank you for doing that.”
“Of course. We may end up over there if we lose power.”
“Please,” Sarah said. “Feel free. Charlie said the same thing. That’s why he had the generator installed—for times like this. Our home is your home. Tell the others that, too.”
“I will, Mom. Now go try to enjoy Italy.”
As if that was going to happen until after this storm was over. “Take care, Owen. Love you all.”
“We love you, too. Hang in there, and tell Charlie, Grandma and Grandpa the same thing.”
After she promised to give the others his message, Sarah ended the call and put down the phone. She’d already sent texts to Julia, Katie, Cindy, Jeff and John, checking on them, and would hear back from them when they had a chance.
“Let’s go back to bed, sweetheart,” Charlie said. “There’s nothing more we can do now.”
“We can pray.”
“Already done that.” He gave her hand a gentle tug and helped her up. As he walked backward to the bedroom, he gazed at her with the sweet love that now filled her days and nights. “No matter what, we have each other, and we’ll get through this and everything else.”
“Having you makes everything bearable, even this kind of awful worry.”
They got into bed and curled up to each other.
“I was so happy to have most of them on the island with me,” Sarah said tearfully. “I never imagined anything like this.”
“Gansett and its citizens are a hardy stock. They’ll take a hard hit, but they’ll be fine.”
“And if they aren’t?”
“Then we’ll deal with that when or if it happens, but there’s no sense expecting the worst when they’ve done everything they can to safely prepare.”
She clung to his reassurances as she tried to relax her heart and mind so she could sleep, but she wouldn’t rest easy until she knew her loved ones were safe.
Julia Lawry paced the length of the dock a hundred times, her dog, Pupwell, following her as she waited and hoped that Deacon would return soon.
The chop in the basin was getting stronger all the time, with the splashing water making the dock slippery as she made another loop.
If she kept moving, she wouldn’t go into complete panic about why he was still out on the churning water long after dark.
The wind whipped through the basin, making her worry about being blown off the dock as rain lashed her face.
Pupwell let out a soft whine.
“I know, baby. Mama is worried, too. Where is he, and why isn’t he answering his phone?”
Julia debated whether she should call Deacon’s brother, Blaine, the chief of police. Technically, Blaine was Deacon’s boss, but they tried not to let that get in the way of the sibling relationship they’d worked hard to repair since Deacon had relocated permanently to Gansett Island.
Would he want her to call Blaine? Probably not. But what if he was in trouble and needed help? She had no idea what to do, and when that happened, if Deacon wasn’t available, she called Owen.
“Hey, Jules, what’s up?” her older brother asked when he took her call.
“I’m worried about Deacon. He’s not in yet, and it’s dark. The seas are huge, and he’s in that little boat. I’m not sure if I should call Blaine or if he’d want me not to.”
“Whoa, take a breath. I’m sure he’s fine.”
“It’s really bad out there, Owen. The seas are hitting the breakwater and sending spray twenty feet into the air. He’s on that small boat… I’m worried.”
“I take it he’s not answering his phone.”
“No. Not for a few hours now.”
“Hmmm.”
Julia wanted Owen to tell her that Deacon was fine, that she had nothing to worry about, but that hmmm said it all. “I should call Blaine, right?”
“I think so.”
Her stomach dropped when he said that. “I’m scared, O. He’s been out all day, and he’s never this late.”
“It’s not a usual kind of day, but it can’t hurt to let Blaine know he’s overdue. Where are you? I’ll come and wait with you.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure you’ve got your own stuff going on.”
“I’m coming, Julia. Are you at the dock?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“In case I forget to tell you…”
“I know, hon. Be right there.”
He and Julia and her twin, Katie, had always been there for one another, in the best and worst of times growing up with an abusive, narcissistic father who was now in prison for assaulting their mother.
Julia tried hard to never think of the man they referred to as “the general,” but he was inside them all, whether they wanted him there or not.
They most definitely did not want him there.
Thinking about him was better than wondering where Deacon was and if he was okay.
Only because it was so unlike him to be out of touch with her for this long, she pulled out her phone and called his brother.
“Hey, Julia.” Blaine sounded rushed and stressed. Who could blame him with a Category 2 hurricane bearing down on his island? “What’s up?”
“Um, so, Deacon isn’t in yet.”
“What?”
“I’m at the dock. There’s no sign of him or the boat, and he’s not answering his phone.”
“Let me try to raise him on the radio. Hang on.”
In the background, she could hear Blaine saying, “Base to harbor master. Come in, harbor master.” She heard him say the same thing three more times with no reply.
Julia tried not to panic, but it wasn’t easy.
Blaine picked up the phone again. “I’ll call Linc at the Coast Guard to ask for his assistance. They can send a boat out to look for him.”
“Blaine…”
“Try not to think the worst. He’s highly experienced and can handle just about anything.”
She wanted to ask if he could handle a ten-foot storm surge in a twenty-foot boat, but the words were stuck behind the massive lump in her throat.
“Come over to the station. We’ll monitor things from here. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Okay.”
“Keep breathing.”
“I’m trying to. Be right there.”
Before she left the dock, she scanned the blackness outside the breakwater, looking for even the faintest of lights, but saw nothing. As she walked up the ramp, Owen approached her.
“Anything?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Blaine is calling the Coast Guard. He said to come to the station.”
Owen put his arm around her, and she leaned into him, taking comfort from him the way she had all her life. “I’m sure he’s fine. He knows what he’s doing out there.”
Julia nodded so he’d know she’d heard him, but again, her throat was too tight for words. The feeling reminded her of the many times in her life that panic had made it difficult for her to talk or eat or do anything other than wallow in fear.
Deacon was the brightest light in her world, the undisputed love of her life. If she lost him…
No, she couldn’t think about that. She simply could not.
She forced herself to breathe and to put one foot in front of the other while praying as hard as she had in years for the safety of the man she loved.