Forever

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  Justin went to the front window and gazed out, saying, “Have you tried to call her?”

  “Of course, but no answer,” I said with extreme irritation. Did he really think I was an idiot?

  “Hey, wait—someone’s coming up the drive on a horse,” Justin shouted.

  Summer and I ran to his side and peered through the windows that were now streaked with rain on top of everything else.

  I tried to wipe the moisture away with my hand to get a better look. Disappointment hit hard when I saw that the horse was brown and not gray, like Lady.

  “Who is that?” Summer asked as she pressed against me for a better look.

  “It’s Noah!” Justin exclaimed.

  “Has everyone lost their freak’n minds—this is not a good time to go for a ride,” I complained.

  I left the window and grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Summer sprinted in front of me and held out her hand.

  “I’m going to talk to Noah. Maybe he knows where Rose is.” I paused and looked between Summer and Justin, absorbing their frightened expressions. Calming my voice, I added, “You both need to go to the basement right now. Don’t leave there for anything.”

  “Oh, no, not without you,” Summer replied.

  She ran up to me, pulled my head down and kissed me on the lips and then whispered fiercely, “You’d better get your butt down in the basement in a few minutes, or I swear I’ll come looking for you.”

  Without another word, she whirled and joined Justin. I saw them turn the corner together when I opened the door and stepped out into the storm.

  It took all I had to close the door behind me and jog out to the driveway. The rain was beginning to come down harder, stinging my face.

  “Is Rose around?” Noah’s words were carried away by the wind, but I got the gist of what he said.

  “She’s not here—I thought she might have met up with you on the horse trails,” I shouted up at him.

  “Rose is riding that crazy horse of hers in this weather?” Noah asked. The worry was plain in his voice.

  I nodded. “She left about an hour ago, heading toward the fields across the road.”

  Lightning streaked the sky, and thunder exploded above us a second later. Noah’s horse jumped slightly at the sound but otherwise stood still. I noticed the whites of its eyes flashing, though, and suddenly realized that what Noah had said was right. Rose’s horse would be downright dangerous under these conditions.

  “I’ll find her,” Noah shouted into the wind, turning his horse and kicking its sides.

  For another few seconds I watched him race down the driveway in the pouring rain until he disappeared into the darkness of the storm. I didn’t think it would have made any difference if he’d known about the tornado warning, but still, I felt guilty that I hadn’t pointed it out to him before he left. But someone had to look for her, tornado warning or not, and I reasoned that he had a better chance at finding Rose on horseback than I did in my truck.

  I only hoped that he got to her in time.

  I ran back to the house, splashing through the puddles and trying to keep from falling as another gust of wind struck.

  If the damn house did come down, Summer and Justin would need me.

  Rose and Noah were on their own this time.

  31

  Noah

  Squeezing Maisy faster over the muddy ground, I wiped the rain from my eyes and searched for Rose. The sudden turn of Maisy’s head and the flash of gray—I spotted Lady running along the hedgerow.

  My heart sank when I saw she didn’t have a rider.

  Turning, I guided Maisy in the direction that Lady had come from, spurring the old horse on to greater speed. The mare responded, sensing my urgency, and flew across the hay field. The sky had turned an ugly shade of dark gray, smeared with purple and pink that reminded me of the bruises on my face after the buggy wreck.

  The wind still blew stiffly, but there was a slight calming of the weather that raised the hair on my arms. It was almost as if the angry sky was taking a deep breath to gather strength.

  Scanning the tree line, I frantically looked for Rose. Fearing the worse, I whispered, “Please, God, protect Rose from harm.”

  A second after the words passed my lips I saw pink material on the ground beside a toppled tree. Maisy covered the distance quickly. I leaped from the saddle and dropped down next to Rose. Fear clenched inside of me when I saw her eyes were closed and her face as white as a ghost.

  Pressing my head to her chest I stopped breathing and listened. Please, don’t be dead, please, don’t be dead, repeated in my mind until I felt the shallow rise of her chest against my face.

  “Rose, can you hear me? Rose— Rose.”

  The rain had lessened to a steady mist, but she was still soaking wet. Pulling the handkerchief from my pocket, I patted her cheeks and forehead.

  “Come on, Rose. Wake up for me…please, wake up.”

  Her cough and sniff were music to my ears. Pulling her into an upright position, I cradled her to my body and placed my hand on her stomach.

  “I’m…so…sorry. I never…should…have gone for…a ride. Sam was right.”

  Hearing her speak coherently soothed my fears, and I chuckled in relief.

  “Well, that’s probably the first and only time I’ll ever hear you say that about your brother.”

  She smiled and said, “You came to my rescue—how did you know where to find me?”

  “I went to your place to talk to you. You were so upset when I left earlier that I was worried. I spent the rest of the morning thinking about what you said, and I guess you could say I had a change of heart.”

  “Really?”

  I nodded. “We need to talk about our future, and I promise you I’ll be more open to your wishes—you shouldn’t have to give up everything while I give up nothing.”

  Her eyebrow rose, and she scrunched the side of her mouth up in suspicion. The look made my heart explode with feeling for her.

  “You aren’t just saying this because you thought I was dead—are you?”

  A flash of light tore across the sky at the same moment the thunder exploded, and the wind beat against us.

  “No, silly, but this isn’t the time to get into it. We have to get out of here. Can you ride?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  As an even darker sky raced toward us, I pulled her up and supported her body against mine until we reached Maisy. The good old mare had stood stone still waiting for us, and now she continued to do so as I helped Rose into the saddle.

  I flinched with each groan that Rose made, but she managed to fling her leg over the mare, and I reckoned that she didn’t have any serious injuries.

  Placing my foot in the stirrup, I mounted behind Rose, sitting on the mare’s croup. It had been a long while since I’d ridden double, the last time being when Jacob’s horse had gone lame while we were a couple of miles from home.

  Taking the reins up in one hand, I placed my other around Rose tightly.

  “Hold on to the horn,” I yelled as I bumped Maisy into action.

  The horse couldn’t move as quickly with the extra weight, but she still managed a ground-covering canter over the short grass.

  The wind grew stronger, and it took all my strength to keep Rose and myself on Maisy’s back. The sky opened again, sending sheets of rain on to us, and the air lit up every few seconds. As we approached the road, the world was hazy and indistinct. The sky was a dark slate gray that only brightened with the neverending flashes of lightning.

  Strangely, the floral scent of Rose’s hair kept me focused and the fear at bay. My only thought was of getting her and our child to safety.

  The loud swoosh
of air hit us hard, causing Maisy to stumble. The horse went down on her front knees, and I slid off her back to keep her from going all the way to the ground while Rose clung to the saddle.

  “She can’t carry us in this wind!” Rose shouted, only to have her words snatched in the air and ripped away.

  I braced my hand against Rose’s side and tugged at the reins, helping the mare to her feet.

  “Come on, Maisy, you can do it,” I urged the horse.

  The old horse found her footing and lurched forward.

  Rose tried to protest, but I began to run with Maisy at my side. A low rumbling in the sky behind us stirred a terror in me that I’d never felt before and caused my legs to fly faster than they ever had. Hot air burned my lungs as I ran beside the horse up the hill and through the gap in the fence. When Maisy’s hooves struck the pavement, I paused and turned.

  The sky to our backs had lightened to a silver-gray, and in the middle was a wide swath of blackness that touched the ground. I’d never seen the likes of it before, but I knew instantly what it was, and every part of my body was screaming at me to run away. The tornado was close enough that I could see the churning debris on the edges, like smoke moving in a campfire.

  “We’re not going to make it!” Rose yelled.

  Her voice loosened my limbs, and I turned around and judged the distances to each of our farms.

  “Rose, listen to me—you have to stay on Maisy alone. She can run all-out with only you on her back. Turn her loose, she’ll fend for herself and get you to your basement. You’ll be safe there.”

  “I won’t leave you.”

  She began to climb off the horse, and I grabbed her, holding her body to the saddle.

  Looking into her blue eyes, I knew why I’d fallen in love with her so many months ago—she was the only person in the world who would complete me. My little Rose was brave and confident, where I was sometimes weak and afraid. Her spirit gave me life.

  With my face against hers, I begged, “Please, do this for me and our baby. I’m going to try to make it to my house. The girls are there alone—they might need me.”

  Rose grew up in that instant. She nodded in understanding and quickly pressed her lips to mine. The feel of her mouth even for a second was enough to spread warmth to my cold and tired limbs.

  “I love you, Noah,” she said into my ear before she gathered the reins and leaned forward, kicking Maisy in a gallop toward her home.

  I wasted only a second to glance over my shoulder. The roaring funnel had grown and was close enough now that I could hear the explosions and crashes within it. Glancing one more time at Rose and seeing that she was nearing her driveway, I was hopeful that she had enough time.

  Turning from the horror behind me, I ran with everything I had over the roadway.

  Branches, boards and shingles rained down around me, causing me to dodge right and then left. The rain was gone, but the air was cloudy with dust, stinging my eyes.

  The howling of the wind at my back intensified, knocking me to the ground. The hard pavement broke my fall. On bloody hands, I pushed myself up. I’d almost reached the long driveway that led to my farm when the rumbling noise began vibrating in my ears.

  I knew the tornado was almost upon me when the gravel rose from the ground with such force that it pelted my skin, leaving agonizing welts. Something heavy hit my shoulder and crashed me to the ground once again.

  I didn’t even know if I screamed—the bellowing in my ears was so great. The pressure of the wind kept me on the road. I couldn’t rise, and I realized with dread that I would have no cover when the storm passed over me.

  A picture of Rose sprang to life in my head. She was smiling, and she motioned her finger to follow. She was encased in a soft glow while the storm raged around her. When she turned away from me, I found the strength to crawl after her. Scraping my arms along the pavement I moved in slow motion, trying to stay with her. I needed Rose—I couldn’t live without her.

  When she began to fade, my heart slowed, and I slumped in defeat.

  Another object whacked into me, this time striking my back. Pain shot through me, causing me to look up.

  A bit of white caught my eye, and hope flared to life.

  Dragging myself, I aimed for the culvert as the air, thick with rubble, swirled around me.

  The touch of the wet grass on my hands invigorated me, and with one last surge, I pushed myself up and into the circular opening leading under the road. I was knee-deep in water, but at least I was out of the open.

  Sagging against the cold cement, I chanced to look out. As the ground lifted and shuddered, the world exploded in black and gray all around me.

  For all the trouble of trying to save myself, I realized I was going to die, anyway.

  Closing my eyes, I accepted my fate. As long as Rose and our baby survived, nothing else mattered.

  32

  Sarah

  “But I have to go pee,” Naomi whined in my arms.

  Stroking Naomi’s back, I continued to hug her close and glanced at Rachel, who shrugged her shoulders. Sighing, I looked out the small basement window. The sky was still dark, but the rain had eased up. The wind had quieted, and for the past minute the house hadn’t creaked and groaned from its force.

  “Maybe the storm’s over,” Rachel suggested, standing up.

  Worried, I met her gaze. Now that she thought the danger had passed, she’d be difficult to control.

  Hurriedly, I said, “I think we should wait awhile longer.”

  “Aww, come on, Sarah. You’re such a worrier. Do you want to clean up after Naomi if she messes on the floor?”

  I looked down at Naomi and noticed that she had her ankles twisted tightly, and her face was bright red with her straining to hold it in. Poor little thing, I thought.

  “All right, but be quick about it. Until the sky brightens, it’s better we stay in the basement, I think.”

  Rachel blew out an agitated breath. “We’re going to be behind in the chores for all this nonsense.”

  She stretched her limbs and then grasped Naomi’s hand, tugging her away from me.

  For a moment I continued to sit on the floor, my thoughts far away, up the road at the Yoders’ farm. Micah had been so sweet to me earlier. Perhaps he was right about his father softening about the idea of a courtship between us.

  But what if he didn’t?

  Rising up on sore muscles, I pushed the doubt aside. I’d have to put my faith in Micah.

  And if the storm passed quickly, I might see him again at the softball game that evening. Unable to stop myself from humming, I made my way up the stairs and into the kitchen.

  The opening where the door had been was glaringly obvious, and I smiled at the shock Father would have when he saw that it had blown away.

  As I made my way to the doorway, I bent over and picked up the cloth and broken vase that had been whipped off the table when the door had been ripped off its hinges. Flowers were scattered around the floor, and using my foot, I pushed them into a neat pile.

  A sudden gust of wind through the door blew the stems and petals everywhere, and a thousand knocks could be heard on the siding as branches from the oak tree flew into the house.

  My heart rate began rising all over again as I ran to the opening and gazed out.

  A wall of rain was moving through the fields across the road, obscuring the newly plowed fields and trees in the hedgerows. The trees that were visible were bent grotesquely in the direction of the house.

  “Rachel, hurry up! There’s another storm approaching,” I shouted upstairs.

  When she didn’t answer, I grumbled and went to get my sisters.

  Turning the corner in the upstairs hallway, I bumped into Rachel. Her wide eyes and frown froze my heart.

 
“Where’s Naomi?”

  She shook her head quickly and exclaimed, “I don’t know. I led her to the bathroom, and then I went to make sure our bedroom window had been shut. When I came for her, she was gone.”

  Pushing past her, I went into the bathroom and pulled the curtain to the tub aside. Seeing it empty, I shouted, “Naomi Miller, come out right now!”

  When only silence and the growing rumbling of the wind met my demand, I told Rachel, “Check the downstairs. She might have snuck by me. I’ll search the bedrooms.”

  Rachel whirled away, and as I darted into the boys’ room I could still hear her footsteps as she bounded down the stairs.

  Naomi was a rambunctious child. She loved to hide and wait for us to find her. For a four-year-old, she had the uncanny ability to remain completely quiet and had caused us to be late on several occasions to places we needed to be. Father and Mother never scolded her too much, as she always emerged from hiding with a cheerful smile and hearty laugh at us all.

  But now I wished the child had had at least one good spanking for her behavior—maybe then I wouldn’t be frantically searching for her when we needed to be in the basement.

  “Naomi, this isn’t funny. You come out this instant!”

  Things could be heard hitting the outside walls of the house as I dropped to the floor and shimmied between Peter, Daniel and Isaac’s beds, searching beneath them. Seeing that she wasn’t there, I jumped to the closet and flung the door open. I bent and pushed aside the shirts and pants and, with growing fear, hurried from the room.

  “Did you find her?” I shouted to Rachel over the pounding rain.

  She answered immediately with a loud, “No!”

  My heart was beating furiously as I entered the girls’ room and began searching.

  “Naomi!” I called over and over again as I checked the beds and closet.

  The shuddering of the house brought me to the window, and I looked out in horror. Coming across the field, as plain as the nose on a person’s face, was a black funnel that stretched from the billowing clouds in the sky straight down to the ground. It was enormous and well defined against the flashes of lightning around it.