Shayla grabbed Kara’s sleeve. “He won first place, Miss Kara.”
Even from across the square, she could see the wide grin on her sweetie pie’s face.
“And would you lookee there.” Trudy joined them at the window. “The girls have on the sweetest little Easter bonnets.”
Kara spotted Amber on the sidelines as Lucy and Stella paraded around in their ribbon-bedecked white straw hats. Emma Cate waved to her soon-to-be mommy, Lila. On photography duty, Callie McAbee watched proudly as her daughter Maisie received first place in the bonnet division.
A sudden gust of wind riffled the leafed-out oaks and sent Hunter Stone’s cowboy hat careening into the bushes. He dashed after it. Next on the agenda—the egg hunt. The older children helped the smaller ones like Austin, Logan and Maddox locate the hidden eggs on the green.
She would dearly love to snap a photo of Maddox in his Easter outfit. But she hesitated, casting a glance over her shoulder to the office. And then there was the issue with Will...
“They’re only little such a short time.” Trudy patted her hand. “The receipts can wait. Our babies won’t.”
She blushed. “Maddox isn’t my baby.” Pain stabbed her heart. And he never would be.
Trudy’s heavily plucked eyebrows hitched. “Maybe not right this minute, but I’ve seen how his daddy looks at you.”
“Not anymore, Trudy.”
Trudy shook her head. “He was upset about the fire station. He didn’t mean those things he said. He’ll change his mind. And I don’t think it’s any secret how you feel about Chief MacKenzie.”
Kara brushed angry tears from her cheeks. “It doesn’t matter how I feel, Trudy. They’re moving as soon as Will gets another job.”
So much had changed for her since coming to Truelove. She’d found a life she hadn’t imagined could be hers. A home.
All to have it snatched away. Perhaps she’d been better off not imagining. Not giving in to hope. Not allowing love to have its way with her heart.
But better off never knowing Maddox? She swallowed. No, she’d never regret knowing that sweet little boy. The child she’d so wanted to call her own.
“They haven’t left yet, though.” Trudy lifted her chin. “There’s still today. And I think you should seize it.”
She looked at Trudy. This might be her last chance to see Maddox. “Will probably doesn’t want me—”
“Will isn’t here.” Trudy jutted her jaw. “And you are. What’s one photo?”
The last photo she might ever get of Maddox. One photo to last her entire life. Years down the road, one final memory to recall the spring of her greatest happiness. When her heart had been full for the love of a man and his son.
She headed toward the door. “I won’t be long.”
Kara wasn’t sure why, but she grabbed up the tiny Eiffel Tower beside the register and stuck it in her pocket.
On the distant horizon, the sun had gone behind a dark bank of clouds. Looked like there was weather on the mountain. The past few days had been unsettled. But hopefully, the children would get their egg hunt between rainstorms.
Trudy grabbed a mop. “I’m in no hurry. Shayla and I can finish here.”
Kara crossed into the square. The wind picked up, blowing her hair into her eyes. Maddox ran to hug her. And she was glad she’d taken the time to walk over. GeorgeAnne gave her a baleful glare.
She snapped a few pics of Maddox with Austin and Logan. Maggie waved, but then her boys dragged her off in search of eggs. Clutching his basket, Maddox tore after his pals.
On her way back to the restaurant, she heard a distant rumble of thunder. She darted a look over her shoulder at the square. The crowd had dispersed. Parents rounded up their kids. Too bad the egg hunt had to end early. Maddox would be so disappointed. But the weather had changed so quickly.
She needed to get inside before the rain arrived. She didn’t want to get drenched. Yet, as if glued to the pavement, she didn’t move.
The sky turned a murky green. Her heart began to pound.
Abruptly, the wind stopped. The air stilled. And a weird, almost oppressive feeling hung in the atmosphere.
Shayla joined her on the sidewalk. “I’ll see you tomorrow morn—” Looking past Kara, she frowned. “What’s that on the mountain?” She pointed at the western range.
Turning, Kara’s eyes widened. Out of the dark wall of clouds on the horizon, a thin, grayish funnel, lit by intermittent flashes of lightning, swirled and gyrated. In a sort of insane, macabre dance on the mountain. A dance of destruction and death.
And it was headed toward Truelove.
The tornado siren blared. She jolted. The piercing wail crescendoed. But she only had eyes for Maddox. Hands over his ears, the little boy sat down on the ground.
With the storm bearing down upon them, she raced across the street and scooped him up in her arms. The child shook like a leaf. She was shaking like a leaf, too.
“Karwa,” he cried, burrowing his face in her neck.
She patted his back. “I’ve got you, sweetie pie. I’ve got you.”
“Take cover!” Mayor Watson shouted. “Everyone find shelter! Immediately!”
But where? None of the businesses were open. There was nowhere to go. In a matter of seconds, the cloudy afternoon sky transitioned into a malignant, midnight black.
People ran for their cars. She lost sight of Maggie, Wilda and the boys.
“There’s no time to outrun it!” she yelled at the mayor. “Head them toward the café.”
Nodding, he turned his attention to herding a frightened Mrs. Desmond and her yippy Chihuahua toward the safety of the café. Her baby son on her hip, Callie McAbee towed her daughter, Maisie, along. Kara motioned them toward the beckoning refuge of the restaurant.
The wind suddenly picked up again in speed and intensity. Debris flew. A falling tree branch whacked the mayor, knocking him off his feet. Shayla ran forward to help him and Mrs. Desmond.
With Maddox’s legs in a stranglehold around her torso, Kara retraced her steps and encouraged everyone to keep moving forward. A sudden deluge of rain poured from the blackened sky. She shielded Maddox as best she could with her body.
Amber struggled to help a visibly trembling ErmaJean across the street. Slipping and sliding in the rain, Trudy dashed out to shepherd Lucy and Stella into the café.
His forehead glistening with a streak of blood, Mayor Watson manned the door. Keeping it open against the pulsing force of the wind as everyone scurried to safety. Lila held tightly on to Emma Cate. The last of the stragglers, AnnaBeth and Hunter, hustled IdaLee across the threshold.
Kara darted inside with Maddox and breathed a sigh of relief. Mayor Watson released the door. Shivering and dripping with rain, the storm-battered refugees huddled against the counter and every available space.
Her white hair blown out of its bun, IdaLee’s blue-violet eyes scanned the interior. “Where’s GeorgeAnne?” Her quavery voice rose. “Has anyone seen GeorgeAnne?”
“There she is.” Maisie pointed out the window. “She’s in the gazebo.” She turned toward Callie. “Why doesn’t she come inside with us, Mama?”
Everyone rushed toward the windows and stared at the lone figure hugging the railing on the steps of the gazebo.
“She’s so afraid she can’t move.” ErmaJean put her hand to her throat. “GeorgeAnne’s always been unusually terrified of thunderstorms.”
The mayor heaved his not-inconsiderable bulk out of a booth. “I’ll get her.” But swaying, he fell against the seat, and he put a hand to his head.
Kara handed Maddox into ErmaJean’s arms. “I’ll go.” And though she quavered at the prospect of facing the fury of the storm, she couldn’t believe how calm and strong her voice sounded.
Maddox cried for his dad.
ErmaJean’s face clouded. “Be
careful out there, dear.”
The overhead fluorescent lighting flickered and the electricity went out. A collective groan arose. Weblike crackling appeared in the sheet glass overlooking the square.
“Shayla. Trudy. Keep everyone back behind the counter.” She swallowed. “Away from the windows.”
Before she could talk herself out of it, she raced outside again. With each thunderous boom, her entire body quivered. She flinched with every sharp retort of lightning. The rain was falling almost horizontally. She tucked her head and ran the rest of the way.
Her iron-gray hair plastered to her head, the older woman stared at her. And in her wrinkled features, Kara beheld her own stark, mind-numbing fear. GeorgeAnne’s mouth gaped but no sound emerged.
Kara dared not look behind her at the writhing thundercloud descending the mountain, jumping the river, speeding ever toward them. She yanked GeorgeAnne to her feet and such was her terror, the older woman murmured not a word of protest.
She tugged the matchmaker forward. Facing the full barrage of the wind, she felt as if their progress was minuscule. As if the air around them had become thick, soupy, quagmire-ish. Like something from a nightmare.
The woman tried to pull free. “Leave me.”
“I won’t.” She refastened her hold on GeorgeAnne’s arm. “Oh, God, help us,” she whispered into the wind.
And GeorgeAnne seemed to regain some semblance of her old self. She added her strength to Kara’s in battling forward across the square.
Mayor Watson waited for them at the entrance, holding the door. They staggered inside, skidding on the wet linoleum. The wind whipped the door shut behind them.
The café was dark, lit only by the faint illumination of cell phone screens. Huddled against the rear wall, people texted loved ones. IdaLee drew her fellow matchmaker behind the sheltering bulk of the counter. Maddox reached for Kara.
But over the roar of the wind, she detected a sound unlike anything she’d ever heard before. A strange, building roar. The howling grew ever more distinct. So much louder. So much closer. And her heart went cold.
“We have to get into the cooler now,” she shouted. She threw open the porthole door. “Take Maddox, Miss ErmaJean.”
The wall of windows exploded.
Screams erupted as shards of glass flew in every direction. Scrambling to their feet, the small band rushed into the commercial kitchen. The mayor and the younger women half-shoved, half-guided the rest into the chilly darkness of the cooler.
When the last person disappeared into the cooler, she glanced back for one final look through the porthole at her beloved café.
The bell above the entrance jangled in a maniacal frenzy. There was a sucking, whistling sound. And then the wind ripped the door out of its steel frame. Silver napkin canisters rattled and crashed, sliding across the floor toward the opening as if pulled by a giant magnet.
And she knew if she didn’t move now, she, too, might disappear into the black, gaping maelstrom.
Stumbling over her own feet, she threw herself inside the cooler. Wresting hold of the cooler door, she closed it as far as she could. But against the monstrous suction of the wind, how long could she hold it shut?
“Help me, God. Please, help me,” she murmured.
Something, possibly one of the heavy iron skillets hanging above the range, collided against the other side of the door, slamming it the rest of the way shut.
Her back against the cold surface of the door, she sank to the floor. Wrenching himself free of ErmaJean, Maddox clawed his way to her. Except for the soft murmuring of prayers, the occupants of the makeshift tornado shelter were strangely quiet, even the children.
AnnaBeth shone the flashlight on her phone to provide much-needed light. And several followed her example. For which Kara thanked God. Because despite everything else, darkness unrelieved by light was more than anyone should have to bear.
With nearly twenty people, there wasn’t much room in the cooler. Some, like Amber, stood with their backs against the wire shelving. Others hunkered on the floor.
Outside the cooler, metal screeched. Objects pummeled the sides, shaking the walls. Mrs. Desmond’s Chihuahua whimpered. The roar of the twister seemed to fill the very marrow of Kara’s bones. It was like nothing she’d ever heard before or hoped to ever hear again.
She wanted to curl into a ball, but she did none of those things. Instead, she held on to Will’s son. If necessary and with her last breath, she’d die to protect him.
Doing her best to hold it together, she thought of how terrified she’d been, watching her mother grow sicker and sicker. How helpless she’d felt, knowing inch by inch she was losing her. She also recalled how strong and brave and wonderful Mama G had been with her.
Kara whispered sweet words of comfort into Maddox’s ear. Rubbing little circles onto his back, she told him everything would be okay. Because there was nothing scarier to a child than a scared grown-up.
Suddenly, the roaring eased. The cooler stopped shaking. The pummeling ceased. Cautiously, like turtles venturing from their shells, everyone looked at each other.
Emma Cate pulled at Lila’s sleeve. “Is it over?”
The bride-to-be looked at her great-aunt IdaLee. “Maybe...”
Kara gulped. “I think so.”
Cheers broke out among the children.
ErmaJean threw up her hands. “Thank you, Jesus.”
GeorgeAnne locked gazes with Kara. “And Kara, too.”
“Um...” Shifting, Amber grimaced. “I didn’t want to mention it before, but I think my water broke.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
At the town limits, the first thing Will noticed was the absence of the Welcome sign. His stomach knotted, fearing how his beloved hometown might have fared during the tornado.
Speeding toward Truelove, his SUV clattered over the bridge spanning the river. The windshield wipers beat a steady cadence, but the rain looked to be slackening. The fire engine rolled into town behind him.
Yet, if he lived to be a hundred years old, he’d never forget the sight that met his eyes. In the aftermath of the tornado, devastation.
He blinked twice to clear his vision. To be sure what he beheld was actually real. But it was all too real. Wreaking havoc, the tornado had come and gone. Carving a path of destruction.
Many of the grand old trees encircling the square were gone. Torn from the ground, the trees lay like giant matchsticks across Main Street. Blocking access to the station and forcing the TFD to park on the edge of downtown.
Will got out of his vehicle, and the guys scrambled from the rig.
Luke grunted. “The gazebo’s gone, Chief.”
Jaw tight, he nodded. Not one board remained. Ripped off its foundation, only a large circular grassy spot bore evidence of where the gazebo once proudly stood.
Debris littered the streets. Misshapen hulks of metal that used to be cars had twisted like corkscrews around the trunks of the remaining trees. City Hall had lost its roof. Most of the building facades appeared battered. No telling what the interiors looked like.
Zach stood with his hands on his hips. “Good thing most businesses were closed today. Or who knows how many people could’ve been hurt.”
For Zach’s sake, he was relieved to see that the auto body shop was still standing. “We’re going to fan out in pairs and check each building anyway to make sure no one is hurt or trapped inside. Use your radio to check in with Dispatch once you’ve cleared a building.”
Several of the guys cut their eyes toward the still-intact firehouse. Department policy mandated that cell phones remained inside the station when fire crews responded to an incident. They were anxious to check on loved ones. But their duty to serve came first.
It was part of the job. Part of the firefighter life. What they’d signed on for. And their families knew it.
> Checking on Pops would have to wait. Will’s father and Tom Arledge were probably holed up at the Arledge farm trading fish tales instead of bait.
His transmitter crackled. Static erupted and then Nadine’s voice. “... Hunt...” Crackle. Crackle. “... Café.”
Will pressed the mic. “Repeat. I didn’t copy. What is hunt—”
“The egg hunt, Chief.” Luke scooped up a yellow plastic egg lying in the gutter. “The kids. This afternoon.”
Static crackled from the transmitter.
Zach frowned. “But it would’ve been over ages ago, right?”
“Unless there was a rain delay.” Will sucked in a breath. “And they took shelter at the diner.”
He took off running toward the restaurant.
But on the sidewalk outside the Mason Jar, he skidded to a standstill. Shards of glass glittered on the pavement. The café looked like a bomb had gone off inside. The door was nowhere to be seen. The windows were smashed.
Surely, Maddox was somewhere else with ErmaJean. But Kara spent most afternoons here, baking for the next day. She could be in there and hurt. Or worse.
A cold terror gripped him. The kind of horror he believed he’d forever left behind when Maddox was released from the NICU. Moving forward, he stumbled. “Kara!” he shouted.
“Chief, wait!” Zach called after him. “Let me help.”
“Stay back!” He threw up his hand. “I’m going in alone.”
He knew he needed to assess structural damage before entering. But he didn’t stop to think. He didn’t care about anything other than finding her. He surged forward. Glass crunched under his boots.
And then the most beautiful sight he’d ever beheld—Kara, her hair disheveled and her clothes torn, staggered out onto the sidewalk.
Maddox’s arms were tightly wrapped around her neck. “Daddy!”
Still in his turnout coat, Will reached for him. Maddox fell into his arms. “Kara?”
Love Inspired June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 50