“No. It should be moving. Slowly, but moving.” Lillian frowned.
He saw a man walking down the line of cars, pausing at each one. He got to their car and his father rolled down the window.
Lillian leaned over to peer out the window. “Sheriff Dave, what’s happening here?”
“A large tug and another boat pulled loose and hit the bridge. We’re not sure it’s safe to cross. Looks like some major damage. We’re asking people to head back to the community center. I’m trying to get the city alert system to send out the alert about it.”
Just then Lillian and Zoe’s phones rang with the alert sound. Lillian glanced at hers. “Here it is. Hopefully, people will get the message.”
“We’ll head there now.” Gary rolled up the window.
Slowly, one by one, the cars got enough room between them to turn around. Gary swung around in his turn and headed to the community center. He pulled up as close to the center as he could get. “You all get out here. I’ll go park. Mason, watch over Lillian and Lucky.”
He nodded to his father as he helped Lillian out of the vehicle.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Lillian kept a firm grip on Lucky’s leash and darted toward the door to the community center.
Zoe appeared at his side and they rushed through the rain, following Lillian into the center.
Once inside, he blinked his eyes, adjusting to the light. Sara sat at a table by the door, taking down everyone’s name as they entered. She jumped up and hugged Zoe. “Noah will be so glad to see you. He’s been worried about you.”
“The Yarnies will be getting food and hot coffee ready for everyone. I’m going to go help,” Lillian said. “Will you tell Gary where I am when he gets inside?”
“Sure will.” Sara wrote down Lillian’s name on her list along with Zoe’s and his.
“The Yarnies?” Mason asked.
“That’s the knitting group here at the community center,” Sara explained.
“Do you need help?” Mason offered, wanting to feel like he was doing something, anything. Maybe it would help take the edge off the uneasiness surging through him.
“Why don’t you go find Noah? He’ll know what needs to be done.” Sara turned to a new group of people entering the center and wrote the names of a family of four.
Zoe took his hand and led him to the main room. The room was filled with people standing or sitting and talking in groups. A nervous energy crackled throughout the space but people remained calm.
Noah stood at the far end of the room, giving directions to people. He enveloped Zoe into a hug as soon as they got to him. “Ah, good. You’re here. At least you’re out of the storm. I should have sent you to safety days ago. I know how these storms can change.” A deep look of concern etched Noah’s features.
“Uncle Noah, I’ll be fine. We all will. We’ll just wait out the storm here at the center.”
“What can we do to help?” Mason asked as he looked around at the crowd of people pouring into the room.
“There are more chairs in the storage area. Looks like we’ll have a full house with the bridge closed. And bring in some blankets. Some of the people look soaked.”
Good. Something to keep him busy. Zoe took his hand, again… he was getting kind of used to having her hand in his…
If he couldn’t have her curled up in his arms, that is. He smiled to himself as she led him off to get the supplies and wondered if he could steal a quick kiss in the storage area.
Chapter 11
Robin couldn’t sleep. The storm raged outside and her nerves matched its furor. She looked jealously at Jay sleeping peacefully on the couch. How he could sleep through the roar of the wind was a mystery. She got up and padded into the kitchen to make some tea. She flipped on one low under-counter light and opened the cabinets, searching silently.
“What are you looking for?” Jay came up behind her, his voice low and warm.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Had to get up to help you anyway.” A smile played on his lips as he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
She snuggled up next to him, grateful for his strong arms around her. Glad she’d agreed to stay here with him. “I was looking for tea. I thought that might calm me down some.”
“I have chamomile tea. Will that help?”
“You have chamomile?” That surprised her. He didn’t seem a chamomile type of guy, if there was such a thing.
“My grandmother always loved to have a cup of it at night. It reminds me of her, so I keep some on hand.” He let her go and put some water on to boil, then opened the cabinet next to the stove and took out the tea bags.
Who knew he was such a nostalgic person? Though she knew he missed his grandmother terribly. Even after being friends with him for five years, there were so many little things she didn’t know about him.
They sat down at the table, waiting for the water to get hot.
“So, you can’t sleep, huh?” He reached out and rubbed a thumb across the back of her hand.
The gesture was amazingly comforting. “I’m just restless. I rarely can sleep when we’re on storm watch.”
“Maybe the chamomile will help.”
The subtle warm light surrounded them and for a few minutes, she didn’t even mind the storm. It was peaceful just sitting here in the low light with Jay, waiting for their tea.
The peace was shattered with the jarring sound of an alert. She snatched her phone from her pocket as Jay did the same with his.
“Gotta get off the island, Robs.” Jay rose in one swift motion and crossed over and turned off the stove. “Tea will have to wait until I can find you some after we’re safely on the mainland and inland a ways.”
She stood, knowing the drill. “I’ll get
