“So, I know how we can keep busy until then.” He grinned at her in the warm, low light of the lantern.
“What’s that?”
“I’m thinking we could perfect our kissing.”
She laughed, a bit of the tension easing out of her shoulders. “We could.”
“It might take a while. We want to make sure we get it just right.” The corners of his mouth twitched in a smile and she could see the hint of his dimple.
“Well, we should really work at perfecting it.”
“We should.” He leaned down and captured her lips with his.
Noah hurried around the center, checking on people, getting what they needed. He’d started the generator, but it was only set up to run a few lights in the building and the fridge in the kitchen. Darkness hovered in the corners, but most people had brought flashlights and lanterns with them and they were scattered around the room.
A group had set up in the corner playing cards, and he’d gotten them more lights for their tables. Another group had a jigsaw puzzle going, and he’d opened up a bin full of building blocks for a group of kids who were busy building forts with them, their play area illuminated by two bright battery operated lanterns.
The wind still howled outside as a testament to the raging storm outside the walls of the community center. At least they were safe in here. Or relatively safe. He glanced around at the crowded room. He hoped they were all safe here. It was too bad the bridge was closed and they couldn’t all have gotten to the mainland.
Sara came up to him and pressed a cup of coffee into his hands. “Here, drink this. You’ve been going nonstop for hours.” She kissed his cheek and smiled at him.
“I’m hoping the worst of the storm will soon be passing over us. I’m not getting a signal on my phone to see how it’s tracking.”
“Sherriff Dave came in a bit ago. He and his officers are staying inside here for a bit. Said it was too bad out there to continue their rounds. They’ll head back out when the worst is over.”
Noah scanned the room. “Have you seen Zoe? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
Sara frowned. “No. I haven’t. Maybe she’s in the kitchen?”
“Maybe. I think I’ll go check. I’d just feel better if I can keep my eye on her. I know she’s all grown up now, but old habits die hard.”
“Go check then. And maybe sit down for a few minutes. You look exhausted.”
He nodded but really had no plans to sit down. There was still too much to do. He hurried off to the kitchen and found Lillian and Dorothy there, but they hadn’t seen Zoe in a while either. He frowned. It was silly to get worried. He knew she was here. Somewhere.
But where?
He turned around, left the kitchen, and started looking for Zoe in earnest. Soon, it was evident that no one had seen her in quite a while. He tried to steady his racing pulse. Of course, she was here, somewhere. She wouldn’t go out in this. She knew better.
Didn’t she?
But hadn’t Robin run out after the dog? And no one had heard from her or Jay. He just hoped Jay had found Robin and they were holed up somewhere safe.
He hurried off to his office, hoping maybe she’d gone there for some peace and quiet. But the office was pitch dark and no Zoe.
Fear took hold of him. Where was his niece? Why hadn’t he kept a better eye on her? He was running out of places to look for her.
Then he noticed the quiet. The winds had subsided. But he knew. It was just the eye of the storm passing over. They still had the backside of the storm to contend with. He hurried back to the front door to make sure no one headed outside.
Chapter 17
Robin slowly woke up, not sure where she was, or what had changed. Then as she opened her eyes, she realized. It was quiet now. The winds had died down. She fully opened her eyes and saw Jay was right there, holding her, a smile on his face.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” His voice was low and soothing.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep. How long was I out?” She blinked a few times, trying to clear her mind.
“Couple hours. Sounds like the worst of the storm has passed. The eye passed over and then it started in again. But now, I think it’s lessening. Still can’t get a signal on my phone to check, though.”
“They should do the siren after the sheriff has had time to make rounds of the town and see if it’s safe enough to go out. It might be awhile. Normally if we had evacuated it might be a day or so before we could come back. But with everyone stuck here on the island? I’m not sure what they’ll do.”
“I’m okay here with you.” He reached over and pushed a lock of her hair away from her face. “Very okay.” He leaned down and kissed her.
For a bit they sat there, kissing as she cuddled in his arms. He was right. She was okay with just being here with him.
Finally, though, she pushed off the couch, reluctant to leave Jay’s arms but wanting to look outside. She peered through the window with the clear hurricane shutter but couldn’t see out well enough. “I’m going to open the door and look out.”
Jay stood and strode over. “I’ll get it.” He opened the door and slowly slid back the hurricane protection.
She peered around his shoulder. A steady rain pattered down from the sky, but the dark clouds overhead were already beginning to break up.
He turned back to her and smiled. “Looks like we made it through okay, Robs. I told you that we would.”
She walked into his arms as they stood looking out into the soaked courtyard. “You did say that.”
He let out a little
