“Me, too. I can help.” Zoe glanced at Noah. “Is that okay?”
Noah frowned slightly but nodded. “The center will stay open for those folks who need it. Some will probably stay until the electricity is back on.”
“We’ll all go together, then.” Lillian turned back to the sheriff.
The sheriff held up a hand. “The lot is blocked off right now. We need to cut a downed tree that’s blocking the entrance.”
“We could walk,” Lillian suggested.
“Still a pretty steady rain,” the sheriff said.
“I’ll get the chainsaw.” Noah nodded and headed away.
“I’ll help Noah, then we’ll head out.” Gary gave her a quick hug.
“I’ll go check on Etta, but I’m anxious to get back to the inn.”
She left the men to deal with the tree and went to find Etta. She was sitting up with her leg propped up on the chair across from her. “You feeling okay?” Lillian asked.
“Okay as can be expected. A little sore and bruised. Dr. Harden said to stay off my feet as much as possible.”
“We’re going to go head out and check on the inn. Are you going to be okay here?”
“I will. Noah said he’d send someone over to check on my house. If it’s okay, he said he’d drive me home.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay at home?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but I’ll check on you.”
Etta nodded. “Thanks, Lillian.”
Lillian turned and headed back to the front door, hoping the men had cleared the tree and they could go to the inn. She just hoped the inn had survived without much damage.
She looked at her cell phone again. Still no service. They needed to find Jay and Robin, too. Jay was resourceful, and she hoped they were fine, but she wouldn’t take a deep breath until she knew for sure.
Jay slipped on his still-damp shorts, contemplating jogging to his house and getting some dry clothes as soon as it was safe to do so. He opened the door and walked out into the gentle rain just as Sheriff Dave pulled his car up in front of the bungalow. The sheriff rolled down his window when Jay approached.
“There are going to be lots of people glad to see you, Jay. Robin with you?”
“She is. We holed up at her bungalow. Couldn’t make it back to the community center by the time I found her.”
“Did she find Mrs. Gleason’s missing pup?”
“She did.”
“They’ve given the all-clear for people to go out and check on their property, but we have a sunset to sunrise curfew in place. Be careful if you go out.”
“Will do. I’ll go check my place, then head over to the inn and see if Lillian needs anything.”
The sheriff nodded, rolled up his window, and pulled away. Jay trotted back inside the bungalow.
“Robs? We can leave now. I want to go check my house, then go check on the inn.”
Robin came walking out of the kitchen looking impossibly adorable with tousled hair, loose t-shirt, and bare feet. Not to mention she was right here where he could see her, not out in the storm with him frantically searching for her. He couldn’t resist it. He pulled her into his arms.
She leaned against him. “We should bring Barney with us. He’s still kind of shaken up by the storm.”
“Good idea,” Jay agreed as he reluctantly let her go.
“But leash him up. The last thing we want is to go chasing after him again.”
They closed up the bungalow and walked over to Jay’s house, avoiding the clumps of fallen branches, broken items that had been tossed about in the storm, and the areas of deeper pools of water. Barney walked along beside them but didn’t look very happy about it.
Jay checked out his house, pleased to see that except for the messy yard, it looked like everything was intact. He put on dry clothes and found Robin standing by the window, looking out over the bay. “It looks almost peaceful out there now, doesn’t it?”
He came up behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. “It does. And the rain has stopped now.”
“It looks like the sun is trying to come out, too.”
“All that’s left is the cleanup.”
“Until the next storm. I never really get used to this. We were lucky this time.” She leaned against him and he took in her warmth, balancing her against his side. She belonged there. Next to him. A surge of gratefulness swept through him. For the fact they’d finally realized what they meant to each other, for the fact that he’d found her safe from the storm, and for… well, for the opportunity to just stand here by her side, holding her.
They stood like that for a few minutes, enjoying the peace, before he let her go. “I think we’ll take Barney with us to the inn. Lil won’t mind. I don’t think he’s ready to be left alone.”
“I don’t think he is either.” Robin nodded.
He clipped the leash back on Barney and they headed out to the inn. They passed a few people on the street who waved as they hurried to go check on their homes and businesses. He heard a chain saw in the distance and someone nailing something further down the road. The familiar sounds of Belle Island awakening from the aftermath of a storm.
They got to the inn and entered, hearing voices coming from further inside. “Lillian?” he called out.
Lillian hurried up to him and gave him a hug, then released him and smothered Robin with a hug. “You’re here. You’re both okay?”
“We’re fine.” Robin hugged Lil back. “Jay found me and we stayed at my bungalow. The storm had gotten too bad to get back to the center. There was no cell service so I couldn’t let anyone know we were okay.”
“And I see you found Barney.” Lillian nodded at the dog.
“We did. He’d gone back to Mrs. Gleason’s.”
“Well, I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“How’s the inn?” he asked as he ran his glance around the main room.
“We’ve just started checking. Mason and Zoe went
