His Holiday Family (7 page)

“Why do we have to stay in here? I can't see what's going on.” Jared tossed down his cards after losing again to his brother. “I'm bored.”

Kathleen gestured toward two pallets on the floor. “Then try and sleep.”

Jared shot her a look as if she'd gone crazy. “What if something happens? I've got to be ready.”

Butch yelped at the door right before it opened, and Gideon came into the room. “Everything looks okay right now.”

Static suddenly filled the air. “Oh, great, the radio station has been knocked off the air,” her mother muttered.

His eyes huge, Kip scooped up Butch. “Did the hurricane get it?”

Her mother turned off the static noise. “No, honey. They either lost their backup power or the storm is interfering with their signal. Nothing to be concerned about.”

Gideon picked his way through the pillows and blankets littering the floor to Kathleen and sat next to her. “The electricity is off up and down the street. I don't see any evidence of flooding.” He turned his head away from the boys and lowered his voice, “But I think one of us should go out and check every fifteen minutes. The wind has picked up, and I see debris everywhere.”

“I'll go next.”

“Go where, Mom?” Kip asked, holding the dog close to him, laying his cheek against the animal.

“Just to check the house. We don't have windows in here to look out so it's a good thing to do that every once in a while.”

“Why don't we camp out in the den? It's more comfortable.” Standing against the washing machine, Kip followed Bubbles swimming around in circles.

“It's safer staying away from windows,” Kathleen's mother answered, turning the radio on again and finding more static. Frowning, she switched it off.

The steady sound of the rain and wind hung in the silence that had descended. Even Jared bit his lower lip and hunkered down on the pallet.

“Why don't you listen to your music on your MP3 player?” Kathleen wished she had one to take her mind off the hurricane.

“I forgot mine at home when we packed our bags.” Kip flinched when the noise increased in intensity.

“I've got mine.” Jared reached for his backpack and dug into it. When he found it, he stuck the earplugs in and lay on the pallet.

The relentless sound pounding at the house continued. Kip chewed on his fingernails, looking at the ceiling. Finally he curled up on his blankets, burying Butch and him beneath the covers.

“I hope he goes to sleep, but I don't think that's going to happen,” Kathleen whispered to Gideon.

The blanket flipped back and Kip sat up. “I heard you. I can't sleep. Who can with all this noise?”

“Then why don't you tell me about the snowstorm you had in Denver where you lost your power. How many inches was it?” Gideon leaned forward, clasping his hands, resting his elbows on his thighs.

A crack and boom rent the air. Kip shot to his feet. Butch burrowed deeper into the covers. “What was that?”

“Tell Gideon about the snowstorm. I'll go check.” Kathleen schooled her voice and her expression into
a calmness she didn't feel. Inside, her heart thundered against her chest, and she squeezed her hands into fists to keep them from trembling. Kip didn't need to see that.

She pushed to her feet and hurried out of the room before her son saw fear on her face. Another sound reverberated through the air. Like a tree crashing into something nearby.

Since most of the windows were shuttered, Kathleen went to the front door and opened it slowly. It was protected from the direction the wind was coming, but she didn't want to take any chances. She knew the folly of going out in the storm, but she needed to discover the source of that noise. The yard had tall pines and live oak in it. She moved a couple of feet out onto the porch with Gideon's powerful flashlight.

When she peered out at the rain and wind lashing the ground at a forty-five-degree angle, she couldn't see anything. Through the early morning light she accounted for all the trees in front. As she started to back away and close the door, she noticed out of the corner of her eye the base of an uprooted pine in Miss Alice's yard.

Quickly going into the house, Kathleen slammed the door closed and rushed into the garage where there was a taped window that faced Miss Alice's place. Through the strips she spied the pine. Its massive trunk halved the one-story house right where Miss Alice's bedroom was. Rain and wind whipped through the hole in the structure. Kathleen remembered the older woman had planned to sleep while Hurricane Naomi raged outside.

T
hat Miss Alice was probably trapped beneath the pine tree gripped Kathleen with immobility for a few seconds as the howling wind vied with the drenching downpour. Then another crack followed by a boom propelled her into action. She whirled around and raced toward the door into the house. When she burst into the laundry room, Jared lay curled on his pallet, asleep finally, while Kip, buried by mounds of covers, stayed hidden with Butch.

Her mother glanced up. “What's wrong?”

In midstretch, Gideon riveted his attention to her.

“Miss Alice's house was struck by a tree right through her bedroom where she was going to be. We've got to help her.”

Gideon bolted to his feet. “I'll go.”

“No, not alone.” Kathleen blocked his exit. “Mom, remain here with the boys. If you can get through to 911, let them know about Miss Alice.”

“Hon, I doubt I'll be able to, but I'll try. What if Jared or Kip wakes up?”

“Tell them we went to help Miss Alice, and we'll be right back.” Kathleen spun on her heel and moved
into the hallway, waiting until Gideon left and closed the door.

“I heard another tree either go down or split, but I didn't see where.”

“You should stay here.” Gideon began donning his rain gear.

When Kathleen finished snapping her waterproof jacket, she grabbed her heavy-duty flashlight and started for the back door. “I'm a nurse. If something is wrong with Miss Alice, I might be able to help.”

Right behind her, he stopped her progress. “I'm a paramedic. Let me handle this. You take care of your family.”

She tapped his cast underneath the rain slicker. “With only one arm?”

He scowled. “Let's go. Take hold of me and stay close.”

As she stepped out into the wind, its force nearly snatched her flashlight from her. She tightened her grip and lowered her head. She dragged one foot forward, then another, fighting the crosswinds and the driving rain. The beating of her heart battered at her chest as the hurricane battered Hope.

Gideon paused near the downed tree, inspecting what he could, but the downpour and high winds made it hard to see anything. Hugging the side of Alice's house, Kathleen used it to shelter herself from the fierce storm and continued toward the back door. She reached it and tried the handle. Locked. She peered back toward Gideon approaching her.

“It's locked. How do we get in?” Kathleen asked.

“I'll try to climb in through the hole the tree has created. There's a gap. I might fit,” he yelled over the din of the hurricane.

“I might be able to better than you. Let me try first.”

“But—”

“I have two arms I can use to climb.” She started back the way she'd come.

Gideon dogged her steps, and when she arrived at the place where he thought he could get into the house, Kathleen examined it and wondered how she would get through the slit. She grabbed hold of the trunk, the rain pummeling her. Gideon positioned himself next to the tree, and she used him to hike herself up and into the small opening.

The wet bark scraped against her as she wiggled through the hole. Her raincoat snagged on a broken branch, stopping her progress. She yanked on her slicker and freed it, then slithered through the rest of the opening.

With her flashlight she inspected the area where the tree came down. All she could see was the edge of the bed. The pine obscured the rest of it. She stepped closer and peered through the limbs to see if she saw Miss Alice. The storm still hammered at her.

She knelt next to the bed and probed the green foliage for any sign of Miss Alice. She couldn't see anything. “Miss Alice!” she yelled several times over the noise of the storm. Even though her neighbor had intended to turn off her hearing aid, she had to try in case Miss Alice hadn't.

Standing, she hurried into the hallway and closed the bedroom door to keep some of the wind and rain out although part of the corridor's ceiling had caved in as well. She headed toward the kitchen to open the door for Gideon.

After letting him into the house, she pointed toward the dining room and living room. “Let's check the
house. I didn't see her in her bedroom. Maybe she used her other one. Or maybe she's on the other side of her bed where I can't get.” As she voiced that last fear, she sent a silent prayer to the Lord that Miss Alice would be safe somewhere else in her house.

“We'll find her.”

Kathleen swept her flashlight in a wide arc on half the dining room while Gideon took the other part, making her way toward the living room.
Please let Miss Alice be safe in her recliner as before.

But when Kathleen entered the room ahead of Gideon and shone her light on the chair, its emptiness mocked her. “Where's Miss Alice's cat? I haven't seen or heard it.”

“With her probably. Or hiding.”

A slamming sound caused Kathleen to jump, nearly falling back into Gideon. He steadied her with one hand, then skirted her and strode toward the noise. In the hallway he slowed his quick pace. Kathleen spied the bedroom door she'd shut banging against the wall as the wind whipped through.

“Let's finish checking the rest of the house then recheck her bedroom.” Gideon covered the distance to Miss Alice's other bedroom.

Kathleen took the closed door across the hall. When she entered the bathroom, she came to a halt, her light illuminating a sleeping Miss Alice on a small, blow-up mattress with her cat curled next to her.

“Gideon, she's in here.” Kathleen knelt next to Miss Alice and shook her shoulder.

The woman's eyes popped open. For a few seconds confusion marked her expression until recognition dawned in her gaze. “Why are you here? I'm perfectly
fine. I told you I was going to bed and sleep through this.”

“Miss Alice, a pine tree fell on your house. On your bedroom. I was afraid you went to sleep in your bed.”

The older woman's eyes grew round. “My bedroom? Something told me to set up in here. This is the only room without windows.” She struggled to sit up.

Kathleen helped her. “Please come over to Mom's house. We'll help you. You've got a couple of other trees close to your house.”

“I'll be all—”

Gideon moved into the bathroom. “Miss Alice, do you want us to worry about you? Because we will if you don't come with us. There is no way we can leave you here with your house damaged like it is.”

“A tree could fall on Ruth's house.”

Gideon plowed his hand through his wet hair. “Yep, you're certainly right, but right now one hasn't. At least wind and rain aren't blowing through her place.”

“What about my things?”

“You're more important than any of your possessions. I'll help you carry what you think is important.”

“I've got to take Cottonballs. I can't leave him here.” Miss Alice scooped up her white cat and held it against her chest. “Help me up. My knees don't work like they used to.”

Gideon took Miss Alice's left arm while Kathleen clasped her right one, and they hoisted her to her feet.

“I have to have my pocketbook. I don't go anywhere without it.”

“Where is it?” Kathleen scooted the air mattress back so Miss Alice could walk unhindered.

“In the bathtub along with some of my most prized possessions. I need them, too.”

“I'll get them while Gideon helps you.”

“Miss Alice, you'll need to stay close to me. The wind is fierce.”

“Don't you worry about me, young man. I've been through some bad storms before. You don't live to be eighty-six and not. I could tell you some stories…” As she and Gideon made their way toward the kitchen, the roar of the wind streaming from the bedroom drowned out her words.

Kathleen turned toward the bathtub and saw Miss Alice's purse along with a sack of other items. Taking the paper bag, she panned the room for something to put her possessions into that wouldn't fall apart the minute she stepped outside. Finally, she dumped the contents of the trash can out on the floor and stuffed the sack down into it, then hurried into the hall.

Her slicker flapped in the wind coming from the bedroom. She didn't want to think of the damage being done to the inside of the house. In the kitchen, before she followed Gideon and Miss Alice and her cat out into the tempest, she drew in a fortifying breath.

Lord, please help us get back to Mom's safely.

 

A couple of hours later, Gideon opened the front door and stood in the entrance to Ruth's house, surveying the street. The rain still fell, backing up at the drains and flooding the road. He ran his fingers through his now-dry hair then kneaded the tight cords of his neck. Tension gripped him.

Limbs, leaves and debris cluttered the rain-soaked ground. Downed trees crisscrossed his neighbors' yards. A small magnolia in front of Ruth's lay uprooted and blocking the sidewalk. Months of work stretched
before the town. It took a day to destroy, but it would take a long time to repair.

“How bad is it?” Kathleen came to his side to peer outside.

“We probably fared better than some areas nearer the water. The storm surge was supposed to be bad. I think most of those people evacuated. At least I hope they did.”

She clicked off her flashlight. Although it was daylight, a steady rain grayed the sky, and the shuttered windows darkened the interior of the house. “I'm afraid of what I'll find at the cottage. It sits at a lower elevation near the beach.”

“When do you have to report to work?”

“I should go in as soon as possible. The people who've been at the hospital have been there for over twenty-four hours.”

“I want to drive you. You said your car has been giving you problems. I don't want you to get stranded.”

“Thankfully, the hospital isn't but a few miles from here. If I have to, I can walk.”

He turned toward her, grasping her arm. “No, I will take you. It's going to be dangerous with flooding and downed power lines.”

“I hate leaving Mom and the boys, but they need me at the hospital.”

“Don't worry about them. I can stay here and help.”

“Don't let Miss Alice go home. It isn't safe.”

He grinned. “I'll do my best, but she's stubborn. I thought for a moment last night I was going to have to throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of her house.”

“That would have been a sight, especially with your cracked ribs and broken arm.”

“Yeah, I was doing some heavy-duty praying she'd agree without a fight.”

The look in Kathleen's eyes softened. She took hold of his hand. “Thank you for being here. I think your presence helped the boys, especially Kip.”

“It's much better to ride out a hurricane with someone than by yourself.” Most of his life he had been by himself, but when he said that to Kathleen, he realized he meant every word. He'd felt needed and liked that feeling.

“I'd better get ready,” Kathleen said with a deep sigh.

“I'll get my Jeep and be back to take you.”

She turned back into the house and crossed to the hallway, using her flashlight to guide her. Gideon shut the front door and went to the kitchen to get into his rain gear, then he headed out the back and cut across Ruth's yard toward Miss Alice's, circling around toward the front. As he strode past her place, he took note of the extensive damage. Another tree had fallen on her porch and crashed through its roof, barely missing the main house.

When he arrived at his home, one of his shutters was ripped off its hinges and the window was broken, allowing rain into his place. He went inside and hurried to the front spare bedroom. Now that the wind wasn't driving the rain at an angle, water was no longer pooling on his hardwood floor. He would take Kathleen then come back to patch the hole the best he could. Maybe he could get Kathleen's sons to help him now that the rain had lessened and the wind had calmed. It would be good to keep them busy, especially Jared.

Ten minutes later he pulled up in front of Ruth's. Kathleen came out before he could get out of his
Jeep. She hurried toward his car and climbed into the passenger's side.

“Jared wanted to come with us. I told him he can't leave the house until it's safe.”

“I thought I would see if Kip and Jared would help me repair one of my windows. Other than some rain damage in that bedroom, I think my house weathered the storm okay. I noticed some shingles off the roof and some branches down but nothing like Miss Alice's place.”

“I went upstairs and the ceiling in my old bedroom is leaking so I'm sure Mom's roof has some problems, too.”

“There's a lot of work to do, but first I need to get you to the hospital.”

He came to a stop at the end of the block where a downed tree impeded his progress. Climbing from the Jeep, he started for the medium-size pine to move it. He grasped it and started dragging it, a grimace of pain on his face. Kathleen joined him and took hold of it as he did. Together they managed to drag it off the road enough to allow cars around it.

Back in the Jeep a few minutes later Gideon threw the car into Drive and pulled forward. “That probably won't be the only time we'll be doing that.” He steered clear of a power line down on one side of the street and continued toward the hospital.

By the time he reached the front doors of Hope Memorial, his hand ached from gripping the steering wheel so tightly and the tension in his neck had intensified. What little he'd seen of the town left an impression of chaos, as though he'd driven through a war-torn area.

When he parked, he angled toward Kathleen. “When do you want me to pick you up?”

“My shift will end tomorrow morning at this time. We'll rotate teams until things calm down, but from the looks of the town that may be a while.”

“This is the worst possible time to be on medical leave.”