by Debbie White
Jack picked up the remote and turned the volume up on the television. They both stared at the screen as they listened to the reports that this could be the largest storm to hit this part of the United States in twenty-five years. Annie breathed in and held her breath slightly. Her heart quickened as she listened.
“I’m going to gather all the candles and lighters and have them in one central place,” she said, jumping up from the sofa and handing Ashton off to Jack.
“After you’re done, I’m going to walk around the property and check on things one last time,” Jack said.
As Annie raided the cupboards for the candles, flashlights, and a battery operated lantern, both Buffy and Isla followed her. “It’s okay, guys. We’ll be safe,” she said, patting them each on the head. Isla wagged her tail at a slow speed, and Buffy looked on with her saucer-sized brown eyes. “I know, how about a treat?” She walked over to the pantry and retrieved the bag of chicken bites. She leaned over and gave each dog a bite. Now, their tails were wagging at lightning speed.
After she gathered all the lighting devices, she put them all in a pile on the dining table and headed back into the living room. She held out her hands to Ashton who held onto the coffee table. He let go one hand and then the other and took the two steps into his mother’s arms.
“He’ll be walking soon, then look out,” Jack said as he rose from the couch and crossed into the kitchen. He removed his windbreaker from the back of the chair and put it on. He raised the hood over his head and tightly secured it.
“Be careful out there, Jack. I can hear the wind from inside here.”
He leaned in and kissed her mouth. “I’m always careful.”
Annie and Ashton played patty-cake and rode the pretend horsey again, but then she realized he hadn’t eaten yet. “Let’s have lunch,” she said, picking him up and walking to the kitchen. She pulled out his high chair and placed him in it. She then began preparing his lunch and theirs.
He’d made quite the mess on his tray, and standing back with her hands on her hips, Annie wondered how much of it the dogs had consumed. Isla and Buffy both were mere inches from the high chair and wagging their tails. On the floor were pieces of food and on the tray were remnants of something smeared everywhere. She wet a paper towel and began to clean him and the surrounding area up, when she realized that Jack still hadn’t returned from outside.
She pulled off the tray and picked up Ashton, heading to the back screened porch to see if she could find Jack. There was no sign of him. She opened the screen door to the outside, and leaned forward, straining her neck as far as she could, to see if there were any lights on in the garage, but it appeared dark.
“We better go find Daddy.” She moved to the front of the house and opened the door that led to the wraparound porch. She shielded Ashton from the wind as she stepped out onto the porch. She called out Jack’s name, but there was no answer. She walked to the end of the porch one way and looked around toward the back side of the house. She called his name once more—nothing. She hurriedly walked to the opposite end of the porch, where the huge magnolia tree stood, and peered as far as her eyes would take her—nothing again. She called his name, and again no response. Now her heart began to pound and a sick feeling hit her squarely in the stomach. She clutched Ashton to her bosom. “Where’s daddy?” she whispered in his ear.
Trying to think fast and feeling a bit cumbersome with Ashton, she knew she only had one real choice. The two of them would have to brave the storm winds and look for Jack. She rushed back into the house and pulled Jack’s little jacket from the closet and put it on him, covering his head with the hood. She tossed on her rain slicker and then the two stepped quickly back outside.
She immediately went down to the dock first. Something told her to look there first. She’d just cleared the first little hump that then took them down to the water, when she saw his body lying still on the dock.
“Jack,” she screamed as she ran to his side, slipping and sliding while holding Ashton tightly in her arms. She leaned over and touched him, and then she shoved him. “Jack! Jack, wake up,” she screamed.
Ashton began to cry as he tried to wiggle out of her grasp. Annie tried to protect him from the rain pelleting him in the face, but all eyes were on Jack.
“Jack, can you hear me?” Annie looked him over to see if she could see any wounds. She saw the gash on his head and the blood gushing from it. Jack moaned. “I’m going to run and get help, baby. Just hold on.” Annie got up from her knees and looked back up the hill toward their home. “Vicky!” Annie called out in a high, petrified scream.
A dull rumbling in the hollow of her gut told her to run as fast as she could. Holding Ashton, she ran. The rain came down really hard now, and the wind about blew them both over. She kept running, though. She couldn’t let anything happen to Jack. She ran over the little footbridge that crossed over the marsh area and headed straight over to Vicky and Scott’s house. She pounded on their door until they opened it.
“Annie,” Vicky shouted. “Come inside,” she said, pulling them both in.
“Jack’s been hurt. He’s down at the bottom of the dock.”
Scott came from the back room, and as he listened, he grabbed his raincoat off the coat tree. “I’ll go. You guys stay here. Call 9-1-1 and tell them we have an emergency. Tell them to meet us at your house.”
Annie and Vicky watched as Scott rushed out the front door. Vicky put her arm around Annie and pulled her close. “Don’t worry, he has military training, and he’ll get Jack to safety.”
Vicky fixed them each a cup of hot tea, and while Ashton played on the floor with some coasters and wooden spoons, the girls sipped the warm spiced tea.
“I’m worried about Lilly and Patty, too. They were supposed to arrive well over an hour ago. We’ve called both Charles’s and Betsy’s cell phones, but they go straight into voice mail.” Annie lowered her head and stared into her cup.
“Okay, I think we should call the highway patrol,” Vicky said, getting her phone. “What kind of car are they driving?”
Annie listened on as Vicky gave the dispatcher all the information. No sooner had she hung up the phone than they heard the sounds of sirens.
“Ambulance,” Annie said, pulling herself up from the sofa.
“Wait, let me call Scott.”
Annie paced the room as she waited.
“Okay, he said the ambulance just pulled up. He’s flagging them now.”
Annie’s eyes widened. She pictured Scott on the little hill waving like a madman, directing the ambulance crew to the dock.
“He’ll call us after they get Jack into the ambulance. Just a few more minutes.” Vicky rushed to Annie and pulled her in for a hug. “It’s going to be all right. Just a few more minutes and we’ll have a better update.”
“I hate that I can’t be there for Jack,” Annie cried into Vicky’s shoulder.
“I know, dear, but you’ll be with him soon. The weather is just too awful for you to be out there. We don’t need two injuries.”
Annie nodded. Just then, Vicky’s cell rang.
“Okay, he’s stable, and they’ll be approaching our house in a few minutes. You can ride with Jack in the back.”
Annie’s eyes settled on Ashton and then back to Vicky.
“Don’t worry about him. We’ll take great care of him.”
Annie rushed over to Vicky and planted a kiss on her cheek and then did the same to Ashton. “Mommy will be back soon.” She quickly stepped toward the front door, and looking back one last time at Ashton, she headed out the door. She’d been outside for less than thirty seconds when the ambulance pulled up. Scott bounded out from the back and waved his hands wildly at Annie to hurry up.
Annie pulled herself up into the back of the ambulance where Jack and two paramedics sat, one on each side of him. “Jack, Jack, it’s Annie. I’m right here, darling,” she said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing lightly. Jack’s eyes fluttered, but he didn’t mak
e a single sound.
Chapter 7
“Annie.” He opened his arms wide and let her fall into his embrace.
“Please, tell me he’s going to be okay,” she said, choking back tears.
“He has a slight concussion, a fat lip, and a sprained wrist, but he’s alive, and is going to be just fine,” Dr. Carlisle said.
“I’m so happy you’re the doctor on call today, Michael. How fortunate for him … for us,” Annie said with pleading eyes.
“Not the best timing, with the storm and all. How did Jack get hurt?”
“I’m not sure. He’ll have to tell us, once he’s awake. All I know is that he said he was going to check on the property and Lady Powell. When he didn’t return, we went looking for him. I found him on the dock with blood coming from his head.”
Michael patted her on the shoulder. “You can go in and see him. He was coming around when I was in there, so I expect him to be awake soon. Then you can drill him on what he was doing out in this awful weather.”
Annie nodded. She sank her eyes to the floor and slowly made her way down the hall to his room. When she stepped inside, the stillness of the room made her shudder. Seeing poor Jack lying in his hospital bed made her sad, and she quickly wiped away the trailing tears. She picked up her pace and rushed to his bedside. She pulled up a chair and sat holding his hand, waiting for him to wake up.
After a few minutes of rubbing his thumb against hers, she rose and leaned over, kissing him on his mouth. His eyes fluttered a bit. “Jack, it’s Annie,” she whispered.
She traced his chest with her fingers and then sighing, she sat back down. She rested her cheek on his leg, muffling her cries into the sheet.
She reared her head up when she felt his fingers tangle up in her hair. “Jack,” she said in a guarded tone, a partial smile crossing her mouth.
“Hey, baby,” he said, barely audible.
Annie’s half smile soon turned to a broad one. “I love you, Jack!”
A low chuckle made its way out of his mouth, bringing with it a quaint smile.
Annie leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. “Michael said you’re going to be okay. You just have a little bump on the head and a sprained wrist.”
Jack groaned as he tried to lift his head.
“Let me help,” Annie said, grabbing the bed remote and lifting the head for him. She fluffed his pillow, straightened his bedding, and poured him some fresh water.
He planted his hands on each side and moved his body up a bit, peering at her through half-closed eyes. “How long was I knocked out?”
“I’m not sure. When Ashton and I found you, you weren’t out, but just dazed.”
“I don’t remember much.”
“That’s okay, you rest. Maybe it will come to you later.”
Jack’s eyes flew open. “The hurricane! Ashton, your grandmother, and Patty.”
“Everyone is okay. Ashton is with Scott and Vicky. Grandmother and Patty, along with Charles and Betsy, are all at your parents’ house.”
Jack shook his head a few times. “Huh? Scott and Vicky, my parents …” he said, drifting off.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll explain later. Right now, you rest and get better. We need you home.” She patted him on the arm.
Just then the hospital door flew open and in walked a nurse, pushing a cart along. “Time to take his vitals,” she sang.
Annie backed away, while the nurse did her job. “I’ll be right back. Just going to make a call,” she said, showing her cell phone and waving it around to the nurse.
“How’s my little buddy doing?” Annie asked her friend, once she answered.
“He’s fine,” Vicky reassured her. “He’s playing with Scott’s keys, and whatever else we can find to entertain him. Scott did run back over to your house and grabbed the dogs … and some diapers.”
“Oh, Vicky, that’s so nice of you all. I wanted to update you on Grandmother and Auntie. They made it over to Milly and Robert’s, and I guess they’re having a big old hurricane party!”
Vicky laughed into the phone. “Man, see what we are missing because Jack fell on his head?”
“I know, right? I guess Grandmother and Auntie are in sheer delight being over there. Jack’s grandparents are there, too.”
“I can only imagine what poor Milly is going through. She’s probably pulling her hair out.”
“I talked to Mary. She and Danny are over there, too. I guess they’re making margaritas and all this food before the power goes out.”
“If the power goes out,” Vicky corrected.
“How are the winds?”
“They’ve actually died down some, but you know what they say …”
“The calm before the storm?” Annie pulled her bottom lip in.
“Let’s think positive. So what’s your plan?”
“Jack’s going to insist I leave to be with Ashton. I don’t know how dangerous that will be. I’m going to check with the guards here, and see if I can get any more updates about the news before I make my decision. Jack is out of the woods and just requires rest. He’s safe here.”
“Okay, well whatever you do, let us know before you do it.”
Annie agreed to Vicky’s terms and then bid her goodbye. She walked down the hallway that led to the reception desk, and spoke with the volunteers who were manning it. They gave her all the details they had on the storm and then directed her to watch the news. She moseyed over to the seating area, where she sat, taking in the weather reports. She spotted a Keurig machine in the corner and popped back up, making her way over to fix herself a cup of coffee. She kept her eyes and ears on the television as the coffee dripped into her cup. Taking her cup, she drew in the smell of the fresh coffee, while she listened to the latest. Apparently, the worst of the storm had blown over. Just like a lot of these storms, it had fizzled out before it came ashore, but not before it brought minimal flooding to the downtown area and a few isolated power outages. This storm would go down in history as being minor. Letting out a sigh of relief, Annie took herself and her cup of coffee back to Jack’s room to tell him the good news.
With Jack sleeping soundly, Annie didn’t want to wake him, and instead leaned over and kissed him goodbye. “I’ll be back. I’m going to go be with our little boy,” she whispered, kissing him once again. She pulled up and began to move when he caught her hand with his. “Oh, you’re awake.”
“I’m drifting in and out. Michael said I'd be doing that for a while.”
Annie raised her brow. “He came in, then? Michael saw you?”
Jack nodded. “Said that next time I want attention, I should try asking for it, instead of falling in a storm and hitting my head, knocking myself unconscious.”
Annie laughed. “He did, huh? Well, for the record, it was a little dramatic, I must say.” She squeezed his hand.
“Ho ho ho,” he mocked.
“Listen, good news, the storm is passing, and I can be with Ashton. Michael said he’s keeping you overnight, so I’ll be back tomorrow to get you, okay?”
“Sounds good. Give my boy a big hug from his accident-prone daddy.”
“Jack?” Annie said, tilting her head to the right.
Jack blinked and then nodded.
“How did the accident happen? Do you have any recollection now?”
Jack brushed his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I went to bend over to tug on the rope for the boat, and I guess a gust of wind came up and slammed me down on the deck, head first. I managed to roll over onto my back, but then realized my wrist was hurting badly. I then blanked out. Really, when you think about it, it shouldn’t have knocked me out, but I guess I’m a lightweight.”
“No, you’re not a lightweight. The wind was forceful. It was like dropping a couple of hundred pounds on a wooden surface. You might have hit your head on something before falling, and just don’t realize it.”
Jack drew in a long breath and let it out loudly. “Well, whatever the case may be, I’m
going to be okay, and except for a sprained wrist and bruised pride, I’ll be home tomorrow.” He winked at her, causing her to smile.
“I’m going to call a cab. Know any good drivers who are willing to brave some rain?” she coyly asked.
“Call Richard.”
“Yeah, I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because, while you were lying on a dock bleeding, and then rushed to the hospital, those guys were having a hurricane party.”
Jack’s eyes widened.
“Fortunately, Grandmother and Auntie made it there, too.” Annie shook her head side to side.
“Oh, your family fits in so well with mine,” he said, chuckling.
Annie leaned over and placed her mouth on his. His lips felt dry, probably from being out in the elements for so long. She breathed in his scent, but instead of the earthy sensual aroma she’d normally get from a combination of his shower gel, deodorant, and their laundry detergent, Annie took in the smell of bleached linen, dried blood, and rubbing alcohol. She wrinkled her nose.
“I’ll check with Michael on the way out, to find out what time to pick you up tomorrow. Get some rest. I have a feeling we’ll have some cleanup to do out at Sweet Magnolia.”
“What about the bakery?” Jack asked.
Annie began to wobble, her eyes growing to the size of saucers. She’d forgotten all about her beloved little cupcakery. She pulled in her bottom lip to try and stop it from quivering.
“Now, Annie, don’t get worked up about the bakery. It’s probably just fine,” Jack said, trying to calm the second storm brewing.
Annie pulled out her phone and dialed a number. “I need to find a way back to Vicky and Scott’s. Who over there hasn’t been drinking and can come get me?”
“Robert. We’ll send him,” Mary said.
Annie could hear all the chatter coming from the Powell household. She swore she could hear Grandmother’s cackle from a distance. She pursed her lips. “Okay, please tell him to hurry.”
