Sweet Carolina

by Debbie White

  “Absolutely. We love your family and have tried our hardest to make them feel comfortable,” Betsy said.

  “Okay, so it’s all settled. Things will be all right from now on.” Annie held out her arms for a hug.

  Betsy leaped up and ran into Annie’s arms. “Thank you, Annie. I was so worried that things were going to change between us.”

  Annie pulled back from the embrace. “Are you kidding? You’re a blessing to them, even if they don’t realize it. And you’re a blessing to us.” She glanced at her watch. “Oh, Jack will be waiting for me outside with Ashton. I must run.”

  Annie took the stairs two at a time and when she landed, she rushed toward the living room. She popped her head inside and smiled. “Everything is good with Betsy and Charles. They love you two as well as we all do, and only want what is best for you. They understand your position and will see to it that you have many fun filled days. I must run now. Talk to you soon,” she said, blowing them kisses.

  “Tootles,” Lilly called out.

  “Adios,” Patty said.

  Annie stopped dead in her tracks and backed up a few steps, looking back into the living room. “Adios?”

  “I’m learning Spanish from the gardener,” Patty said, her eyes lighting up.

  “Grandmother?” Annie said singingly as she headed toward the door.

  “I’m on it, Granddaughter,” Lilly called out.

  Annie hopped into the passenger seat and let out a deep breath.

  “Everything settled?” Jack asked.

  “As settled as they can be. My grandmother and auntie are crazy old hoots.”

  Jack laughed. “They’re young at heart, Annie. I hope we’re like that someday.”

  “Like crazy old hoots?” Annie said, staring into his eyes.

  “Just think, we’ll have Ashton to chase us all over town.” He started up the engine, looked over his shoulder, and slowly pulled away from the curb.

  “We need more than Ashton. Boys can be so cold. We need a daughter. She’ll be warm and kind and loving toward us old hoots.”

  Jack glanced over toward Annie and then turned his attention back to the road. “Little boys aren’t cold. They’re just not all that sensitive. They like to get dirty and talk loud.”

  “Well, our little Ashton is going to develop his sensitive side,” Annie stated.

  “I’m ready to expand our family anytime you are,” Jack said.

  Annie reached over and took his free hand into hers, gently squeezing it and causing him to look over at her. “Hey, keep all eyes on the road. Baby on board,” she said teasingly.

  Chapter Six

  Annie stood outside on the porch and drew in the smell of the warm wind coming off the intercoastal waterway. She watched as it reached the trees, whipping the branches around. She pulled her sweater in and clutched it closed with her hands. She reared her head back to keep the windblown stray hairs from falling into her eyes. She peered over her shoulder when she heard the screen door open.

  Jack wrapped his arms around her waist. Pulling her close, Jack rested his chin on Annie’s shoulder as they both looked out toward the dark sky.

  “It’s getting pretty bad out there,” she said, leaning into him.

  “The weatherman is saying that the brunt of the storm shouldn’t come near us. We’ll just have wind and heavy rain. I’m glad your grandmother and auntie are on their way. The Battery and all of downtown will flood after this one blows through.”

  “I know enough about these storms that they are not predictable. I hope all we get is some rain and wind,” Annie said, turning toward Jack and giving him a quick kiss. “I’m going to go check the pantry.”

  She went into the kitchen to do a quick inventory. They’d been prepared for these types of storms before, but fortunately in all their years living in the area, only once did they suffer extreme hardship from a hurricane.

  Jack peered into the playpen where Ashton slept. “He can sleep through anything, huh?” He winked at Annie.

  “Men and boys,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Wait, what does that mean?” he said, crossing to the kitchen with a cunning gaze on his face.

  Annie crossed her arms and slanted her head slightly. “Let’s see, you’ve slept through thunder and lightning and the time I was sicker than a dog and barfing my brains out in the bathroom. You sleep through Ashton’s crying …”

  “Okay, I get it, but when I’m tired, I’m tired.”

  Annie furrowed her brows. “And women aren’t?”

  “You win, let’s not argue about who is more attentive,” Jack said, pulling her in close and sneaking a kiss.

  “I was just looking and I think we have enough food and water to carry us for a few days,” she said, trying to ignore his kisses.

  “I have the generator all ready to go, if we need it.” He gave her a quick kiss before he moved away.

  “I hope we don’t. I’m worried about Grandmother and Auntie. Don’t you think they should have been here by now?”

  Jack glanced at his watch. “Well, Charles said they were about to walk out the door, so yes, I do think they should be here. I’ll call him on his cell.”

  Annie watched as she bit her bottom lip. Something didn’t seem right about this, but she hoped, for once, her intuition would be wrong.

  “Voice mail,” Jack said, staring blankly at Annie.

  “Probably because he’s driving. I’ll try Betsy,” Annie said, reaching for her cell phone. She tapped her foot and then moved around the room with the phone glued to her ear. “Betsy, this is Annie. Just checking in on you, since we were expecting you a while ago. Call me.”

  “Voice mail?” Jack said.

  Annie nodded.

  “Okay, let’s not get worried. They are with Charles and Betsy, who we feel are very responsible, or we wouldn’t leave Lilly and Patty in their charge. Let’s give them another half hour. The traffic is probably a nightmare coming out of the city. In the meantime, I’m going down to the dock to make sure Lady Powell is securely tied and do a quick assessment of our property.”

  Just then, Ashton screamed at the top of his lungs, and had them both rushing into the living room. There, he stood hanging onto the sides, jumping up and down, and laughing.

  Annie shot Jack a terrified look and then reached down into the playpen and pulled Ashton into her arms. “Your first hurricane,” she said, leaning in and kissing him on his chubby little cheeks. Ashton let out a belly laugh and then playfully rubbed off her wet kiss on his cheeks.

  “And probably not your last, if you live here,” Jack said. He lowered his mouth to Ashton’s neck and blew a raspberry, making him giggle more.

  Annie sunk into the cushiony sofa and bounced Ashton on her leg. She sang a little song she’d heard somewhere about the horsey went this way, and the horsey went that way, and then proceeded to pump her legs up and down as if he were riding a horse. His laughter was contagious, and soon Annie and Jack were laughing, too.

  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 make a single sound.

  Chapter Seven

  “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 we
ather.”

  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.