His Holiday Family Page 5

  “Does he live here? New Orleans?”

  This was the reason he didn’t like to talk about himself. So often it led to questions he didn’t want to answer. “I haven’t seen him since he was four.”

  The front door swung open and Kip, with his eyes huge, thrust the phone into Kathleen’s hands. “It’s Nana. She says Hurricane Naomi has made an almost one-hundred-eighty-degree turn and picked up speed—lots of speed—and is heading straight for Hope. It should be here by tomorrow night.”

  Chapter Four

  Kathleen clutched the phone with a trembling hand, hoping somehow Kip hadn’t heard her mother right. “Mom, what’s going on?”

  “Exactly what Kip told you. The hurricane is coming right for us. It has picked up speed. This time I don’t think we’re going to dodge the bullet.”

  Kathleen’s eyes closed, and she drew in a deep, fortifying breath. “He said tomorrow night—early or late?”

  “It will start by early evening, and the eye should be going over us right after midnight if it continues to move at the same speed it is now.”

  “I guess you don’t have to put up those supplies after all. We’ll take care of this house and come over to help you after that.”

  Kathleen hung up and passed the phone to Kip. “You and your brother need to go to bed. First thing tomorrow, we’ll have to board and tape up this house then help Nana.”

  Kip’s eyes widened. “How bad will it be?”

  Gideon stepped forward. “A lot of wind and rain.”

  “Like a bad thunderstorm?” Her son gripped the phone tighter.

  Gideon settled his hand on Kip’s shoulder. “Yeah. You’ll be okay.”

  “Does this mean we don’t have school tomorrow?”

  “Yes. We’ll be busy getting ready as will everyone else.” Kathleen opened the screen door.

  “Cool. Wait till Jared hears this.”

  “I don’t want any more fighting between you and Jared. We have other things to deal with right now. Okay?”

  Kip spun around and charged back into the house, saying, “Yes.”

  Turning to face Gideon, she let the screen door bang closed. “The last time I was in a hurricane was over twenty years ago. I’ve forgotten what to do. I remember Mom filling the bathtub and other containers with water. Getting candles, lanterns, batteries for a radio and flashlights…” With memories racing through her mind, it went blank.

  “Stock up on food you don’t have to refrigerate. We will most likely lose our electricity. Bring indoors everything that can be picked up by high winds. Since this house doesn’t have hurricane shutters, tape or board the windows. Then pray. Are you going to stay here?”

  “I don’t know. I might go to Mom’s.”

  “I think that would be better. If there is a big storm surge, this house could be flooded. It’s nearer the beach than your mom’s.”

  “Then that’s where we’ll be.”

  Gideon stared down at his cast. “If it wasn’t for this, I’d be at the fire station.” Frustration edged his voice.

  “I’m on the B team at the hospital. I work post-hurricane. I’ll contact work tomorrow morning and see when they want me to come in. There’s so much to be done. This house isn’t prepared.”

  He took her hand. “Get a good night’s sleep, and I’ll come over and help tomorrow morning first thing.”

  “Only if you’ll let me help you.”

  “I have hurricane shutters, which will cut down on what I have to do. Let’s get your house and your mom’s prepared first. There shouldn’t be too much to do with mine.”

  “I’ll have breakfast ready at 6:30. At least let me feed you before you work.”

  He squeezed her hand then dropped it and turned toward the steps. “You’ve got yourself a date. See you at 6:30.”

  Kathleen stood on her porch and watched him stroll down her sidewalk, hop into his Jeep and leave. As his taillights disappeared down the street, she peered up at the sky. Roiling clouds obscured the moon. It had begun.

  The next morning, using the electric screwdriver that Gideon brought, Kathleen secured a large board over the picture window in the living room while Gideon held it in place for her. When she finished with the last screw, she descended the ladder and stepped back. “I hope that will hold.”

  “You’ve done what you can.” He hoisted the ladder with his good arm and moved toward the detached garage behind the house.

  Kathleen followed Gideon toward the backyard where Jared and Kip were hauling the patio items to the garage to store them. She passed several smaller windows she and Gideon had taped in the past hour since they had eaten breakfast.

  “You haven’t done your share of the work. I’ve been carrying all the heavy stuff,” Kip yelled from the backyard.

  Rounding the side of the house, Kathleen found Jared and Kip playing tug-of-war with a seat cushion. She slowed and shook her head. “I guess I should be thankful this hasn’t happened before this. Kip still hasn’t forgiven Jared for the homework last night.”

  “I seem to remember Zach and I fighting over nothing at times,” Gideon said with a chuckle. “He used to love to bug me.”

  “I got this first. You take the table.” Jared jerked the cushion toward him.

  Kip let go of it. “Fine. Take it.”

  Jared staggered back and fell on his bottom into a puddle of water left by the rain during the night.

  Stomping to the table, Kip lifted it and headed for the garage. When he saw Kathleen, his mouth pressed together in a thin line.

  “Mom, did you see him?” Jared scampered to his feet and turned his back to her, showing her his jeans soaking wet with muddy water. “Look at this.”

  Kathleen inspected the dark clouds surging over them. “Jared, go in and change. Kip, you can help us finish clearing the patio.”

  “Jared doesn’t have to work?” Kip disappeared into the garage.

  “I’m counting to ten before I answer that one,” Kathleen said to Gideon then trailed her son into the garage. She covered the space between them and blocked his path. “This is not a time for fighting. We have to get this house, Nana’s and then Gideon’s ready for the hurricane that will be here soon. If you two don’t want to be grounded for the rest of your life, you’ll work together and be civil with each other.”

  Tears welled into Kip’s eyes. “I’m scared. I’ve listened to what they’ve said about hurricanes. I don’t want to be here. Why did we move here?”

  Kathleen knelt in front of her son and clasped his arms. “Honey, you’ll be all right. We are preparing for it. This town has gone through hurricanes before, and it is fine. It has been here for almost two hundred years. It will be here for another two hundred.”

  “Don’t be a scaredy-cat,” Jared said from the doorway into the garage.

  “Come here, Jared.” Kathleen waved her hand toward him. When he approached warily, she took his hand. “We are a family, and we stick together, especially through trying times like this. I told Kip and now I’ll tell you, Jared. We can’t fight a hurricane and each other. I depend on you two for your help and cooperation.”

  Jared squared his shoulders and thrust out his chin. “I’ll protect you. I’m not scared, Mom.”

  Kip yanked free from Kathleen and stormed toward the exit. “I’m not, either.”

  Jared opened his mouth to reply to his brother. Kathleen put two fingers over his lips. “Shh. Not a word. This may seem like an adventure to you, but it’s a serious situation that could be dangerous. Like climbing up to the roof. Look what happened when you did that.”

  “It’s starting to rain again.” Gideon came into the garage, hauling part of a wooden lounge chair while Kip had the other end. “This is the last of the furniture. Let’s get to your mom’s and see what needs to be done there.”

  Kathleen rose. “That’s a good idea. I want to get there before Nana decides to climb the ladder and close her hurricane shutters on the second floor.”

  “I can
do that.” Eagerness lit Jared’s face.

  Suddenly, Kathleen pictured her young son with a cast on each arm. “No more climbing for you for a while.”

  Kip stepped forward, his chest thrust out. “I’ll do it.”

  “No. I’m going to.” Kathleen headed into the house to get her purse. “You two go and get into the car.”

  Gideon followed her inside. “I’ll meet you at your mom’s.”

  She snatched her handbag from the kitchen counter and started out to the garage. Gideon touched her arm, the feel of his fingers momentarily grazing her skin, stopping her.

  “Everything will be all right. We had a storm the first year I was here. A lot of wind and rain, but the town came through it.”

  “I hope so. I’m on the team that reports to the hospital right after the storm passes. I hate leaving my boys even then, but at least they’ll be with Mom.”

  “I hate that I can’t be out there helping, but my captain told me in no uncertain terms when I called him this morning not to come. Then he went on to give me his brief lecture on being injured. But it’s hard standing on the sidelines watching others do what you feel you should.”

  “If you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll hurt yourself even more. Cracked ribs and a broken arm take time to heal.”

  He smiled. “I’ve never been a good patient.”

  “I’m used to that.”

  He strode toward the door. “We’d better go before it really starts raining. The few showers we’ve had are nothing compared to what will be coming soon.”

  “I’ll follow you to Mom’s.”

  In the car, Kathleen switched on the engine and backed out onto the street as Gideon climbed into his Jeep. Sprinkles fell onto the windshield. Silence ruled in the car. Glares were exchanged between her sons in the backseat. She clasped the steering wheel in such a tight grip, her knuckles whitened. The day had only begun. Before it ended, they would be drenched in water and hammered with wind.

  “Mom, please get down from there. I can do that.” Kathleen raced toward her mother, who was on the ladder against the house.

  Ruth perched on one of the top rungs, wrestling with the wind to close the shutter. After finally shutting it, she swung around to stare down at her daughter. “What took y’all so long? I’ve got to go to the filling station and get gas. I only have a fourth of a tank. I should know better with a hurricane out in the Gulf. I always keep it topped off. But the storm fooled me when it turned toward Florida.”

  Ruth took a step down, lost her footing and began to fall. When she clutched the ladder, it teetered. Gideon hurried past Kathleen and grabbed it with one hand and steadied it against the house. Ruth sagged against the rungs.

  Slowly she made her way down to the ground and collapsed back against the ladder, her hands shaking. “My word, I had visions of me landing in the same spot as Jared, but I can tell you I would not be able to bounce to my feet like he did. And a broken arm would be the least of my worries.”

  “Exactly, Mom. I told you I would do it.”

  “I’m gladly turning the job over to you—on one condition.” Her mother swept around toward Gideon. “You need to hold the ladder for her. The rungs are a little slippery and the wind is picking up. I’ll take the boys to the filling station with me.”

  “I’ve got a better idea. Take Jared. Kip will stay and help us.” Kathleen picked up the ladder and moved it to the next window.

  As the boys slowly walked across the front lawn, their heads down, their arms hanging listlessly at their sides, her mother leaned close to Kathleen and said, “Do you really want to do that? They will fight because one got to go with me.”

  “Yes. I have a project for Kip.”

  “Okay, I’ve warned you. I’ll send him over here.” She sauntered to the boys, spoke to them and then Jared cheered while Kip trudged toward Kathleen with his shoulders slumped even more.

  “I need you to go next door and tell Miss Alice we’ll be over to her house to help her just as soon as we get through here. Then stay and make sure everything outside is put in for her.” Kathleen ascended the first rung.

  “Aw, Mom, do I have to? She’s mean. She yelled at Jared and me when we came into her yard to get a soccer ball last week.”

  Clinging to the ladder, Kathleen shifted around so she could peer down at Kip. “Yes, you have to. We help our neighbors, especially in times of need.”

  “But, Mom, she isn’t our neighbor.”

  “Go. I’ve got to get these shutters closed.” She waved her hand at Kip in the direction of Miss Alice’s house.

  When Kip stomped off, splashing water in the soggy grass as he went, Gideon used his lower limbs to anchor the ladder. “You are asking a lot of Kip.”

  “Tell you a secret. When I was a little girl, she scared me, too. But she is eighty-six and not getting around like she used to. She’ll need help through this hurricane.”

  “I already have it taken care of. Pete is coming over to help me with a couple of the older residents’ houses.”

  “Doesn’t he have to work at the fire station?”

  “Like the hospital they have two shifts. No one can do a good job if they are dead tired. He’s on the second shift after the hurricane passes.”

  Kathleen proceeded up the ladder and fought to close the shutter, then she descended and started all over with the next one. Three windows later, Kip ran back across the yard.

  “Mom. Mom!”

  Kathleen jumped down several rungs to the ground and hastened toward her son. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Old Lady Beggs. I knocked and knocked, but she didn’t come to the door. I peeked through the window. She’s sitting in a chair, her eyes closed, her head to the side.” Kip stood in the middle of the yard, chewing on his fingernail. “I really banged loud on the door. She didn’t move at all. I think she’s dead.”

  “Honey, you stay here. I’ll go check.” Kathleen started across the lawn.

  “I’m coming, too. Kip, when my friend, Pete, comes, tell him where we are.”

  “Can’t I come?”

  Both Kathleen and Gideon halted and whirled around. “No.”

  Kathleen glanced at Gideon and then continued her trek toward Miss Alice’s house. On the woman’s porch, Gideon pounded on the door while Kathleen checked through the open draperies into the living room. Just as Kip said, she lounged in a chair with her feet propped up and her head lolled to the side, one arm dangling toward the floor.

  “Kip might be right. She isn’t moving. We need to break in and get her some help.”

  Gideon came to Kathleen’s side. “If she is alive, she isn’t gonna like it.”

  “Do you think she has a spare key somewhere?”

  Gideon looked under the welcome mat. When he rose, he shook his head. “This door is pretty sturdy. I don’t think I can break it down without an ax, which I left at work. I’ll go around and check the windows and back door. Maybe something is unlocked, and I can get in that way.”

  “Hurry. She might have lost consciousness. I’m calling 911 to be on the safe side.”

  Gideon started for the back, checking the windows as he went while Kathleen called 911 on her cell. The operator was dispatching an ambulance immediately.

  Two minutes later, as Kathleen watched the old lady in the recliner for any signs of life, her white cat came charging into the living room from the kitchen, leaped and landed in the woman’s lap. Miss Alice shot straight up at the same time Gideon barged into the room. Miss Alice let out a rip-roaring scream.

  Gideon skidded to a stop, his eyes round, his face pale. He said something to Miss Alice, but Kathleen couldn’t hear over the yelling. The woman wasn’t even looking at Gideon. She stared right at Kathleen, who stood at her window peering inside.

  Gideon moved toward her and bent down toward the woman. Miss Alice blinked, clutching her cat to her chest and glaring at Gideon as if he were a total stranger breaking into her house. He backed toward the front door and
opened it.

  “Kathleen, come in, please.” The stress on the word please quickened her pace into the house.

  As she passed the mirror in the hallway, Kathleen caught sight of herself and paused. From the occasional rain, her wet hair lay plastered against her head and her mascara ran down her face in a couple of places. And Gideon hadn’t said a word to her. She scrubbed the black streaks from her cheeks and kept going into the living room.

  “What did you say, young man?”

  “We thought you were ill. We knocked on the door.” His voice rose with each word he said.

  Miss Alice shook her head and held up her hand. “Wait a minute.” She fiddled with something in her ear then said, “My batteries must be going in my hearing aid. Help me up, young man.”

  Gideon did as instructed, and Miss Alice shuffled toward the kitchen, yelling, “I’ll be right back.”

  When she left, Kathleen came to Gideon. “Why didn’t you tell me I looked like a drenched raccoon?”

  He looked away, a sheepish expression taking over his face. “I know better than to tell a woman that. I thought Kip would say something and get me off the hook.”

  “I scared the poor woman.”

  “I didn’t think anything scared her. I thought she scared others. At least that’s what the boys in my youth group have said when they found out I lived down the street from Alice Beggs.” He put his finger into his ear and wiggled it. “I think my hearing is damaged. There is nothing wrong with her lungs.”

  “I heard that, young man.” The woman appeared in the entrance to the dining room. “I should call the police. You broke into my house.”

  “Oh, no. I’ve got to call 911 back.” Kathleen dug into her pocket for her cell.

  Miss Alice’s wrinkled forehead wrinkled even more. “You’ve already called 911 on him?”

  Kathleen put the numbers into the phone. “No. For an ambulance. For you.”

  While she told the 911 operator that Alice Beggs was all right, the older lady shuffled her feet toward her recliner, shaking her head. “I was taking a nap. Can’t a woman do that without everyone thinking she’s dying? I need more beauty rest than when I was younger.” She held out her hand toward Gideon. “Be useful. Help me into this chair, young man.”