Миранда Джеймс - Dead With The Wind

“Yes, it’s a bad situation,” An’gel said. “All we can do now is pray.”

In his quietly efficient way, Benjy had finished putting things away. He rolled up the plastic bags and stowed them in a drawer. “If there isn’t anything else I can do right now, I guess I’ll go back next door and read. I don’t like to leave the kids alone too long.”

“You go right ahead,” An’gel said. “And if you want something to snack on, help yourself.” She knew Benjy was often hungry between meals, and she had bought extra fruit and a few snack items for him.

Benjy grinned. “Thanks. I’ll take a couple of things with me.” He chose an apple, a banana, and a package of cheese and crackers. “See you later.”

After the door closed behind him, An’gel went to Dickce’s bedroom and quietly opened the door. Her sister lay on her side on her bed, evidently asleep, so An’gel pulled the door shut and moved away. She might as well nap herself, she decided, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep with a violent storm going on around them. Best take advantage of the lull in the weather and get some rest.

An’gel quickly disrobed and slipped on her nightgown, then lay down on the bed. She prayed for several minutes for her cousin, and then dropped off to sleep not long after.

She jerked awake several hours later, thanks to the crash of thunder. Moments later, lightning flashed, and she counted the seconds until the next boom. Four seconds. The storm was about four miles away.

She dressed quickly and left the bedroom. She found Dickce in the living room, sitting in a chair with its back to the inside wall.

“I was going to wake you up in a minute if the storm didn’t,” Dickce said. She, like An’gel, hated thunderstorms. Their mother had been terrified of weather like this and would hide herself and her daughters in a first-floor closet at Riverhill whenever storms threatened. The sisters had conquered the worst of their fears of bad weather, but their mother’s legacy lingered.

An’gel retrieved a chair from the kitchen area and brought it to sit beside Dickce. For a few minutes, An’gel shared with Dickce the events of the morning at Willowbank, while Dickce was at the hospital in Baton Rouge. Once the storm was overhead, however, neither of them spoke. For the longest time, it seemed to stall right above them. They huddled together, their breathing ragged, until after an eternity the storm began to move away.

An’gel got up, intent on fetching a bottle of water for each of them from the fridge, but a knock on the door halted her. She opened the door to find Benjy, with Endora on his shoulder and Peanut at his side, standing there. Peanut looked frightened, and Endora had her head against the side of Benjy’s face.

An’gel motioned them in and shut the door behind them. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

Peanut loped over to Dickce, woofing happily, but Endora remained on Benjy’s shoulder.

“We’re okay,” Benjy said with a faint smile. “But the guys were really spooked by the weather. Peanut spent the whole time under the bed with Endora.” He chuckled. “A couple of times I was tempted to join them.”

“Poor babies,” Dickce said as she rubbed the Labradoodle’s head. “I don’t blame them. It was a pretty fierce storm.”

“It certainly was,” An’gel said.

“The bad thing is,” Benjy said, his face darkening, “it’s not over. I checked the forecast, and there’s another wave of it moving right at us. Should be here within the next hour.”

An’gel shuddered. She wasn’t sure her nerves, or Dickce’s, could take much more of this scary weather.

“From what I could see, there are a lot of limbs down, and the ditches are overflowing,” Benjy said. “I guess Willowbank is high enough up it’s not in danger of flooding, but we’re considerably lower here.”

“Do you think we should move up to Willowbank then?” An’gel asked. Benjy’s evident uneasiness made her even more nervous.

Benjy nodded. “Yes, ma’am. The radar showed a big system, and it’s probably packing a lot of rain and high winds. I think we’d be safer up there.”

“All right then.” An’gel nodded decisively. “Let’s pack up quickly what we need for the night, and put it in the car. We’ll drive up there. I don’t want to leave the car here and have it washed away.”

“I’ve got my stuff and the guys’ food and everything ready,” Benjy said. “Just need to load it.”

An’gel found her handbag and dug out her keys. She gave them to Benjy. “We’ll be out right away.”

Twenty minutes later they were all safely inside Willowbank, with the Lexus stowed in the old stables that had been transformed decades ago into a multicar garage. Estelle was grumpy but grudgingly agreed to get a couple of bedrooms ready for them.

“I don’t want those animals on the bed, though.” She shot a dark look at Benjy. “You make sure they stay on the floor.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

An’gel, Dickce, along with Benjy and the animals, trooped upstairs after Estelle. She showed the sisters to a bedroom on the second floor, then led Benjy up to the third floor. When she returned to the sisters’ room, she carried fresh linens.

“We’ll make up the bed,” Dickce told her. “I’m sure you have enough to do.”

“And we certainly appreciate the hospitality,” An’gel said. “We’re concerned about the storm that’s coming, and we thought Willowbank would be safer than the cottages.”

Estelle shrugged. “Don’t expect much in the way of dinner. We’ll be lucky if the electricity stays on. It was flickering on and off earlier.” She walked out of the room.

An’gel and Dickce exchanged glances, then Dickce shrugged. “Even if the lights do go out, I’d rather be here,” she said.

“Me, too.” An’gel started stripping the bed.

The storm reached Willowbank about an hour later, and the old house shook from the force of it. An’gel and Dickce, along with Benjy, Endora, and Peanut, sought refuge downstairs in a small interior room that served as a den. Once part of a larger space that had been divided in two to allow an extension of the kitchen on the outer side, it was cozy and furnished with overstuffed chairs and two small sofas. The sisters planned to ride out the storm there. They were too nervous to eat anything, but Estelle popped in at one point to tell them food was available in the dining room.

They did not see anyone else, though from Jackson they learned that Horace and Trey were in residence, along with Sondra and Tippy. Richmond Thurston had come back and then had been caught by the storm, and he would be staying the night as well.

Benjy huddled with Peanut and Endora on one sofa while the storm raged, with An’gel and Dickce sitting close together on the other. Conversation was ragged.

The fury of the weather seemed to have chosen Willowbank as its target, or so it seemed to An’gel. The system must have stalled in the area, because the wind and rain lashed the mansion for nearly two hours. Finally, though, the noise began to lessen, the house stopped shivering, and An’gel breathed more easily.

“Thank the Lord, I think it’s finally gone,” she said.

Dickce nodded weakly. “About time.”

“I’m going to check out front,” Benjy said. “If the rain really has slacked off, I’m going to let Peanut do his business.”

“Good idea,” An’gel said. “I’m actually hungry now. Let’s go see if there’s anything edible in the kitchen, Sister.” She got up and motioned for Dickce to join her.

“I’ll take Endora with me,” Dickce said. “I’m sure she doesn’t want to go out and get her paws wet.” She took the cat from Benjy, and Endora promptly climbed on Dickce’s shoulder.