Page 85 of Ambush

“Not in the least. We could watch a movie until we get sleepy.”

He opened his mouth to tell her he was game to watch a chick flick, but her phone began to wail with an alert. “Sounds like a tornado warning. Let me check the radar on your phone.”

She handed it to him, and he checked the weather map. The storm was bearing down on them.

“We’ve got to get to the shelternow. It’s coming this way.”

They ran for his mother’s room, and the boys weren’t asleep yet. Blake scooped up Levi and handed him to Paradise. “We’re going for a campout, guys. Mom, you carry Isaac, and I’ll run on ahead and open the door. It’s tough to lift, especially in a wind. Hurry.”

He didn’t have to spell it out for his mother. They’d weathered plenty of storms over the years, and she didn’t wait to slide her feet into shoes. He dashed ahead, pausing only to grab the boys’ iPads, then splashed through mud and the ongoing deluge toward the storm shelter. Lightning slashed the black sky and thunder ricocheted off the trees and buildings. The pungent scent of ozone hung in the air. The heavy metal door pushed against the wind, but he finally managed to throw it back.

He descended the steps and dropped the tablets onto an old wooden crate he’d brought in to use as a table, then turned on the battery-powered lantern he’d left charged and ready to use. The warm glow pushed back the complete darkness in the small space, and it seemed cozy to him with the camp chairs set up. He’d had a sixth sense they would need them tonight and had arranged them in a circle on an old rug.

Holding the lantern aloft, he went back up the steps and saw the rest of the family hurrying toward him. The boys, eyes wideand frightened, clung to the women. Isaac had his head thrown back and was staring at the low clouds. Blake spared a glance up too but didn’t see a funnel cloud. Not yet anyway. He prayed the park would be spared any direct hit. The animals were probably frantic out there, but there was nothing he could do.

He grabbed Isaac from his mom and passed him back to her once she reached the bottom step. Paradise and Levi went down next, and he glanced at the sky one more time before he descended, pulling the door shut behind him. He locked the door with the inside security bar, and the dank scent of the underground space rushed at him. At least he’d ensured the spiders were gone, for now anyway.

Levi held up a dish of fudge. “We grabbed this on the way past. Paradise said we could have a party down here. Did you bring down some games?”

“We’ve got Go Fish, Candy Land, and Uno. And I grabbed your iPads.” He snatched a piece of fudge from Levi and popped it in his mouth. “Who’s ready to party?”

The boys jumped up and down, and Blake exchanged a long glance with Paradise. They’d do their best to keep the boys from worrying, but the adults in the room had their own share of fears. He reached over to the old boom box he’d brought in and turned on theMoanasoundtrack.

Paradise squatted beside it and cranked it up until music filled the small space and drowned out the creaks and groans above their heads. As long as the door didn’t fly off, they should be safe, but that was a mighty bigif.

***

Carrying Levi, Paradise blinked in the drab light as they exited the storm shelter into the torrential rains that continued to fall.She ran for the back door with the little boy, and the rest of the family was right behind her. At one point the door had billowed in and out, and she’d been sure it would go flying off, but it had held tight.

She paused on the back deck under the overhang and spared a glance around the property. Tree limbs and leaves lay battered and heaped around the yard. The house’s roof hadn’t gone flying off, and she spotted only a board or two swinging from the big barn. The tornado hadn’t carried off anything she could see.

Blake set Isaac down and opened the door. “Go on in, guys. Mom will make you some breakfast. Paradise and I need to check the animals and make sure everything is okay.” He pointed to Paradise’s muddy feet. “You might want some boots though, Simba.”

She laughed. “So we’re back to that, are we?”

“You were quite the lioness last night protecting the boys. I don’t think you slept at all.”

“Neither did you,” she countered.

“It’s my job.”

“No, you just love well.” He always had, but she’d been too angry and blind to see it. Blake wasn’t someone who spoke flowery words of love—he was a man of action who showed his love for those close to him with every decision he made.

She went to the hose spigot four feet away and rinsed off her feet, then darted to the door. Jenna had left a stack of towels by the door, and Paradise grabbed one. She toweled off her hair and face so she could see, then dried her feet and ran to her room to grab socks. She yanked them on and went to dig her boots out of the stack of shoes and boots in the laundry room. With her boots on, she rushed for the door and paused long enough to grab yellow rain slickers for her and Blake. Ifthey could keep even some of the pounding rain off, they might stay warmer.

She hurried outside to an empty deck and saw him moving in the doorway of the barn. She exited the yard through the gate and ran to catch up with him. “Here, put this on.”

He took the rain slicker and pulled it over his head. “I think trying to stay dry is a lost cause. The barn seems okay. Let’s check the animals.”

They slogged through the mud and rain to pen after pen. The mud on the soles of her boots made her legs heavy, but they made it through the park and found all the animals and structures safe.

“The twister must not have touched down here,” Blake said. “But I don’t like the depth of the water rising in the back field. The last time it was like that, the level went high very quickly and surrounded the house. We were trapped inside. I think you and Mom should take the boys to a shelter in town. The rain isn’t supposed to stop anytime soon.”

Paradise wrinkled her nose. Ugh, a shelter filled with other people. “Maybe we could rent a motel and make it fun for the boys? I’d like to stay with you though.”

“I don’t think you’ll find a room. Hez said some friends had to go clear to Montgomery. It’s probably just a night or two. Besides, the boys will have a blast with the other children at the shelter.” He touched her cheek. “I would worry every second if I didn’t know you were safe. I’ll be fine.”

“Will you promise to text me every hour or so and let me know everything is all right?”

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