Page 9 of Rain Delay

I hustled through the store filling the cart with enough food for two people for a few days. Although I’m sure there are flashlights and candles at the house in preparation for this sort of thing, I picked up some just in case, along with a lighter.

With a hurricane coming, there’s no way Ivy and Finn can leave. That reminded me. My cart was just about full when I turned down the pet food aisle. Thankfully I’d fed Finn earlier so I recognized his brand of food as soon as I saw the bag. He had a decent amount left at the house, but I don’t want to take a chance he’ll run out during the storm. I also grabbed a box of treats and a bone for him.

That done, I headed toward those double doors and rang the bell. Sometimes being a minor celebrity has its privileges.

* * *

Ivy

I heardthe garage door open and close a minute before Rusty appeared at the top of the stairs carrying at least four bags in each hand. I met him in the kitchen as he set them down on the counter.

“Are there more bags?” I asked.

“I’ll get them. You can start putting that stuff away.”

Finn followed him to the steps but came back into the kitchen.

He’d bought so much stuff. Steaks, ground beef, chicken, cheese, and a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies. But I guess being a professional athlete burns a lot of calories so he must eat a lot. I’d just finished placing the last of the perishables into the refrigerator when he plunked another load of bags onto the counter.

“One more trip should do it,” he said before heading back to the garage.

After stuffing the freezer with a few pizzas, a couple pans of lasagna, and two trays of macaroni and cheese, I moved onto the non-perishables.

Finn let out a playful bark when Rusty came back up the stairs. I looked up and realized it was because he’d spotted the dog food on Rusty’s shoulder.

“I left the case of water down next to your car.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“But there’s no way you can leave tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Apparently there’s a hurricane coming. The store was crazy.” He pointed to the bag of food he’d placed next to the island. “I grabbed another bag of food for Finn just in case we’re stuck here for a while. I didn’t want him to run out.” He bent down and picked up a bag, holding it open so I could see its contents. “I got him some treats and a bone, too.” Glancing at Finn, he added “I didn’t want to take them out before making sure he can have them.”

Where did this guy come from?

It’s bad enough he cooked breakfast and went grocery shopping, but then he remembered the kind of food Finn eats and got him treats and a bone. There’s no way I can stay here with him, no matter how big the house is. He’s just too tempting.

“Those treats are good and he’s okay with rawhide bones. I know some dogs have issues with them, but he never has. And he loves both of those things, so thank you for thinking of him.”

“He’s a good boy,” he said, reaching down to pet Finn whose tail thumped against the wall.

I walked past them into the living room and picked up the remote. Turning on the TV, I flicked through the channels to find the weather. The local channel had broken into regularly scheduled programming with hurricane coverage and it wasn’t looking good.

“The guy at the supermarket said it’s not bad enough to evacuate but will probably still be a pain in the ass,” Rusty said from behind me. “I wasn’t sure what’s here so I picked up a lantern, a couple flashlights, and a bunch of candles. The shelves were pretty picked over, but we should be okay.”

My stomach fluttered at the wordwe.

Walking toward the wall of windows, I watched as the waves crashed to the shore, choppier than they had been just a couple hours earlier. The sky looked heavier too.

“Maybe if I leave now I’ll be okay.”

The words had just left my mouth when a commercial ended and a video of bumper-to-bumper traffic appeared on the screen. Even though evacuation isn’t mandatory, enough people are trying to leave, making the road look like a parking lot.

Rusty had settled onto the couch so I took a seat in the chair across from him.

“Have you ever been here during a hurricane before?” he asked.

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