Page 27 of The Nook for Brooks
Benji winced as though he hated to offend me, before saying, “Yes but… he’s not you.”
My shoulders stiffened. “What exactly are you saying?”
“Well, Cody strikes me as being pretty resourceful.”
“And resilient,” Bastian added.
“Tough as nails.”
“Strong as an ox.”
“Quick on his feet.”
“Smart as a fox.”
I stood there, eyes wide. “And I’m none of those things?” I asked petulantly.
They didn’t answer.
My shoulders slumped as I realized—“I’m none of those things.”
For a moment I thought about slinking back to the bookstore, hiding from the storm, closing the shutters and locking the doors and hoping that Cody made it back okay.
Benji and Bastian obviously saw the look of defeat in my eyes and hurried up to me, each putting a hand on my shoulder. I would normally shrug off such a forward gesture, but at the time I found it not only encouraging, but comforting.
“Why don’t we call Sheriff Gates?” Bastian suggested. “He might be able to send out a search party.”
But I shook my head. “It’s just a summer storm. It’s not the end of the world. We don’t need the sheriff. I can do this, I know my way to the old mill. I can find him on my own.”
“Are you sure?” Benji asked.
I heard Bea’s words echo through my head.
I needed a little adventure.
I could use some excitement in my life.
My shoulders rose. My chest puffed. I smiled at Benji and Bastian. “You bet I’m sure. I’m ready to go out there and find him, no matter what.”
With that I hurried to the door…
Just as the rain started pelting down.
For one moment I paused… then turned back and asked, “You don’t happen to have an umbrella I could borrow?”
CODY
The heavens opened.
One minute it was just a low growl of thunder, a curtain of clouds sliding across the sky. The next it was a full-blown downpour, sheets of water hammering the forest like the gods had tipped over a bucket the size of Lake Superior.
I loved it.
Ever since I was a little kid growing up in the tropics of North Queensland, I adored summer storms. I was a child of the monsoons. The rains would bring life to everything. The humidity would crack like an egg, the green frogs would bellow with joy, and the creeks of the rainforests would swell to the size of rivers.
As the rain drenched me now, I laughed at the sky, shouting into a roar of thunder. “All right, Wisconsin! Show me what you’ve got!”
Above the trees, lightning streaked the sky.
