Page 4 of Love in the Storm

Wendy paused. “An eviction notice.”

“What?” Lyric almost fell off the barstool. She grabbed the counter and righted herself. “A what?”

“Have you heard anything about this from Russell?”

Lyric and Wendy’s landlord was a nice man, but he was a bit of a recluse. She got a paper bill tucked into her mailbox every month, and she paid them as soon as she could. Unfortunately, she’d been pushing her luck lately. But it wasn’t as if she could make money appear out of thin air. She hadn’t anticipated how crippling the rent would be after Bethany moved out six months ago.

“No, but I guess I need to talk to him.” Not that talking would change anything, but if he was ready to evict her, she’d have to face him at some point. Her breaths grew shallow, and her fingers ached as she held onto the counter for dear life.

“What can I do to help?” Wendy asked.

Lyric let out the biggest breath she could and lowered her forehead to the cool granite countertop. “Nothing. I’ll be okay.” She was not about to take a penny from another struggling woman.

“I’ll do anything I can to help.”

Of course she would. Wendy knew what it was like to get her feet knocked out from under her over and over again. “Maybe pray?” The request came out sounding more like a question. Lyric wasn’t super comfortable with the idea of prayer yet, but she was learning when to use it. Now seemed like one of those times.

Wendy had only recently started going tochurch, and there was a beat of hesitation before she said, “I can do that.”

“Thanks so much. Will you take the note down? I’ll come by your place and get it as soon as I get home.”

“Of course. Be careful out there.”

“I will. Thanks for the call.”

Lyric lowered the phone and stared at it in her hands. How could she pay the rent when she was still paying full price for all of her mistakes in the past? When was she ever going to get her head above water?

The phone in her hands dinged, and a message lit up the screen.

You have ten minutes remaining. Purchase more minutes to continue service.

The boiling heat welled inside of her, and a scream rolled up her throat and echoed in the large cabin. She let the injustice ring out as she pounded the side of her fist on the counter. Keeping her hand balled up, she breathed through gritted teeth.

Why did bad news seem to pile on top of other bad news? She knew to expect some times to be worse than others, but the realization of the snowball effect did little to dampen the heaviness in her chest.

It didn’t help that she was stranded in a cabin that probably cost more money than she’d ever earn in her lifetime. Brenda’s rental cabins spared noexpense. High ceilings, enormous fireplaces, hot tubs, pool tables, and a stocked kitchen. Lyric had bought those groceries this morning, and they’d cost more than she made in a week. Not that she planned to touch them. They were for the renters.

A loud crash echoed through the house, and Lyric jerked, tumbling off the stool. She gripped the counter and quickly pulled herself up. Her heart pounded fast and hard in her chest as she waited to hear anything else.

The noise had been something much bigger than a limb being thrown into the side of the cabin by the wind. She took a deep breath and pushed any horror movie scenes from her mind. No one was waiting to ambush her in this storm, right?

Her heart rate refused to rest as she stayed frozen, listening for more noises. When she didn’t hear anything else, she darted for the kitchen. Falling to her knees in front of the sink, she rummaged in the cabinets until she found a flashlight. At least the dark wouldn’t get her.

She padded back into the main room, looking over her shoulders continuously as she went. Nothing stirred in the cabin, but the noise had come from outside.

Mustering all her courage, she unlocked the front door. The wind jerked it from her grip as soon as she opened it. She peeked out and up the small hill toward the main road. Headlights beamed at theend of the driveway. Was that a tree across the road? She could barely see through the swirling snow.

“Shoot.” Lyric pocketed the flashlight and grabbed the shovel propped beside the door. She tossed snow to the sides as she made her way up the drive to the road.

Her arms ached, and a cold sweat plastered to the back of her neck by the time she reached the truck. The front of the vehicle was mangled, and smoke slowly lifted into the darkness.

Whoever was inside probably needed more help than her limited skills, but unless someone else came down the mountain, she was going to have to face this alone. If this massive tree was blocking the road here, there were bound to be more down the mountain. How long would it take to get help if someone was seriously injured?

The incline of the driveway and the exertion had her panting, drawing the freezing air into her lungs as she reached the truck. Lyric pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t open. She’d rushed out so quickly she’d forgotten her gloves, and her hands were freezing against the cold metal.

She pulled again and again, using her body weight to force some movement. “Come on,” she begged through gritted teeth. On the sixth pull, the door opened with a metallic creak.

A large man sat in the driver’s seat, holding his forehead in his hands.

---