Chapter 34
When Grace arrived at Serendipity, Nathan barely let her set aside her crutches before he pulled her into his arms. She exhaled a laugh. “Nathan.”
His lips found hers before she could say anything, sinking in deep and letting himself get lost in her for a moment. He cupped her cheeks between his hands. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She smiled. Simple and sweet. She looked rested, and happy, and beautiful. She still had to get her cast in a few days, but at least she’d gotten some rest.
“Me too.” Grace smoothed her hand over his cheek. “But something is wrong, isn’t it?”
His brow furrowed. How could she tell?
“It’s over now,” she said softly.
“Is it?” he asked, guiding her to a chair in the coffee shop.
“We should get the stars together and see what happens.” She nodded as she sat, glancing at Riley and Maddy by the counter. “That’s probably all it’ll take, don’t you think?”
Nathan met her eyes for a long moment. His gut reaction was to tell her they’d deal with it later. After the excitement of yesterday had faded a few weeks. After Grace’s foot had healed some. He knew she’d want to get this done, though. To get the stars out of their lives for good.
“We need to get rid of them,” he said.
“I think so, too. The sooner the better.”
“How soon were you thinking?”
She looked over with an almost apologetic smile. “Today?”
“I thought you might say that.” His sigh mingled with a reluctant chuckle. “I don’t think everyone else will agree.”
Voices sounded behind them and Elliot and Kara came in, shedding light jackets and making their way into the cafe. Thunder grumbled outside and lightning flashed through the window.
“You two look way too serious,” Kara said, dropping into the closest chair. She ran a hand through her hair. “Please tell me this isn’t more about the star. Not that I don’t love you all, but I’m kind of tired of these meetings.”
Grace smiled at her. “Sorry. I don’t really want to deal with it either. But I want it to be finished for good. I want to be able to focus one hundred percent on the youth center.”
Maddy joined Grace at the table. “I agree.”
“Of course you do,” Riley said, folding his arms across his chest.
She looked at him with her brow raised. “You don’t?”
Elliot looped his arm over Maddy’s shoulder, distracting her. “Can I weigh in here?”
“Sure, Elliot.”
“So, yesterday was a little…intense. I’m cool with giving it a rest for a while.”
“I’m going to have to agree with Elliot.” Riley nodded.
“Of course you do,” Maddy mimicked his comment from earlier. “I disagree. We need to make sure this is finished.”
“So where does this leave us?” Grace asked, looking around the group.
Nathan gripped her hand. They were divided like usual about how to approach it, but ultimately, they were all on the same side. “I don’t know about today, but I agree it needs to be finished.”
“If me finding the last piece of the star was the end and it’s that simple, then we should get the stars together and get rid of them. It will be over, and we can enjoy the rest of the evening and never think about the stars again. But if there’s still more…it would be best to get rid of the stars as quickly as possible. So we don’t have to worry about them anymore.”
Kara pursed her lips and tapped her toe on the ground. “That’s sort of hard to argue with. But I feel like…after last night…I’m worried.” Elliot squeezed her shoulders and she cast him a small smile. “Grace, you can barely even walk.” Grace opened her mouth to protest but Kara continued. “I’m not trying to be mean. I don’t want you to get hurt more.”
Riley nodded. “She’s right. Let’s have lunch and relax. Please, Grace.”
Nathan recognized the reluctance on her face. Saw her struggle not to argue. He understood exactly where she was coming from, but he couldn’t fault everyone for being wary. For wanting a day away from all this.
If only it were that simple.
Grace sighed. “Okay.” She attempted a smile and Nathan reached out for her hand. “Let’s have lunch. We’ll take a break for now.”
~ ~ ~
They took cars two by two to Nathan’s house, deciding to barbecue if the weather held out. Before Elliot started the engine, rain began to pour down. He watched for Nathan to pull away, flicked on the windshield wipers, and backed out.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked Kara.
She sat in the passenger seat, hands squeezed together in her lap. He glanced over at her slight nod, but he couldn’t see her expression. Her gaze fixed out the window.
He stepped on the brake. “What’s wrong?”
“Hmm?”
“Kara.” He squeezed her arm gently and she looked away from the window. “What’s wrong?”
“Something doesn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?”
She took a deliberate breath and blew it out. “Last night…that didn’t feel like the end of it. Even though Grace found the star.” She met his gaze and uncertainty clouded her green eyes. “I’m worried.”
“We’ll take care of it.” The rain pounded harder on the roof and windows. Lightning flashed and thunder followed immediately, causing Kara to jump in her seat. He put the car in park and reached over to give her a hug. He brushed his fingers down her hair. “Don’t worry.”
“I can’t help it,” she whispered, clinging tightly to him.
“What do you want to do?”
“Maybe Grace is right. Maybe we should get rid of the stars.”
Elliot shifted back into his seat, stomach clenching. No. Now wasn’t the time. He wasn’t ready to risk someone else getting hurt. He’d rather prepare for it as much as possible and then ease into it. But he hated to see that worry in Kara’s eyes.
And…in the end, it was up to her, Maddy, and Grace.
“Let’s get to Nathan’s,” he told her. “We’ll talk to everyone when we get there.”
Riley pulled up next to him and Elliot unrolled the window. Rain splattered his arm.
“Everything okay?” Riley asked. Maddy’s anxious eyes peered at them from the other side of the car.
“I think so.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. I’ll follow you.”
Elliot closed the window and left the parking lot. He could barely see through the rain and he kept a slow pace. At the first stop sign he glanced back over at Kara. Her fingers tensed on the armrest.
“Honey, don’t worry,” he soothed, reaching for her hand.
“Be careful.” She pulled her hand away. He set it back on the steering wheel and she frowned. “I’m sorry. There’s just so much rain.”
The water rushed in wide rivers that seemed too deep for his car. Elliot steered clear of those and drove closer to the side of the road. The next stop sign came into sight. A pool of water sat in the middle of the intersection.
“Elliot.”
He swung wide to the edge of the road, water splashing from his wheels, but the car slowed.
“Elliot,” Kara said again.
Sheets of rain fell so heavy he couldn’t see Riley behind him. His car stalled in the midst of the puddle. Elliot gripped the wheel tighter. “The water wasn’t that deep,” he said when she turned to him.
Without warning, water started to seep through the doors, pouring over the floorboards, rushing over their feet. Lightning struck and thunder shook the car.
“Elliot…” Kara’s eyes widened. “The water’s coming inside.”
“Get out,” he snapped.
He tossed off his seatbelt as the water reached past his ankles. Kara fiddled with her own. “I can’t–help, Elliot!”
He reached out and brushed her hands aside. He jammed his thumb down on the button but it wouldn’t budge. Water waved up to his knees and he punched the button again. There was no way the water could be coming in that fast. No way that much could already be in here.
“Elliot, hurry!”
He yanked at the seatbelt again and it finally popped free. He jerked the door handle.
“Unlock the doors, Elliot–”
“I’m trying.”
A quiet sob escaped her throat. After nearly drowning as a kid, water still terrified her. “Hurry–please.”
Elliot caught the tremble in her hands, saw her face drain of color. “Wait–” He caught her arm. “Kara, look at me. Stop!”
She met his eyes. “What are you doing? We have to get out.”
Water rushed up over their thighs, over the console. “Kara.” He caught her face between his hands. “Stop, honey–calm down. This isn’t real. You were right, things aren’t finished with the stars.”
“Elliot.” Her breath caught. She moved up further in her seat, leaning away from the water. “It’s getting too high–please help–”
“Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
“No–”
“Do it.” He pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her. “Close your eyes.”
Elliot waited for her to oblige and he did the same, whispering against her ear, telling her it would be okay. Keeping his hold tight.
His door jerked open and Riley appeared. A wall of rain greeted them and suddenly the car was empty. Free of water.
“What’s happening?” Riley asked, shielding his face from the rain.
“It’s gone,” Kara murmured. “What–”
“Kara, come on.” Elliot gripped her arms and dragged her through the door. “The star.”
Riley nodded. “Come on, get in the car.”
They rushed to Riley’s car and jumped into the back. Elliot slid against the seat and he pulled Kara close to him. Maddy twisted in her seat. “Are you guys okay? What happened?”
“We have to get to Grace and Nathan.” Kara’s teeth chattered. “Something’s going to happen.”
“What?” Riley asked.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. Her eyes closed briefly.
“The star,” Elliot concluded. “Something with the star.”