Our wedding day and the crash of glasses in his parents’ home that caused him to panic, sending him running to find me and breaking tradition by seeing me in my gown before the ceremony. How he couldn’t calm down until he saw me, held me and told me he loved me and how we promised to renew our vows at the lighthouse on the fifteenth anniversary of when we started dating.
The fifteenth anniversary that is only a few weeks from now.
A howling wind outside rattles the windows, making me hop up from the chair and quickly wipe the tears from my eyes. The sky that was slightly overcast this morning has now turned pitch black with swirling, angry clouds. The trees that line the street in front of the inn are flopping from side to side with the force of the wind.
I quickly grab the folder and the papers from the floor and race out of the room, turning on the small television set on the counter in the kitchen, listening to the newscaster report on the quickly changing weather.
“Tropical Storm Vera has made an unexpected turn and is now bearing down on the coast of South Carolina. With damaging winds measuring up to forty miles per hour in some places, we’re asking everyone in our viewing area to take precautions and begin hurricane preparations. While this storm hasn’t yet been upgraded to a hurricane, it’s still a good idea to be safe. We’ll keep you posted on Vera, so stay tuned.”
Chapter 40
Lucy
Present Day
The lights flicker as I try to call Fisher for the fifth time, still with no answer on his cell phone or at Trip’s house. I’ve tried Bobby and Ellie’s cell phones, as well, and neither of them are picking up, either. I finish gathering the wireless LED lights, checking the batteries as I place them around the first floor of the inn while making sure Seth and Mary Beth know to stay away from the windows and in a central part of the house, just to be safe. I hear the front door fly open and slam shut with the force of the wind and I race out of the living room, hoping it’s Fisher.
My footsteps falter and my hope falls when I see Trip securing the deadbolt and shaking the rain from his hair.
“Don’t look so disappointed to see me, Lucy girl,” Trip mutters.
I rush over to him and give him a quick hug. “I’m sorry, I thought you might be Fisher. I’ve been trying to call him for the last hour, but he’s not picking up.”
Taking Trip’s coat from him, I shake off some of the water and hang it on the coat rack next to the door. I glance out into the driveway and notice Trip’s SUV parked there.
“It must be getting really bad out there if you drove. You never drive,” I comment.
“It’s really kicking up. I wanted to stop over and make sure you were doing okay here. Haven’t seen Fisher since first thing this morning,” Trip tells me. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
Trip doesn’t sound convinced, and it doesn’t make me feel any better. Fisher always answers his phone no matter what he’s doing, and I hope he’s just avoiding my calls. I don’t like the idea of him being out in this storm. I don’t like the idea of Trip being out in it, either, even though it was really sweet of him to check on me.
“You shouldn’t have gone out in this, you could have just called,” I tell him as I watch him rub his left shoulder and wince. “What’s wrong with your arm?”
He shakes it out and gives me a smile. “Eh, I just bumped it on the car door when I got out and the wind took hold of it, it’s nothing.”
I watch him with concern for a few minutes, noticing that his face is flushed and he doesn’t look like he feels well. He shoos me away when I try to help him walk as I lead him into the library and introduce him to Seth and Mary Beth.
They shake hands and everyone but me takes a seat. I can’t sit still, not until I know Fisher is somewhere safe and dry.
“Figured it would be better to wait out the storm here in a much bigger place. With that wind, my little house sounded like it was about ready to be blown off into the ocean,” Trip says with a laugh. “What’s the news saying so far?”
“They still aren’t categorizing it as a hurricane, but that wind is really getting bad,” I tell him.
There’s a loud knock at the front door and Trip and I share a hopeful look before I run back out to the front room. When I see Fisher’s mother hovering on the other side of the door, shielding her face from the wind and rain, I quickly unlock the door and have to brace myself against it as I hold it open for her to enter. Water and leaves come flying into the house, covering the floor as she rushes inside. I slam the door behind her and put the deadbolt back on.
“Grace, what are you doing here?” I ask as she wraps me in a wet hug before handing me a large basket.
“Running around to as many residential homes as I can, passing out supplies. Being the head of the Storm Emergency Committee means my work is never done,” she says with a laugh. “Thank goodness this was my last stop. You don’t mind if I stay here for a little while, do you?”
I peek inside the basket to find bottled water, batteries, flashlights and some snacks.
“Of course not! This is wonderful, Grace, thank you so much. Come on into the library, everyone else is in there right now,” I tell her, leading the way.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I grabbed your mail on the way in. The mailbox door was blown open and I was afraid you might lose some things,” she tells me, handing me a stack of letters and bills that are slightly damp.