The pieces of patio furniture had disappeared someplace safely, she assumed as she crossed the empty deck. Her gaze took in the river…still peaceful and flowing gently. It was hard to believe that things could change at any moment. She followed Rance to the vehicle and they jumped in, items stowed in the back. He had added the hard-shell top and that was good because she had felt perhaps a raindrop or two hit her as she crossed the drive. The day had begun cloudless, and puffy white ones had been gathering during the morning but now just after midday, there was a change and they had become heavier, more solid, and a grayish tint was beginning to show, which she hadn’t noticed until now.
She managed one last look behind as they reached the corner and soon the cabin lost to sight.
“It’ll be okay, won’t it? It’s running from springs, right, and that should be safer?”
“That part is safer, but there are also two small tributary creeks that will be the problem. The canyons are granite, the riverbeds mostly limestone. It’s like a chute at a water park. The water will rise fast, as it can’t spread out, so it becomes a freight train until it gets to those tributaries and then it spreads into a wall of water, wreaking havoc. Matt and his team are good, and they keep their eyes peeled to weather above…say even forty to fifty miles or more above us.”
“Because what falls there must come down through the rivers and creeks here and onward to the Gulf,” she finished. “I do remember some of my geography and science classes.”
He switched on the wiper blades as the drops were coming faster.
“Where are we going?”
“To Primrose House,” he responded, his sight remaining on the twisting road ahead of them. “It’s high enough and far enough from any river flood plain. Hope you won’t mind the upgrade in accommodations.” He shot a quick grin in her direction. He was maintaining his calm and that kept hers in check.
“I think it might be a good port in the storm. Never a dull day. So true that if you don’t like the weather here in Texas, give it a minute and it will change on you.”
“Too true.”
His phone rang again and he answered. He listened for several seconds. “Got it. Thanks for that. I’ll be checking in with Matt when we get there. No worries and you guys all stay safe.” He put the phone back in his pocket.
“That was Tori. She had one of her helpers at the café run food to the house for us just in case there wasn’t already enough. She and Matt are busy at their offices in the courthouse. They open up an emergency center there in the basement to monitor services like utilities, medical, rescues and whatever else might be needed here or in adjacent counties. This is where they earn those salaries.”
She smiled in unison with him. “And I think that is the case every day, rain or shine.”
“Might be.” They had made good time once they hit the black-top road into town. “Here we are,” he said as they pulled into the now familiar driveway beside the tall Victorian. Lights were on along the porches and a light burned in the window in the growing afternoon darkness. “She left the light on for us. Tori always takes care of her family.” He gathered the things from the back seat. “Okay, we need to make a dash for those steps. Ready?”
“Ready.”
The water was cold as it hit her skin, and the water was already pooling along the drive and sidewalk, but the porch was a safe haven. She hurried up the steps with Rance behind her.
Once inside the house it felt like a warmer haven, with even the smell of baked cookies.
“You have got to be kidding. She left cookies for us? Your sister is a national treasure in my book.” Erin smiled, placing her backpack at the bottom of the staircase and heading toward the kitchen at the back of the house. She’d loved the room the first time she saw it with its high, coffered ceilings, gleaming white cabinets with glass fronts, hints of copper pots among a ledge running around the room filled with greenery and the huge windows overlooking the gardens outside. Only now the pristine view was obscured by the amount of rain falling. The storm had reached them in earnest. Thunder began to rumble, and lightning crackled here and there.
“You should go see what you can do to help.”
Rance cast a long look at her. She could see the hesitation, and she could also understand its cause.
“I’m safe here. We both know that. There are people out there in real, verifiable danger. You aren’t doing anyone any good by sitting here and babysitting me. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, I do have a few brains in my head and can protect myself if needed. But it won’t be needed. You have done your duty to put me in a safe and secure location. Now, do your duty to help this community and your family who are doing theirs, too. And that is an order from a judge…give me the paper and I will make it official, if needed.”
He shook his head. “I believe you would do just that. You are certainly smart enough and I know that you mean well. But, if—”
“But nothing, Marshal,” she halted him. “You are minutes away. The other alternative is that I go out there with you so you can worry about another person in the floodwaters.”
“You’re tough. But I don’t need you out there, too.” He took a quick sweep of the rooms downstairs and then bounded upstairs. He was back in a flash. He met her in the hall beside the front door where she stood waiting.
“I put the lights on in the room upstairs and you just settle in as you like.”
She looked at him and handed him a couple of oatmeal cookies. “I’ll be right here, guarding the rest of these great cookies.” She smiled as he took the small, wrapped morsels she had thought of grabbing for him. “Now get your rain gear back on and get busy.”
He stopped and looked over at her. “Remind me not to commit a crime that puts me in your courtroom. It might be very hard to hide anything from you.”
“Exactly—and you should remember that. Just make sure that you stay safe out there and don’t go being a hero or anything.” She tried to pull that off lightly, but it didn’t quite make it.
His gaze might have softened a bit, but she tried not to get caught up in it. She moved to the front door, and placed her hand on the knob, waiting for him to exit. He moved to stand in the open doorway. “I’ll just head over and see what they could use. If you’re sure you’ll be okay here. And by the way, make yourself at home. You can have the guest room at the top of the stairs on the left. It has the best view and its own bath. If it gets too chilly, you know where the thermostat is in the hallway. And there is food and a generator and…”
“And I am smart enough to figure things out. And if I can’t, then I will call or wait until you arrive again. It is getting worse out there.”
