They fell into a rhythm. Sarah would point, Lizzie would execute. Lizzie would suggest, Sarah would approve or adjust. They moved around each other like dancers who’d been practicing together for years instead of days.
Carlos noticed. He gave Sarah a knowing look over the table he was moving. She ignored him.
An hour later, the house was unrecognizable. The dining room was game central. The living room had become a spa with towels arranged on chairs, nail polish lined up, face masks in bowls. The den was music headquarters.
Sarah stood in the entryway surveying it all. Spring breakers were trickling downstairs, curious, some of them smiling. The panic had faded. This looked like fun. All the windows were boarded up now, shutting out the scary sight of the storm. All that was left was the noise from the wind and the crack of thunder and lightning.
“Not bad,” Carlos said, appearing beside her.
“It’ll do.”
He leaned in. “You two make a good team.”
Sarah shot him a warning look. “Don’t.”
“Just saying. You work well together.”
“We work well with everyone.”
“Sure.” He grinned and walked away.
Lizzie came over, her hair still damp from the rain, wearing a borrowed sweatshirt that was too big. “I think we’re ready. Should we announce it?”
“You announce it. This was your idea. I’m serious. You did good work here.” Sarah met her eyes. “I’m proud of you.”
Lizzie’s face flushed. She opened her mouth, closed it, then smiled. “Thanks.”
For a moment they just stood there. Around them the house buzzed with activity. Outside the storm raged. But between them, something had shifted. The distance Sarah had maintained was crumbling.
And for the first time in days, she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop it.
Chapter 17
Lizzie
By late afternoon, the mansion had settled into a rhythm. The storm still raged outside but people had adapted. Every hour the DJ cranked the generator and played two songs. The winner of the last board game got to select the songs. The rest of the time, music came from guitars and someone’s ukulele. A girl from Oregon had brought a flute and was teaching people simple melodies in the reading room. One of the guys did the same on his guitar.
Lizzie stood at the second-floor window watching waves crash against the shore from one of the windows where the plywood hadn’t been hammered on but only leaned against the window – so the staff could monitor the storm outside. Their tents were gone. She’d watched them get swept into the ocean hours ago, bright fabric disappearing into dark water.
The game room was packed. Jenga had been going for an hour straight with people cheering every near collapse. Beer pong occupied one corner. Cards Against Humanity had everyone laughing so loud Lizzie could hear it from upstairs.
The spa was functioning better than expected. Rita had organized a rotation system. Everyone got fifteen minutes.
A few people had asked for refunds. Lizzie had directed them to Sarah, who handled it with her usual professionalism. Yes, they’d get compensation. Yes, this was an unusual situation. No, nobody could have predicted it.
This wasn’t true, of course. Sarah had. But nobody had listened to her.
An ongoing debate over if this could be called a tropical storm even when it wasn’t yet hurricane season had gone on for a while between a few girls from upstate New York, and a group of guys from Tallahassee.
No consensus had been reached. Endless videos had been filmed, however, and she knew that as soon as they were back in an area with electricity, they’d be uploading them. Would they be good for the hotel? Or a disaster? Lizzie couldn’t be sure.
She wanted them to be good. More so for Sarah than for herself. Yes, Sarah had acted like an ass, but she’d worked herself into the ground for these kids. It wasn’t her fault this disaster had happened.
“Hey! Where’s the chocolate for the marshmallows?” A girl’s called. Lizzie rushed to the banister.
“Coming!”
She turned back and hurried to check the storage room. Once there, she found them right away. Grateful that at least the snacks were not in the outside storage like the board games had been, she loaded a bag.
