She ran to the kitchen and grabbed her raincoat from the hook, calling out to Donovan to come along. She convinced Belinda to stay behind to watch the bar; then she and Shayla hopped into her car, following behind Harlon’s beat-up Chevy.
They had to park at the head of Sandalwood Drive, which was at a slightly lower elevation and prone to flooding even before this recent weird phenomenon had started to take place. The flashing lights of several emergency vehicles could be seen, along with a short flatbed truck stacked high with sandbags.
“We started filling these after Tropical Storm Lucy,” Harlon called over the crack of yet more thunder.
They all joined in with the people shuttling sandbags in an assembly line. It seemed as if it would take a million of them to stave off the water streaming in from the toppling creek, but with every sandbag that fell into her waiting arms, Paxton knew it was potentially another pet saved, another home spared.
The rain sluiced down the slick blacktopped roadway, running in swift rivulets. She’d never seen anything like this in Gauthier. The sight caused chills to cascade down her spine as powerfully as the water down the street.
“We’ve gotta move faster,” Donovan called as he tossed another sandbag her way.
They continued their coordinated assembly line, the water reaching their ankles. Headlights shone as several other cars pulled up to the head of the street.
Paxton peered through the darkness and spotted Sawyer running toward them. Her heart flip-flopped within her chest. He acknowledged her with a slight nod before jogging past the assembly line toward the animal shelter. He returned minutes later with a pet carrier tucked under each arm. Webster Detellier followed behind, also burdened down by animals.
They worked for two hours straight, hauling sandbags and pets, until they finally had some control over the water. By the time they were done, the rain had slowed to a steady but much less powerful downfall.
Members of the community huddled in the street, talking strategy for how to clean up the mess in the houses that had taken in water. Thankfully, only four on this street, along with the animal shelter, had seen any accumulation. And that had only been about two inches, not even enough to reach the top edge of the baseboards, so at least they wouldn’t have to rip out any walls.
As she held a shivering cocker spaniel/poodle mix in her arms, Paxton couldn’t help the tears that began to stream down her face. The adrenaline from the past few hours had worn off, leaving her drained, her emotions raw and exposed.
Not a single photo or secondhand story could tell the full picture of exactly what this town was up against. Tonight, she’d seen it with her own eyes; she’d felt the anxiety and desperation deep in her bones.
And, just like that, she made her decision.
“I need you.”
Sawyer turned at the sound of Paxton’s breathless plea. Droplets of the still-misting rain peppered her smooth brown skin, making it glisten under the gleam of the streetlights overhead.
“What?” he asked, wondering if he’d heard her wrong.
“I said I need you.” She held her hands out in helpless appeal. “I need to see this project through to the end. I can’t leave Gauthier without making sure it’s done right. Not after what I saw tonight. But I need your help. If we work all night, we can get the revised ICP done before I leave.”
“So, you’re still leaving,” he said, the truth crushing his soul all over again.
“Yes, I am. Ihaveto.” She paused, then said, “But you can come with me.”
His body went rigid, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
“Just hear me out,” she said. “The army corps’ Charleston district is sending three engineers to the Netherlands with us to study this system. I know you can make a case with the New Orleans office to come with us. We can make this work.”
He cursed the thread of hope blossoming in his chest, but he couldn’t fight it. Still, he managed to keep his expression neutral as he glanced toward the activity taking place at the animal shelter before looking back at her. “When you say that we can makethiswork, what exactly are you talking about? The project or—”
“Everything,” she said. She closed the distance between them and took his hands in hers. “I’m stubborn and hardheaded and when I get mad at you I’ll probably say some things that I regret, but if you’re willing to put up with me, I will gladly hand over my heart to you, Sawyer. In fact, you already have it.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.
“It’s an even swap,” he said. “You’ve had my heart for longer than you can possibly know.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. “I’ve got a fresh bag of coffee grounds from The Jazzy Bean. What do you say we tear it open and get to work?”
She smiled up at him. “That sounds like a plan.”
Once they established that everything was under control on Sandalwood Drive, Paxton checked in with Shayla, letting her know that she was leaving with Sawyer.
The rain continued to fall in a light mist as they drove over the bridge and into downtown Gauthier. Sawyer pulled into his garage and popped open his trunk, where he kept duplicates of the maps that were currently on the walls of the conference room in the Gauthier Law Firm. Everything else they needed was on his computer.
He placed several maps in Paxton’s waiting arms and ushered her toward the door. Then they spread everything out over the dining room table.
Sawyer looked over at her, still drenched from the rain, her short hair plastered to her forehead.
