Nothing Lasts Forever (13 page)

Jon stepped back and looked in to her eyes. He was her love, her rock, the man who would always be by her side. “Let it out Abby. I did the same thing.”

She looked up to stare at him. “You did?”

He nodded. “Best therapy ever. Especially when you have a twin brother pounding on your back in the middle of a hospital telling you everything will be okay. We were a site to see but man do I feel better.”

She hugged him tight, the ninja between them. They stood like that for some time until their guests began to shuffle their feet. “We have company,” Abby told Jon.

“They can fend for themselves baby,” he told her, his warm breath on her ear.

Jake laughed. “We can hear you two,” he joked. Maggie smiled and ragged at Jake to leave them alone.

Abby stepped back, the ninja clutched in her hands. “Maggie said the two of you are headed back home today. Thanks for being here for one of the darkest days of our lives. We needed you guys.”

“Jake and I will be here for you no matter what. I hope you always know.”

“We do, thank you.”

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“I love being in your arms.”

“Me too, that’s why I suggested we take a much needed nap.”

“Who got to nap Jon Hatfield? The moment my body hit the bed you ravished me from head to toe by your mouth, hands, body, the works.”

“You feel better?”

“Mm, yes. You?”

He nodded as his body hovered over hers. His dark eyes looked at her with so much compassion and a promise. “We’ll get through this baby. I’m glad Jake and Maggie showed up. I doubt I could make it through my walk at the hospital today without him, but now I want you all to myself.”

He kissed her mouth so slow and tender it brought more tears to her eyes. “Oh Jon, love me. Hold me and don’t ever let me go.”

He did. His hands were everywhere then, as if he were frantic and afraid she would disappear in his arms. His mouth followed a trail down her neck, over her breasts right before they made desperate love to each other’s bodies as if there were no tomorrow. It was good the RV sat along the tree line because she cried out, holding nothing back.

It was many hours later before she stirred. Jon had his leg draped over both of hers and she couldn’t move. “Hey,” she whispered. “Let me up.”

“Not a chance.” He burrowed his face into her neck, then she felt a soft, wet tongue against her skin. Followed by his mouth and a warmth that made her shiver.

“I have to pee.”

She jumped up the moment he moved his leg and realized his mistake. “You’re headed to the kitchen baby, not the bathroom.”

She turned and grinned.

“Not fair, you lied. Next time I may not let you get up so quick.”

“You may not want to hold me against my will, you may be sorry if I do have to go.” She began to start the coffee maker when two strong, muscular arms trapped her against the counter. He began to plant kisses across her shoulder. Abby let her eyes drift shut for a moment. When she opened them again, she noticed how dark the sky seemed for the middle of the afternoon.

Jon must have noticed at the same time. “Looks like a storm may be coming. We better check the weather channel. May have to honker down in our bed again until it passes through,” he teased as his hands began to caress her neck and back in gentle strokes.

“That wouldn’t be so bad. I wonder if Maggie and Jake made it back. Have you checked your phone?”

Jon reached over her and picked up the cell. He began to nod as he read the text out loud. “Made it to Key West. Hanging with Josh and Sara for a few days. Bringing them with for the service. We’ll all be there.” Jon set the phone back down and wrapped his arms around her.

“You okay Jon?” Abby asked after several minutes passed and he didn’t let go.

She turned in his arms to cup his face in her hands. “We have a great family and friends. I want them all there with us when we send Kevin off.”

Jon nodded and took in air deep in his lungs. “Abby are you sure you want to cut your volunteering short? The hospital understands, but I want to know you are okay with this. This trip is so important to you.”

She loved him so much and a sweet smile glistened on her face. “I do love the work I did here but nothing and I mean nothing can compare to the work we can accomplish from home. We need to set up a foundation in Kevin’s honor. I thought about this long after you fell asleep last night. Let’s get Grandpa’s money working on something great.”

He nodded. “Something that will benefit kids like Kevin.”

“Agreed. We have so many connections love. You have medical connections and I’ve gotten to know so many others who can help with this type of stuff. Jake, he knows everyone and Maggie, well, she can throw her weight around and help us. I’m getting excited but we need a plan of action.”

“Then let’s go home. Kevin’s ashes will be available tomorrow morning. I’ll text Jake and let him know we’re leaving as soon as we pick them up. Is that okay with you baby?”

She hugged him again and held on to him so tight he yelled out. They laughed out loud and then cried some more. Abby pulled away and wiped her eyes. “We better check the weather, look at the sky outside.”

Jon took Penny out and came back in with a serious look on his face. “We’re losing sunlight fast. This looks like a serious storm. You check the weather channel while I put our chairs and tables in the storage out of the weather.”

When Abby turned on the local channel, her eyes widened at the red strip of emergency warnings. “Jon, get in here!”

Jon raced inside. “It says a tornado warning is in effect. Is this bad?”

“Not sure, I think out here they have sirens if the storm gets too close. Didn’t you research this first before you headed here?”

“I never thought I’d need to in a city like Memphis. Well, we’re on the outskirts of the city but even so I never thought I’d need to.”

Jon sighed as if she did something awful.

“Why are you lashing out at me?” She knew their nerves were on edge with Kevin dying but she didn’t like the fact he seemed to blame her for the bad storm.

He stopped and turned. “I would think if you’re going to take a long trip you would at least know when the tornado season begins and ends.”

Abby gritted her teeth. Were they having their first fight? “Jon Hatfield, you were right there along for the ride too. You mean you couldn’t check while we drove all this way? Don’t blame me!” She shouldn’t accuse him for not checking the weather because he hijacked the bus the day she left to come after her.

He turned and glared at her right before she jumped in the air, her feet leaving the floor of the RV when she heard a loud crack. “What was that?” she hollered and ran in to his arms, their fight over. A point of light along the horizon flashed and then a loud siren went off. It was so loud Abby covered her ears.

“Shit! Tornado. We need to find better cover. Abby, this is serious. Grab our cash and let’s get up to the office. The building is concrete. If the tornado gets near here we’ll be safer there.”

A fear so strong stabbed at Abby. She never dealt with a tornado before. In the Keys there were occasional bad tropical storms that damaged areas at times but she never encountered anything more. Now here she was in the middle of a tornado. “I’m letting Pete out, he’ll follow us to the office.” Abby brought him home the other night because she knew she could never go back to the hospital again. She ran around the RV to unplug electric gadgets and turned off the water supply. She reached in to the safe, grabbed all their cash and stuffed it in her pocket.

“Let’s go Abby!” Jon called from outside and she heard another long, drawn out siren rent the air. It went on and on as Abby and Jon made their way towards the concrete building. The wind began to pick up so Abby took Penny off her leash. An older couple struggled with each other and she ran to help them. Jon took the woman by the arm so the older man could move faster.

The van driver drove through the park picking up others as they ran towards the office. Abby looked up and stumbled when she saw the clouds spin in the sky then the flashes of light where power lines got hit. She jumped with each crack of thunder because she knew the lightening was next.

The sky began to darken even more. The wind moved stronger, picking up pieces of debris that flew through the air. Someone yelled out and Jon turned to help. “Go Abby, now! Get in the office.” He pushed her. She didn’t want to be separated from Jon but he ran in to the darkness to help those who screamed.

She followed the others around the counter and down the steps in to the shelter she remembered from the other day. There were so many people. Abby stood at the bottom of the steps and stared. Twenty, maybe thirty others huddled together against the far wall. Someone motioned for her to move but she got confused. She couldn’t let Jon out there alone. What if he didn’t come back in time. Oh God please keep him safe!

She heard footsteps as people scrambled down the stairs past her to the rear of the shelter. The van driver took her arm and forced her to move her feet. Abby remembered how she put one foot in front of the other until the crowd surrounded her. She tried to stand up on her toes because others kept coming down the stairs, crowding her in to the corner, further away from the door. She cried out Jon’s name, but it was too loud inside the room for him to hear.

“That’s everyone!” she heard a man shout out right before the heavy metal door swung shut. The crowd got so quiet when a noise like a freight train ran right over their heads. It was the longest fifteen seconds of Abby’s life. Then there was complete silence above ground and in the shelter when the lights flickered and went out.

A single voice began to cry. A baby whimpered. The generator began to hum as it stirred to life. A glow from the dim lights lit up the room as Abby began to recognize others from the campground. She tried to push her way to the front to find Jon, but there were too many others doing the same. “Man down,” she heard someone holler.

“Jon,” she cried out. “Jon, where are you?”

The metal door slid open and others began to file out, hesitant at first because they knew it might be bad outside. Abby let others ahead of her. She stayed behind as she searched the tiny shelter for her love. Then she saw him, in the front in the corner, down on the floor, another man in front of him. Abby gasped and ran to his side, sliding to the floor.

“Jon, where are you hurt?” she whispered, relieved to see him in front of her and so afraid his wound was fatal. She sucked in a deep breath and moved the arm that covered his blood stained shirt. A large gash from flying debris sliced his side. “I need a first aid kit right now!” Abby began to take over, barking orders. When no one moved, she tried again. “Let’s go, this is a shelter, we must have medical supplies, do it stat!”

Jon grinned until she placed pressure on his wound to stop the bleeding. He winced. “Abby, not so much pressure, baby. Open the kit and I’ll tell you what to do.”

“I know what to do, keep you alive until the medics get here.”

Jon began to shake, his chest heaved and Abby got scared he was going in to shock. “No Jon, stay with me!” she yelled to him. She raised her arm to slap his face when he caught her hand in mid air. He smiled and shook his head.

“Baby, I’m not going in shock or cardiac arrest. I have a small wound. Calm down.”

“Oh!” Her hand began to shake. She sat back and stared at his chest, her eyes down because she didn’t want him to see how terrified she was. “I can’t lose you,” she gasped, then lifted her head when she realized how ridiculous she must seem.

“I love you Abby.”

“I love you, Doctor. Now tell me what to do.”

He showed her how to clean the wound and cover with dry dressing. After she fixed him up, he stood and took her in his arms. “Let’s go see the damage.” They were alone in the shelter. Penny was sitting by the steps waiting for them but Pete was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Pete?” Jon asked.

“I don’t know. I let him out of the cage and he was with us until it got all crazy. Now I’m not sure if he made it in here.”

Abby ran up the steps and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the devastation outside. “It looks like a post apocalyptic movie scene,” she whispered as Jon came up behind her. The tornado leveled the campground. There wasn’t one camper or motor home upright. Wheels and fenders hung from trees that made it through the storm, the branches bent and hanging in the air. Limbs stuck out of the ground like spears on a viking’s battlefield.

Penny ran to a pile of debris and began to bark. Loud. She ran back and forth, stopped and did it again. She bit in to a piece of metal and began to bark, looking back at Abby. They ran to see what she found. Jon took the pieces of wood and began to fling them off the pile.

A mumbled voice cried out under the rubble. Abby jumped in and helped Jon clear the debris. Under all the mess a little gray haired man stirred, desperate to be free. The moment the clear air hit his lungs he began to cough so bad Jon picked him up and stood him on his feet. “You okay?” Jon asked, his voice strong and loud. The old man nodded and wobbled off towards the office, a white concrete structure that stood untouched by the devastation.

Sirens rang out in the air as local ambulances pulled up to the scene. Police cruisers flashed red lights on both ends of the street. Jon looked at Abby. “There may be more people. We need to search.”