The Widow of Saunders Creek (11 page)

I opened the door to the basement. “Get down there!” I yelled. My ears popped from the air pressure, and I heard glass breaking. The door fought back as I tried to shut it, and real fear shot through me until I finally got it to close.

I rushed down the stairs to find Corrie standing in the middle of the room, shaking and looking lost. I pushed her to get her moving and directed her into a small storage room where I kept all my old books. She clung to me. The house shook, and I heard more glass breaking upstairs as we sank to the floor and waited it out, holding each other and praying.

I shouldn’t have noticed how good she felt in my arms. I knew I shouldn’t, but her arms had slipped around my neck, and her soft, warm breath moistened my throat. Somehow I was holding her like a lover.

I adjusted, trying to set her aside, but she pressed herself in closer and tightened her grip. “Don’t, Eli. Don’t let me go.”

“Okay.” I drew her closer, keeping a tight rein on my feelings. This could be dangerous. In a dating situation, I’d have waited until at least
a third date before kissing a woman, and only if I really felt like there might be a forever kind of connection. I didn’t allow myself intimate situations where I might be tempted to go too far. And as much as Corrie and I had spoken on the phone and e-mailed back and forth, it had been mainly about the house and Jarrod. There was never anything that hinted of romance. Not on her part anyway.

“This is what I miss the most.”

I stayed quiet. I knew what she meant. The holding, the closeness. A man, a woman, alone. I missed it too. It had been three years since my fiancée and I had broken off our engagement. Even though we hadn’t been right for each other, there were times I missed her.

“I’m sorry, Eli,” Corrie said, but she stayed pressed against me, and I felt myself slowly losing resolve. “I just miss his arms so much.”

“I know, honey.” I trailed my fingers along her spine. “It’s okay. I’m here for you.”

She pulled back and looked me in the eyes. “You’re so good. I’m glad your nose is all swollen.”

I smiled, stretching my face and causing a burning, bruising kind of pain. “Well, congratulations, I guess, since you did it.”

She laughed. “I just mean this is a very intimate situation. Don’t you think?”

I looked into those gorgeous blue eyes, and I swear I’d have kissed her anyway, regardless of the pain, if not for Jarrod and the knowledge that this woman, this desirable woman who was much more suited to me than my cousin, was still madly in love with her husband. She couldn’t possibly handle anything romantic.

“It is a very intimate situation.” I laughed, trying to bring a little
levity to the moment, especially considering all the chaos going on outside this house. “So it’s a good thing I look like Frankenstein.”

“Oh, Eli, that’s not what I meant. Besides, your beauty is in your eyes and your heart. And your broken nose can’t cover up those two things.”

“That’s a sweet comment, Corrie.” I treasured the observation, but it further proved my point. This girl was too good for Jarrod. In life, and definitely in death. And considering my train of thought over the last few minutes, she was clearly too good for me as well.

“Don’t you want to know why I’m glad you have a broken nose?” she whispered, her eyes softening as they settled on my lips. I had to force myself not to move in.

We were on dangerous ground, fueled by my taking care of her yesterday, her taking care of me today, and the volatile situation of being so close to danger. All our senses were on overdrive.

I had no choice but to end this before I did something we would both regret thirty seconds after it was over. And I didn’t mean kissing. I was a man, after all. My dreams about this woman didn’t stop at kissing. Not even close.

I hadn’t been in a man’s arms this way for so long I’d almost forgotten how warm and secure it felt to be pressed against a strong chest. I felt safe in Eli’s arms, and as much as I didn’t want to leave them, I was starting to get cramped from sitting on the floor. I could only imagine how a big guy like Eli must be feeling. I pushed back from him.

“I don’t hear the storm anymore,” I said. “Do you think it’s passed now?”

“Let’s go see.” He stood and reached down to help me up.

I followed him up the steps, keeping several steps between us. He opened the door, and I heard the crunch of glass on the floor as he stepped into the hallway. I walked in after him. The pictures from his walls had crashed to the floor. Eli’s eyes were roving from beams to windows to the ceiling, looking for structural damage. Always a contractor.

He gave a low whistle. “Doesn’t look like it’s as bad as it could have been. The roof is still here.”

“All the windows are gone.” I stared in utter disbelief at the carnage on his floor and couldn’t believe how calm Eli was as he shone the flashlight around the room. Jarrod would have been freaking out, ranting, wanting to sue someone—God, if no one else. He most certainly wouldn’t be calmly looking around.

“They can be replaced,” he said. “Electricity is out. Can you go get your phone out of the Jeep so I can check on my mother and Aunt Liz? My house phone is a cordless, so it’ll be useless. I forgot to grab my cell phone from the truck before we left your place.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

He responded with silence, and I suspected that perhaps the damage to his home was beginning to sink in. After everything that had already happened today, I was on overload. I couldn’t even imagine how poor Eli must be feeling.

My Jeep was surprisingly unharmed, although I thought it might have been shoved a little farther away from the house than where I’d parked it. It had all its windows, and there wasn’t so much as a branch or leaf on it. I grabbed my phone from the cup holder and retreated back to the house.

I glanced at my phone. Call after call from Lola. She must have
seen on the Weather Channel that the Ozarks were under the gun tonight. I sent off a quick text as I walked just to let her know I was fine and I’d call her as soon as Eli contacted his mom.

She wrote me back, “You better be glad you’re not dead. I was getting really worried.”

The house glowed with oil lamps and candles by the time I got back inside. Eli’s head was bowed. At first I thought he was upset. Then I realized he was saying a prayer. I forgot he had gone to seminary. Jarrod hadn’t thought much of his cousin’s decision, but I thought it was noble.

He looked up, and I saw peace on his face despite the glass on the floor and the swelling around his nose. A smile curved his lips. “Prayer might not change the immediate situation, but it changes the way I feel about it. Just knowing God’s aware of things helps.”

I handed over the phone, feeling a little awkward, the way I usually did when someone exercised a faith I lacked. Not that I didn’t know about God. I believed in Jesus, and Mother was a full-fledged board member in the Baptist church she’d dragged Lola and me to every Sunday when we were growing up. When I was sixteen, I somehow found the strength to bump up against my mother and tell her I wasn’t going anymore. The whole idea of an absent God just never quite clicked with me. I guess it was a bit too much like my absent father. I knew I was like the guy in the Bible who couldn’t believe without touching the holes in his hands, but I needed to see to believe. And so far, I hadn’t seen much to give me the kind of faith I saw in men like Eli.

While Eli made his call, I wandered into the kitchen to find the broom. I figured the least I could do was help him sweep up the glass
and cover the windows before we went back to my place. My stomach dropped at the thought of what I might find when I got back.

I found a little utility closet by the french doors that led outside. Somehow the glass in the doors had remained intact. I was glad, because french doors were my favorite, and the thought of these in particular all over the kitchen floor seemed sad. I opened the closet and found a broom and dustpan. I grabbed the trash can and took it along to the living room with me.

Eli was saying good-bye when I returned. He smiled at me.

I set the trash can in the middle of the wooden floor. “She made it through the storm, I take it.”

“Yes. The tornado never even made it to that side of the road.”

“Then my house …?”

“Mom was in the car when I got hold of her just now. When she couldn’t get in touch with me, she drove to your place to make sure we were okay.” He took the broom from me. “You’re a lucky lady. The only damage she mentioned was what we saw earlier. A few shingles from the roof and a few small trees.”

I nodded, looking around at his place. “Do you have plastic or something to put over the windows?” I was grateful that my home had fared so well but felt a little bad for Eli. He was working so hard to get my house renovated, and now he had a mess to clean up here. I knew he was hoping to get to work on his campground soon.

He brushed the floor with the broom. “My mom is bringing over some plastic and a tarp she has.”

“Oh?” I swallowed a little and bent down with the dustpan. He swept a pile of glass into the little tray. “Did you by chance mention your …” I pointed to his nose. “You know …”

“Did I mention to my mother that you broke my nose?”

I stood with the dustpan and dumped its contents into the trash. “She’s going to make you go straight to the emergency room. Plus, it wasn’t my fault, really. I told you to stand back.”

He chuckled and continued sweeping. “You’re right. You did.”

I frowned and stopped, staring at him as I thought back to earlier in the day. “Why didn’t you get back when I told you to?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t figure you’d get the door open. I tried several times and assumed the frame was warped.”

But it had opened without any catch whatsoever. “Weird.”

Headlights, presumably from his mom’s car, illuminated the front yard.

“Good Lord, Eli,” Mrs. Murdock said as soon as they got inside and she could see Eli in the dim light of the house. “What did you do to your face?”

“I told you I was going to the hospital.” He angled his gaze at me. “I ran into a door.”

“Well, you’ve definitely broken your nose. We’ll need to get you to the doctor before it sets that way.”

“Exactly what I told him,” I piped in, just in case my opinion counted for anything.

She turned to me. “I’m glad you’re here. I need a favor.”

“Oh?”

“The storm sent my salesgirl, Britt, into labor two weeks early. I have a girl starting as soon as she graduates high school, but she obviously has classes now.”

“And what is it you’d like Corrie to do, Mom?”

She frowned at him. “I’m getting to it.” Then back to me. “Do you think you’d be up to helping out in the store for a month or so? I pay eight dollars an hour, but I suppose I could swing ten for you.”

“Ma!” Eli said before I could open my mouth. “You can’t ask Corrie to work right now. She just got here.”

“I thought it might help.” She gave me a tiny smile. “When Eli’s father died, work was the only thing that got me through most days.”

“Well, Corrie isn’t used to that.”

I gathered in my breath. “Eli, since when did I hire you to do my speaking for me?” I asked. Normally, I wouldn’t talk to a guy like that in front of his mom, but good grief.

“I just thought …”

“Well, think for yourself, buster. We women have had the vote for a century now. I’m pretty sure I have a few original thoughts.”

I was gratified by a chuckle coming from his mom. I gave her my attention. “Sounds like just what I need. Is tomorrow good?”

“Oh no. I think we’ll close up shop tomorrow and check on the neighbors. How about Monday? That’ll give you four days to try to get things back in order after the storm.”

I smiled, feeling more relieved than I’d felt since word came of Jarrod’s death. Between the ample life insurance policy Jarrod left me and my own trust fund, I didn’t have to look for work until I decided exactly what I wanted to do to support myself. But having a purpose, even for a month, felt like a beautiful gift. The best part was I’d have a good excuse for getting out of the trip home for my grandparents’ anniversary party.

Later, I left Eli in his mother’s capable hands and went home while
they headed to the emergency room to see about his nose. My house stood as it had when we left, and I walked up the shaky steps, filled with gratitude. I heard a tiny meow close by.

“Kitty?” I walked the length of the porch, but with the cloud cover, the night was too dark to see anything—especially a tiny kitten. I called for him a few more times and walked around the house once, but the meowing stopped and I gave up, making a mental note to search the barn area first thing in the morning if he hadn’t returned.

I opened the door. My electricity had come back on, and I walked into a well-lit room.

I dropped my keys onto the table, just as the phone rang. I smiled to see Eli’s number. “How’d you get your phone?” I said.

“Mom got it out of the truck when she stopped by there.”

“Oh. Makes sense.”

“I just wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

“Yep. Just walked in the door. Everything’s exactly the way we left it.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Good night, Eli.”

I grabbed my blanket and pillow and padded to the porch, grateful the tornado had moved away from me and left my porch swing alone. The cushions were damp, so I went back inside for an armload of towels to dry them off.

I stepped onto the porch and bit back a scream as a figure loomed before me.

“It’s okay,” the man said. My heart pounded in my chest. “Don’t be skeered.”

“W-who are you?” I asked, glad Eli’s truck was still parked in the driveway. “I’m not here alone. My-my cousin is just inside. All I have to do is scream.”

“No he ain’t.” The man took a step toward me, and I saw he was young, about my age. “Eli’s headed up to Springfield to take care of his nose.”

“How did you know that?”

“I’m Ray. Aunt Trudy’s grandson. She asked me to come check on you.”

Relief washed over me like a warm shower. “Oh. I think I met you at the funeral.”