something?
Crash.
Again, and this time he could tell the direction, behind them. Audra looked to that side of the room, her eyes widening in panic.
“Oh no. The store.” She breathed the words, turning white as she scrambled for clothes but couldn’t find any.
Scott crossed over to her, taking her arms to slow her down. “Audra, stop. Focus. Our clothes are in the bathroom. Breathe. We don’t know what it is, yet. Let’s just go check, okay?”
Her breath was coming too quickly, and Scott knew some of her panic came from being yanked from a sound sleep, though his heart was slamming into his ribs as well. It couldn’t be good—whatever had crashed had been big enough to shake the building. Not once, but twice, and that meant it wasn’t a car or a plow that had hit, like he thought the first time.
She let him direct her to the bath where they found articles of clothes scattered everywhere. Evidence of last night’s passion come to a sudden halt.
She was dressed in seconds, and Scott barely caught up with her at the door, holding her back by the elbow. He flicked the lights, finding them unresponsive.
“No power. Wait and let me grab some flashlights. We don’t know what happened. Step carefully.”
More awake now, she took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.
“Okay. But that was a big crash…can’t be good.”
“All the more reason to proceed carefully.”
They walked down to the first floor together. Scott didn’t see any apparent damage there, and nothing seemed out of place. It made him more fearful for Audra as they walked to the front to check out Lost Treasures.
He unlocked the door and took the sign down that he’d posted the night before. The early morning was dark gray, brightened by the mountains of snow that surrounded them—he couldn’t even see the street at the moment, as plows had made the banks on the walks even higher. He could hear them groaning and scraping the roads.
They’d be in later with heavy machinery to cart the piles of snow away in dump trucks. There was no place to put this much snow along the narrow Old Port streets. But it did turn everything a light, sparkling silver-gray that would have been pretty if they weren’t so worried. The worst of the blizzard had passed though, only a few scattered flurries dancing around them as they walked outside.
They stepped down to the walk—into a thigh-deep snow—and turned toward the shop. Audra’s soft cry as she grasped his hand had him cursing under his breath as he saw the damage at the same moment she did.
The window on the front of the shop was intact, but most of what was inside was wrecked—buried under snow.
“The roof collapsed. Oh my God…everything is wrecked.” Audra was hyperventilating again, crying as she plastered herself against the window of the front door.
Scott urged her away from the spot. “It’s not safe, Audra, come here.”
He took her by the hand and pulled her back to the walk, up close against him.
“Thank God you were with me and not in there,” he said more to himself than to her.
The thought chilled him more than the cold as he slid another look at the destroyed interior of the store. He’d known the roof needed repair, but no one had told him it was this unsafe. Anger welled and he knew that he’d be having some harsh words with the inspector who had filed the first report on the building, and who had said it was fine to wait another year to fix it. He refocused on Audra, who was still shivering in his arms.
She’d left her snow gear by the door, and her teeth were chattering, either from the shock or the cold, probably both.
They went back inside the bar, and he led her to a table, sitting her down.
“I’m going to go put on some coffee. You sit and get your bearings, and I’ll be right back.”
The power was still out but he had a small backup generator in the kitchen to provide some power to the main floor in case something happened during business hours. He
Crash.
Again, and this time he could tell the direction, behind them. Audra looked to that side of the room, her eyes widening in panic.
“Oh no. The store.” She breathed the words, turning white as she scrambled for clothes but couldn’t find any.
Scott crossed over to her, taking her arms to slow her down. “Audra, stop. Focus. Our clothes are in the bathroom. Breathe. We don’t know what it is, yet. Let’s just go check, okay?”
Her breath was coming too quickly, and Scott knew some of her panic came from being yanked from a sound sleep, though his heart was slamming into his ribs as well. It couldn’t be good—whatever had crashed had been big enough to shake the building. Not once, but twice, and that meant it wasn’t a car or a plow that had hit, like he thought the first time.
She let him direct her to the bath where they found articles of clothes scattered everywhere. Evidence of last night’s passion come to a sudden halt.
She was dressed in seconds, and Scott barely caught up with her at the door, holding her back by the elbow. He flicked the lights, finding them unresponsive.
“No power. Wait and let me grab some flashlights. We don’t know what happened. Step carefully.”
More awake now, she took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.
“Okay. But that was a big crash…can’t be good.”
“All the more reason to proceed carefully.”
They walked down to the first floor together. Scott didn’t see any apparent damage there, and nothing seemed out of place. It made him more fearful for Audra as they walked to the front to check out Lost Treasures.
He unlocked the door and took the sign down that he’d posted the night before. The early morning was dark gray, brightened by the mountains of snow that surrounded them—he couldn’t even see the street at the moment, as plows had made the banks on the walks even higher. He could hear them groaning and scraping the roads.
They’d be in later with heavy machinery to cart the piles of snow away in dump trucks. There was no place to put this much snow along the narrow Old Port streets. But it did turn everything a light, sparkling silver-gray that would have been pretty if they weren’t so worried. The worst of the blizzard had passed though, only a few scattered flurries dancing around them as they walked outside.
They stepped down to the walk—into a thigh-deep snow—and turned toward the shop. Audra’s soft cry as she grasped his hand had him cursing under his breath as he saw the damage at the same moment she did.
The window on the front of the shop was intact, but most of what was inside was wrecked—buried under snow.
“The roof collapsed. Oh my God…everything is wrecked.” Audra was hyperventilating again, crying as she plastered herself against the window of the front door.
Scott urged her away from the spot. “It’s not safe, Audra, come here.”
He took her by the hand and pulled her back to the walk, up close against him.
“Thank God you were with me and not in there,” he said more to himself than to her.
The thought chilled him more than the cold as he slid another look at the destroyed interior of the store. He’d known the roof needed repair, but no one had told him it was this unsafe. Anger welled and he knew that he’d be having some harsh words with the inspector who had filed the first report on the building, and who had said it was fine to wait another year to fix it. He refocused on Audra, who was still shivering in his arms.
She’d left her snow gear by the door, and her teeth were chattering, either from the shock or the cold, probably both.
They went back inside the bar, and he led her to a table, sitting her down.
“I’m going to go put on some coffee. You sit and get your bearings, and I’ll be right back.”
The power was still out but he had a small backup generator in the kitchen to provide some power to the main floor in case something happened during business hours. He
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