Amy looked over at him, shaking her head, her brow lowered. “Why is he standing out in the rain?”
“It’s not enough for the weather stations to just tell us how bad things are going to be, they have to put somebody out there in the middle of it to show us as well.”
“They do this for every hurricane?” she asked, her eyes wide. “I guess I should know this, but I’ve never spent much time watching the weather station. And since I’ve never had to be concerned about a hurricane coming in, this is my first time paying attention.”
Before he had a chance to respond, his phone vibrated and he glanced down. “I’m going to go out for just a bit. There’s something I need to get.”
Amy’s chin jerked back, and her eyes widened even more. “You have to go out in this?” She sighed, slowly shaking her head. “Of course you do. You’re the Sheriff.”
“This isn’t exactly Sheriff business, but it’s something that needs to be taken care of. My brother is picking me up. He’s just pulled up to the garage, so I’ll go out that way. Do you have your phone? I want to give you my number.”
She moved over to her purse and pulled out her phone. Tapping in the number he gave her, she called him so that he’d have her number as well. While Rosie continued to play, she walked him through the house and into the laundry room. “Please, be careful, Liam.”
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think the trip would be successful and I’d be safe. The storm is going to get worse in several hours, but it’s slowed down right now. I should be back in about an hour at the most.”
His hands started to reach out, the desire to touch her arm strong, but instead, he held back.
She obviously had no such resistance as she reached out and placed her hand on his forearm. She gave a little squeeze and said, “Come back safe, and Rosie and I will fix lunch.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her not to worry about cooking for him, but he had the feeling she was going to do what she wanted. “Make yourself at home, but make sure you stay off your feet as much as possible.”
With that, he turned and headed through the garage and out the side door. Racing through the rain, he climbed into Corby’s truck. As Corby started down the driveway slowly, he asked, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? I’m not the only one who knows you’ve got a pregnant woman and little girl staying in your house. With mom stuck in her house during the storm, I think she spent an hour on the phone with the rest of us.”
“There’s nothing to wonder about. There was no way I could get her to an emergency shelter, and even if I could, I hated the idea of her and the little girl sleeping on a cot. I’ve got the room, so I might as well make use of it.”
“You always liked your life kinda neat, Liam. Seems like you just invited a little bit of the chaos that the rest of us deal with right into your home.”
He thought of the mess he discovered in his kitchen when he came down this morning, but he could hardly complain because it was quickly cleaned up. “It won’t be chaos because they’ll only be here for a couple of days. Now, stop asking me questions and focus on the drive. I want us to get there in one piece and back home in one piece.”
Corby laughed, and with his focus on the windshield where his wipers were swishing furiously and the visibility was still only a few feet ahead, he drove out onto the highway.
It took almost fifteen minutes to get to the place where Liam had discovered Amy the evening before, and Liam breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her SUV and trailer intact as they pulled along beside it.
“Ohio? A rental pulling a trailer? And she was driving in this last night?”
Glancing toward Corby, Liam nodded. “She left Ohio a couple of days ago, not wanting to drive for a long time with a little child, plus needing to make a lot of pit stops. She admits she didn’t have the radio on because she was trying to keep Rosie entertained. By the time she realized the hurricane was coming, she was sure she could make it all the way into Baytown. She wasn’t actually stranded when I found her. She’d just stopped to take care of her daughter.”
“She’s still lucky you came along.” Corby stopped his truck as close to Amy’s SUV as he could get, still allowing room for Liam to get out his door. “You going to be okay going back with that trailer?”
“Yeah. The winds are strong, but as soon as I turn off the highway, I’m going to be where trees will provide a buffer. Thanks for doing this, bro. I owe you one.”
“Next time we’re at the pub, I’ll collect.” Just as Liam was getting ready to climb out, Corby added, “As soon as the storm passes, expect Mom to come over. Hell, you’ll probably get Ellen, Marie, and Sue, and your sisters-in-law as well. They’re all pretty curious about you having a woman and child in your house.”
Liam snorted. “Believe me, there’s nothing to see or tell. She’s a widow with a four-year-old child getting ready to have a baby. All I’m doing is giving her a place to stay for a couple of nights until she can get to Baytown.”
“Damn, that’s gotta be hard on her. You’re a good Samaritan, but you know Mom. If she thinks this woman needs help, she’ll be right there ready to supply it.”
Liam thanked his brother again, then threw open the door and climbed out, his face immediately stinging from the rain hitting him with the gale-force winds. He had snatched Amy’s keys from her purse, feeling bad for taking them without her permission, and yet, not wanting to get her hopes up that he might be able to get her possessions closer to her. The rental door clicked open easily, and he climbed inside. Waving toward Corby, he started her SUV and slowly pulled out onto the road.
Immediately, the wind made steering difficult, especially with the trailer pulled behind. He was glad it wasn’t a huge trailer, giving the wind less of a target to blast, but its lighter size was still pummeled by the rains and winds causing it to sway. Christ, Amy would never have been able to hold onto this vehicle for the next twenty miles to Baytown. Now, he saw it as fortuitous that Rosie’s juice box had spilled and she’d gotten upset, and was very grateful that Amy was concerned enough for her daughter’s distress to pull to the side of the road. And thank God I found them.
He wondered about his sanity when he’d made the offer to take them to his house, having never invited a stranger over before. He sometimes felt guilty when his family almost always met at his mom’s house or one of his siblings’ homes. It wasn’t a question of having enough room considering his house was large. He just found that he liked his peace and quiet. He liked knowing where things were, not having to search for items, not having to clean up other people’s messes. He loved his siblings and their kids and enjoyed his friends and get-togethers. But the truth was he liked his solitude.
These thoughts filled his mind as he clung to the steering wheel tightly, slowly creeping down the road, glad no other vehicles were out. Making the turn into his drive, he ascertained the best way to park to not only shelter the SUV but more importantly to shelter the U-Haul containing Amy and Rosie’s possessions. He pulled to the side of his garage, leaving the back of the trailer closest to the garage door. Once again jumping from the driver’s seat, he raced into the garage, heaving a sigh of relief that he’d been successful in his endeavors. As soon as he stepped into the laundry room, Amy hurried from the kitchen, relief also written on her expressive face.