Ellie Mae set seven glasses on a wooden tray and carried them to the dining room table.
“Don’t let your clumsy show,” Tabby teased.
“I’ll do my best if you don’t trip me up and then fall on me,” Ellie Mae said and then threw over her shoulder, “Hey, Alex, is that business about sleeping that soundly fact or fiction?”
“Proven fact,” Alex said with a nod.
“So, you know how to operate our old generator, take care of the well house, and cook, and you’ve been in the military. Are you a superhero?” Tabby asked.
“I don’t have a cape, and no one ever gave me a title,” Alex answered as his face broke out into a wide grin.
“I used to think Tabby had a cape.” Ellie Mae headed to the walk-in pantry. “We’ve got to think about desserts and snacks when we figure out tomorrow’s menu.”
“Used to?” Tabby winked. “Was I ever a superhero? And what is this we business? Who will make desserts with me?”
Ellie Mae brought out a package of chocolate chip cookies and arranged them on the platter that Alex had set down. “When I was a little girl, you were already in college. We only got to see each other a few times through the years when our fathers would give in and agree to be civil a few hours—and on Thanksgiving, when we came to Aunt Charlotte’s for the holiday. You were always so tall and beautiful, and I felt like an ugly little frog.”
“I hope I never made you feel like you were an ugly frog,” Tabby said.
“You didn’t, but I’ve always been short and carried a little extra weight and . . .” Ellie Mae paused.
Tabby butted in before she could go on. “Since we’re having a moment of honesty, I’ve been jealous of your Dolly Parton figure.”
“For real?” Ellie Mae blushed and was glad that Alex had gone out into the foyer to help the old folks find their way to the kitchen.
Tabby took a couple of long strides and gave her cousin a hug. “Yes, for real, and I’m glad you are here to help me get through this storm.”
“Right back atcha.” Ellie Mae tightened the hug and then stepped back. “I’ll bring the ingredients to you for desserts from the pantry. That will be my job when you are cooking, and I’ll do the cleanup when you finish. We’re tough Landry cousins who can get through anything as long as we work together.”
“That’s what Aunt Charlotte said when she turned this place over to us, but I’m wondering how tough we really are right now,” Tabby said with a sigh. “We’ve got old ladies who hate each other, aging veterans, and a hurricane named Delilah that’s coming right at us with a full head of steam.”
“Plus, a sexy guy that you keep sizing up.” Ellie Mae carried the plate of cookies to the table.
“I have not!” Tabby whipped around to put a few more cupcakes on a tray. A crimson blush burned her cheeks, and she was glad Alex hadn’t heard what Ellie Mae had said.
Chapter Three
The hurricane hopped right over Bolivar Peninsula, which stretched out along the southern Texas coastline, like the strip of land was no bigger than a matchstick. It didn’t even slow down, but probably picked up even more water as it whipped across East Bay and slammed into Sandcastle with all the force that made the weatherman a prophet. Winds snapped trees in half as if they were those little tiki bar–drink umbrellas, leaving them in an undignified, naked, leafless mess.
Ellie Mae was in that limbo state between being almost awake and nearly asleep when a loud pop caused her to sit straight up in her pitch-black bedroom. Her heart thumped so hard that she could hardly breathe, and when she did inhale, she wondered if Cleo and Maude were having a duel after all. She envisioned holes being blown in the wallpaper that she was fighting so hard to keep intact. Now Tabby would have a good reason to strip it all away.
“Sam,” she whispered in her foggy state, “what’s going on?”
Then she remembered that her best friend and former roommate was not in the B and B, and that the hurricane had probably made landfall—if not right in Sandcastle, then close by. She pushed back the covers, slung her legs off the edge of the bed, and felt along the wall and the dresser until her hands landed on one of the camping lanterns that she and Tabby had distributed to everyone. She got a firm hold on the handle and pulled it up. Bright LED light lit up the room, but it didn’t stop the noise outside.
She held up the light, immediately dropped it, and then covered her eyes with her hands. Aunt Charlotte hadn’t said a word about the B and B being haunted, but there was a ghost standing right there in front of her in a long white gown and a scary face. She tried to squeal, but it sounded more like a mouse caught in a trap than a real scream.
Tabby reached down, picked up the light, and set it on the dresser. “It’s me, Ellie Mae.”
When she could catch her breath, Ellie Mae said, “You just scared the bejesus out of me, and what in the hell are you doing with that goop on your face?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, but I was putting on a cleansing mask when the lights went out,” Tabby answered. “I was coming to steal the light from your room, rather than trying to feel my way back to the one that’s in my room. My dresser is on the other side of my bedroom, and yours is close to the bathroom door.”
Ellie Mae backed up and sat down on the edge of the bed. Heart still pumping like she’d run a marathon and adrenaline racing through her body, all she could do was nod.
Tabby sat down beside her and said, “Let’s go to the kitchen and have a glass of milk and some of those brownies that were left over from supper. Neither one of us is going to be able to sleep for a while with all this noise. The wind sounds like it’s trying to tear the house down, and I guess those shotgun blasts are really tree limbs cracking and breaking. I’m surprised that the other folks aren’t awake.”
“Remember what Alex said about sleeping through mortar fire?” Ellie Mae asked. “I expect Homer and Frank could do the same, since one of them mentioned Vietnam.”
“I heard you holler for Sam. Want to talk about him?” Tabby asked.
“No. Yes. Maybe,” Ellie Mae said, “but I would like a snack, so let’s get your lantern and go to the kitchen.” Talking about Sam right then was too raw, too intense for her to face without breaking into sobs, and Tabby didn’t need that.
“Why do we need two?” Tabby asked.
“In case one of them loses power,” Ellie Mae told her.
Tabby followed Ellie Mae through the bathroom that connected their rooms and into her bedroom, where she retrieved her lantern, and together they headed for the kitchen. “It sounds like we should’ve used that plywood and built an ark instead of covering the windows with it.”
“Plywood wouldn’t work,” Ellie Mae told her. “You got to have gopher wood and lots of pitch for that, but we might find ourselves floating out in the Gulf in this house when Delilah does her dirty deeds and passes on, and wish we had attached a boat motor to the back porch.”
When they reached the kitchen, Tabby set the lanterns on the table and lit two oil lamps. She carried one of the lamps to the table. “This should give us more light.”