Lightning Strikes Part 3 (36 Hours) by Baxter Mary Lynn

Author:Baxter, Mary Lynn [Baxter, Mary Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-02-20T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Amanda listened for the wail of sirens. When she didn’t hear anything resembling that awful sound, she checked her phone, grabbed her purse and umbrella, then walked outside the door of the hospital.

Free at last.

She stood in the rain, which was now a light mist, and inhaled fresh air deep into her lungs. A sudden burst of lightning off in the distance caught her attention. Too bad that part of nature was so fascinating, yet so dangerous.

But then dangers lurked all around, she reminded herself, the majority of them emotional and of her own making. Shivering, Amanda tentatively made her way toward her Honda and got inside, never bothering to open the umbrella.

Home.

She had cleared this short venture with Carl, but only after another ER doctor had battled the elements and come in to help. Still, she hadn’t given in without a fight. When Carl had physically pointed her toward the door, she had balked.

“Go!” he had ordered. “Now!”

“But—”

“Forget the buts. You’re dead on your feet, which makes you dangerous.”

“There’s something I have to find out first.”

“It can wait.”

“No, it can’t.”

“Go!”

She had gone, but not because he’d ordered her to. Carl was easy, and she knew how to work him. If she hadn’t needed the privacy and solitude of her home to help calm her battered soul, she would have ignored him.

Now she was glad she hadn’t.

Even though the city was still in a blackout, it was no longer impossible to get around, at least not for her. The fact that the rain had somewhat subsided had improved the graveness of the situation.

However, a lot of families and their homes were in shambles, without counting the problems associated with the total blackout. Many houses and vehicles had been demolished under the onslaught of the hard rains and the mud slides. Possessions could be replaced. The toll on the human spirit could not be. Many who were injured would never recover, nor would some aspects of the town itself. The residents would carry scars for a long time.

Amanda was also on that casualty list, though for a different reason. Her property may have come through unscathed, but not her psyche.

She maneuvered her car into the garage, and after entering the small but cozy house she’d recently purchased, she didn’t think she could put one foot before the other. She had never been this wiped out.

Or this frightened, not even when Noah had told her he was leaving her.

Opening the drawer inside the utility room, Amanda removed a big flashlight, then several candles. Shortly, the living room area was aglow with a soft light. For as long as she was going to be there, this make-do measure would suffice.

Her gaze quickly perused the large room, which encompassed the kitchen and breakfast nook, making sure everything was indeed intact, that there were no leaking ceilings. It was. But the relief she should have felt was not there. Her entire being was consumed with only one thought.

What if—No. She wouldn’t think about Noah’s lab results, not now.

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