The Belonger by Mary Kathleen Mehuron

Author:Mary Kathleen Mehuron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SparkPress

Chapter 21

They were in the kitchen when Byron came downstairs. As she hugged him good morning, she held back a yawn as she said, “I snuck up to check things out; everything looks okay!”

“Not so bad, right?” he said. “It’s depressing that everything is wet. Yuck. But we made it through. Some of the noises in the storm were crazy. But we’re all safe and sound.”

It was his turn to stifle a yawn, and Anthony did the same. They were all exhausted from the ferocious evening, but the general mood seemed jovial now that the worst of the storm had passed. Inconvenient as the lack of electricity was, they were prepared to live without it for a while. They were innovative people.

Anthony peeked out the back door and shouted, “Blast!”

“What is it?” Holly asked.

“After our celebration dinner last night, after we cleaned up, the grill was still hot and I foolishly decided not to go through the hassle of bringing it inside. I chained it to the porch railing with a padlock, thought that would be enough. Now it’s nowhere to be found.”

They all stared at the package of frozen hamburgers on the counter that they’d just taken out of the freezer.

Though there hadn’t been time yet for strenuous activity, the three of them were already perspiring. No fan or air conditioner had run since the previous night at ten, and every window and door was shut tight. To say the air in the house was oppressive was a gross understatement.

Rather than light the burner on the stove, which would undoubtedly add more heat, Holly said, “The wind has calmed down enough; we might actually be able to get this old charcoal grill started on the back porch.” She gestured toward the Weber on the ground in the corner of the kitchen.

Anthony nodded. “The grill will have a bit of shelter in the back corner. I think we can get it going.”

Byron picked the grill up with both arms. That small exertion caused a big drop of perspiration to start streaming down his forehead toward his eye. He pushed his bottom lip out as he blew up at it. Holly grabbed a dishtowel and wiped it away.

She was sweltering, with no hope of a shower in sight. But the more important concern was how to feed a house full of people today. “Let’s give it a go!”

Anthony held the door while Byron carried the Weber out.

Byron was barely through when a gust of wind coursed in and ripped the door out of Anthony’s grasp, slamming it shut behind him. The force of it was so intense that, by rights, it should have broken the door into splinters and shattered the glass pane, but somehow everything held together.

Eyes wide, Anthony pulled the door back open and ushered Holly through.

The trio huddled around the grill in a tight circle, trying to create a windbreak.

The gusting! It’s knocking me from side to side. If we get this fire going, I might fall right into it.

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