Coming Together: Welcome to Carson, Book Two by Renee Harless

Author:Renee Harless [Harless, Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

NIKKI MOVES FROM THE shelter along with the remainder of the crowd and heads back towards the coffee truck to get a bottle of water, the respiratory mask drying out her mouth.

She searches around the crowd for Sara or Carl, but comes up short. Instead, she finds Amy and Joseph, Austin's parents, waiting along with the other spectators.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Connelly. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Well, it was quite a to-do in the community to make it to the demolition. I wasn't going to miss it. Plus, I love to see my Joseph Jr. at work," Amy says.

Joseph Jr. Nikki always catches herself chuckling at Austin's first name. He hates being called Joseph, or Junior, for that matter.

"Well, it seems like the entire town turned out for the occasion."

"They did," Amy exclaims, jumping up and down on the tips of her toes, causing Joseph Sr. to chuckle. "We planned a potluck for this afternoon and the Mayor even closed down Town Hall. We may have lost a historical building, but what we're gaining is going to mean so much for Carson."

"A potluck? Really?"

"Come on, Nikki. You've lived here long enough to know that the Lady Busy Bees don't need a particular reason to do anything. But tell them that there may be an occasion for a community gathering, and they're going to schedule a luncheon."

Nikki finds herself chuckling at Joseph's assessment.

"You are right on that one, sir. So Amy, what are you bringing? Please tell me it's your pecan pie. It's my favorite."

"Well now, I wouldn't be a true southern lady if I didn't bring pie. And I may have heard that my soon-to-be grandchild likes the pie, too. I’m also bringing a dish of Mac and Cheese for Avery, and my homemade garlic mashed potatoes for the boys. I believe I have everyone covered."

"Oh goodness. My mouth is watering already. How much longer until..."

An immense explosion interrupts Nikki and she finds herself turning around in horror as she watches the remaining southern wall collapse onto the ground.

"Oh my God," she whispers hoarsely, shock flooding her body.

Vaguely, she hears Amy’s voice penetrating the fog of her thoughts as the older woman grabs her arm.

"It's Austin, Nikki! I can feel it. Go to him, please. Please find him," she cries over the reverberations as she clutches the links on the fence.

With a determination Nikki has never known, she jars herself from Amy's grasp and rushes towards the ruins, shouting Austin's name the entire way. From the corner of her eye, she sees a bright red haired figure rushing from the tree line, but she pays little mind to it. Instead, she focuses her attention on the crumbling wall in front of her.

Nikki trips on her own feet a few times, sprinting closer to the debris. Robert and Carl try to halt her, but she side-swipes through their barrier.

"Nikki, stop!" Carl yells, but it does little good.

Her heart is breaking within her chest and will continue to do so until she knows that Austin is safe.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.