Storm Damaged by Kerry Adrienne

Author:Kerry Adrienne [Adrienne, Kerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Earthshine Publishing
Published: 2019-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

Mari slipped out onto the bar deck, pulling the door closed behind her. A few wet shingles, slick and glistening in the morning sunlight, lay tossed on the stairs. Mostly, things looked intact. No sign of significant structure damage.

Chase was still asleep on the bar couch. She wasn’t sure when he’d finally settled down. She’d slept naked in his arms but then woke up worrying about her store.

The deck had withstood the brunt of the storm with no obvious problems, though dune grass draped over the railing in places and branches scattered over the decking. The bar had been in the debris path of the howling winds, but the storm surge hadn’t sent water over the dunes. It was going to be a fairly easy cleanup with no water damage to contend with.

She whistled quietly as she stepped over a wet piece of wood and out where she could survey the roof. It looked undamaged, with a few loose or missing shingles.

No way she’d ever stay on land for another storm, not if she had any choice. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The wind and rain had been scarier than she’d ever experienced. From now on, she’d ride storms out under the water, where the wind couldn’t reach and the rain was ineffective.

The storm shutter on the broken bar window dangled from its lower hinge, canting at an odd angle. Things could have been much worse, for sure. The silence on the deck was unnatural.

Where were all the birds? The whistle of the ocean breeze? The noisy tourists? She felt like the lone survivor of Armageddon, alone with Chase and ready to populate the world. Kind of felt like a cheap sci-fi flick. With the promise of lots of great sex and old canned goods.

Her imagination served to calm her nerves, though sometimes she wondered where the heck all the crazy stuff came from. One day, she’d write a novel, for sure.

She shielded her eyes against the bright sunlight streaming across the debris and walked over to the railing, her flips-flops hitting the wet deck with a smack-smack, thunk-thunk. No going barefoot on the deck today, it wasn’t safe. In fact, she ought to wear something more protective than flip-flops, but they were the only shoes she’d brought up from her apartment.

She raised her face to the warm sun, letting it spread across her face, then looked out over the gray ocean. The surface of the water shimmied and shone like a new costume, but she knew the danger skulking in the darker depths.

“Oh my gosh.” She scanned what was left of the pier. The surf must have torn it in half, because the broken parts lay scattered along the beach. No doubt, the damage had happened with the worst of the weather gripping the island.

A light breeze hit her, pushing away the sticky humidity for a moment, and she gulped the fresh air—so clean. But the pier—what would the islanders do? Tears stung her eyes though she knew the locals would make a comeback.

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