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“No. Let’s do it together. It’ll be faster.”
We stepped out of the car and ran onto the porch. As predicted, we were completely soaked. Once inside the house, I followed her. Every room had at least two windows, and closingthe shutters took far more effort than I thought. I’d never had external shutters that you closed from the inside.
The wind was insane. But twenty minutes later, we'd secured all of them and went back to the living room. It was dark with all the shutters in place.
Once we'd stopped moving, I realized she was shaking. "You’re cold. Do you have anything to change into?"
"No, I took everything I own back home. But you’re soaked too."
"I can take it," I said.
She smiled. "You think I'm made out of sugar and I'll just melt away?"
"You're sassy again."
She let out a sigh of relief. "I honestly thought I'd come here and already find all the shutters ripped away or worse. Let's go before the storm is so bad that we can't drive."
"Sure," I said. "I was going to suggest the same thing."
We barely made it past the gate. The storm had toppled a huge tree, which was now lying across the road.
Hannah groaned. "That's the only way out."
"We'll call for reinforcements. I don't feel good about being here. Another tree could fall on us. Let’s go back in the yard.”
"Yeah, there are far too many trees around here."
I stopped the car in the same place as before.
"I'll call the local ranger," she said, then put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mr. Wilkins. Yes, this is Hannah from Loma House. The road is blocked because a tree fell. I’m safe, but when do you think you could clear it away?" Her face fell. "I mean, that makes sense. It's just that we have no way of leaving. Right, of course. I understand. Yes, stay safe. I'll see you tomorrow."
She closed her phone, looking at me apologetically. "They won't come out tonight. He's going to wait for the storm to passover. A safety inspector will come tomorrow morning at nine to see if there's any damage."
After realizing the inn was in such terrible shape, I’d contacted a company that would stop by after storms to inspect the property. I didn’t trust my own knowledge to pinpoint the issues, and several neighbors used the same service.
"That makes sense," I said. "But I think we'll have to spend the night here."
She sighed. “I know.”
"Hannah, it's not the end of the world. Let's go inside. I, for one, would like to take a hot shower."
"I have tons of fresh towels."
"See, it's not so bad." I winked.
We both went inside as fast as possible. The place seemed even darker than before.
"I'm really sorry about this," she said.
I put my hands on her shoulders, and she stopped and looked up at me. "Hannah, you've got nothing to be sorry about. I offered to come here with you, and thank fuck I did. What would've happened if you’d come out here on your own?"
"Oh, I probably would've struggled for a while with the shutters, but now, I would've been stuck."
"I don’t mind being stuck in this place with you," I said. “Not one bit.”
She laughed nervously, reaching to the wall and pressing the light switch. “Damn it. The power’s down.”
Chapter Fifteen