Snowfall on Haven Point(83)
As the reality of what might have happened began to soak in, Andie suddenly felt like the tree had just fallen on her. They might have been killed. All of them.
Her knees suddenly felt weak and she didn’t quite trust them to hold her up, so she sank onto the sofa as raw relief, gratitude and, okay, a little smidgen of self-pity battled inside her.
For heaven’s sake, hadn’t her children been through enough? Other people were sleeping soundly in their beds, getting ready for Christmas, carrying on with their safe, normal world without having to worry about where they were going to live for the next few days. Now here she was having yet one more crisis to contend with.
“You’ll stay at my place,” Marshall said instantly. “There are two extra bedrooms, which should be plenty, if the kids don’t mind doubling up.”
“I can stay in a hotel.”
“You think you’ll find one that will take Sadie and the cat I just saw peeking out from under the couch?”
She had forgotten about the dog and Mrs. Finnegan. “I can try.”
“Or you can just say, thank you, Marshall, pack a change of clothes for the kids and walk those three hundred feet to my place.”
She didn’t want to be alone with him.
That seemed a ludicrous thing to worry about in the middle of a crisis, but she couldn’t help it. She had been doing her best to prevent their lives from becoming more intertwined. Where Marshall was concerned, she didn’t appear to have an ounce of common sense and was a kiss or two from losing her head over the man.
What was the alternative? Eliza and Aidan would probably be happy to put them up at Snow Angel Cove and there would be plenty of room in the sprawling house, but Andie didn’t feel right calling them.
She had other friends she could call, but the idea wasn’t appealing. She was certain any of the Helping Hands would be willing, but, really, who wanted unexpected houseguests—pets included—a few days before Christmas?
She was still trying to figure out what to do when the children wandered in, Chloe leading with the flashlight and Sadie bringing up the rear.
“I’m cold, Mommy,” Will complained.
“It was too dark in your room and the wind is scary. What if another tree blows onto the house?” Chloe said.
“It won’t, honey,” she assured her daughter, pulling them both close.
Her first—and only—priority was doing what was best for her children. They counted on her to keep them safe and she was all they had.
Marshall’s house was familiar to them and close enough to their own place if they needed to run back and forth for things. Staying with him made the most sense—even if it was the option that left her the most uncomfortable.
“Fine. Thank you, Marshall. I appreciate your kindness. We’ll stay at your house for now while we figure out how long it will take to get things straightened out here.”
He gave a brief nod and she thought she saw relief in his features. “Good decision,” he said.
“Very wise,” Cade agreed. “Why don’t you pack up what you might need for a few days and I’ll pull my SUV over and drive you all to Marshall’s place? That way you don’t have to trudge up the street with your things.”
She was once more indebted to Cade. Here he was, coming to her rescue again, just as he had the night Rob Warren had come to Haven Point.
How grateful she was for good neighbors and friends who were willing to step up in the middle of a crisis, she thought as she started making mental lists of all the things the three of them—and Sadie and Mrs. Finnegan—might need for a few days.
When she had random moments of self-pity, of feeling her burdens and troubles were heavier than she could carry, she only had to remember she didn’t carry them alone anymore. She had a support network here in Haven Point, one she cherished more every day.
* * *
HOSTING THREE UNEXPECTED HOUSEGUESTS—not to mention a shy cat and one friendly little mop of a dog—turned out to be less of a burden than Marshall might have expected.
By the time Cade helped Andie and her children load a couple of suitcases into his SUV, then drove the lot of them back to Marsh’s house, the children were wrung out from the early-morning adventure and more than ready to climb into bed.
Andie settled them into the larger of the guest rooms, then made her excuses and quickly took her pets and the rest of their belongings into the other guest room. Marsh did his best to help, ignoring her protests that she could do it herself and carrying in a few of the lighter bags.
She needed to rest—he could see it in the shadows under her eyes, the pallor of her skin. She looked thin-boned and fragile, as if that December wind out there would blow her all the way to Shelter Springs.