Take a Chance on Me(110)
She loved how Grace’s go-to was prayer. Ivy would have to start thinking that way too.
“I think that’s about it,” Ingrid said. She stood in the middle of her family room, the walls bare, looking out to the lake. It glimmered bronze. She shook her head. “Please, God, save our home.”
Grace put a hand on her mother’s shoulder.
Water hit the sliding-glass doors as John and Casper began spraying the house.
“Amelia—c’mon!”
“Mom! I’m not done packing!” Amelia’s voice came from upstairs, nearly frantic.
“I’ll get her,” Grace said.
Ingrid walked to the bathroom, opened the door, and hooked Butterscotch by the collar. “Sorry, honey, but I couldn’t have you running away.”
Ivy walked to the sliding doors, peering out toward Jensen’s place. He’d have a breathtaking view of the fire, safe on the other side of the lake.
“Ivy, are you coming?”
She nodded, followed the three women outside. “Did anyone get things from Darek’s house?”
Amelia looked at Grace. “No.”
“Believe me, Tiger’s going to need a few things. I know how it feels to have nothing. I’ll be right behind you.”
Ivy took off down the path toward Darek’s A-frame cabin, sweat dribbling down her face. Through the trees, she could make out a distant orange glow.
Flinging open the door, she ran inside to Tiger’s room. Looked around. Saw a stuffed tiger, worn and wadded next to his pillow. She grabbed that and a picture of Felicity by his bedside and ran back out.
A glint of color to her left, from the cabin on the shore, caught her eye.
Claire’s Yaris?
Ivy glanced down the trail. Ingrid’s van had already pulled out.
Someone had to warn Claire. She ran down to the shoreline and spotted a trail. “Claire!”
But no one emerged from the house. She looked back but couldn’t see John or Casper. Behind her, the entire forest seemed to glow.
Shoot. Ivy took off along the trail, around the end of the lake toward the cabin.
“Claire!”
She heard her name as if through a fog, something sweaty and dark, and she tore through layers of sleep to open her eyes.
Claire blinked against the brightness inside her room. The ceiling fan whirred—she didn’t remember turning that on, but it lifted the tiny hairs on her arms and cooled the sweat on her brow.
She couldn’t remember the last time she slept so well, so hard. So at peace.
“Claire!”
The frantic voice seemed familiar but she couldn’t place it. “In here,” she mumbled.
She got up, pushed aside the quilt, and nearly screamed when Ivy appeared at her bedroom door, sweating, breathing hard.
“What are you doing here?”
“Claire, the fire—everyone is evacuating.”
Huh?
Ivy grabbed her by the wrist. “We gotta go.”
“No—what are you talking about?” Claire yanked her arm away. “Why are you here?”
“I was at Darek’s place and I saw your car. The Christiansens have packed up and are leaving. The fire is coming toward the lake.”
“You’re overreacting—”
“Am I?” Ivy strode to the back door, the one facing the lake. “Tell me I’m overreacting.” She opened the door.
When Claire shuffled to the entrance, her breath faded from her chest. To the north, the entire horizon seemed lit by a blaze, with spikes and waves of flames crowning trees, spires reaching for the sky.
“We gotta go. Now.”
“Let me get my things.”
“There’s no time!”
“There is time!” She picked up her grandmother’s afghan, swiped a picture of the couple off the end table. “I have books and photo albums—”
“You have to leave them behind, Claire. You have to let them go.”
“No. They’re my life—”
“No, they’re not. It’s all just stuff. You’re a big girl—I promise; you can live without it.”
Live without it. Yes, she could.
Claire grabbed her keys as Ivy took hold of her hand and dragged her through the house, toward the front door.
Smoke layered the air, so thick that Claire bent over, coughing. Her eyes stung, but she felt her way to the car, opened the door.
Ivy swung into the passenger seat. “Drive!”
Claire nodded and turned the engine over. The fire reflected in her rearview mirror as she backed up and pulled onto the road.
The woods to her right had turned to flame, the trees furred with fire, the ground a hot glow. Thankfully, the road looked clear—
She heard the crack just as Ivy grabbed her arm. From the forest, a giant, flaming white pine toppled across the road, its bushy arms blazing, the crown of the tree exploding. Ivy screamed and Claire braked before they plowed into the inferno.