“Do you think Mama’s okay?” Jesse moved close and hung on Hunt’s arm.
“I’m sure she is. She heard the siren just like us. She would have gone to safety.”
A crashing sound came from out in the cafe.
“What’s that?” Jamie held on tightly.
“Maybe a window blew out. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine in here.” The words echoed in Hunt’s brain. Fine. They were all going to be fine.
Keely stood leaning against the wall beside Katherine. His phone’s light shut off.
“Uncle Hunt.” Jamie’s scared voice came through the darkness.
Hunt fumbled with his phone to switch on the light again.
“Jamie, why don’t you come sit with me?” Katherine held out her hand to the boy. Jamie rushed over, climbed into her lap, and Katherine wrapped her arms around him. “We’ll be okay. We’re just going to stay in here until things calm down a bit.”
Keely walked over to him. “You think that was the big picture window? We’re going to have a mess.”
“Kind of sounded like it.”
Keely sighed.
Suddenly a roar like a freight train surrounded them.
“Back here in the corner.” Hunt grabbed Keely and rushed her over by the boys. He huddled the boys together with Katherine and Keely, and stood in front of them, wishing he had more to block them with.
The door to the pantry flew open and some menus came flying in.
Hunt’s heart pounded, it sounded like the wrath of the devil had descended upon them. The light went out on his phone again and he heard Jamie start crying.
“I’ll get the light again in a minute. Just hold on. It’s going to pass.”
One of the boys was clinging to his arm, but he didn’t dare move to mess with his phone again.
“I’ve got mine.” Keely held out her phone with the low light illuminating the corner.
The fear in the three boys’ eyes tore through him. “It will be okay.” He kept his voice loud enough to be heard over the roar, his tone full of what he hoped was positive reassurance.
Just like that, the roar began to fade into the distance. He stepped back a pace, listening.
“Hey boys, this is kind of like an adventure, isn’t it?” Katherine asked. “We’re going have such great stories to tell about this. All about the one afternoon you all got to hide in the pantry at the cafe. At least we won’t run out of food,” she teased the boys, trying to break the tension.
Hunt flipped on his cell phone light and held it high.
“Uncle Hunt, are you sure our mom is okay?” Jackson looked up at him, his eyes wide.
“She’s a smart woman. I’m sure she found safety.”
Or foolishly headed out to make sure the boys were safe… because she wouldn’t totally have trusted him to keep them safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The siren ended as the roar of the wind died down.
“I’m going to go check on things. You all wait here. Boys, stay with Keely and Katherine.”
“Don’t leave us.” Jamie’s small voice quavered.
“I’ll be right back. Just going to make sure it’s okay for all of you to come out.”
He walked out of the pantry, into the kitchen. A bit of light shone in through the one window at the far end of the kitchen. Papers and menus were scattered about. Pots were on the floor. A bag of flour had burst, showering white powder all over like a fine dusting of snow. He crossed the kitchen and headed out into the main part of the cafe. Glass was everywhere. Tables were flipped over in a pile along the back wall. Chairs were turned over this way and that, all over the cafe. The main picture window had blown out, but amazingly, the other windows were still intact. The front door was swinging wide open.
He crossed over and stepped out the door. The sight before him was staggering. Tree limbs scattered about. Windows blown out on cars and shops. A few street lamps were blown over. The building right across the street had lost its roof. Up and down the street he could see a few people coming out and beginning to check on things.
“Oh, no.” Keely came up behind him. “Look at everything…”
“I thought I said to stay inside until I checked everything out.”
“I don’t listen very well.”
“Evidently not.” He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her close.
“At least we’re all safe.” Keely hugged him back. “Honestly, I was so glad to see your face come through that door.”
Hunt smiled down at her. “I was glad to find the pantry to put the boys in. I knew I’d never make it back to Natalie’s house in time.”
He let go of Keely, stepped out into the middle of the street, and looked up at the roof of the cafe. “It looks like your roof is okay. At least no big holes. We’ll have to get up on it to check for sure.”