This was his shop. His home. His dad’s legacy. And he wanted to protect it. He understood that now. It was time to step up and defend the Cranbridge Stores.
Because it meant everything to him.
33
Amber found that she was so weary that her eyes kept closing, even though she could hear the wind and rain howling across the veranda outside the window.
She forced her eyes to open once more and looked over to Josh as he stared out at the river. He was handsome, she had to admit. Strong chin. Long eyelashes. A frown creased his forehead with worry, but still it was a good-looking face.
She was more conscious than ever of his thigh pressing up against hers. She had a sudden mad thought that it could be wildly romantic to be sitting under a blanket with him. But it was crazy. There was a storm battering the village all around them. She was just tired and stressed. She just needed to have a little power nap and then she’d be fine. So she closed her eyes once more and this time let her mind drift.
At some point, she awoke with a start. Her eyes flew open and she found Josh staring down as he sat next to her.
‘Hey,’ he said, softly. ‘You awake now?’
His eyes bore into hers and she had trouble speaking. Having been at ease with him for a couple of weeks, she hoped she could just put it down to shyness.
So she nodded. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s one o’clock,’ he told her. ‘You dropped off for a while.’
A while? She felt embarrassed that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder for a whole hour.
‘What’s happening out there?’ she asked, peering into the darkness. All she could hear was the wind howling and the sound of rushing water. But she did notice that there were quite a few lights on in the cottages across the river. Nobody was getting much sleep that night.
Josh waved his torch around and she could see that the water was already halfway across the path.
‘It’s getting closer,’ she told him.
‘I know. But the Environment Agency say it should have peaked by now.’
Amber blew out a sigh. ‘Let’s hope they’re right.’
The trouble was that the rain was still coming down and the water didn’t seem to be receding at all. If anything, it was slowly getting nearer and nearer.
Josh’s phone suddenly rang out with a text. In the darkness, his screen shone out as he read the message.
‘It’s Del,’ he told her, getting up. ‘Apparently Cherry Tree Lane is under water.’
‘Oh my goodness,’ said Amber.
‘We’re getting a group together to check around the village and make sure everyone’s OK.’
‘We?’ asked Amber.
‘Del, me, Mike and a few others. I’ll text him to say we’ll call this headquarters as the shop seems to have survived for now. I’ll go grab my wellies and a jumper. I’ll check on Grandma Tilly whilst I’m up there.’
He went upstairs, leaving Amber alone in the shop.
She shivered, not wanting to be left alone but knowing that they were relatively safe compared to many others in the village.
Soon enough, a few people began to appear in the darkness, so she opened up the front door.
‘Nice night for it,’ drawled Del. But even his face appeared more strained than normal.
‘How’s your house?’ asked Amber.
‘It’s OK for now,’ said Del. ‘But I got a call from one of my neighbours saying that the water was coming in his front door.’
‘Oh no,’ groaned Amber.
Josh appeared next to them just as Mike appeared.
‘I’ll text with updates,’ he told Amber.
‘Me too,’ she replied. ‘How’s Grandma Tilly?’
He smiled. ‘Fast asleep,’ he told her.
They stared at each other for a beat and she couldn’t stop herself from stepping forward to give him a brief hug.
‘Take care,’ she whispered.
He gave her a nod before he walked down the steps and disappeared around the corner with the other men.
Amber walked up and down the veranda wondering what on earth she could do until she heard her own phone ring out.
It was Belle. ‘Hey,’ said Belle. ‘I can see you pacing over there. You OK?’
Amber peered across the dark river to where the pub was still lit up from within. At one of the upstairs windows was Belle waving.
Amber waved back. ‘I’m OK. Josh has gone with the others.’
‘It’s pretty bad out there, I heard.’
‘I don’t know what to do,’ moaned Amber.
‘Keep busy,’ Belle told her. ‘If it’s as bad as we think it might be, then everyone’s going to need somewhere warm to dry out. Hopefully the shop is high enough that it’ll be out of reach.’
‘What about the pub?’
‘Aunty Angie thinks the cellar’s going to flood, so we’re moving as much out of it as we can.’
‘Stay safe,’ Amber told her.
‘You too,’ said Belle. ‘We’ll speak later.’
Amber hung up and they gave each other another small wave. She decided that Belle was right. She needed to keep busy, so she went inside and shut the front door to keep the warmth in. She switched on the coffee machine, making sure that all the coffee and hot chocolate containers were full. Then she put a whole load of more logs next to the wood-burning stove to keep the fire going. She shuffled the bench around so that it faced inwards and then placed a pile of blankets and cushions on the top. Then Amber waited, all the time listening to the rain pouring down outside and hammering against the veranda and upstairs windows.
In the end, she had to switch on the radio so she could block out some of the howling gales outside. Then she sat and began to make yet more string chains of leaves and fairy lights, just doing anything to keep her hands busy.
The door suddenly flew open with a loud jangling of the bell.
She looked up as Josh dashed into the shop. ‘There’s a whole lane under water,’ he told her, breathless. ‘About a dozen houses are knee-deep. I’m sending the vulnerable people here because they don’t know what else to do and nor do I. The emergency services are getting hammered apparently.’
She nodded. ‘It’s fine. We’re ready.’
And then he was gone again before she had a chance to tell him to stay safe.
Within ten minutes, the first few families had arrived, followed almost immediately by Belle who had seen them out of her window.
One couple with two small children stood shivering in the doorway, wide-eyed and in shock.
‘I woke up and there was water everywhere downstairs,’ said the man, holding tightly onto his children’s hands.
‘Sweet tea is what you need,’ said Belle in a firm tone.
‘The kettle’s just boiled,’ announced Amber, before she crouched down in front of the kids. ‘Let’s get you nice and warm, shall we?’ She led the family over to the wood-burning stove and dragged the bench over. ‘Sit yourselves down here in front of the cosy fire. There’s nothing you can do at the moment.’
‘We’ve just had the oak floor fitted,’ said the woman, suppressing a sob. She too looked completely stunned.