“Damn,” he muttered, seeing that a tree had crushed the front corner of the house and one of the guest rooms was completely destroyed. He hated that it happened but was relieved it was this side of the house and not the original structure. Closing the door to that room seemed like the only thing he could do to keep the elements at least partially at bay.
Moving across the hall to Zeke’s room, he paused. Why was the door closed? When he had walked around last night, he knew all the doors were opened. Shaking his head, he opened the door and froze.
Zeke was in the bed.
“You stubborn little rascal,” he whispered, softly chuckling to himself. It shouldn’t have surprised him. It was amazing he had kept Zeke down in the cellar as long as he had. And he said a quick prayer of thanks the tree hadn’t made it to this side of the house.
Then something else occurred to him.
Why wasn’t Zeke awake?
The noise of the tree crashing on the house was loud enough that it woke Jake up, and he was on the other side of the house, a floor down, in a highly-insulated cellar. How could Zeke sleep through that? How could…?
“No,” he said in a near sob. His entire body began to tremble and he quickly walked over next to the bed. Jake reached out and touched Zeke’s shoulder. It was all he had to do. Dropping to his knees, he put his head on the mattress and cried like he hadn’t in years.
Maybe ever.
When he looked up, he saw how peaceful his friend looked and thought about all the things they’d talked about the night before.
This was why Zeke didn’t want to leave.
He knew it was his time and wanted to be here in his own home, his own bed.
And damn if that didn’t make him start crying again.
How was he supposed to tell Zeke’s family? How was he supposed to break the news to everyone in this town that the man who meant so much to so many was gone?
Zeke’s words from the previous night came to mind and he realized how prophetic they actually were. Soon no one will remember that a family founded this town. Because that family is gone.
“I’ll never let that happen,” he said quietly, his voice trembling. “No one will ever forget you or all that you’ve done for this town. You touched so many lives and I promise that your legacy will live on.” His throat clogged with emotion as an entire lifetime of memories seemed to play out in his mind. Old Zeke had been there for every milestone in Jake’s life – there wasn’t a time when he hadn’t been there with praise or encouragement or even some stern advice. How was he supposed to move forward without him? How was anyone who knew him?
He had no idea how much time he stayed there kneeling beside the bed with one hand on Zeke’s shoulder. Again, it could have been minutes or even hours. But before he moved, he had some things he needed to say.
“You’re the reason I am who I am today,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “You took a chance on me when I was just a kid and taught me more than anyone else I’ve ever met. Hell, I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it wasn’t for you. You know I love my parents and they are amazing, but you always understood me in a way they never did.” He paused. “Last night you said you always thought of me as one of your great-grandkids, and I want you to know…what I should have told you…is that I’ve always thought of you as not just my grandfather, but one of my best friends and a mentor. You meant the world to me, Zeke. The world is going to be a much lonelier place without you.” Another pause. “I can only hope that I make you proud. That I live up to everything you saw in me.”
Standing, he took another minute to compose himself. “Thank you for letting me be a part of your family. I promise to make sure no one in this town forgets you.” He gave a trembly smile. “And I hope you’re finally sitting and holding hands with that beautiful wife of yours. I bet she was glad to finally see you and welcome you home.”
Then, slowly and reverently, he pulled the sheet up and covered his friend before walking out of the room.
Outside the weather was angry and Jake wanted to howl with the wind and let out his own anger and devastation over this cruel twist of fate. As he made his way back toward the living room, he knew nothing was ever going to be the same again–not the town, not the family, but most of all, him.
3
Mallory stood at the curb outside of baggage claim and willed herself not to cry. It had been a losing battle for more than three days, so she had no idea why she thought it would work now. Looking to her left, she spotted her mother’s car. Picking up her luggage, she made her way through the small crowd of people and waited for her mother to pull up.
At the curb, Susannah stopped and parked before getting out to help Mallory with the bags. Once they were situated in the trunk, she turned and hugged her daughter. They clung to each other even as they cried. Several horns sounded at them, and within minutes they were in the car and pulling away.
“How was your flight?”
Shrugging, Mallory said, “Uneventful. No delays or screaming babies. That’s a win in my book.”
They both laughed softly before Susannah spoke. “I was surprised you wanted to fly. You normally enjoy the drive.”
“Under any other circumstance I do, but…I just felt like I needed to get here. Not that flying saved a lot of time. Between arriving at the airport early, changing flights in Charlotte…”
“It still saved you about four and a half hours, though. That’s not a bad thing.”
“True.” She sighed and looked out at the passing scenery. Everything was gray and wet and it all looked…normal. “Have you been back to the house yet?”
Her mother glanced at her briefly. “This morning,” she replied before letting out her own long breath. “It was…it was hard, Mallory, and you need to be prepared.”
She felt her body begin to tremble and all she could do was nod.
“The front corner of the house is crushed. The large magnolia tree in the front yard lost its longest limb. That’s what hit the house.” She paused. “The back deck is gone–another casualty of the massive tree limbs in the yard. The pier lost a few boards, but for the most part it’s intact, as is the boathouse – which surprised us all because the Sound had flooded.”
“Pops built things to last,” she said quietly.
“That he did.”
She nodded again. “What about the rest of the town?”
“It’s a mess. I didn’t go too far into downtown, but Georgia called when she got home and told me it looked utterly devastated as she drove through. There are so many trees down and there’s flooding…it just breaks my heart.”
“Is there power yet?”
“Not yet, but we were told we’d have it back by tomorrow.”
“Where are we staying?”
“Remarkably, Georgia and Beau’s house didn’t sustain any major damage. They have downed trees, but nothing hit the house, thankfully. Beau and Mason took all the boards down from the doors and windows and they’ve got a generator and said we can stay with them. Of course, if you’d prefer, we can stay at their townhouse too. You know, in case you want power and air conditioning,” she added with a wink.