“Thank the Lord,” Penny said with a small smile. “But I have more prayers to be answered.”
“Me, too.” Ellen motioned to the man in overalls. “He’s with the county. They’re blocking off Orchard.”
“In the middle of the storm?” Penny pshawed. “The signs will be knocked over in the wind.” She said that loud enough for the government employee to hear; he just looked at them sheepishly and continued his conversation.
“I’m going to check on Margery. Don’t get up, he can let himself out.”
Ellen went upstairs and found Margery sleeping, an empty bowl next to her. Good.
She stepped out, closed the door, and texted Rick the license plate information Bobby had memorized. She was proud of her youngest son to have thought of that, but residual fear lingered that he could have been caught and in the same position as Avery.
Rick responded with a thumbs-up emoji, and then Ellen went into her room, where she’d had Lyla lie down after being shocked earlier by the generator.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“My arm is almost back to normal, but my fingers still tingle.”
Ellen sat on the edge of the bed. “It could have been so much worse.”
“Who would do that to us? It wasn’t a prank.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“It was probably the same person who cut into the barn and the reason why the barn is collecting water.”
Ellen had thought the same thing.
Only she had also thought, Verdacorp.
She knew Mitchell Robinson was ruthless, but she neverexpected him to sabotage her property. Who else could it be? Maybe one of his goons? Like Tom Garza? She had never liked that man.
Tomorrow, she would pound on Mitchell’s door and demand answers.
“Jake has Bobby,” she told Lyla. “He’s fine, they’re on their way back, but have to go around the long way.”
“It’s awful out there, Mom. Do you think they’ll get back okay?”
“Jake is smart, he knows what to do.”
“And Avery?”
“Rick is looking for her.” Ellen felt so helpless, and she didn’t know how to make her daughter feel better when she herself was so torn up inside. “I don’t know what else to do, I want to go out myself but that would be foolish. The last thing we need is Rick and his people having to rescue me because I got caught up in mud or stranded in the middle of a field.”
“Jake said that Ryan was on his way, he should be here by now.”
“He may have been turned back at Mule Run. Rick said everything north of there is blocked off.”
Which made it weird that the county employee was cutting off Orchard Lane, which was a tiny road off a minimally traveled road. Typical of government, she thought. They had so many ridiculous rules and regulations, most of the farmers ignored them.
She rose, said, “You can sleep in your own bed if you don’t mind sharing the room with Margery, or you can stay here and share with me, whatever you want.”
“I might not sleep at all,” she said.
Ellen kissed her forehead and went back downstairs.
Penny was still in her rocking chair. “Where’s the guy from the county?”
“Finished his call and left. Took the cookies I offered.”
