Page 82 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

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.