Page 154 of Sheltering You

Camilla had sprained her ankle. Dad and Bryan had been shooting terrorists. Summer had been trapped under a bed, trying not to burn to death.

He hated to think what might’ve happened if they hadn’t had the fire extinguishers close by. Fortunately, Mom and Dad had always kept plenty on hand, just in case. Considering the closest first responders were a boat ride away, they’d prepared for every emergency they could imagine.

They’d never imagined terrorists.

But they’d been prepared for a fire.

Even the fire extinguishers would’ve been useless if not for Jeremy, who’d been quick to grab them and get the fire out. The teenager was a hero.

Everybody had helped, whether firing weapons or protecting the weak or just being there, not panicking. Offering moral support.

Derrick had always known he had a good family, despite the conflicts and broken relationships. He’d lived his life in fear that he would do something or say something that might harm his family. He’d walked on proverbial eggshells, afraid of offending. Afraid of breaking bonds that felt as fragile as glass.

He pulled a nail from his pocket and hammered it into the wood.

Fragile?

Nobody in his right mind would consider the Wrights fragile.

They were strong. And not just physically, though that was certainly true. But his family was strong as a unit. Together. No matter what happened. And he realized, looking back…

They always had been.

Even the years Grant had been gone and Bryan had been bitter, if anything had threatened them, they’d have come together. They’d always loved each other. And they always would.

Derrick reached for another nail, nearly fumbled the hammer.

“Be careful,” Daniel called from below. “Wouldn’t it be ironic if, after everything, I was killed by a hammer to the head?”

“Not funny, man.” But Derrick grinned at his oldest brother, who held onto the extension ladder as if it might spontaneously tip over. Once they’d gotten the plywood in place, this wasn’t really a two-man job, so Daniel was just standing on the ground, watching him.

Derrick chuckled to himself, thinking of how he’d yelled at his brothers the night before. A week ago, he’d never have dared talk to them that way. He’d have been too afraid they’d never forgive him.

Now, he knew his family was far from breakable. Their bonds weren’t glass but iron, and nothing could shatter them.

Nothing.

He finished with the plywood, climbed down to get the tarp from his brother, and worked on nailing it in place.

Dad had a multitude of tarps. When you lived on an island, you had to have everything you might ever need on hand. Dad had been an Eagle Scout once upon a time.

Be prepared.

Sadly, no plastic tarps or half-inch pieces of plywood were going to keep out the chilly Maine winter or the frigid wind blowing off the North Atlantic. Most of the house was undamaged, but a couple of rooms on the second floor needed major work. Derrick would lend a hand, and he figured his brothers would as well, when they had time. They’d build this place back, better than ever. Probably even add some cabins like Mom and Dad had originally planned to do. There’d be more kids coming along soon enough. And it wouldn’t be long before Zoë and Jeremy would marry and start the next generation of Wrights. Now that Daniel and his family were moving back to Maine, their kids would be around a lot more often.

The Wrights would keep this island and their house on it, despite what they’d just endured.

The storm had moved out, leaving a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. The pines and oaks and birches that stretched across the island swayed in the cold wind whipping off the water.

The forest had settled as if nothing unusual had happened. One would never know the violence that had taken place a few hours before.

The house held scars, though, bullet holes and pockmarks that riddled the siding. But none of the Wrights had been shot.

It was crazy, really, how well they’d come through that. A testament to Grant’s planning and his and Michael’s skills as warriors and Bryan’s shooting and…

God.

Derrick and his loved ones were safe. Every single one of them.