Page 58 of Still Afraid

After a little shuffling noise, Chloe appeared in the sliver of light.

“It would appear I can. But why are you ripping a hole in the floor?”

Josh looked at Gabe, whose wide eyes would rival a deer’s at night.

“Babe, it’s … it’s going to be easier to cut this away than the tree.”

“Is the house gone, Josh?” she asked.

“Yeah, totally.”

“Oh.” The resignation in her voice made him realize she had no idea how bad it really had been; how close she’d been to death.

Troy crossed the threshold with an ax on his shoulder. “This should help. Let’s get my baby girl out of there.”

Josh met Chloe’s eyes. “Back up. We’re coming in.”

She moved. “All clear.”

Troy swung the ax into the underlayment. After a few good swings, Josh and Gabe pulled away the broken pieces. It looked like there was enough room between the floor joists to get her up through the floor. Troy put the ax aside.

Josh shifted closer to the hole. “Chloe, I think it’s big enough.”

She crawled over. “I think you think I’m skinnier than I am.” She chuckled but maneuvered toward the hole anyway. Poirot bounded over and stuck his head in the hole.

“Hey, boy. Let me get out.”

Josh tugged him back and held him.

Chloe’s hands appeared first, and she gripped the top of the joist, then her hands disappeared back into the crawlspace. The top of her head was the next thing he saw.

His heart thrummed with anticipation of seeing her free.

Her head came through, and Poirot jerked forward. Josh held him back. The last thing Chloe needed was the dog licking her face.

Her dad and Gabe were both right there ready to help her.

She stood up but wasn’t high enough to climb out given the narrowness of the space. Gabe told her to put her arms around his neck, and he pulled her out of the hole. Her dad made sure she didn’t scrape herself up coming out.

As soon as her feet were on somewhat solid ground, Josh let go of Poirot. He bolted the two feet to Chloe and jumped on her like he’d completely forgotten all of his training.

She petted him profusely before looking up and meeting Josh’s gaze. She pushed the dog off, and Josh closed the distance between them, tugging her against his chest.

His heart felt complete again. He never wanted to stop holding her, but he loosened his grip and held her out. “Are you hurt at all?”

She shook her head. “Somehow I made it into the crawlspace before the tree crashed down.” Her eyes glazed over. “I saw the funnel cloud. It was terrifying.”

He touched her cheek. “But you’re okay now.”

Her eyes cleared, and she smiled at him. “I am. God was with me, as always. I was going to head into the house, but I had dropped my keys …”

He followed her gaze around what had once been her house. “It’s a good thing you ended up in the crawlspace.”

As she walked away from him, his hand ran down her arm to her hand until her fingers slipped through his. He let her go but followed.

“I would have hidden in here.”

The coat closet had been obliterated. It’s possible she would have been fine with how the beams fell but maybe not. Dropping her keys was providential.