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“It’s over.”
“I’m scared to look outside.” Her voice shakes with the unknown.
“Hey, we’re alive and the building is still standing. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as expected.” I stand up bringing her with me. “Let’s look outside.”
She nods as we walk out the back door. Branches cover the backyard. There’s a pond around two hundred feet away, and an enormous oak tree lays on its side jutting out from the water. It didn’t seem that bad here, but if it can take down a tree that size, what does the rest of the city look like?
We go back in and head out the front of her apartment door and down the wooden steps.
It’s a bright, sunny day and the hurricane left the parking lot alone. No one would suspect that we just lived through a hurricane.
“Let’s go check out my—well, Wilson’s—house. I’m sure he’ll be calling soon.”
ChapterSix
TALYNN
Have you ever been to a war zone? We pull into the formerly gated community, and that’s exactly what it resembles—a war zone, complete and utter destruction. Tackett stops the car as he decides the best way to get to Wilson’s house. There’s debris scattered everywhere in mounds and strips, in the tops of tress and covering the manicured lawns. Roofs are ripped from the mansions, and windows blown out, shards of glass gleaming in the sun.
Tackett maneuvers around limbs in the streets until we get to a small tree covering the road.
“Come on, help me move this,” he says as he slips from the car.
We each grab an end of the small ornamental tree, moving it into the nearest yard. Thirty minutes later, we make it to Tackett and Wilson’s house. He lets out a sigh of relief when the front appears to be in good shape.
“This is a good sign, right?”
A simple head nod is all he can manage.
We park at the edge of the driveway and the entire walk-up Tackett is rubbing his palms together. Tackett walks up the steps to unlock the door and when we enter the living room, we’re relieved that it looks untouched. The throw pillows are scattered uniformly. I bet Tackett never uses this room.
Then we walk into the kitchen which leads to the patio. I survey the damage, and Tackett reaches for my hand. “It’s destroyed, Tay,” he pauses. I squeeze his hand. “I should have been here. It was my responsibility.”
“No. You could have been killed. Wilson and Archer wanted you out of harm’s way.” I hope he knows I’m being sincere. I don’t know any of these people well, but I know what I saw with my own eyes and how much they all care about one another—and that includes Tackett.
Water covers the floor an inch or two deep. He carefully steps into the frame of the windowless opening to the patio. The furniture is strewn across the beachfront estate. But when Tackett steps farther out onto the porch, it creaks. My instincts take over as I jerk him back inside and the deck literally falls off the house.
Our breaths are heavy and deep, watching teakwood slats fold into itself and on to the ground. I wrap my arms around him because that was scary. “Tackett, we can’t be in here. It’s not safe.”
He squeezes my arm then rubs it a few times before he shrugs, taking out his phone. “I need to text Wilson.”
He takes photos of the kitchen, and the now non-existent back porch and hits send. The outdoor stone and stainless steel kitchen totally crumbled. As we look down, the rectangular firepit is all that looks salvageable.
“What did he say?” I ask.
“He said the most important thing is I’m safe.Me.He’s worried about me when he has lost the place where he and Kenni made their home.”
“Towles, listen up. Their home is in Chicago right now. It’ll be fixed in no time. And home is when you’re with the ones you love.” I hesitate but then say, “Like my home is Sarasota even though I’ve been here less than two weeks.”
His head swivels slightly in my direction like he’s trying to dissect my words. In truth, I don’t know what I mean but my heart tells me that Tackett Towles is special. He may be the best friend I’ve ever had—if I let him. Letting us both off the hook, I continue, “Home is where Megan is.”
He nods in understanding but then points to the air where the deck used to be. “You know I sat in that very spot playing checkers with Patrick’s son, Jackson. And now it’s gone…the patio is freaking gone.”
I take his bicep in both hands as I try to comfort him, earning me a faint smile.
Tackett opens the door for the insurance adjuster. I guess when Wilson Shepherd calls, you get to him immediately. We find out later he’s not with an insurance company, instead a private general contractor that came to assess the damage at Wilson’s request Then he’ll file the assessment with the insurance company.
