The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,13
and we knew you’d come as soon as you could.”
“Thanks for leaving the key out,” she said. “I love you guys.”
“We love you too.”
She turned and took a folding chair, hoping this tornado would turn or twist and go find an uninhabited patch of Texas to blow its rage onto.
No one said much of anything, and eventually her momma started to sing lullabies and tell stories about Heather as a young girl. Lincoln hung on every word, and Sammy hinged on every rattle and shake of the boards around them that made up the shelter.
After what felt like hours—Sammy could really only judge time by how hungry she was, and she was hungry—everything held very still. “Check the radio, Momma,” she said.
Her mother got up and clicked on the radio. “…repeat, stay in your shelters or under cover. There is a trio of twisters, and no one can predict which way they’ll go. Everyone should stay in their shelters or under cover in their homes. Do not go outside. Do not try to get in your car and flee. Officials are saying to shelter in place until further notice.”
Click. Her mother turned off the radio and looked at everyone. “Who wants to play a game?”
Sammy ate pretzels and dried banana chips for dinner, left the jars of beets and canned peaches, and made sure everyone got to choose from the assortment of food in the tornado shelter.
Her father showed Lincoln how to heat up a can of chili with just a lighter and nothing else, and they ate that with a box of chocolates Momma had brought with her from the house.
“It’ll be dark by now,” she said, as her phone told her it was past nine p.m. “Can we check the radio again?”
Her mother turned it on, and this time, the broadcaster was saying, “…safe to come out now, but officials are warning everyone to use extreme caution. There is significant damage to many parts of the Texas Panhandle, including Amarillo, Borger, Three Rivers….” He continued to list towns and cities all the way up into Oklahoma, and Sammy felt sick to her stomach.
“It’s dark,” the broadcaster said. “If you can, the National Weather Service advises simply staying wherever you are until morning. There will be nothing to see, as all electricity, water, and utilities are out in the paths of the three tornadoes that touched down in the Texas Panhandle today.”
“I’ll get out the other sleeping bags,” Sammy said. Lincoln had gotten one down already, and she was grateful he hadn’t uttered a word of complaint. Sammy tucked a blanket around her father in the recliner he’d been sitting in for hours, and helped her mother lie down on the ground next to Lincoln with a sleeping bag and a nearly flat pillow. Sammy then zipped herself into a sleeping bag, knowing that if she slept at all, it wouldn’t be very restful.
She hoped Jeff, Jason, and Logan had made it home okay. They had wives and families, and she closed her eyes and prayed for them.
Bless my shop, she thought. Bless Clayton that he’s okay. Bless us that we’ll all be able to sleep well enough. Bless those in Three Rivers that have had damage, that all can be repaired and restored.
Sammy finally fell asleep, her prayers for her friends, loved ones, and the town of Three Rivers still swarming through her mind.
Chapter Five
Bear emerged from the tornado shelter, every muscle in his body tight. Everyone in the family had converged to the shelter, as the one near the main homestead where Bear lived was the biggest and best stocked with emergency supplies and food.
They’d all spent the night down there, and Bear thought he’d probably gotten about two hours of sleep.
Behind him, Bishop said, “Dear Lord in Heaven, what are we going to see?”
They’d prayed together, the fourteen of them. Bear had put his brother, Judge, in charge of their mother, and Ranger was taking care of his mother. Bear’s sister had brought their mother from the small cottage where the two of them lived, and Ranger’s two sisters had driven to town to get their mother from the assisted living facility where she usually lived full-time.
Bear took his time looking around. He’d need to send everyone out to make a full assessment of the damage on the ranch. From where he stood right now, it looked like his roof had some shingle damage, and he could see a couple of broken windows.