Twisted Up (Taking Chances #1) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,45
making sure his voice sounded friendly. He’d met LeAnn on a couple of occasions and knew that charm would go further with her than the firmness he’d just used on Andrew. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you.” He could hear her smile. “Senator Conrad would like to confirm that you’ll be in DC tonight as planned. He would like to meet you for dinner.”
Nick Conrad was thrilled that Jake would soon be in the FEMA deputy administrator’s position. He’d been a fan of Jake’s for a long time. Not only would it look good to have a guy from his own state’s emergency-management department moving up, but Nick knew that Jake was the best man for the job.
No doubt Nick intended to give Jake a pep talk as well as some advice for his interview.
“I’m sorry, LeAnn, I’d planned to call you later on. I won’t be coming to DC this week, after all.”
“Oh, the senator will be sorry to hear that. Can I tell him why?”
Jake told her about Chance and the tornado and that he hoped to reschedule the interview.
“I’ll be sure to let him know,” LeAnn told him.
“Yes, and also mention that I’m swamped here. I probably won’t be answering calls on this number for the next couple of days.” Jake knew Nick would be calling him immediately after hearing that Jake was postponing the interview. He would, no doubt, ask Jake a bunch of questions Jake didn’t know how to answer. Like why Jake was so sure this tiny town in a state where he was not on the payroll couldn’t survive without him for twenty-four hours.
He disconnected with LeAnn and silenced his phone’s ringer as he paced to another window that looked out over Main Street. Multiple buildings had windows blown out and pieces of their roofs missing. Trees had been uprooted, street signs bent, and two cars overturned. But even shaken up and broken, the sight of the street that represented the heart of his hometown sent a powerful wave of nostalgia through him.
The signs of recovery and healing also made his heart swell. The cars were now back on their wheels and being towed, the missing windows were boarded up, and replacement glass was already going in down the block. A group of roofers climbed over the tops of the buildings across from city hall, and others took chainsaws to the trees.
Jake shook his head, shaking off the feeling of homesickness that had hit him.
It looked like a lot of work was going on, but it was unorganized, and efficiency was suffering. For instance, to get the cars off the street, the trees had to be moved. But the tow truck was there anyway, hooking up the cars and then sitting and waiting for the chainsaws to do their work.
There were people boarding up windows in the building right next door to where the glass was being replaced. Rather than putting wood and nails to use there, they could have been helpful in rebuilding the doorway to the florist shop that had crumpled when one of the flipped cars crashed into it.
Jake sighed. There were a lot of people working hard, but they weren’t working smart.
It was going to make him nuts.
There was a knock at the door, and Sheriff Blaine of the state police came in.
Jake and the sheriff talked briefly, but they needed little support from the state patrol. Troopers were keeping their eyes on people coming to town—reporters and gawkers and volunteers from other towns alike. One of the highways into town was being detoured because of some farm equipment that had gotten tossed onto the road, but that would be cleared up by the end of the day. When Blaine left, Jake went to the window again.
The guy with the tow truck sat watching three guys work on the trees blocking his path while a woman two doorways down was struggling with a ladder.
Heaven forbid the guy get out of his truck and lend a hand.
Jake jammed his cap on his head and stomped out of Frank’s office. Enough phone calls for the morning. There was work to be done.
His first stop was across the street, where he not only positioned the ladder for the woman at the flower shop, but also climbed the ladder, unhooked the torn awning, and pulled it down for her. Then, with a glare at the man in the tow truck, Jake headed for his truck.