to where she’d been hit. The ground seemed to whirl beneath her. Were they having an earthquake as well as a storm?
She touched her head. It didn’t hurt, so she hoped the damage was minimal. When she withdrew her hand, however, there was blood on her glove. A lot of blood.
She tried to get up but found she hadn’t the strength. All around her, the world was coming apart piece by piece, and all she could do was lie in the street and ponder what she was going to do. How she wished Andrew would come searching for her. She imagined him finding her and saying something sarcastic about her having to tend herself. She could almost see him smiling down at her—promising her she’d be just fine, that he’d see to it.
And then the roar of the wind grew even louder, and the light faded from the sky. Faith closed her eyes, giving in to the darkness, wondering if Andrew and the Morning Star would survive the storm.
CHAPTER 10
Nancy heard the rise of the wind but thought little of it until one of the shutters began banging wildly against the house. She went in search of the culprit and found that one of Mimi’s windows was to blame. Opening the window, Nancy leaned out as far as her belly would allow and grabbed the wooden shutter as it came flying toward the house. The snap of the wood against her cold fingers hurt, but Nancy was determined to secure it. When the wind tried to rip it from her grasp, she heard a cracking sound, and for a moment she thought the shutter was ripping away from the house. Instead, she glanced up in time to see the neighbor’s large fir tree fall across the street and yard.
She froze. She looked heavenward and saw the heavy gray clouds that swirled and roiled. She couldn’t remember ever seeing such a storm. The wind picked up again and blew a steady gust of icy air. Nancy wrestled the shutter into place and locked it, then brought its counterpart forward to hook them together. It would provide the window with a minimum of protection. She hurried to secure the rest of the shutters. It was the first time since she’d moved into the house that she’d ever needed to worry about such things.
She went to Clementine’s room and then to the empty bedroom at the end of the house and fastened the shutters. Again, a cracking sound split the air. This one sounded much closer.
Nancy knocked on Mrs. Weaver’s door. “Ladies, we should make our way downstairs.” She didn’t wait for Mrs. Weaver’s invitation to enter the room. She found the two women sitting close to each other, far from the window. “I need to secure the shutters, and then I suggest we seek shelter in the pantry. I have a feeling, with the trees being uprooted, we may very well see damage done to the house. The pantry runs under the stairs and offers the most protection.”
“Goodness, it sounds like the end of the world out there,” Mrs. Weaver said, gathering a few things. Alma looked to her for instruction while Nancy secured the windows.
“There, that’s the best I can do here. Let’s go. Bring your coats in case we cannot make it back upstairs.”
“Why would we not be able to return?” Mrs. Weaver asked, her winkled brow furrowing even more.
“The trees are being uprooted, and we have several that could fall against the house. Come on, now. We must hurry.”
Virginia Weaver nodded and went to the coat tree, while Alma retrieved her things from the blanket box near the door. Nancy escorted the two ladies downstairs and made her way to the dining room. The wind’s roar made it difficult to hear anything, so she guided the women by hand signs. She grabbed the outdoor lantern as she passed the counter, then opened the door to the pantry.
Once they were inside, Nancy quickly realized there was no place to sit. “You ladies stay here, and I’ll grab a couple of dining room chairs.”
She stepped from the pantry as a tree in the backyard gave way and crashed against the house. A scream escaped her throat as her hand went to her abdomen. What in the world was going to happen to them?
“Are you all right, Nancy?” Mrs. Weaver asked from the pantry doorway.
She glanced back and nodded. “Get inside. A tree just hit the house.” She grabbed two chairs and