Rekindled Hearts. Brenda Minton

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      “Don’t worry.” He winked, as if it really was okay.

      “I don’t want to be alone.” Honesty. She bit down on her bottom lip as he looked away. “I don’t want to die down here alone.”

      “You’re safe, Lex. We’re both safe.”

      She wanted to hold on to him, refusing to let him leave her alone. Instead she nodded, and she let him go. “Get what I need while I close this wound.”

      And he was gone.

      She listened to him upstairs, slamming cabinets. The wind pounded the house and something upstairs crashed. She shuddered because she knew it wasn’t Colt. He was tall and muscular, but not clumsy.

      She sutured Chico’s wound, talking quietly to her dog, and praying they’d all survive this. Quiet tears slipped down her cheeks and she couldn’t brush them away with gloved hands. She used her arm.

      But upstairs the wind was pounding her house and through the narrow basement window she could see debris scooting across her lawn. A crash vibrated through the house and she shuddered, hunkering over the silent dog. A quick glance at the window and this time she saw only tree limbs against the glass.

      The door slammed. Wind wailed outside, roaring like a train about to come off the tracks. More glass shattering. And then the windows in the basement. Lexi ducked as a pipe in the basement ceiling fell.

      It was an old house, and the upstairs hardwood floor and underlying support beams were the ceiling for the basement. Pipes and electric wires crisscrossed the big, open room, making it not the safest place to be in a tornado. She preferred the storage room in the far corner of the basement.

      “Lexi, here it is.” Colt took the last step and was halfway across the room when the house above them splintered and crackled. “Run to the storage room.”

      Colt’s voice was drowned out by the roaring wind. He reached them, grabbing the dog and pushing behind her. A board splintered and fell. Lexi tried to duck, but the board hit the arm she lifted to shield herself and then it hit her head.

      Crashing and roaring filled her ears and the world tilted. Colt was behind her, pushing her forward.

      “Don’t fall, Lexi. Keep moving.”

      “I can’t.” She was dizzy and her eyes clouded for a second. Her legs buckled and she felt Colt’s arm against hers. Her ears popped and her lungs heaved for air. “I can’t.”

      “Five more steps. You can.” He shoved with his shoulder and they were in the storage room, the door slamming behind him. The building shuddered around them.

      A house over one hundred years old and today it gave up. Lexi cried because the house had history. The house had stood the test of time.

      It was the one thing in her life that had been sturdy and unwavering. It had a history that she had wanted, of families growing up and growing old together. As she ran to the far corner of the room, she knew the house was falling in around them.

      Her ears were filled with the sound of glass shattering and wood splintering, and behind her, the ragged breath of her ex-husband as he moved them to safety.

      “You’re bleeding.” Colt laid the dog on the floor and glanced over his shoulder as Lexi dropped to the ground, leaning her head on her knees until her vision cleared. “Lexi, stay awake.”

      “Don’t yell. My life is crumbling in around me and you’re yelling.”

      “This is a house, not your life.”

      She watched as he slid the needle into the dog, the way she’d taught him. She missed their marriage. She missed him in the morning, waking her up with coffee, his hair tousled and more blond in the summer than the winter.

      She missed getting up later than him. He’d be gone, but the bathroom would still smell like his deodorant and his cologne. She missed his scent on her pillow.

      Her head really hurt. She bent, resting her forehead on knees she pulled to her chest.

      “Stop.” His voice was gruff, emotional.

      “Stop what?” She looked up and blinked a few times. Pain throbbed and she touched her head. Her hand came away damp. She looked down at the blood on her fingers, mesmerized and confused.

      “You’re talking about the past, about us, like this is the end. This isn’t the end, Lexi. We’re both alive.” Colt moved to her side, a folded towel in his hand. He dabbed at her head and then held the towel with pressure that made her wince.

      “Not so hard.” She bit down on her lip and looked up, meeting blue eyes that connected with hers and didn’t look away. “I didn’t know I was talking.”

      His laughter was soft and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He kept the towel on her head. “You were talking, and I’m honored. But you need to stay awake.”

      “I’m awake.” She leaned back against the wall and thought she felt it heave with the pressure of the storm and the falling building. “You should be out there, helping other people.”

      “I doubt I can do that right now. Let’s talk. I know you can talk, even when you’re tired.”

      “And you always fall asleep when I’m talking.”

      “Midnight isn’t the best time for heartfelt conversations.”

      “When is the best time? Or is there ever a right time?” She leaned against his shoulder, her eyes focusing on the sleeping dog. “I love that dog.”

      “I’m sorry. Lexi, let’s not talk about the past or the dog.”

      “We don’t have a future, so what else do we talk about?” She felt a little sick to her stomach. He probably didn’t want to hear that. “I’m going to be sick.”

      “Okay. It’s okay.” But he held her close, as if he was afraid she’d slip away. “Don’t go to sleep, Lex.”

      “I’m not. It’s just a…”

      “A cut.” He supplied the word. “Do you remember what day it is?”

      “Tuesday?”

      “Nope.” He moved and slid away from her. “It’s Friday, July tenth. I’m going to see if I can call for help, or get us out of here.”

      “Don’t leave me.”

      He paused, his hand on the door, his uniform covered in her blood and Chico’s. “I’m not leaving you, Lex.”

      She would have nodded, but her head hurt when she moved. And hadn’t he already left her? Hadn’t he packed his bags and walked away? He shook his head, as if he knew her thoughts, and walked through the door. A few minutes later he was back. His clothes were now covered with white dust and dirt.

      “Well?”

      “We’re trapped, I don’t have cell service, and СКАЧАТЬ