Water Lily in July (10 page)

He glanced up at the sky. White clouds dotted the blue above him, but his eyes were drawn to the ominous black line on the horizon.

He dropped the pot to the deck, made his way to the bridge and checked the weather readouts. Why hadn't this been showing earlier? Rob grabbed the mic and turned on the radio. “Wolf Point Lighthouse, this is
Seascape
. Are you receiving? Over.” He stood there for a moment, and then repeated the message. “Wolf Point Lighthouse, this is
Seascape
. Are you receiving? Over.”

He gazed out the window as he waited for a reply. The sky changed rapidly before his eyes, the clouds beginning to boil and rotate, and there was a definite swell on the sea. After what seemed like a lifetime the radio cracked.

“
Seascape
this is Wolf Point Lighthouse.” Kaylie's voice sounded unnaturally worried and stressed. “Please tell me you're safe in the harbor. Travis said you'd gone out. Over.”

“No, I'm about fifty miles out, tending the lobster pots. I thought you'd like to know it's getting rough out here. There is a definite storm building on the horizon. If you think I should come in then I'll try to outrun it. Over.”

“It's too late for that. Your best bet is to head out to sea where the surge won't be so great. It might merely be a mild swell if you can get far enough out.”

“Now you're being daft. I'll be fine. I love you, and I'll radio when I get back to shore.”

“Rob, please, trust me on this. Head out. Don't come in. I love you too, but I have to go right now. Over and out.”

Rob put the mic down and started the engines. Her silky, satin-smooth tones had almost caressed him over the airwaves, the same as it always did, but he'd never heard that level of concern in her voice before. Not even when she'd gotten the phone call recalling her to duty. He'd battled winds and waves before and never once turned tail and run. He'd heeded her warning the day before and nothing had happened.

Lord, what do I do? I can see the clouds building, the sea is rougher than earlier, but what if this is nothing more than a tempest in a teacup? I can't afford to lose any more time. I need to fish to live.

Rob went back on deck. The clouds had overtaken him. Darkness covered the sky, a heavy oppressive darkness that unsettled him.

He shook his head, his long mane in his eyes again. Now he was being ridiculous. The wind picked up and buffeted against his small fishing boat. Huge drops of rain splattered onto the deck with a series of thuds.

Go home,
a small Voice told him.

Yes, Lord.
He flipped on the running lights and set a course for home.

~*~

Kaylie ran to the lantern room and turned on the light, comforted by the huge beams which shot across the darkening sky.
Keep Rob safe, Lord
. She paused. Why had she fallen in love with someone again? Love only led to heartache and pain. He was out there, alone and at the mercy of the storm. “Please, Rob,” she whispered, staring at the mounting waves, “just keep away from the coastline.”

The wind began to gust, and the motion on the waves grew more intense with every passing second. White foam topped the ever growing swell. How bad would this be?

Seagulls wheeled and cried overhead, fleeing inland. Lightning flickered in the distance. Rain started to thud on the lantern gallery.

Angus came up behind her. “Told ye, lassie. It's going tae be a bad'un. I hope that young man o'yours will reach safe harbor.”

“I told him not to attempt it. He'll never make it.”

Angus raised an eyebrow. “So what did ye tell him?”

“To head out to sea and stay clear of the coastline. Have the council issued an evacuation order yet?”

Angus shook his head. “I'm waiting for the port authority to call and sack ye.”

“They can,” she said bluntly. “Or if we're wrong I'll quit.”

“Think they'd rather have yer guts for garters.”

“Yeah, well, it should be the other way around if they do nothing and this hits.”

The radio cracked.

“I'll go.” Kaylie dashed from the room. She picked up the mic. “Wolf Point Lighthouse, receiving. Over.”

”Kaylie, it's Lucas. The council has just ordered a mandatory evacuation. Phil Davies wants your head on a platter whichever way this turns out. He heard your stunt on the radio. How's it looking out there?”

“Dark, with torrential rain and the winds are picking up substantially. I've been on the radio, and Angus is busy ‘battening down the hatches' as he calls it.”

“The Met Office now agrees with you totally. They predict a surge of thirty feet minimum. It may miss the town, it may not. They're not taking chances and have put the entire coastline on alert. You and Angus need to get out of there.”

Kaylie swallowed hard as Angus took the radio mic from her cold hand.

“Relax, laddie. This lighthouse is one hundred and fifteen feet tall and has withstood many a storm over the years. Yon lassie an' I will be fine oot here. Head inland with the others an' we'll see ye on the flip side. Over and out.” He turned to Kaylie. “Go up top and check everything is secure on the roof. If ye are scared, call the Coast Guard and they can evacuate ye, too.”

“I'm fine. I have a job to do.” Kaylie took a deep breath. She turned to go onto the lantern gallery, pausing at his next words.

“Yer more than a little fond of Rob, ain't ye?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“But ye did nae tell him tae come home?”

Kaylie's body stiffened, and she fought to keep her voice level. “He'll never make it back in time, he's too far out.”

“Pray for him, lassie. Mebbe with God's help he will.”

Kaylie headed outside. “Yeah, see you in a bit.”

“And don't forget the harness.”

The wind took her breath away the instant she stepped outside, the gallery door blowing from her hand and slamming shut. From here the waves were huge, spray already reaching up and battering the windows. Pressing herself flat against the wall, Kaylie fastened on the harness and then climbed slowly up the ladder to the roof.

Unable to stand upright, or even hunched over, she got on her hands and knees and crawled over to the rooftop equipment store, to tie it down. She flipped on the rooftop lights, as once more they had switched themselves off.

Lord God, keep me safe up here
.
Watch over those on the waters, especially Rob. I know I've just met him, but I have all these feelings for him that I can't explain. Watch over him in the midst of this storm. Keep the town safe from the surge that is coming.

Making sure the ropes were secure, she made her way back to the ladder. The rain came in torrents, soaking through her sweater and jeans. She remembered when her neighbor told her this was no job for a woman. Just because Phil had died in an accident at sea, didn't mean she had to go work on a lighthouse to keep others from the same fate.

Was that the reason she was out here? It was true, if Phil were still alive, she never would have upped sticks and left, but surely there was a better reason than that. She was where God wanted her to be. Simple as that.

The wind gusted strongly and blew her over the railings. Her hands flailed. The scream torn from her lips tossed away like chaff. Fingers catching the railings, she grabbed on tight, her heart thudding, breath coming in gasps. Kaylie hung there, taking a moment to pull herself together. The rope harness she wore wouldn't let her fall far, but would it hold in this wind?

Glancing to her left, she inched her way back towards the ladder and climbed down, reaching the comparative safety of the lantern gallery. Trembling fingers dropped the harness to the floor, and she let herself inside the room. She stood, shaking hard, water pouring from her clothes and pooling on the floor.

Angus called up the stairs. “That you, lassie? Your fisherman is on the radio.”

“Coming.” Taking a deep breath, Kaylie headed down the stairs to the communication room. She took the mic and ignored the look Angus gave her. “This is Kaylie. Over.”

~*~

The waves were huge, much bigger than anything Rob had encountered before. The wind hit with such force that
Seascape
lurched from one side to the other, each side touching the surface of the water in turn.

A faint smile touched his lips at the sound of her voice. “Hey. I needed to hear your voice. Over.”

“Why's that? Don't you have any work to do? Over.”

Humor in a crisis. My kind of a girl.
“Plenty, but right now trying to keep a straight course is about all I can do. How bad is it likely to get? Over.”

“Wind speeds will increase to hurricane force three, and the expected high tide will be made worse by the storm surge. It'll build once it hits the reef here. You should have gotten the Met Office advisory by now. Over.”

Rob grabbed onto the wheel as
Seascape
tilted beneath his feet. “I did. I just wanted to confirm the height of the wave with you. Over.”

“Estimated to reach thirty foot by the time it reaches us. The Met Office personnel aren't sure it'll make landfall, but they're not taking any chances. Nor is the council now. They've issued a mandatory evac order from the coast to twenty miles inland just to be on the safe side. Over.”

“Can you do me a favor? Check that my neighbor actually left? He's old and cantankerous and thinks evacuations are for sissies. Over.”

“What's his name? Over.”

“Dustin Johnson. Twenty-seven Harbor View. Over.”

“Got that. I'll call it in on the sat phone, get someone to go and check. Over.”

“Thanks. Over.”

“Welcome. What's your posit...”

Rob looked at the radio. Not even a crackle. He turned the dial and tried a different frequency. “Wolf Point Lighthouse, this is
Seascape
. Come in. Over.”

No answer. His small boat mounted another swell and dropped like a stone off the top of it. He hit the deck with a thud as the boat landed. Pushing himself up, he struggled to the door. Perhaps he could fix the radio.

Rob opened the door. Wind and rain rushed in, soaking him and tossing equipment and papers across the bridge. He staggered outside, one hand up over his face for protection.

Horror skewered him. The radio mast was gone. His only way of calling for help had vanished. No one knew where he was. With the antenna down none of his equipment would work, and in this storm no one would see a flare.

If the storm surge catches me, then I'm a dead man. Lord, what do I do? I'm scared. I don't mind admitting it. I don't want to drown, but if You call me home tonight, then I come willingly. Lord, God, protect those people in the town. Protect Kaylie and the others in the lighthouse from the oncoming surge, but above all, Lord, let Your will be done.

He staggered onto the bridge and shut the door as a huge wave pounded the deck, showering the glass with spray as the full impact of the storm arrived.

Waves towered above the little boat, crashing onto her with resounding thuds. Spray rattled against the windows, almost in direct competition with the rain. Lightning flashed and the thunder roared as Rob struggled to keep control on the tumultuous sea.

Seascape
rolled and tossed and turned. Rob clung to the wheel, desperately trying to bring the boat around. He was so glad he didn't get seasick even in the roughest conditions.
Is this it? Lord, are you calling me home?

Why had he headed inland? He should have heeded Kaylie's warning and gone farther out to sea. But as a huge wave crashed onto the deck of his small fishing boat and his fear mounted, the sermon from a couple of weeks ago flashed through his mind.

It was on one of his favorite passages, Mark chapter four. Rob whispered it as
Seascape
rolled over another huge wave. “
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, don't You care if we drown?' He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm. He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'
”

Pastor Richardson had gone on to speak about the faith of the disciples. The fact they woke Jesus proved their faith was small and weak. If they had no faith at all, they wouldn't have bothered to wake Him as they knew Jesus wouldn't have been able to do anything and they would die anyway.

Had the disciples had great faith, they wouldn't have woken Jesus, because they knew He had everything under control and things would be fine. But they had little faith and cried “Help me.”

“Lord,” he prayed, “I know You are in control here, but I'm still scared. I believe, Lord. Help Thou my unbelief.”

~*~

Kaylie ran to the lantern room. She didn't mind storms as a rule, but this one, with the wind and the rain pounding against the walls, scared her. She burst in and looked at Angus. “Did you feel that?”

Before he had a chance to answer, the tower rocked under the impact of a huge wave. Kaylie grabbed onto the railing, her face paling.

“Aye, lassie. Ah felt that one, too.”

“You sure the tower is strong enough to withstand this storm? It won't fall?”

He smiled. “This lighthouse has been here well over two hundred years. It's not about to fall down now. I'll handle things here. Ye go down and man the radio.”

Kaylie nodded and gripped the stair rail as she made her way back to the communications room, three stories below the lantern room. She sat by the radio, trying to raise Rob, singing hymns to alleviate her fear.

~*~

The waves rose higher and then over the roar of the storm there was silence.
Seascape's
engines cut out.

There was nothing more Rob could do. He would never make land now. He struggled into his life jacket and made his way onto deck.