While Love Stirs (21 page)

24

Silence now reigned over the chaos, and sunlight filtered in through the open doorway. Joel eased away from Charlotte and sucked in a breath to calm his racing heart.

Charlotte didn’t move. Fear coursed through him again. “Charlotte? Charlotte, are you hurt? Look at me.”

“I’m okay.” Her voice didn’t sound convincing, and when she scooted out from under the table, tears trailed down her cheeks. She swiped them away. “Sorry. I was saying an important thank-you.”

He glanced around the café. A few other customers emerged from hiding beneath the tables, and a man who appeared to be the owner came out of the back room and asked, “Is everyone all right in here?”

“Looks that way.” Joel climbed to his feet, dusted off his trousers, and helped Charlotte stand. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, but did the tornado hit anything?”

“I’ll go check.” He stepped into the doorway. A sense of dread pooled in his stomach. Uprooted trees lay toppled like felled giants. While the hotel remained standing, there was damage to the porch. Two other buildings lay in unrecognizable heaps.

“How bad is it?” Charlotte placed her hands on his shoulders and tried to peek over them at the damage. “Joel, we have to go help. What if someone is trapped in one of those buildings? And
remember how many people from the boat were on that porch.” She tried to shove past him. “We need to go help those people.”

He turned and gripped her arms. “
I
need to go, and I need you to stay here.”

“I am not going to stay here like some society girl who can’t keep her wits about her in an emergency.”

“Charlotte, listen to me, please. I can’t help those people if I’m worrying about your safety.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Remember your promise? One night without arguing.”

“But—”

“Charlotte, please.”

She scowled but clamped her mouth shut. Even windblown and tear-streaked, she was beautiful. He couldn’t let her go out there. Who knew what he might find in the rubble.
Lord, help me figure this out.
How could she help without causing him worry?

He glanced toward the kitchen. “We’re going to need food and coffee. Lots of it. Some of these people are going to be in shock, and the workers who come to help will need to keep their strength up. I need to know I can count on you here.”

She sighed, picked up his medical bag, and handed it to him none too gently. “Be careful.”

“And you’ll stay here?”

“I’ll do my best.”

It wasn’t a guarantee, but it was most likely the best he’d get from her given the circumstances. And for that he was grateful.

With the porch damaged, the hotel wouldn’t be able to provide food or beverages for the workers or injured. On every floor, windows had been shattered as well. Charlotte watched Joel jog in that direction. How many injured might there be? And who could say what lay beneath the two toppled buildings?

Other customers pushed by her to get a look at the damage.
She stepped aside and wrapped her arms around herself. The sun would be setting and it would get chilly soon. They might need blankets too. It was time to get to work.

She marched toward the kitchen. “Sir, I’m Charlotte Gregory and I work for the gas company giving cooking demonstrations. I’ll be happy to help you make food and hot beverages for the injured and the workers if you’ll acquaint me with your kitchen.”

“And who’s going to pay for this food?”

“This is an emergency. We all need to do our part.”

“Like I said, who’s going to pay for it?”

Aunt Sam would be willing to foot the bill, but it would be presumptuous to offer that.

Wait a minute. Charlotte made an income now from the gas company. What better way to use her money?

“Sir, I will personally guarantee you’ll be paid for any food we use.”

“You?”

“I told you I work for the gas company.” She found a pencil and a piece of paper and scribbled her information. “Here’s my name and address.”

He read it and whistled. “Summit Avenue, huh? Guess you can afford the food, or at least your parents can. Come on. Let’s get cooking.”

She didn’t bother to correct his assumptions but instead followed him into the kitchen. He pointed out the basics—the pantry shelf, the pots and pans, the icebox—then turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Charlotte reached for an apron from a hook on the wall.

“I have a family I need to go check on. You can handle making coffee, right?”

“Of course I can make coffee.” She slipped the apron over her head and tied its strings.

“Then you ought to be fine while I’m gone.” He swept his arm around the kitchen. “She’s all yours.”

Charlotte took a few moments after he left to gather her thoughts.
Lord, help me know what I
need to do first.

An answer permeated her thoughts.
Get
some help.

She hurried into the dining room. Several female customers sat at the tables, stunned, their husbands having gone to help outside. One woman tried to console her crying infant while another seemed to have her head bowed in prayer.

“Attention, ladies!” They all jerked. “I need some volunteers in the kitchen to help me prepare food and warm beverages for the victims and workers.”

“I’ll help.” The praying woman jumped to her feet.

“Me too.” A tall lady with a deep voice came to the counter.

Soon nearly every woman had volunteered. One older woman, who said she wasn’t up to standing in a kitchen, offered to hold the baby so the baby’s mother could help out.

Charlotte directed two ladies to make sandwiches with the bread the man had on hand, another woman volunteered to make biscuits since the bread wouldn’t last long, and a couple of others set about preparing coffee and tea. Charlotte recruited the tall lady, who she learned was named Fern, to help her make no-bake mud pie cookies on the stove.

“Charlotte!” Joel called from the dining room.

She hurried out and watched him lower the rude man from the boat into a chair. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Shock, mostly. Can you bring him something warm to drink? Is there any chance of finding a blanket?” He caught her arm. “Is everything still all right here?”

“Fine.” She rummaged through the shelves behind the counter and found some tablecloths. She brought a cup of coffee for the man and one for Joel, then she draped the man’s shoulders with the blue gingham. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.”

“I know you will.” He paused and seemed to be studying her. “I don’t know how many, but there will be more.”

“We’ll be ready.”

And when additional storm victims arrived, the ladies were prepared. Over the next couple of hours, workers brought in ten victims in various states of shock and injury. A few had been hastily bandaged and might require stitches. Joel had set one man’s broken arm, which seemed to be the worst injury so far.

As her ladies passed around the warm biscuits and cookies, Charlotte stepped outside for a breath of air. Joel’s celebratory dinner at the yacht club would be over by now if there’d been no damage at Deephaven. She had no way of knowing yet, but perhaps she’d soon learn since one worker said the express boats were running again.

Beneath her hand, her stomach protested the lack of dinner. She tried to find Joel in the diminishing light. He’d worked tirelessly for several hours. He had to be starving too, and he wasn’t alone. Some of the other workers hadn’t taken a break from digging through the rubble of those two buildings either.

With a new task in mind, she went to the kitchen to find a basket to fill with sandwiches and cookies. Only Fern remained in the kitchen. After hearing Charlotte’s plan, Fern offered to join her, as it appeared Steton’s Blue Line Café was out of gas.

“Fern, will you hand me those enameled cups?” She pointed to a shelf.

The tall woman had no problem reaching the shelf. She started to hand the cups to Charlotte and swayed. She reached for the countertop with one hand and pressed the other to her head. “I have the worst headache, and I’m so dizzy all of a sudden. Maybe the fresh air will help me keep my eyes open.”

Charlotte took her arm. “How long have you felt like this?”

“The last half hour or so.”

Something was off. The air in the room felt stale, heavy. Charlotte’s head throbbed too.

Headaches. Dizziness. And the stove was out of gas.

Alarm bells sounded in Charlotte’s mind. “Fern, we have to get everyone out of this café now!”

25

Sweat trickled down Joel’s back and seeped under his waistband. He straightened and stretched his arms over his head. They’d been at this pile of rubble for the last hour but thankfully had found no one buried in it.

“Doc.” Ollie, one of the men who’d been working side by side with him, tossed a board on the pile. “Why don’t you go to the café and see about tending those folks? If we find anyone else, we’ll come get you.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I should go check on them.” He grabbed his coat, long since tossed aside, and draped it over his arm. Once he’d located his doctor’s bag, he trudged toward the café. The lake lapped at the shore as if nothing had happened. The air had grown chilly, and with the sun losing its hold on the day, the temperature was bound to grow even colder.

At least Charlotte was safe and comfortable inside the café. Thank goodness she’d remained there like he’d asked. From what he’d seen, she’d taken control of the place and made it into a wonderful place of warmth and healing for the unfortunate lake guests who had fallen victim to the storm.

Shadowy figures dotted the area outside the café. How odd. In the waning light, he couldn’t tell who or how many, but he could see some of the people wore skirts. What were women doing outside with the air cooling? Had the café run out of room?

He drew closer and spoke to the first man he saw. “What’s going on?”

“The lady in charge thinks there’s a gas leak.” The man clearly didn’t believe there was a problem.

Joel’s chest tightened. “Where is she?”

“Still inside. Helping some man who didn’t know up from down.”

“And you left her there?” Joel didn’t wait to hear the man’s response. He ignored the voices that called for him to stay out and raced inside. Without being able to light a lamp, he found it hard to see in the dim dining room. His eyes took a minute to adjust. “Charlotte?”

“Over here.”

He spotted her supporting the disoriented man from the boat. Sliding the man’s arm over his shoulder, he relieved her of her burden. “Go! I’ve got him.”

She didn’t immediately release the man. “First you tell me to stay, and now you’re telling me to go.”

He huffed and dragged the man to the door. Once outside, he deposited the man several yards from the café and whirled toward her. “How did you know there was a gas leak? Are you sure?”

“The stove was suddenly out of gas. Fern had a headache. She complained about being dizzy and tired. After that storm, I figured—”

“How about you? Do you have a headache?”

“It’s getting better now.” She paused. “And before you launch into a tirade about putting myself in danger, you might want to consider if I’d have stayed inside the restaurant where you told me to, I would have died. Still, I’m very thankful I was there. I think it was part of God’s plan all along.”

Hannah’s pacing was driving Tessa insane.

“Would you please sit down?” Tessa gripped her sister’s wrist
and attempted to draw her down to the davenport. “You’re making me tired looking at you.”

Hannah pulled her hand away. “I’m glad you called us, Tessa, but I don’t understand why Charlotte isn’t home by now. I spoke to that sweet Molly she travels with, and she was certain Dr. Brooks would bring Charlotte home by nine or ten, and it’s almost midnight.”

“She’s with a doctor.
Your
doctor. Nothing is going to happen to her that he can’t fix.” Tessa shot Hannah’s husband a pleading look. “You tell her.”

Lincoln rose and pulled Hannah into his arms. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“But the storm—”

“Sweetheart, you aren’t going to like hearing this, but Tessa is right.” He stepped back far enough to see Hannah’s face, then kissed her lips.

Tessa moaned. If those two were going to make dove eyes at each other all night long, she wished Hannah would go back to pacing.

Electric lights lined the streetcar route back to the city. Charlotte had never seen what was referred to as the Great White Way, but she knew now why so many people spoke about it. The blur of the lights had a hypnotic effect, and she struggled to keep her weary eyes open.

“I feel like I’ve lived five years in one day.” She sighed. “And you must be even more exhausted.”

“I have to admit I was happy to see some help arrive to care for the victims, but I think you saved more lives than I did.”

His words warmed her. She hadn’t thought of that, but it was true. The man who arrived from the gas company had confirmed her suspicion of a leak. When the owner was contacted, he was so grateful she’d discovered the leak and had kept the place from exploding, he’d said the food and drinks would be his treat.

If only she’d thought to eat at some point.

Too spent for conversation, they rode in silence. Charlotte thought about how the day had begun with Lewis asking to call on her and how it had ended with Joel sitting beside her. How different the two men were. A twinge of guilt pulled at her. She hadn’t even thought about Lewis until they stepped on the streetcar tonight. Was he safe? She’d asked the conductor if he’d heard of any more damage at the lake other than what had occurred in Excelsior. To her relief, he’d said no.

Her head bobbed. She jerked and glanced at Joel to see if he’d noticed.

Without a word, he slipped out of his coat and patted his shoulder. “Charlotte, use me as your pillow.”

“What will people say?”

“You’ll argue with me at the drop of a hat, but you’re worried about what people you’ll never see again will say?”

“I see your point, but—”

“Charlotte, no arguing today, remember?”

“Yes, but I’m planning a crackerjack of a fight for tomorrow.” Her lips curled as she tentatively laid her head against the solid muscles of his shoulder.

“I’m looking forward to it.” He draped his coat around her and tucked it in place.

She burrowed into its warmth and closed her eyes. Joel’s soap and wood scent lingered in its folds. If Lewis was as sweet as cobbler, what was Joel? She’d figure it out tomorrow. Right now she wanted to give in and sleep.

Was she dreaming, or had she felt a kiss on the top of her head?