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“HOW DID YOU FIND US?”
“Where have you been?”
“Whose baby is that?”
“Are my parents ok?”
“Are you hurt?”
Once they put out the fire and crawled into the heated car, Nick gave a quick run-down of how he’d discovered them. “The earthquake woke us up last night. Woke everybody up. I tried calling your cell but couldn’t get through. I started hearing stories about riots in Anchorage. I guess those folks in the doomsday camp were really going crazy. I was afraid you’d get caught up in the middle of that, so I borrowed your parents’ car and started driving.
“About five miles down the road, I saw the wreck. Talk about freaking out. So I stopped, thinking maybe you were in the woods somewhere and in trouble. I hunted around for a little bit, couldn’t find you, but then I remembered passing a lodge a little bit earlier, so I thought I’d go up there. See if maybe you’d found your way to shelter. You have no idea how worried I’ve been.”
Willow was sitting next to Nick, her legs curled up against her chest and her entire body burrowed into his. “Our story’s a little longer than that.” As they headed toward Eureka, she gave Nick the abbreviated rundown of their night, downplaying how much danger they’d been in before the earthquake hit.
Nick listened with wide eyes. He was so attentive even his dreadlocks held still. “I can’t believe you delivered a baby all by yourself.”
“I didn’t.” Willow turned around to smile at Kennedy, who was holding Rylee close in the backseat. “Kennedy was there to help.”
It wasn’t until they reached the Eureka Lodge that Kennedy’s brain began to realize just how lucky she was to be alive. Moriah, a plump middle-aged woman who owned the establishment, brought in bowls of warm water for their hands and feet, set up three different space heaters, and covered everyone in blankets fresh out of the dryer.
Thankfully, within half an hour of their arrival, Rylee woke up and her fierce screams let everyone know she was ready for something to eat. After a couple phone calls, Moriah tracked down a local family who had baby formula as well as diapers.
“I can’t believe I’m willingly bottle-feeding synthetic milk to a baby,” Willow remarked.
Kennedy figured her roommate didn’t want to be reminded about how close she’d come to eating spam either.
After her bottle and a change of clothes, Rylee was wrapped up again in even heavier blankets and went directly to sleep.
“You doing all right?” Willow asked Kennedy.
She nodded. Moriah had put salve on the cracked skin of her hands. Kennedy’s fingers and toes burned as they thawed, but she was thankful for the chance to warm up.
It was Willow who had everybody the most concerned. “My feet are just mad at me for making them so cold,” she remarked with a confident chuckle, but half an hour later after soaking in increasingly hot water, two of her toes remained black.
Moriah called the Glennallen clinic to ask what they should do.
“She’s just being over-protective.” Willow waved her hand dismissively. “It’s what happens in Alaska when things like earthquakes hit. Everyone comes together, helps everyone else out whether they need it or not.” Another chuckle, this one not so bold or self-assured.
While they warmed up with bowls of Moriah’s hearty soup, Nick filled them in on what had happened in Copper Lake.
“Your mom ran out to check on the animals when the earthquake hit. I guess she was a little worried about the whole barn collapsing, but it was ok. You should have heard the chickens though. Even above the noise from the quake, I could hear your rooster crowing his head off.”
Willow smiled. “That’s Bach for you. He’s such a drama queen. How did the goats do?”
It was good to hear Willow chatting about the farm animals she loved. Good to be wrapped up in blankets, surrounded by friends and strangers who were concerned for her well-being. Maybe too concerned, but Kennedy wouldn’t worry about that right now.
When they were ready, Nick would drive them to the Glennallen clinic so the nurse could check out Willow’s foot. There was a trooper station there too where they’d tell the officers what they knew about Brandy’s kidnapping and figure out what they should do about her baby.
After Moriah filled their tank with gas and packed thermoses of soup for the road, they wrapped themselves up in extra winter gear donated by the generous folks of Eureka, piled into Nick’s car once more, and made their way up the Glenn.