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For Lisa, the next six days could be measured in ignored phone calls and text messages. Dave had tried to contact her at least a dozen times a day, and a dozen times a day, Lisa ignored him.
There were times she was tempted to answer. Dave was cute in a shy, gentle way. If she admitted the truth—and since the conversation was being held somewhere between her own heart and mind, she gave herself the luxury of honesty—she liked him. But liking him made him dangerous. So, despite the little voice between her ears that told her she was being childish, she ignored the calls and let his persistence frustrate her. Every time she saw his name on the small screen, she took a second to remember her lonely Saturday night. And she allowed that memory to strengthen her resolve. Never again would she take second place in a man’s life.
Ignoring him served a second purpose as well. Lisa had given her word when she’d signed up for the Christmas-in-April project. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to skip the last day of work. That meant seeing Dave. She hoped that by the time they were face to face on Saturday, he’d be as irritated with her as she was with him. All she wanted was for him to assign her a job and get out of her way. Once the day was done, there’d be no reason to ever see him again.
Lisa left her house Saturday morning and paused on her porch to take a deep breath. Well, at least she tried. The air she pulled into her lungs was thick and sticky with humidity. The seventy-eight-degree temperature felt more like ninety as sweat popped from her pores and plastered her cotton shirt to her skin.
“Yuck.” She plucked at the damp fabric. Spring had been one of her favorite times in California. If this was a hint of what a Texas spring was like, she’d never survive the next few weeks. She didn’t want to think about what summer might bring.
She joined the line of cars parked in front of Mrs. Craig’s house and sat for a minute admiring the work she’d help accomplish. With the peeling paint replaced and the fence rebuilt, the sturdy little two-story barely resembled the neglected structure they’d started with. Even the old oak tree that grew next to the house looked refreshed with its spreading branches decked out in newly budded leaves.
Lisa saw the other volunteers gathering at the porch. She’d timed her arrival perfectly. In time to get an assignment, but no time for any personal conversation. When she opened the car door, the heat hit her like a physical punch. Between trying to stay cool and dodging Dave, it promised to be a long day.
***
ENTHUSIASM FOR THE project had waned a bit now that they’d hit the four-week mark. Dave accepted that as normal, grateful they’d completed the hardest jobs early in the process. Today there were only eight volunteers, and Dave had no trouble spotting Lisa when she slipped in from the side of the yard. She kept her head down, and he didn’t need anyone to tell him that her nearly late arrival had been orchestrated perfectly. Lisa needn’t worry. He’d spent the whole week trying to apologize for and explain about last week. She obviously didn’t want to hear it. With the exception of necessary instructions, he had no intention of invading her space today, or ever.
He portioned out the remaining tasks, keeping the four younger members of his team outside to work on the yard and sending the rest inside to paint the interior walls. He looked at the sky and saw the beginnings of dark clouds on the horizon. The heat and humidity told him a storm was brewing. His gaze went to the old storm shelter in the back corner of the yard. A prickle of apprehension ran up his spine. He shook his head, amused at is sense of foreboding. They’d be long gone before the storm, if there was one, arrived.
***
LISA TROOPED UP THE stairs. The second floor consisted of two small bedrooms divided by a tiny bath. The volunteers were spread pretty thin today, and she’d offered to do these rooms while the other three took on the much larger rooms on the ground floor. The existing paint was a hideous shade of sherbet orange in one room and lime green in the other. As much as she despised plain white walls, in this case the change would be a blessing. Lisa cocked her head. It would likely take two coats of the white to cover the bright colors. Let’s see what we’ve got. She stepped to a blank wall, dipped a brush in the paint, and wrote I MISS THE BEACH in big white letters. She studied the result, satisfied with the coverage and resigned to an all-day job. Lisa put her earbuds in, cranked up her music, and got started. Sweat trickled down the side of her head, and she swiped it away. Nothing she couldn’t handle as long as she didn’t suffocate in the still, hot air.
First things first. She took a gallon of the paint and poured some into a small plastic bucket. With a medium brush, she began the tedious job of painting around the windows and doors. This was the part that would take the most time. At least someone had taped them off earlier. Lisa was grateful for their help. Once she had this part done, she could use a roller on the walls, and things would move along much more quickly.
With half a room completed and the music blasting, the tap on her shoulder took her by surprise. Lisa jerked around, the roller in her hand slinging paint in a wide arc, smirking when Dave jumped back to avoid the spatter. She swiped the earbuds free, and glared at Dave. “What?”
Dave pointed at the wall and the white letters of Lisa’s earlier test. “This is a wall, not a message board.” He looked at the paint on the floor and shook his head.
Lisa narrowed her eyes. He was obviously loaded for bear, and she could accommodate him. Last time she checked, she’d been the one stood up. She laid the roller in the pan, retrieved her brush, and crossed the room to an unpainted wall. GET LOST!!!!
Dave sucked in air. “We have to finish this project today. There isn’t time for you to play in the paint.”
Lisa faced Dave with her hands on her hips. “I’m well aware of our time constraints. I wasn’t playing, I was testing the coverage.” She pointed to her second message. “Now do us both a favor and take your OCD back down the stairs. I have work to do. Solitary work.” She replaced the earbuds and glared as she raised the volume before turning her back and attacking the wall with a vengeance that would have done the Home Makeover crew proud.
***
DAVE RETREATED, STUNG by her words and his conscience. Lisa was doing a great job. What did he care if she played tic-tac-toe on the walls as long as they got painted? He’d gone up there to see if she needed help. The beach thing had irritated him. Probably because it seemed like another reminder that she wanted nothing further to do with him. He brought his hand down on the stair rail. All he’d wanted all week was a chance to explain and apologize. Aggravating, confounded, stubborn woman. His feet hit the bottom riser when a wail rose from outside.
Tornado sirens.
“Lisa, get down here!” Dave yelled up the steps before turning to herd his other charges out the door. He shooed the three outside and hurried to the kitchen in time to see Mrs. Craig pulling another batch of her cookies out of the oven. He met her halfway across the room and took her arm.
“We need to go.”
The older woman nodded and turned off the gas. “Don’t worry, Dave. This old place has weathered more than its fair share of Texas storms.”
He didn’t answer, just took a firmer grip on her arm and guided her through the back door. Outside, he was relieved to see the group working in the yard already had the cellar open and waiting. He handed Mrs. Craig off to one of the volunteers and glanced at the sky. No rain yet, but the wind was swirling the leaves, and the clouds were heavy and ominous. He motioned to the cellar. “Everybody in.”
They hurried to the cement vault and trooped down steep stairs. Dave blinked in the gloom and fumbled for his phone. He opened the flashlight app and swung it around, counting faces. He was one short. His heart plunged to his feet. Where was Lisa? He climbed four of the steps and looked at the house as the first drops of rain pelted him. He closed his eyes against the sting. His memory conjured the image of Lisa turning up her music. She hadn’t heard him or the siren.
Dave looked back down the steps. “Stay put and close the door. Lisa’s still painting.” He raced across the yard, gaining the door as hail began to fall. The increasing wind yanked the door out of his hand. It slammed against the house with a crash. He raced up the stairs and found Lisa starting another wall. “Lisa!”
She turned, frowned at him, and yanked out the earbuds. “I told you to get lost.”
Aggravating, confounded, stubborn woman. Dave didn’t waste the breath to say the words aloud or offer an explanation. He crossed the room, grabbed Lisa, and tossed her over his shoulder. The house groaned and creaked as he took the stairs two at a time, with Lisa kicking against his hold the whole time. He yanked the door open. Outside, the howl of the wind competed with the siren, and the sky pelted quarter-sized hail. Instead of trying to make the cellar, he turned toward the closet under the stairs. It was small and in the center of the house. It would have to do.
Dave threw open the door, pulled the cord on the light, and slid Lisa to her feet.
She shoved him away. “What are you doing?”
Dave ignored her and searched the small space for anything that might help protect them if the situation grew worse. He saw two bicycle helmets on an upper shelf. He grabbed them and plopped one on Lisa’s head before donning the second. “Fasten that.”
“You’re just full of yourself today, aren’t you?”
Dave took a step closer. “I know you’re mad at me, but this isn’t the time—”
“You don’t have a clue.” She leaned into his space and glared.
“I’d have a clue if you’d talk to me. You might have a clue if you’d listen.”
“I’ve had enough lies from your kind to last me a lifetime. Now let me out of here.” She yelped as something crashed outside.
The light went out.
Dave felt her grab onto his shirt. “What’s going on?”
He pulled her close. “Tornado warning.”
“Tornado?”
“Can’t you hear the sirens?”
She cocked her head for a second, and her eyes went round. He heard her swallow. “We don’t have those in L.A. Earthquakes are our natural disaster of choice.”
“Don’t worry, it’s usually nothing.” The house shuddered around them. “But sometimes it’s not nothing.” He pushed her to her knees on the floor and crouched over her. “Jesus, be our protection in the storm. Shelter us, shelter those in the cellar.”
Lisa added her prayer to his. “Father, we need You.”
Glass broke, and it felt as if the air had been sucked out of the closet. Something big and heavy slammed into the house with enough force to shake the foundation. Lisa screamed and Dave tightened his grip. “I’ve got you.”