26
Sarah pulled her hat down tight. She tied a rag over her face, covering her mouth and nose to keep sand and dirt out.
Melvin did the same.
They all chuckled at Louise’s comment on how they looked like a pair of wimpy bandits, but when she grasped her round belly and winced in pain it was no longer a laughing matter. The house had to be protected for the baby’s sake.
Pellets of rain peppering Sarah’s skin felt like buckshot. “Pick up one of these veneer boards and follow me!” Sarah shouted over the howling wind.
Melvin lifted one end and helped drag it to the front of the house.
They covered the window.
“You go ahead!” Melvin said, struggling to keep the board in place. “I’ll hold it while you nail it to the wall!”
Sarah hammered a nail into one side and then did the other side so Melvin could let go.
“Come on, Sarah. Let’s get the next one.”
The wind was stronger than Sarah ever remembered in the past. The downward gusts were unrelenting. “I’ll get this one,” she hollered.
Melvin took the hammer and nails.
She lifted the veneer and held it between her outstretched arms. A fast-moving gust caught the board like a sail. The wind carried her a good five yards before the board flew out of her hands leaving shards of wood embedded in her palms. She fell into a puddle of mud. The board kept going—straight toward Melvin. “Get down!” She screamed.
Melvin dove just in time. The veneer passed over his head before it crashed into the house, leaving a gaping hole.
Sarah jumped to her feet and ran to her brother-in-law. “Melvin! Melvin!” She pulled the rag down from her face and knelt beside him. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m all right. Just a bit shaken up.”
Tears streamed down her raw cheeks. They were both soaking wet and covered in mud. Her breath came in short gasps. “You could have been killed!”
“But I wasn’t. I’m fine.” He took a deep breath. “What about you, are you hurt?” Melvin removed the rag tied around his face and wiped mud from his eye.
“No. I don’t think so. My backside will be sore tomorrow though.”
Melvin pointed to her hands, dripping with blood where the veneer had slashed her skin. He wrapped his bandana around her hand, then used hers around her other hand.
Her lips began to tremble.
Melvin patted her arm. “It’ll be all right. Let’s get this over with.”
Sarah grabbed his hand. “I’m really scared, Melvin.”
He shook his head. “I know. I am too.”
A thousand pounds of guilt perched on Sarah’s head for the rotten way she had treated her brother-in-law and everyone else. No one worked hard enough to please her, and nobody was as good as her daddy. She had grieved her father’s death by making everyone around her miserable. God had to use a storm, a flying board, and mud puddle to get her attention, and He’d done a fine job of it. Sarah wept and shook with fear. She looked into her brother-in-law’s eyes. “I’m so sorry for the way I’ve treated you, Melvin. I expect every man to be my hero like my daddy was, and that’s not fair to you or anyone else. Daddy said these boards would protect us.” She gasped for a breath. “But he was wrong. You were nearly killed, and we can’t even get them hung!”
Melvin squeezed her shoulder. “Calm down, Sarah. It’s all right to idolize your father. He was a great man. But he was just a man. The only one who can help us now is God!”
Sarah pressed her face into Melvin’s chest, trying to be heard through her sobs. “Will you please come help me with the animals?”
“Of course.”
Together they fought the violent wind.
“Then we’ll figure out a way to protect ourselves inside the house.”
“Thank you, Melvin!”
“You’re welcome. And by the way…I accept your apology!”