Free Rushing Waters by Danielle Steel Page A

mother to thank her for taking care of them. And Ben’s mother would have been happy to have Peter stay with them. She loved Peter, and he had become part of the family in the past two years. But the two boys thought it seemed more “adult” and “manly” to stay put, and they were curious to watch the hurricane from their own windows instead of evacuating. Ben had told his parents they’d be fine, had food and water and everything they needed. And his parents reluctantly agreed to the plan and assured Peter’s parents the boys would be safe, although they would have preferred that they come uptown.
    Peter and Ben went out for a walk that afternoon with Mike, to give him some exercise, and were surprised by how strong the wind was. There were gusts that nearly swept them off their feet. It was exciting, and it was after four o’clock when they went back to the apartment, less than two hours before Hurricane Ophelia was supposed to hit. And even Mike had been happy to get some air. They were tired of being cooped up in the apartment all day. They had finished the first box of doughnuts by then, a can of Pringles, and a bag of chips, washed down with Gatorade.
    They made sandwiches in the kitchen before it got dark, and Ben gave Mike his dinner, and then they sat down to eat and talk and wait for the storm to hit. Anna had called them several times that day and told them they were idiots for not evacuating and coming uptown. But at least she knew that in a sixth-floor apartment, they might eventually get hungry when they ran out of food, but they weren’t going to drown. She and her friends had watched movies all afternoon, and her parents were glued to the Weather Channel, watching the progression of the storm, which was moving faster than earlier reports had predicted and was gaining speed. Anna and her roommates were tired of watching the same images and interviews repeated again and again on TV. There was nothing to do but wait for the storm to hit, and see how bad it really was.
    —
    It was five o’clock when Gina finally returned Charles’s calls. He was nearly frantic by then, wondering where they were. He had been in New York for almost two days, and hadn’t heard a word from her. And for once, she apologized profusely the minute he picked up her call.
    “I’m so sorry. My phone was dead.” She sounded like she was in an airport or a train station, with a huge amount of noise. He could barely make out what she was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
    “I didn’t know till the last minute. I sent you a text from the airport when I left, and started calling you Friday night as soon as I arrived. Where are you?” He was desperate to see them, and seriously worried about them now, with the hurricane due to hit New York that night.
    “We’re at a shelter in SoHo. They evacuated our apartment building last night. They just set up a location to charge cell phones, so now I can call you. This place is a madhouse, but the girls are loving it. There are a million kids here, and cats and dogs. They’re delighted we have to stay here.” Gina sounded relaxed and in good spirits, which was more than he could say for himself after the last forty-eight hours of trying to reach her, with the hurricane bearing own on New York, and no idea where they were.
    “Where’s Nigel? Is he with you?” Charles sounded worried, but Gina was calm, despite having to evacuate with the girls.
    “No, he went out to Red Hook in Brooklyn yesterday, to try and secure his studio and take his cameras and equipment to a friend’s. They were planning to be there all last night moving things, and he was going to try to help some of the other guys today. There are a number of famous artists there. And Red Hook was one of the hardest-hit areas last time. He’s afraid it might be again. I haven’t heard from him since he left yesterday. He said he’d find us. He’ll probably show up at the shelter tonight or