Free Savage by Thomas E. Sniegoski Page B

Rich’s brake lights, followed by a left-turn blinker, which told her that they had arrived. Rich pulled his car over to a spot in front of the large two-story house, and she took one right beside it. She waited, listening to the incessant sound of pelting rain as Cody parked his truck near the two-car garage where the boat’s trailer had been left.
    When Cody had asked why the sailboat hadn’t been taken from the water sooner, Rich had said that he and his parents had hoped to have at least a few more weekends of sailing before the inevitable end of the summer season. Normally his dad would have taken care of removing the boat, but he’d been called away by bank business, which meant that Rich could either take the risk of leaving the boat out during the hurricane or do something about it. He loved the boat and decided a quick weekend trip to Benediction, and hopefully some assistance from friends, would be in order.
    â€œDo you want to stay here or come out in the rain?” Sidney asked Snowy.
    â€œWoof!” the shepherd said.
    â€œI thought so.” Sidney rubbed the dog affectionately behind the ears, then she opened the car door, and they both got out into the pouring rain.
    Cody was already backing the truck up toward the trailer so Rich could attach it.
    â€œThat’s good!” Rich yelled, and the truck came to a stop.
    He began to attach the trailer to the hitch as Cody jumped out of the truck and headed back to help. Sidney was glad to see them getting along so well, for the moment anyway.
    â€œAnything that I can do?” she asked, voice raised to be heard over the heavy rainfall.
    â€œWe’re good,” Cody said, inspecting the connection. Rich gave her a thumbs-up as the two of them returned to the truck cab.
    Why am I here again? she thought, becoming more and more rain-saturated each passing second. Oh yes, so my ex-boyfriend and my friend don’t kill each other. That’s it.
    The truck pulled away with the boat trailer in tow, and she considered going back to her car to wait until they’d finished, but since she was already soaked . . .
    â€œC’mon, girl,” she said, motioning to Snowy for her to follow. “Let’s go see if the guys are gonna be able to do this.” She followed the side road, which went down to the beach and to the Stanmore’s private dock. The wind was really getting intense, and a few times she thought for sure that it might topple her over. She considered that the weather might have gotten too bad for the guys to pull this off.
    They must have sensed that their time was limited as well. The water of the bay looked almost black, reflecting the anger in the shifting clouds in the sky above, and Sidney felt the concern for her friends growing as they began to interact with the rough waters. She moved closer, watching carefully as they worked, Rich now on board the sailboat, its masts already removed, as he used the engine to carefully drive the boat onto the partially submerged trailer.
    Sidney held her breath as the boat was secured, with Cody turning the winch that gradually pulled the boat onto the trailer. The sky had grown even darker, the blackness of it all seeming to be pressing down, coming closer to the land. There was a feeling in the air that she didn’t like, a growing apprehension that seemed to foreshadow that something terrible was about to happen. A sudden tingling across the surface of her flesh made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention. Snowy had begun to whine, telling her that something was most definitely up.
    â€œAre we almost done, guys?” she yelled as she moved closer. They of course ignored her, as they finished hauling the sailboat from the water.
    â€œGuys?” she called again.
    â€œYeah,” Rich said, pulling on the straps that secured the boat on the trailer.
    â€œAlmost,” Cody answered over the increasing wail of the wind.
    It