Free To Love and to Cherish by Kelly Irvin Page B

a pretend mournful look on his face. “Come on, Emma, the girls are going to make you look bad.”
    Emma threw her hands up in the air. “And the little boy gave the bear a roast beef sandwich.”
    The children roared with laughter so loud it almost covered the sound of the storm overhead.
    “What?” Thomas’s exaggerated tone only made them laugh harder.
    “It’s my story.” Emma shot back. “And I’m hungry. Take it away, William!”
    The little boy wiggled with delight at being singled out to go next. When she was sure the children were caught up in the raucous storytelling, Emma let her own amusement subside. She used the opportunity to lean toward Thomas. “Do you think Josiah is all right?” She kept her voice soft, aware of little children with big ears.
    “When they activated the sirens, he surely took cover at the hardware store.”
    “And Luke and Mark?”
    Thomas held up a hand. He stood and moved up the stairs. “The tornado has passed,” he called back.
    Suddenly even more afraid, Emma grabbed Annie’s hand andsqueezed. Her sister squeezed back. Time to see what destruction the tornado had wrought on their home. She wanted to stay in the cellar a little longer. Leah’s face said she too feared what they would find.
    “We haven’t finished the story,” Mary pointed out. “What about the story?”
    Thomas pounded down the stairs and grabbed her around the waist. He swung the little girl up to the third step with no effort at all. “Nothing says you can’t finish the story topside, little one.”
    Together they marched up the stairs and climbed onto the wet grass. Leah took off across the yard. Thomas strode after her. “I’ll look for him, Leah. You stay here with your boys.”
    Leah stumbled. Emma caught her arm. “Let Thomas do it. Let him go.”
    Leah shook her head, the fear in her eyes swallowing Emma whole. “I have to know.”
    “I’ll go with him.”
    Leah nodded, but her hand gripped Emma’s arm. “Hurry, please.”
    Emma gently shook loose and trotted after Thomas. Her shoes stuck in the mud, making it hard to pick up speed.
Luke. Luke. Luke
. His name sang like a refrain in her head.
Give me a sign, God, that You’re still there, give me a sign
.
    “There! There they are!” Thomas shouted. “Luke!”
    In the distance, she saw the blue patch of his shirt. Her brother ran toward them, Mark stumbling behind him. Whole. Solid. “Luke. Mark!” She fell to her knees. “How? How? Where did you weather the storm?”
    Luke helped her up. “We climbed into a drainage ditch along the road and hid in the pipe.” He looked exhilarated. “I’ve never seen a storm like that.”
    “What about the others?”
    Luke started toward the house. “They’re headed back to check on their own homes and families.”
    Mark’s white face told Emma the experience had been frightening for him, but he didn’t say a word. Head held high, he marched alongside his big brother, his arms swinging.
    Luke clapped his shoulder. “Good work, bruder. You were very brave and helpful today.”
    Mark grinned. Luke wiped mud from his cheeks with his handkerchief. A few seconds later the intensity drained from his face. “Everyone all right here? And the house? Still standing?”
    “The house seemed all right, but we shall see.” Emma fought the urge to close her eyes and never open them. From their vantage point, the house looked untouched. She moved forward, each step slower. They rounded the corner. The front porch remained intact. The house looked fine. Emma let her gaze roam from the house toward the barn.
    Or what used to be the barn.

Chapter 10
    T homas hopped down from the buggy and stretched both arms over his head. His muscles ached from the hard labor of the previous day. Removing the debris and preparing the site for the barn raising had taken a full week. Several more days had passed in cutting the lumber to size at another nearby barn and hauling it in, along with the other supplies.