Praying for Grace (The Grace Series Book 5) Read Free Page B

stir.
    “Nate you should use the first aid kit to clean her scalp,” suggested Boggs.
    “I’m on it,” he answered.
    “I’ll bring it over,” offered Abbey. She seemed glad to help them in any way she could.
    “Danny and I are going to check out the rest of the place,” explained Boggs.
    The two of them left through an interior door. I hoped we’d see them again.

CHAPTER 2
     
     
    It seemed to take forever until Danny and Boggs returned. I knew everything was ok by the looks on their faces. Nathan cleaned Susan’s head wound the best he could, and she now slept with a strip from one of Emmett’s receiving blankets wrapped around her head. Blood was already seeping through. She barely stirred when Boggs began telling us about the rest of the house.
    “It’s good news. The house is old and most of the widows are high and small. There’s only four other rooms and it shouldn’t take long to secure. Once it gets light out we’ll get to work and relocate farther inside.”
    “I don’t like it here,” said Abbey. “It’s cold and feels weird. And I’m hungry.”
    “I think we’re all hungry,” said Danny. “We’ll look for food as soon as we secure the building.”
    “There’s some dried food in the pack down on the beach,” said Nathan. His voice was strained and I wondered if his leg was paining him more than usual. I knew he wouldn’t take any of the pain pills that were still down on the beach, though, because of his past drug addiction.
    “I don’t think we should risk you or Sue going back down, since you’re both injured,” I mentioned.
    “I’ll help,” said Abbey.
    “Danny, I think one of us should stay with Nate and Sue. And the baby. Two of us should head down for the supplies. I want to take Zoe,” said Boggs. “Can you stay here?”
    “What about me?” asked Abbey.
    “It’d help if you tend to the baby while we’re gone,” said Boggs.
    Abbey looked disappointed but nodded her agreement. “Ok.”
    “We’ll leave at first light,” said Boggs.
    Most of us slept until morning. I only managed to get in a brief nap, hoping Gus would talk to me in my dreams. He was as absent in my sleep as he now was in my life.
    ***
    With morning came the filtered light of a sun hidden by clouds heavy with moisture. Rain had fallen steadily since we arrived, and the new day brought no exception. My mood was as dark as the sky. Boggs and Danny had already gone after our supplies, only to find they had been carried away with the tide. Danny, Abbey, and Boggs went to check the rest of the house for any usable supplies. I stayed behind to feed the baby, and Nathan and Susan continued to doze. I was worried about them both. I feared that Nathan’s leg was in much worse shape than any of us knew, and Susan felt feverish.
    The others were taking far too long for my comfort, so once Emmett had his fill, I bundled him up and carried him into the next room. Daylight was scarce through the small windows in the stone walls, but I was able to make out basic shapes. I stood in what I figured was a living area. It was sparse, with only a few more crates in one corner and the remains of an old sofa against the interior wall. The piece of furniture was threadbare and old batting had been pulled out of the arm rests, likely by a rodent seeking nesting material. Like the walls, the floor was made of stone. A second wood stove sat in a far corner.
    “Boggs?” I called out as loudly as I dared.
    “Back here,” answered.
    Emmett had fallen asleep, so I nestled him onto the couch.
    I walked deeper into the house. Cobwebs hung from the cracks and crevices of the walls. The air felt moist and cold and smelled stagnant. I startled when I entered a narrow hallway and heard something in one of the back rooms fall over.
    “You ok, Danny?” I heard Boggs ask.
    I went ahead and entered what must have been a bedroom. Danny was kneeling on the floor next to a chair that appeared to have fallen over. He and Boggs