Read Online Sizzle (St. Martin Family Saga): Emergency Responders by Gina Watson - Free Book Online Page B

ensure the alphabet was going higher. When they hit Glen Eagle, Jack shined the light on what they knew should be the bayou that ran between the two streets. “Look,” he called back to Clay.
    Clay’s spine tingled at what he saw. The bayou was indistinguishable from the flooded street water because both were rapidly flowing. “Fuck.”
    Jack pointed to the street where he needed to turn. “This is Hightower.”
    Clay turned cautiously onto the narrow street. The headlights shined and revealed the mayhem to their eyes. Huge oaks and debris—tree limbs, fencing, gutters, cars, and power lines—were everywhere. It looked like a war zone with this neighborhood on the losing side. They were stuck and could go no farther. He turned to Jack, out of suggestions. Given the amount of water in the street, water had to be in the houses at least two feet deep, maybe more. That wasn’t too bad. The main problem was the streets were sitting under at least that much water and the water wasn’t still; it flowed moderately fast. With the added debris, someone could easily break a leg walking through the river that had been Hightower Avenue.
    “Hey, we’ve got the ladder.” Jack’s voice pierced Clay’s circling thoughts. Jack leaned out the window, shining the light on the houses. “It’s the third house there.” He bobbed the light at the house. “We can crawl to it on the ladder.”
    It might be possible. They had to try, and Mrs. Howard was in no condition to make the journey on foot.
    “Okay… I’ll climb into the bucket and you get me as close as you can. I hope to come out with Mrs. Howard first.”
    Jack nodded, confirming the plan.
    Clay climbed through the truck and onto the ladder. As he was settling into the bucket, he felt the wind and rain start to kick up, eviscerating his hopeful mood.
    *
    Eve had Ruth’s feet up on the coffee table, free of the water. She had hers tucked under her on the couch. She wondered how high the water might rise. Eve wasn’t worried about herself; she could climb. But Ruth—No, the more she thought about it, the more she recognized that it would be impossible to move her. For starters, Ruth was already exhausted, lethargic even, and she was a tall and overweight woman, probably over two hundred fifty pounds, and Eve was only five foot five and weighed one twenty. She wouldn’t be able to help Ruth any more than she already had.
    Despair struck hard. She couldn’t just let the woman drown. Her body started trembling as the eerie hush heightened all the other sounds she could hear. Unfamiliar sounds such as hissing, chirping, and swishing. The swishing disturbed her the most. It sounded like something was swimming in the water, maybe a fish. She hoped for a fish. She refused to think what else might be in the water as she climbed up to hunch on the back of the couch.
    Ruth looked at her when she moved. “Honey, I’m sorry. I’ve lived my life, but you’ve yet to live yours. You shouldn’t have stayed here with me.”
    “We’re not dead yet.” She tried to lighten the grave mood, but there was no hope to share since she herself had none.
    Eve cocked her head, certain she was hearing things when she heard a whistle. But then she heard it again.
    “Hello? Ladies?”
    Eve jumped down from the couch and water hit her knees. “We’re here.” She waded through the house to the living room. She went to the door and pulled hard, but couldn’t get it to budge.
    A piercing whine cut through the silence. A saw? She pressed herself against the hallway wall.
    “Stay back!” a male voice called out.
    The huge limb in the living room was moving. After a few seconds, it snapped, half falling into the water inside the house and the other half dropping out the window. Then in the window frame she saw him on a ladder, and she started to cry so hard, her body shook. The big fireman had come back for them. She didn’t even know his full name and he didn’t know hers but in that moment