He looked around the house. "Besides, this place isn't getting any easier on me to take care of by myself." He wistfully smiled. "The kids don't get down here very often. They all live within a few minutes of each other. If I move up there, I'll be able to see them whenever I want. I'm thinking of getting a small RV so I can escape back down here during the winters if I feel like it."

"You haven't actually put your house on the market yet, though?" Nevvie asked.

"Not yet. Peggy had mentioned y'all might be interested in it. I figured I'd talk to you first and see if you're interested. I'm glad you called me."

The house was older. Not in bad shape, but smaller than they would need. The good thing was the property had more than enough room to expand. Nevvie could easily picture a whole new wing added onto the western end of the house, including a private master suite. Tyler and Tom could both have downstairs offices, they could add a guest room, and the three existing upstairs bedrooms would be perfect for the kids. Most of the property was still wooded. The yard around the house and the backyard down to the pond were cleared and would make wonderful play areas for the kids.

They'd have lots of privacy. They'd be next door to Peggy. Within minutes of Karen and Tom's other sisters.

"How much are you asking for it?"

He shrugged. "I know property isn't cheap anymore, but my wife and I bought this land years ago while we were still up in Michigan. It wasn't that expensive then. We had it paid off before we even built the house. When we sold our house up there, when I retired, we used that money to pay this off. Overall, we didn't do too bad." He sadly smiled. "It'd be nice to have a family living here who would appreciate it and enjoy it." Then he named a figure that nearly dropped Nevvie's jaw. Not because it was so high, but because it was far lower than she'd anticipated.

"Um, are you sure you don't want to have the property appraised first? Not to be a bad negotiator, but that price sounds awfully low."

"I already have. But what stinks is if I sell to someone else, they'll just turn around and split it up into lots and put a bunch of them little Monopoly mansions up all over the place and ruin the area for everyone like they did two roads over. Hell, I could easily get another thirty thousand for it, if I wanted. I just want a fair price for it without screwing my friends over who live here. Like Peggy." He nodded at her. "And since we're doing this privately without any real estate agents involved, I reckon I don't need to pad the price to pay for their fees. The only thing I ask is if you do want it, you pay the closing costs, and you promise not to sell it out and let it get split up." He smiled. "And that I don't have to get out until after Karen's wedding. I've known that girl most of her life. Besides, I'll need the time to pack." He offered his hand to her.

Nevvie smiled as she shook hands with him. Despite her earlier promise to Peggy to wait, she said, "You have a deal, Ben."

Tyler hoped he didn't smell like gunpowder when he returned home from the gun range. When he arrived, he was relieved to find a note from Tom saying that he had gone to the store to pick up extra storm supplies.

Tyler didn't like the way this storm kept growing in size and intensity, stubbornly refusing to veer off its track. The way it looked now, it would sweep up Tampa Bay from the southwest to the northeast. Tom had already arranged for John and Kelly to ride it out at their house because of the Fleischmans' proximity to the bay and evacuation zone. Kyle and Jacob, Nevvie's half brothers, would also stay with them because Tom wasn't sure how sturdy their apartment building would prove to be.

He doubted he'd get any work done with a house full of people, but he echoed Tom's sentiments that he'd rather have them all there, with them, in relative safety.

Tyler took the gun and shooting supplies into the house with him and locked them in his file cabinet in his office. He wouldn't have to worry as much about keeping them hidden with Nevvie and the boys gone. Tom rarely went into his office, and he never snooped around in Tyler's file cabinet.

He doubted he'd get another chance to go shooting before the storm hit anyway. To be on the safe side, he'd even purchased several boxes of ammunition to keep at home, including hollow-point rounds that Jack had assured him would stop most attackers with the first hit.

He quickly changed clothes. He wanted to try to get some writing in before Tom returned. Then Kyle and Jacob would come over for dinner to discuss final storm preparations with Tom.

As Tyler walked down the hall to his office, he flipped on light switches. With the shutters up, the darkened house felt more like a tomb than a home.

He walked into the living room and turned on the corner lamps, too. It made it feel slightly less depressing.

The quiet also unsettled him. He loved his alone time, but also welcomed all the normal sounds of his family. The voices of Nevvie and their sons, even the ticking of little Harley's nails on the tile floors.

Without his family surrounding him, it didn't feel right.

Didn't feel like home.

He made himself a cup of hot tea and went into his office. Even there, his refuge, his sanctuary, the atmosphere felt unsettled. Normally, the window in his office, which faced the front yard, let in just the right amount of daylight.

He turned on his desk lamp, then finally gave in and turned on the overhead light as well.

When Tom returned an hour later, Tyler went outside to help him unload. "Are you preparing for the apocalypse?" he asked as he spied both the cab and bed of Tom's truck filled with shopping bags and purchases.

"I wanted to get a portable generator for a spare, smart-ass." Tom lowered the tailgate. "They'll be impossible to get after the storm. Hell, I almost couldn't find one now. Help me get it into the garage."

After the truck was unloaded, Tyler tried to find room for all the canned goods and flats of bottled water in the pantry. No good. Most of it would have to be stacked in the utility room. He turned to his lover. "Are you not telling me something, Thomas? I thought you said we already had adequate supplies."

Tom wore a grim expression. "You haven't been watching the news, have you?" he asked.

"No. I was trying to get some work done before you returned. Why?"

Tom stepped into the living room and turned on the Weather Channel. The meteorologist was in the process of giving an update on Hurricane Edgar.

"And that means those of you living close to Tampa Bay or the Gulf need to pay close attention to your evacuation zones. We're expecting a potential storm surge of anywhere from ten to twenty feet in Tampa Bay at this point. That includes the areas of Safety Harbor and Oldsmar, downtown Tampa, Harbour and Davis Islands, the Bayshore district, Hyde Park, Apollo Beach, and people along the southern end of the Hillsborough River..."

They put up the projected storm surge maps as the announcer continued. "Bloody hell," Tyler whispered. "It's a Cat 3. When did that happen?"

"National Hurricane Center upgraded it at the 11:00 a.m. update. You've got to pay attention to these damn things, Ty. You've lived here long enough to know that. Thank god we got the houses boarded up already. This thing is going to destroy the area."

He felt a little queasy. "Perhaps we should consider evacuating."

"No. The roads are already packed. It'd be a nightmare. Getting back would be even worse. We're not in an evacuation zone. We'll be okay."

"Did you talk to John and Kelly today?"

"Yeah, called them on the way home. They're coming over tomorrow morning. I made Pete and Eddie promise to come over and stay with us, too. They don't have an emergency genny, and some of Pete's meds have to stay cold. I already checked our whole-house genny. The propane tank is full. Test started it this morning. We're good to go."

In shock, Tyler stared at the television screen.

Tom walked over to Tyler and put his hands on his shoulders. "I need you here, focused, on this. Nevvie and the kids are safe."

"What if it crosses the state and hits them? Goes up to the northeast like Charley did?"

"Oh, they'll definitely get some of it if the track holds. It's too damn big for them not to. But it won't be a monster like it is now, and the eye will cross way south of them. They won't get the high winds, just a lot of rain. They'll be fine."

He gently shook Tyler. "There's a good chance John and Kelly won't have a house to go back to if the storm surge hits like projected. They're less than a mile from the bay, even though they're inland. Their subdivision is older and it has a lot of drainage problems. I've built houses over there. Plus I looked over their house this morning with John. It's an older house. They have a gable roof and no hurricane straps. That means it's going to fail if the winds are over Cat 2 when it hits, which they probably will be."

He squeezed Tyler's shoulders. "Buddy, I'm counting on you. I need you to go out and gas up the cars for me. I also bought extra gas cans. Start with my truck and the extra gas cans. I would have done it, but my leg is killing me and I needed to get home. And I have to call Kenny and talk to him about shutting down the office."

"All right. What about propane for the grill?"

"Done. Didn't you see me unload those two small bottles?"

"Oh. Right." Tyler felt stunned. This was really happening. Tom was no worrier. He only prepared if he thought there was a serious reason to prepare.

Tom palmed Tyler's cheek. "It's okay," he said. "I promise, we'll be fine. Nevvie and the kids are going to be just fine. This house can easily withstand a Cat 4. We have food and water and everything we'll need. Remember all the stuff you tuned out when we planned the house about the reinforced roof and hurricane ties?" He smiled. "Remember how you waved your hand and told me to handle it and do whatever I thought was best?"

Tyler nodded.

"We're as safe here as we would be in any shelter. The shutters are up, we'll get everything picked up outside and moved in, and we'll be buttoned up in here." He pulled Tyler to him for a hug. "They're predicting the outer bands will make landfall tomorrow night, with the eye hitting sometime Friday afternoon. So let's get this done so we can have time to relax after dinner."

Alex LaRogue stood in line at the bus stop to board a county transit bus. The marquee on the front of the bus read H'CAINE SHELTER. No fare needed, he shuffled down to a seat as far back as he could get. The night before, he'd found a homeless camp to sleep at. Even better, after getting another man drunk from the cheap bottle of whiskey he'd shoplifted, he'd stolen the man's ID right out of his wallet, along with the fifteen dollars he'd had on him. They looked enough alike.

Unless they fingerprinted him, Alex knew he could now reasonably pass as Eric Johnson, who was eight years older than him. That didn't matter. Their eyes and hair color were close, as were their height and build. And since Alex hadn't shaved in a while, his beard and mustache, peppered with gray, helped complete the deception.

As long as he didn't attract any attention to himself, no one would likely question him about it.

He found welcomed chaos at the hurricane shelter set up at a high school where the Red Cross had opened an emergency shelter. He stepped off the bus and was directed to a registration line snaking around the cafeteria.

From the harried faces of the obviously overwhelmed volunteers, no one would take a second look at his stolen ID.

A volunteer walked down the line with a bullhorn in her hand. "We are looking for any volunteers willing to be bused to a regional shelter in Orlando. Our shelter space here is extremely limited. You will be provided with free transportation back to Tampa after the storm has passed. Do we have any volunteers who want..."

His gaze narrowed. Isn't this just my lucky day? He patted his shirt, where he kept the address book he'd stolen from Nevaeh's house tucked into his undershirt. Come hell or high water, he wouldn't lose it.

It was his key to finding that bitch and getting even with her once and for all. It would have been nice killing those fag boys of hers when he stole the address book, but he wasn't an idiot. It'd been sheer luck he'd been able to sneak into the house while the men were around back putting up hurricane shutters. And they had at least two other men helping them. He would have been outnumbered. But the gas receipts on the kitchen counter, and overheard snippets of their conversation, pointed to Nevaeh and her brats being in Savannah.

Now he just had to go through the contacts in the address book, one by one, to find her. It looked like several of that Kinsey guy's family was in Savannah, and that's where he'd start.

No one makes a fool out of Alex LaRogue. That cunt's gonna wish she'd never met them two fag boys. She's damn sure gonna wish she'd never pissed me off when her day of reckoning comes.

He stepped forward. "I'll go."

"Great." The volunteer directed him, as well as several others who stepped out of the registration line, over to a far shorter line queuing in front of several tour buses.

Alex couldn't help but smile. It would be easy to hitchhike a ride northbound to Savannah from Orlando.

Chapter Three.

As they did nearly every Wednesday night, Tom's twin niece and nephew, Danny and Elle, and their dad, Clay, came over for dinner at Peggy's. It had quickly become a new tradition for the three of them since Clay's divorce from Emily. And sometimes, as she did tonight, Karen joined them as well.

They were happy to hear Nevvie's news about her twins. After dinner, Laurie volunteered to get the boys bathed and ready for bed for Nevvie. The rest of them sat around the kitchen table after the dishes were done and put away.

"Grandma," Elle started, "can we ask a favor?"

Peggy smiled. "How much, sugar?"

Danny grimly smiled. "No, Grandma. Mom's selling the house. We don't have enough room at our place for our stuff. She told us if we don't have it all out by Friday night, she'll throw it out. She's having an open house on Sunday. Can we borrow space in the storage shed for a couple of months? Once we sort through everything, what we want to keep we'll take to a storage unit."

After Clay and Em's divorce, the three of them had banded together and gotten an apartment close to town. Danny and Elle were in their last semester of college.

"Sure, sugar. Of course y'all can." She tilted her head. "Clay, you all right?"

He let out a sigh. "Yeah, just another one of those things."

Elle frowned. "Don't you even think about feeling sorry for her, Dad. I can't believe you put up with her as long as you did. She treated you like crap."

"Danielle," Peggy admonished, "you watch your mouth, young lady."

"I'm sorry, Grandma, but you don't know what she was like at home." She looked at her brother, who nodded. "She expected total perfection out of us, like if we screwed up or got a bad grade, it made her look bad. I love Mom, but I'm not ashamed to admit I can't stand being around her. Even before everything happened, I told her I thought it would be a good idea if we all go to family counseling."

"How'd that go over?" Peggy asked.

"It didn't. She started yelling at me that there was nothing wrong with her, that the three of us were 'godless heathens.'" She used air quotes around the phrase. "She's gone around the bend."

Clay reached over and patted his daughter's hand. "She's your mother," he quietly said. "I know she's not the easiest person to get along with, but she does love you. You need to respect her."

That's when Danny let out a snort. "That's a laugh. She never respected you. Or us. Elle's right. She's nuts."

"Why's she selling the house?" Nevvie asked.

Clay didn't answer. Danny answered for him. "She's moving into an apartment close to her church. She wants to donate the money from the sale to them. I'm telling you, she's whacked. Last time she told me she wanted me to go to church with her and I said no, she treated me like I'd taken a dump on a Bible or something."

Karen let out a laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like your mom."

"Clay, why didn't you tell us all of this years ago?" Peggy gently asked. "That things were getting so bad with her?"

He shrugged. "I loved her. No, she wasn't the easiest woman to live with, but she had a good heart and meant well. Most of the time." He shook his head. "It was a year or so before...the incident, when things really got bad."

Nevvie didn't need clarification. She knew he meant when Emily tried to get Adam taken away from them by the state of Florida.

"That's when she turned into a different person," he said. "And that all happened after she started going to that new church. Suddenly, she was all...churchy. I never had a problem living with her before that, but it's like she suddenly took off on this wild tangent. It consumed her life. She just about gave up all of her old friends and hung out only with people from church. She was there nearly every night for service or classes or prayer sessions or whatever. Then, when she pulled that stunt, I gave her an ultimatum. That either she quit that church and apologize to everyone in this family for what she did, or I was gone."

When he didn't continue, Elle did. "She told him he'd burn in hell, along with everyone else," she softly said. "I'm telling you, she's nuts. I thought I'd try to get her to see sense and let her take me to one of her church meetings to get in her good graces. It was all that hatemongering stuff, and the preacher screaming that 'God's gonna strike 'em down,' and whacked-out stuff like that. No one in Grandma's church ever acts like that. It was just spooky."

"That's us Methodists," Peggy said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "We don't care if your sheep are white or black or polka-dotted, they're all welcome."

"I guess me getting into it with her in the frozen food aisle at Publix that day didn't help anything," Nevvie muttered.

"She's not used to people standing up to her," Clay said. "I let her roll over me for a lot of years before I grew a spine."

"So it's a badge of honor?" Andrew quipped.

"Sure," Clay said with a wry smile. "Call it that."

"What is the surprise you made me wait until after dinner for, Mom?" Nevvie asked, wanting to change the direction of the conversation. She did her best not to think about Emily and her betrayal of them. She certainly didn't want to spend the evening talking about her.

Peggy smiled. "I was going to make you wait until the boys were in bed, but I'll get it. You wait right here." She got up from the table and left the kitchen.

Karen wore a sneaky grin. "Come on," Nevvie said. "Tell me."

"Uh-uh. You'll find out soon enough."