Peggy returned a few minutes later carrying what looked like a rifle case, as well as a medium-sized canvas bag. She set them on the table. "These were Adam's," she said with a melancholy expression and wistful tone. "The girls never had an interest in doing it, and I told Tommy I'd keep the stuff for him in case he ever wanted it. I'm not sure he even remembers it's here. I've got two more shotguns in the gun safe in my closet. I think it's only right as Tommy's wife that you have them. Adam would want someone to use them. This is the best one of the three. It was his favorite. But I want you to have all three of them."

Nevvie stood and unzipped the case. Inside lay a shotgun. She was afraid to touch it, but Peggy picked it up, showed her how to break it open, and handed it to her. "Those are snap caps inside," she explained as she pointed to two red things resembling shotgun shells in the barrels. She closed the gun and pointed it up toward the ceiling, then pulled the trigger twice. Nevvie heard a distinct click-click.

"You can dry-fire it with those in." She handed it back to Nevvie. "I wasn't much into skeet, but Adam taught me how when we first got married. I found I liked trap better. I haven't been shooting in decades, though. Since before Tommy was born. That's a Browning 12-gauge over-under. Nice gun. It's set up for skeet. Ported barrel, skeet chokes, adjustable comb and stock, everything." She smiled. "John will likely be a little jealous when you show him that."

Nevvie tentatively hefted the gun. "I've never shot a gun in my life. Not unless you count water pistols or Wii game controllers."

Peggy laughed as she showed her how to shoulder it. "Sorry, sugar. Those don't count. I'd be happy to go with you and John to the skeet range, if it'd make you feel more comfortable. I'm pretty rusty, but..."

"Thanks, Mom." She put the gun back in the case and hugged her. "I really appreciate it. That would be fun. What's in the bag?"

Peggy unzipped it. "His shooting supplies. I gave away the shells a long time ago. They wouldn't have kept. He used to do his own reloading. I buy a fresh box of shells once a year to keep handy in case of rattlesnakes in the yard or something." She pointed to a box. "Not to mention a woman alone, it was a little comforting knowing I could put my hands on it in a few seconds. I also have the cleaning kit, his shooting muffs, protective glasses, his vest, all that stuff." She wore a sad smile. "I'd be willing to bet Adam would have loved to teach you how to shoot."

"I didn't know you had any guns."

"Don't worry, sugar. The safe has a combination lock. There's no way the little ones could get into it unless it was left open. Which it never is. In fact, this is the first time I've opened it in nearly a year. I take them out and clean them periodically to make sure they don't collect rust." Peggy zipped the case and the gun bag shut. "I'll put everything back in the safe until John gets here. And I'll give you the combination so you can get into it." She took everything back to her bedroom.

After Karen, Danny, Elle, and Clay left, Peggy, Nevvie, and Andrew returned to the living room. Laurie had just finished bathing the boys and had them dressed for bed. Nevvie got them tucked in and stopped by her room to call Tom and Tyler.

"Well, good news, looks like all we have to do is hand Ben a check and sign the papers and the house is ours."

"That's good," Tom said. "How much?"

When she told him, he said, "Repeat that number, please?"

She laughed. "You heard me right."

"Is he suffering from dementia?"

"Thomas," Tyler scolded over the speakerphone, "that's rude."

Nevvie explained it to them.

"Oh, that sounds like Ben," Tom said. "He's always been a really nice guy. I think we should pay him the extra 30k, though. We can afford it."

She thought Tom sounded stressed. "Are you okay? Are you in pain tonight?"

He sighed. "Can't fool you, can I, baby girl? Been a long day. Jacob and Kyle just left. They'll be back tomorrow. Pete and Eddie, and your mom and dad will come stay with us, too. It won't be a fun day Friday. Don't be surprised if you can't reach us at all by phone. Cell towers might get knocked down."

"What?"

"Yeah, a storm that strong-"

"How strong?" She hadn't been paying attention to the news, knowing it would just make her obsess over it.

"Um, well, it's already a strong Cat 3. Might even be a Cat 4 when it-"

"What? Why the hell aren't you getting out? Why-"

"Nevvie," Tom said, his tone stern, "calm down. Don't get upset. We'll be fine. Your parents and brothers will be here. It's okay."

She felt like crying. "Please leave. Just go. Bring everyone, including Pete and Eddie, and get out of there. You've got time."

"Honey, for starters, there's no way Pete could handle being in a car that long right now. Second, I-75 and I-95 are both clogged. FHP is saying if you aren't in an evacuation area to stay put. And we're not in an evacuation area. We've got a house built to stand up to a strong storm. I built it my damn self. I would know if it wasn't able to hold up. I damn sure wouldn't invite the people we love to stay with us if I thought they wouldn't be safe, now, would I?"

She sniffled. "No, I guess not."

"Love," Tyler said, "he's right. Please don't worry yourself. We'll check in as often as we can."

After saying good night, she finally got off the phone with them and returned to the living room.

Laurie sat up, a frown on her face. "What's wrong?"

Nevvie slumped down onto the couch and stared at her cell phone. "We need to call Mom and Dad."

"What's going on?"

"I just talked to Tom and Ty. The storm's bad. Mom and Dad are going to stay at our house with the guys."

Laurie's expression turned solemn. "They'll be okay."

Nevvie nodded. "Tom built our house himself. It's reinforced and everything." She hit their speed dial number and listened as it rang.

Kelly answered. "Hi, Nevvie!"

"Hi, Mom." She found it a good kind of strange calling her that. "I just talked to Tommy and Ty. Looks like you're going to get some weather."

"Yeah, I was going to talk to Laurie to see if there was anything she wanted me to make sure I grabbed when we leave."

"Here she is." Nevvie handed the phone over to Laurie. Nevvie caught Peggy's sympathetic gaze.

Laurie talked to their parents for a few minutes before returning the phone to Nevvie. "Dad wants to talk to you."

"Hi, Dad."

"So what was Peggy's surprise?"

Finally, something to take Nevvie's mind off the dire situation in Florida. She draped an arm around Laurie's shoulders and pulled her close. The girl curled up next to her, resting her head in Nevvie's lap. "Mom's giving me three guns of Adam's. Tom's father," she clarified.

"Oh? What are they?"

"The one she showed me is a Browning 12-gauge, and it's choked up or something-"

"Has skeet chokes," Peggy corrected through her laughter.

"Oh. Sorry, she says it has skeet chokes."

John also laughed. "I knew what you meant. That's great. You and I will go out skeet shooting when I get up there. No arguments. Got it?"

Again, it felt weird in a good way having someone parental talking to her like that, with stern concern. For so much of her life, she'd been on her own. "Yes, Dad."

"Good. Give Laurie a hug for us. Love you both."

Now her eyes pricked with tears of the good kind. "Love you both, too. Good night." She hung up with them and looked at Peggy. "Can we turn it to the Weather Channel?"

Nodding, Peggy changed the channel.

The screen was filled with an infrared looping image of Hurricane Edgar. A highlighted cone starting at the eye spread northeast toward the Tampa Bay area, engulfing the coast from Venice north to Crystal River. Ominously, the dotted line in the center marking the eye's currently projected path went straight up Tampa Bay.

"...and this is the worst-case scenario that disaster planners have talked about for years. A monster of a storm, funneling up Tampa Bay and into the downtown area, where the Hillsborough River empties into the bay. Lots of high-rise buildings and low-lying residential districts. MacDill Air Force Base has already begun evacuating aircraft, and both Tampa International and the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International airports have announced they will suspend flights into and out of their airports by late tomorrow. Sarasota Bradenton International..."

Nevvie let her mind drone out the TV announcer. She couldn't take her eyes off the horrid cone.

Just like Katrina.

Alex had almost talked her into staying in their Chalmette apartment. It was one of the few times she had stood her ground with him. Then when he saw the TV footage of everyone evacuating and heard the warnings, he finally realized it wasn't a wise move to stay.

With Katrina, Nevvie hadn't had much to begin with, but what little she'd had was lost in the storm if it hadn't been packed into Alex's shitty Ford Escort station wagon.

She didn't want to go there in her memories. She didn't want to think about Alex.

And she hated that she hoped he got himself blown away by Edgar.

"Nevvie?" Laurie asked.

"Hmm? I'm sorry. What was that you asked?"

Laurie looked up at her with green eyes the same shade as hers. Almost like looking into a mirror. "Do you really think they'll all be safe?"

"Yes, honey. Don't worry. They'll be safe with Tommy and Tyler. And we're safe here."

"Nevertheless," Peggy said, "we're going to the grocery store tomorrow. Won't hurt to stock up on some things in case we lose trees across the road and it takes a day or two to get it cleared up."

Nevvie watched Andrew reach over and take Peggy's hand and then he gave it a squeeze. Peggy looked at him with the sweetest smile in the world.

It made Nevvie's heart ache in a good way, that these two people, her other mom and dad, had found love together.

Tyler should write a book about that. But then again, as he'd said before, chances were that people wouldn't believe it.

Chapter Four.

Tyler let Tom drag him to bed after the 11:00 p.m. weather update. "Sitting up worrying isn't going to help a damn thing," Tom insisted. "I do, however, know how to take your mind off of everything." He grabbed Tyler and kissed him, hard, with a hand fisted in his lover's hair until Tyler's body melted against him.

"That's what I wanted," Tom hoarsely said as he nipped his way down Tyler's jaw to the hollow of his throat. With his hand still entwined in Tyler's hair and his other arm around his waist, Tom licked and kissed Tyler's throat as he slowly backed him toward their bed. "I want you to let go and let me be in charge tonight. I've got you all to myself and I'm gonna fuck the worry right out of you," he promised. "You'll sleep so good tonight, buddy. I'm gonna take good care of my guy, I promise." His voice sounded thick and raw, full of passion and commanding obedience.

Tyler fumbled for Tom's waistband until he finally found the fly and got his jeans unfastened. He pushed them and his briefs down his hips and sank to his knees as Tom sat on the bed in front of him. With Tom's hand still firmly fisted in his hair, Tyler yanked Tom's jeans and underwear off his legs and dove for his cock. It stood rigidly erect, every vein visible.

Tyler glanced up at him. Tom's brown gaze smoldered down at him. "That's right, buddy," he encouraged. "You know what I want."

Tyler eagerly devoured his lover's cock. It disappeared between his lips as he wrapped a hand around the base of it, cradling his balls with the other.

Tom's other hand cupped Tyler's face, his fingers curling around the back of his neck. He felt utterly possessed. His own cock throbbed in his pants, aching to be set free.

"Don't make me come," Tom ordered. "Just be my good boy and get me nice and hard so I can plow that sweet, tight ass of yours with it."

His words made Tyler whimper around his cock. Tyler wanted to swallow him whole, suck every last drop of cum out of him, but Tom had said the magic words to ensure Tyler would turn himself inside out to obey.

Be my good boy.

Even his ass clenched in pleasant anticipation of what it'd feel like having this hot cock fucking him, the way Tom's balls would feel hitting against his thighs, the feel and weight of the taller man's body pressing him into the mattress...

His heart raced. He'd need to watch it or he'd make himself come just thinking about it.

Finally, Tom made him relinquish his cock. "Get nekkid, baby," Tom's voice rumbled, deep and thick with passion. "I'll go get what I need." He stood, pulling Tyler up to him and kissing him fiercely before letting him go. "Your ass better be in the air when I come back." Tom walked toward the bathroom after slapping him on the ass.

"Yes!" Tyler said, his fingers trembling as he tried to unbutton his shirt. Finally, after fumbling the top two, he yanked the damn thing off over his head and threw it on the floor. His slacks and briefs, which sported a wet spot, followed.

He was on his hands and knees in the center of the bed when Tom returned.

"Such a good boy," Tom said.

Tyler felt the mattress dip behind him. Tom's warm, strong hands caressed his ass, stroking, kneading it. Then he hauled off and gave him a stinging slap on each ass check, followed by his tongue licking and soothing the pain away.

Tyler gasped and opened his eyes. His own cock felt like it would explode. Drops of pre-cum flowed from the slit, slowly dripping down onto the bed.

Tom reached between Tyler's legs and felt it. He rubbed his fingers over the slit of Tyler's cock, slicking the juices up and down Tyler's shaft before letting go of it. "Wow. I've really got you wound up, don't I?"

"Yes!" Tyler could barely think.

Another stinging slap. "What was that?"

"Yes, Sir!" Tyler gasped without needing to think about it.

"You're such a good boy for me." Tom nipped his ass, hard enough to leave marks and make Tyler's cock throb even more. "Reach back and hold your ass open for me.

Without hesitation, Tyler did. His body trembled with excitement, desire, raw need.

Tom drizzled lube between Tyler's cheeks and worked it into his hole. First one finger breached him, slowly teasing and fucking him with it. Two soon followed. Then three fingers. Tyler moaned, biting down on the sheets in an attempt to hold back his climax. It felt better than fantastic. Tom knew every inch of his body, every trigger point, everywhere to make it feel so deliciously damn good. Tom continued to slowly finger-fuck him, brushing against his gland, not enough to trigger his orgasm, but almost.

Then his fingers disappeared. "Hold on. Let me wipe my hands off." Then Tyler heard the rustle of a condom wrapper.