"20-30 miles, why?"
"Brett and Faith are at the lake."
"They'll be fine." "But."
"Megan," he said, taking her hands. "Don't worry. Faith and Brett know what to do in fires."
"But." She looked towards the woods, as if ready to bolt.
"I'll tie you to the fence post," he said without a hint of sarcasm or laughter.
"Fine," Megan yelled. She tried moving, but Colby grabbed her arm. Doubts and fears pushed through the warmth and security of his hand, leaving unanswered questions to fill her mind. How long before Brett and Faith's return? Were they all right? How long before we send out a search party?With one look deep into his eyes, she knew they would be okay. Everyone would be fine. It did not make the wait any more bearable.
She paced, waiting for their arrival. "What is taking so long? They had to have seen the smoke. Why aren't they back yet?"
Another rumble of thunder left the earth shaking, but with it came raindrops. Plop! Plop! Looking up, another raindrop smacked Megan's cheek. Another fell and then another. The earth around her showed signs of wetness, but it remained hard. They needed a steady rain to remove threat of fire. Would the clouds open up and release the water they held? The kids whooped and hollered as if doing a rain dance.
"Don't celebrate, yet," Colby said, looking into the sky, trying to read the clouds. The kids continued to dance and chant. Within minutes the skies opened up and dropped rain. The ground drank it up, turning the hard packed dirt into pools of liquid chocolate.
"Maybe it does work," he said, with a shrug and a tilt of his head. "Wait till grandfather hears about this." He started to laugh.
Megan found no humor in getting soaked. "Kids, let's go inside and get dry," she muttered.
"Come on, Megan," Bridget shouted as she danced with the others, water and mud splashing onto jeans and arms. "This is fun. Join us."
She retreated to the front porch while shaking her head. "The rain's warm as is the air," Colby whispered in her ear, his large hands resting on her shoulders. "Where's the harm?"
"Okay. A few minutes." Leaned against the post, Megan watched the kids and envied their childlike ways. Laughter entered her soul, but her mind kept her body from enjoying it.
"Don't you like the rain?" Colby asked.