He was weighing her words. “You sure?”
“I am.”
“Okay.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. His hand touched hers. “Don’t get on the boat yet. Wait till I come back out.”
“Okay.”
He headed inside, and Jake and Boone came out a beat later. Jenny and Julia were in tow, both looking like they were crying.
All the boats were unhooked from each other, and the ones who had drivers pulled out. They waited as one boat was filled, then they would switch places. People began to come out, and though they looked fearful, some were crying. For the most part, everyone wasn’t downright panicking like she had. They were able to grab a blanket and climb onto their boats, but not a life jacket.
Bubba’s boat came to the side, and he jumped out. Aiden gasped, but caught Dani’s eyes. Dani tried to nod at her, letting her know everything would be fine. Aiden swallowed and returned the nod. She pulled her blanket closer around her, and Bubba began to hand out the remaining life jackets. The boats came in close enough so he could wade over to them.
And then they were down to two boats.
Jonah came to stand next to her. “You ready?” His hand touched her hip.
She nodded. “I am.”
“Okay.” He pressed another kiss to her forehead. “I want you with me. You’ll be my backup driver.”
The one boat filled up, and Hawk pushed off with Jake as his back-up driver. Then it was only their boat. Dani took a breath, a blanket, and stepped onto the wobbly flat runner.
Trenton sidled up next to them, helping to hold their boat steady. “Hi, Dani!” He was too damned cheerful. “I’d offer a hand, but I’m a little busy.”
“Thanks,” she said dryly.
“So, how does it feel, Dani?”
“Rather be in bed right now.”
Trenton laughed and commented, “Yeah. I’m sure Jonah’d like that, too. I don’t think the Quandrys are going to want to still build here anymore. Not when they need to get flood insurance.”
This was close to his usual day at the job. She got that, but she asked, “Trent?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you shut up?”
“Sure.” He laughed anyway. “Don’t take too much to natural disasters?”
“You’d be surprised.”
Once they were full, with Jonah in the driver’s seat, Trenton turned around to the next boat. He waved, calling out, “Alright. Here we go. Mr. Guy Back There—you’re in charge of the back of the boat. Watch the engine for me. Let me know if anything’s wrong. Make sure no one falls out, too. Jonah’ll take the lead, then Hawk. We’ve got the rear.”
Dani called out, “His name is Boone.”
“What?” Boone looked over.
Dani ignored and said to Trent, “You can call him Boone, Trent.”
“Will do. And everyone here, I’ll let you know the plan how we’re going to get you to dry land. We’ll be driving at a comfortable speed. We’re in no rush. Safety is the only concern here. We’ll move at a nice and steady pace. We’ll keep each other in our headlights, so there shouldn’t be any surprises along the way.”
Dani took a moment to gaze around. She hadn’t paid attention to when people were getting into the boats, but it was surreal now seeing everyone around them. Boone was closest. Jenny was huddled next to him. Jake and Julia were in Hawk’s boat. Aiden and Kate were in Bubba’s.
Jonah hopped into the boat now. He took his seat and nodded to Trent. “We’re good.” He had to shout over the engine’s light purr. “House is closed up, and I didn’t see anyone left inside.”
“Just a day in the office, right, boss?”
Jonah grinned. “A day in the office.” His eyes met Dani’s, and he added, “For some of us.”
Aiden and Bubba were too far out, but Aiden waved. “Love you, brother.”
“Love you, too, sis. Everyone will be fine.” He stood, his hand on the wheel, and did another quick surveillance of the boats. A moment later, he nodded in approval and waved. “Alright, let’s head out.”
Then he took the lead. The rest fell in line. The ride to higher ground was slow, but surprisingly uneventful. Jonah veered where he was supposed to veer and everyone fell in line. Each boat followed with six feet behind the other. It was easier to do since the engines were just underneath the surface. There was no wake of waves to follow.
Dani wasn’t surprised when they managed to join up with the river. Jonah followed it back to their base headquarters. It stood on stilts, just in case the river rose to dangerous levels, but it was high enough up to outlast any flash floods.
Anyone who was still drunk was sober by the time they reached their destination.
Each boat was clamped into place, and everyone scrambled off the unsteady surface for sure footing. As everyone filed in, they were met with dry blankets.
Dani tapped on Jonah’s arm. “Mae?”
His hand grasped hers. “I called when I was looking through the house. She’s safe.”
“Oh.” A wave of relief washed over her. “Thank you.”
“I should’ve told you right away. Sorry. Hey.” She began to move in, but he tugged her closer to him. “Everyone’s going to be sleeping in the atrium, but we can sleep in my office. It’ll be a little more comfortable.”
“And not offer such fine luxuries to everyone else?”