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Nola ignored the hand he offered and got herself out of the car, then walked into the gym with her chin up and stopped, shocked into silence by the sight.
There were cots and sleeping bags in neat, crowded rows, and people everywhere. Tables stood against the back wall, loaded down with bottled water, and boxes and boxes of diapers.
“Oh, my God!” she said.
Tate put a hand in the middle of her back. “The good part is that you’re alive, not down in the morgue.”
She shrugged away from his touch.
He sighed. “Let’s get you signed in at the office, so they can get you settled.”
A baby cried nearby, and somewhere farther down in the gym another answered with a cry of its own. She wanted to cry with them.
Cameron was already in the office when they walked in. He smiled at Nola.
“There she is,” he said. “Nola, this is Laura Doyle. I was telling her a bit about what you need. She’ll get you some clothes and food, and a place to sleep, okay?”
Nola nodded as a pretty young woman with short blond hair approached.
“Hi, Nola. You come with me and, as my granny used to say, we’ll let these men get back to their rat killing.”
Nola smiled. “My aunt Frannie used to say the same thing.”
Laura laughed. “The South is a fine place, is it not? Except maybe for floods and tornadoes, and hurricanes and gators.”
When Tate walked away, he kept thinking he was forgetting something. And then it hit him, and he made a quick run back into the office and found the women in the back room where the clothing was stored.
“Hey, Nola, one more thing.” When she waited for him to speak, he added, “In private.”
She went to the doorway. “What?”
He ignored the snap in her tone and lowered his voice.
“Right now, all anyone knows about you is that you are just another flood victim. Don’t talk about what you saw and hopefully it won’t get out, understand?”
She nodded, her eyes widening fearfully, and just like that, she was reminded of her precarious position.
Tate felt her fear. “And don’t worry. We’re not going anywhere. We’re staying here, too, so if you feel uncomfortable in any way, find one of us immediately. Okay?”
She looked away as her eyes filled with tears.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “All I seem to do these days is cry.”
He cupped her face. Whether she liked it or not, he needed to touch her.
“Don’t, Nola…. If I’d been through what you went through, I’d be crying, too. Don’t apologize for anything, and remember, we’ve got your back.”
She wanted to throw herself in his arms. She chalked the feeling up to being worn out and scared, but when he walked away, she struggled with the urge to follow.
“Nola?”
She jumped. She’d forgotten all about Laura and the clothes.
“I’m sorry. I’m coming,” Nola said.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nola now had three pairs of jeans and an equal number of T-shirts, along with one lightweight jacket and a pair of tennis shoes. Walking back through the gym, making her way through the rows and rows of cots, carrying her secondhand clothes, dodging kids playing and waving at friends who were already there, she began to realize how really blessed they all were. They had survived what insurance companies would call “an act of God,” knowing full well it was by the grace of God they had been saved.
