Gayle inhaled, then a sympathetic smile came to her lips as she held her arms out to the child. “Honey, why don’t you come with me? I have something in the car I think you’ll like.”
Sophie went into Gayle’s embrace and hugged her tiny arms around Gayle’s neck.
“I’ll have an EMT look at her bump, too,” she whispered to him, then she headed to the SUV. After she opened the trunk, she put the little girl down and pulled out a plastic container, set it on the ground, then lifted the lid. When Sophie swooped in and yanked out a teddy bear, hugging it tearfully to her chest, he wanted to tug the woman beside her to his chest.
Inhaling deeply, he started making his way to the area where Sophie’s house used to stand. If her mom had been sucked from the house by the vortex, there was no telling where she could be, but he hoped that wasn’t the case. He hoped, God, he hoped, she was just somewhere under the rubble.
But Ally had been under the rubble…
A cold sweat broke out across his skin, and his footsteps faltered. Breathing seemed an impossible task. Starry dots formed before his eyes, and his vision tunneled as the image of her lifeless body formed in his mind.
No! He shook himself.
He forced himself to keep walking. As he passed a mound of wreckage, a muffled whimper came from underneath. Flinging large slabs of wood off the pile, he eventually uncovered an elderly man. Another guy hurried over to help the man out and Mac moved on. Seconds later, he heard a low whine. He shoved aside two mangled bicycles twisted together with some yard ornaments and uncovered a terrified, drenched terrier. The dog trembled as it cautiously stepped out. He picked up the animal. A woman about fifty yards away burst into tears and came running. “Minnie. Oh, my God. Minnie!”
She took the pup from his arms, then grabbed Mac in a strong embrace, her heartfelt sobs muffling her, “Thank you, oh, thank you!” but not the relief and happiness.
Four more times he was stopped by muted cries for help. Two of the people were in critical condition. Volunteers helped ease them onto a ripped-off door and a piece of plywood and loaded them on the back of a truck to rush to the hospital. He also found a father and son huddled together in a closet, the only remaining room of their home.
When he finally reached Sophie’s yard, he scanned the area. Déjà vu almost brought him to his knees as four fingers caught his attention. Barely visible, muddied, and sticking out between two pieces of house debris. They were slender with nails painted bright pink.
His entire body went numb.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t face it. Not a second time.
The fingers twitched. Just a flick.
His heart stuttered, and he stumbled in a rush over debris to reach her. He hurled bricks, branches, and pieces of furniture away like a madman. Then she was there. Blond like the little girl. Injured badly, but alive.
“Brandi?” he asked.
She coughed. Tears welled in her desperate blue eyes, overflowing down her cheeks. “M-my d-daughter?” she managed to ask.
“Sophie is fine. She’s with my girl—” Stunned, he shook himself. “Friend. She’s with my friend. Are you injured?”
“M-my…ribs.”
“Okay. Don’t move. I’ll fetch help.” Glancing around, he motioned to an EMT a little distance away, who hurried over. Then he looked for Gayle. She was nowhere to be found. Panic climbed his throat. Frantically, he searched over the destruction and finally saw her about thirty yards away digging through wreckage of a building. The tightening eased.
He spotted the little girl, too, and had to smile. She huddled with a group of other kids on the street, each clutching a new stuffed animal. They all still looked scared, but were no longer crying. “While they get you ready to move, I’ll fetch Sophie.”
As he went to stand, Brandi’s hand caught his. “Thank you. I don’t think I will ever”—she took a shallow breath—“be able to repay you.”
Giving her fingers a gentle squeeze, he shook his head and said, “You’ve helped me more than you will ever know.”
As he walked across the debris-strewn lawn to get Brandi’s daughter, his heart felt lighter and freer than it had in years. Gayle had been right. He’d needed to face this. And he hadn’t just faced the most traumatic day of his life. He’d relived it. Every emotion, every memory, brought to the surface, flaying him alive, making him bear witness to the destruction—but from the outside this time. It gave him the chance he hadn’t been given four years ago. He’d helped. Even though it wasn’t his wife under the rubble this time, he’d been able to do the one thing that had bludgeoned him with guilt since her death. He’d been here to save someone’s life. And he’d spared a daughter, and a husband, from living in the pure hell he’d been forced to live through for four years.
He’d desperately needed to banish his inner demons, and today, because of Gayle, he’d finally done it.
He had a lot to thank that woman for.