“Yes, she’s with Chris.” Zoey had popped her head into the living room a few minutes ago to announce Hazel and her dad were okay, other than no power. That seemed to be the case throughout most of Rendezvous Falls. “Sis, I gotta call a few other people yet, and I only have so much battery left. You’re sure Nana’s okay? And the pub?”

“Yes. Timothy brought Nana to his place for the night because he has a generator. Finn said the pub is still standing, but there was a roof leak in the dining room.” She paused, saying something about ice cream to someone near her before coming back to the call. “I promised the kids we’d ‘rescue’ the ice cream in the freezer before it melts. Tim said the roads are a mess—trees down, power lines down. Utility vehicles showing up everywhere. But he drove by your house and said it looks okay. I don’t know about your office, but I heard that downtown wasn’t too bad.”

“That’s what Logan said.” He walked over and looked out the window before remembering there was nothing to see out there but darkness. “A big limb did some damage to the garage behind the inn, but he walked over to Main Street and said the storefronts all look okay.”

He made one more call after talking to Mary. Owen Cooper had recently opened a landscaping business in town. His new bride, Lucy, ran the flower shop on Main Street. Owen answered after the third ring, sounding out of breath.

“Owen, is everything okay at your place?” he asked.

“Mike? Yeah. We’re good.” He blew out another heavy breath. “We just got back inside from inspecting things, and I tripped over a damn limb that came down. Knocked the wind right out of me, and amused my wife to no end. How about you?”

Mike explained the situation at Zoey’s, with a tree that needed removing before he’d be able to leave. Obviously it would have to wait for daylight. There was a long pause.

“You know I’m a landscaper and not a lumberjack, right?”

“Yeah, but you still deal with trees,” Mike replied.

Owen laughed. “Dude, I plant saplings.” He paused. “Let me make some calls. I know Zayne Rutledge has a chainsaw and has done some tree work. We should be able to at least get it off the driveway, but not until morning.”

He could hear Zoey’s laughter in the kitchen as he ended the call. The sound was irresistible. He followed it to find her sitting at the kitchen table with her knees under her chin and her feet on the chair seat. For a tall woman, she was pretty flexible. He quickly banished all thoughts of her flexibility from his mind.