Every Storm by Lori Wick

him."
    Quinn came looking for Rigg just then. His news about the parts for their repairs was so disheartening that it drove everything else from Rigg's mind.
    "Someone had a hot bath," Dean teased Lorri as soon as he let himself back into the room. She was still in the chair, her hair ^ damp, the room a little moist. "It felt nice."
    "I'll bet it did. PTs are not known for their fine bathing facillities"
    "I didn't know a bathroom could be that small," Lorri said, fp&nd Dean smiled at his first glimpse of the woman he once knew. "How about some breakfast?" "With coffee?" "Yes, ma'am." "Then I'm all for it."
    Lorri set her grandfather's Bible aside and followed him from the room. It was early, so many officers and enlisted men were in I $ie mess hall. Lorri sat in the separate dining room for the offi    88
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    "Hello, Lionel," Lorri said as she approached him where he stood by the coffee urn, greeting him with a smile.
    Lionel smiled right back, pulling his hat from his head in the process.
    "Hello, Miss Lorri. You're looking well"
    "Thank you. I wasn't sure if you would still be here."
    "We have repairs to make."
    "And then where do you go?"
    Lionel grinned as he said, "Back out on patrol."
    A quiver of fear raced through her, unexpected and almost confusing.
    "Are you all right, Miss Lorri?"
    "Yes, I just felt afraid for a moment."
    "For us?"
    "Yes."
    "That's kind of you, Miss Lorri, but we won't go until the Storm is fully ready."
    Lorri nodded, not able to explain her memory of having been aboard during an attack. She glanced around a bit, and that's when she noticed that Lionel was holding a cup of coffee.
    "I should let you get to your breakfast before it gets cold."
    Lionel nodded kindly, not anxious to be away, but not certain how long he should detain her.
    "You take care of yourself, Miss Lorri," he put in after a few heartbeats of silence.
    "You do the same," Lorri urged him as well.
    She moved back to the officer's mess, finding her grandfather waiting in the doorway.
    Dean knew no end of emotions as he watched her come to him. He hadn't wanted to disturb her conversation, but having
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    his granddaughter talking with ease to an enlisted man was not something he ever expected to see. Clearly she was very comfortable with this sailor.
    "Are you ready for breakfast?" he asked when she was close.
    "Yes. Did I hold you up?"
    "Not at all," he answered, giving her a smile of reassurance and still trying to figure out the odd emotions moving through him.
    In the midst of this he realized it didn't matter. She was safe. She was not unscathed, but she was alive, and he was going to get her home. He would deal with his own odd mix of emotions at another time.
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    Harmony Hills, California
    Ruth Archer stood at the living room window, her eyes going from the driveway to the street and back again every few seconds. She had told herself she was ready. She had prepared as best she could, but in her heart she knew that when she saw Lorri without Josie her heart would break all over again.
    For a moment she let her mind go back to the day her father-in-law's telegram arrived. Max had not heard the door. Ruth had stood still for long moments, her mind trying to grasp the words. Lorri found. Josie lost. Ruth thought they would be branded on her heart forever.
    And now she waited. Not every day since, but certainly today. A second telegram had come. Dean and Lorri were on their way. They would be home this day: August 16,1945.
    A car slowly trailed up the street and drove past. Ruth sighed quietly and turned from the window. It was silly to stand there for what might turn into hours. She would want her strength when Lorri finally arrived. Ruth settled into a chair in the living room,
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    one that