In the Line of Duty by Ami Weaver

was still fairly early.
    “Where’s Aldo?” she asked, suddenly realizing she hadn’t seen him since she’d come in.
    “Under my bed,” Matt answered. “I check on him occasionally, but he won’t come out until it’s over.”
    Callie understood completely. There were times she’d like to crawl under the bed and not come out. She felt a twinge of empathy for the embattled dog.
    The weatherman talked on, showing places where hail was likely. Callie could hear it, hitting the roof and the porch. Matt gestured to her and she came over to see it layering the deck and yard in an icy mess. “Dime-size,” he murmured. “Big enough to do quite a bit of damage.”
    The lights flickered and a cry went up from the living room. Callie hurried in there. Losing power was not on her list of favorite things to do with kids. They looked at her with big eyes and she sat on the couch between them and pulled them into her arms. They snuggled in and Callie forced her breathing to be level and even.
    The power flickered again, then went out just as a huge crack sounded across the street. Callie jumped a mile, the kids screamed and Matt was in the room before she could even get to her feet.
    “What was that?” She couldn’t keep the wobble of fear out of her voice. It was dark in here, too dark. “Where’s the bag? Guys, calm down, it’s okay. I’ve got glow sticks.”
    “I think it’s in the kitchen. Hold on.” Thunder cracked again and she sat back down. Both kids immediately tried to climb into her lap, whimpering.
    Matt was back in just a minute with a flashlight and the bag. She took both and, even with the kids on her lap, rummaged for the glow sticks she’d thrown in. She bent them to start them glowing and handed one to each boy. The bright sticks distracted them enough so they got off her lap, but sat close to her still. She slipped her arms around their shoulders and hugged them. “It’s an adventure, guys. And it’s almost over.” She hoped.
    “Callie.” Matt was behind her, his tone grim. She looked up, and he pointed at the kids and shook his head.
    “I’ve got to get up, guys.” She kissed each one on the head with a calm she didn’t feel, and walked over to Matt, the flashlight shaking in her hand.
    He caught her hand and held it tight as he led her to the door. She let him, because he was scaring her. “Look.”
    She gasped when she followed his pointing finger. The tree in her front yard had come crashing down and her house was hidden behind the massive branches. Matt grabbed her when she reached for the door handle with a half sob.
    “You can’t go over there,” he said. “Not yet. Not in the lightning. Look at the tree.”
    He was right, of course. In the flashes, she could see it had split clean in half, a sure sign it had been hit by lightning. Tears welled up and the flashlight fell to the floor as she pressed both hands to her mouth.
    “My house. Matt! My house,” she whispered, panic, fear and a kind of sickness welling up in her in one nauseating brew. She shook so badly that she didn’t protest when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She didn’t know if she could have stayed upright on her own. She burrowed in, gripping handfuls of his shirt, trying to stay under control, feeling his heartbeat under her cheek. Breathe.
    “I don’t want the boys to see this,” she whispered, and Matt stroked her hair and down her spine, then back up. Behind them, the kids were doing some sort of mock saber battle with the glow sticks. Thank God they were distracted.
    Even in her panicky state, it felt good to lean on someone. Just for a few minutes. To draw strength from another person. This was what she’d missed so much about being married.
    “You can stay here tonight,” he said simply. “There’s room. I’ve got an extra bedroom, and sleeping bags for the kids. You can have my room and I’ll sleep on the couch. We’ll go look at the mess as soon the storm