Every Storm Part 9

"We'll do our best, Miss Archer."

Lorri looked at him.

"How selfish of me. You all want to go home."

"We're doing our best with that too."

Lorri smiled a little and went back to her food. Hugh studied the top of her head, taking in the dark hair that looked so soft. He knew how wrong it was for those men to have taken such liberties but could see how tempting it would be.

Lorri stared down at the book on the desk, her eyes not believing what they were seeing. A Bible. A Bible sat in the middle of the desk. It had a black cover and looked as if it had been well read.

She had not touched anything on board. She had been careful to keep to herself and to the few belongings she'd been given, but this was more temptation than she could handle.

She pulled the chair out and took a seat. Her hands gentle, she opened to the middle and began reading in Psalms.

With a deep hunger and an ache for the words, she read slowly from chapter 52. The first verses were about an unrighteous man

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and his choices, but starting at verse 7, the psalmist summed up and determined not to follow the wicked man's path.

She read, "Lo, this is the man who made not G.o.d his strength, i but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of G.o.d; I trust in the mercy of G.o.d forever and ever. I will .praise thee forever, because thou hast done it; and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints."

The word saints took Lorri back to her home church in southern California. She could see the building, the pews and pulpit, and then the people of her church family who filled those pews. She didn't want to cry, so she went back to verse 7. Again, she read, "Lo, this is the man who made not G.o.d his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself 1 in his wickedness."

Please don't let me trust in anything but you, Lord, she prayed, her heart and mind wanting to honor. I don't think clearly right now. I fear and don't trust anyone or anything. I want to recover ffrom this time, Lord, knowing You had a plan. Please help me in the days to come. Help me to go home to Mother.

Lorri could say nothing more. She was breathless with the pain in her heart. The thought of her mother was enough to make her sob with despair and longing. The things she was going to have to tell her, the ache to see her and know her touch.

Lorri suddenly stood, still breathing hard. She needed to get put of this cabin and get some air. She moved from the room, planning to go topside and ask for a life jacket.

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Lori Wick "Find the lieutenant," Click told the first man who walked past the control room. The radio had been unreliable for weeks, but word was now coming through. Click listened to the message, his heart beating painfully in his chest.

Having written it all down, he glanced at the door. He'd give the sailor about two more minutes and then look for the lieutenant himself.

The sun was dropping fast, but there was still plenty of light. It hadn't started out as a time for visiting, but it ended up that way.

Lionel had found Lorri on the deck, a life jacket nearly swallowing her thin frame. He sat down to talk with her, well remembering the incident that morning. She seemed in better spirits, and it wasn't long before Jack and Cliff joined them.

"You should sing," Jack told her.

It took a moment for Lorri to realize he was talking to her.

"I should sing?" she questioned him.

"Yes. It sounds nice."

"How do you know the way my voice sounds?"

Not wanting her to know they'd heard her in the officer's head, Lionel reminded her of the island.

"That's how we found you, remember?"

Lorri nodded as it came back to her.

"So will you sing?" Cliff asked this time.

"I don't know what to sing," Lorri admitted, feeling more than a little self-conscious, her eyes going to the front of the vest.

"Anything."

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Lorri's mind was blank until Jack hummed, "I'll Be Seeing You." Lorri was immediately caught up with the melody in her mind. She hummed a little with him, and then launched into the words. Every man who could move from his station came near to her voice. They stood very still as she started another song-a hymn this time-even knowing that if the lieutenant found them, they'd all be in trouble. At the moment no one cared.

The sounds of a third song were dying away before anyone noticed Rigg. How long he'd been standing there was anyone's guess, but they took their cue and moved on. Darkness was coming n fast, but Rigg decided to talk ta Lorri where she was. 1;.; ' "Miss Archer, I need to ask you some things." X "All right."

?: "I don't know if anyone has explained to you, but our commuJ nication systems have been unreliable lately. I've only just now ^gotten word about your being reported missing." i Lorri blinked. "You got word about me?" ;;' "I believe so. Are you Admiral Archer's granddaughter?"

"Yes." Lorri perked up as she said this, her whole body moving toward Rigg. She completely missed the way every man within ; hearing snapped around to stare at their commanding officer. "My grandfather is looking for me?" Lorri asked. "Yes, for you and your sister. Can you tell me where Josephine is? Did she fly with you?"

The change in her was visible. Lorri bit her lip, her brow furrowing with pain. "I have to tell him about that," she said softly. "Whom do you need to tell?" "Grandpa. He'll want to know."

"What do you need to tell him?" Rigg asked, even as he watched her shake her head, tears filling her eyes.

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"She didn't make it," Lorri whispered now. "I tried to talk to her-I tried to get her to wake up-but she wouldn't. I don't know how I'm going to tell him, Lieutenant. I don't know how I'm going to explain to Grandpa. He'll be so sad.

"And Clarence Fuller's family!" The words burst out of her, almost as though she'd been desperate to talk for years. "I have to tell them that he tried. He was always a little sweet on Josie. He did everything he could to get us there, but the storm..." She was gasping now. "The winds and rain were so hard. We couldn't see a thing! The trees rushed up at us and then nothing but darkness and fain. I was so scared. Josie wouldn't answer."

Her hand was over her mouth now, her eyes telling the horror of it all, but Rigg could still hear her words. He thought about stopping her, wis.h.i.+ng he knew what was best.

"I didn't die. I thought I would." Lorri breathed heavily, her eyes pleading with him to understand, but her voice had almost returned to normal. She talked as though she were alone on the deck.

"It took me days to dig those holes. I buried Clarence first, but I couldn't make myself put Josie in the dirt. I took her locket." As if to prove the point, Lorri reached to her neck and pulled out a gold chain, a locket on the end.

"It's from Ken. He loves her. How will I tell him? I didn't have anyone. It should have been me. I should have died!"

The tears were coming again, and this time all calmness left her voice.

"How will I ever tell my mother?" Lorri begged the lieutenant. "I'll never be able to explain to Mother and Max!"

Rigg didn't wait any longer. He moved forward, scooped Lorri into his arms and moved for the stairs. Men were there ahead of

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him, holding the door and making the way clear. Lorri sobbed into her hands, saying words that no one could understand.

Someone had turned the light on in the cabin. He went to the bunk he'd given Lorri-his bunk-and laid her down. She tried to curl into a ball, but he stopped her while he worked the buckles of the life jacket, not wanting her to sleep in something so constricting. He tossed it aside and pulled the desk chair close. He sat down and pulled a sheet over her already-curled-up body. At that point, he sat helplessly and listened as she cried herself into exhaustion. Had she cried since it happened? How long had she been holding it all in? So many questions raced through Rigg's mind that he almost forgot to pray.

Not until she slept soundly did Rigg move from her side. He went directly to Click in the control room. His orders were to keep it simple. The message read: Attention Admiral Archer, U.S. Navy-Have found Lorraine Archer- Will deliver her toSeaford ASAP- Josephine Archer and pilot Clarence Fuller, deceased.

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"She buried her sister on that island?"

"Yeah, and the pilot who flew the plane."

As with all PT boats, crews were small and word traveled fast. Every Storm had 12 men and 2 officers! It didn't take long for those who missed Lorri's firsthand account on the island to hear every word.

Ellis had a few words of his own. Anyone who spoke to him about it also got a tongue las.h.i.+ng: "You l.u.s.ted after that poor girl and she's been through all of that! You ought to be ashamed!"

And in truth, some of them were. Almost to a man they envied Lionel's and Rigg's contact with her, but their dreams weren't as risque' as Ellis claimed. Every man longed for a little touch of home. Lorri Archer might have been one of the girls from high school or someone who lived down the street.

Of course, that was easier to imagine before they remembered the ident.i.ty of her grandfather. Admiral Archer! He was one of the toughest men in the navy and a man who hadn't been many years from retirement when the war broke out. He had stayed on,

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