Page 22 of Easton Island: Old-Fashioned Christmas
A local meteorologist, a man she followed faithfully during the long winter months, appeared. “We’ve been tracking this storm and only moments ago received our latest update. Not only are we in for a white Christmas, folks, but it looks like a blizzard of epic proportions is heading our way.”
Chapter 9
“A blizzard of epic proportions,” Morgan repeated. “This will be a first for me.”
“And me.” Quinn’s eyes grew round as saucers. “I was hoping for a white Christmas, but a blizzard seems a little over the top.”
“It could be a doozy,” Ben said. “Remember the blizzard of ’78? They tallied up the snowfall amount by the foot.”
Denver set his drink glass on the table. “At least we have a little advance notice before we’re snowed in.”
Morgan’s heart skipped a beat. “Snowed in on Easton Island?”
“We’ll need to shut the airport down.”
“And the ferry. The icebreakers will stop running until the storm passes,” Captain Davey, Easton Harbor’s ferryboat captain and owner, chimed in. “I’ve been monitoring the updates. When I saw this one coming across, I suspected we might be in for a whopper of a storm.”
Mrs. Arnsby started gathering up the empty glasses and popcorn bowls. “I’ll need to take an inventory of supplies and plan a trip to the grocery store first thing tomorrow morning before the shelves are emptied.”
“You guys are freaking me out,” Morgan said. “I’m with Quinn. I wanted a white Christmas, but a blizzard seems a little overkill.”
Elizabeth patted her arm. “There’s no need to panic. We’ll have a day or two of whiteout conditions, maybe a loss of powerfor a few hours. Once it blows over, the plows will be out in full force.”
“If we lose power, we’ll freeze to death,” Quinn said.
Jax waved dismissively. “Not a chance. We have plenty of fireplaces and firewood. We’ll be as snug as bugs in a rug. Besides, Easton Estate has ample generator power. We’ll barely even know the grid is down, if it goes out.”
Grace Coates, the manager of Lilac Inn and Morgan’s neighbor, squeezed past her. “I should get back to the inn to give guests a heads up they’ll need to leave the island before the storm hits.”
“Guests. Y-yes,” Morgan stammered. “I need to let my guests know as well.”
Captain Davey grabbed his coat and began making his way toward the door. “Based on the updated forecast, I’ll be able to run the ferry for at least part of the day tomorrow, until the winds kick in, the waves get too high and the icebreaker stops running.”
Quinn tugged on Morgan’s arm. “Maybe we should swing by the store and stock up tonight before everyone panic buys and there’s nothing left.”
“Beer and bread,” Denver joked. “Those two typically sell out first.”
“Great,” Morgan groaned. “I haven’t even finished my Christmas shopping.”
“Perhaps we should plan on a good, old-fashioned Christmas,” Elizabeth said. “No need for store-bought merchandise. We’ll improvise.”
“Here, here,” her husband agreed. “It’s become too commercialized these days. I think a non-commercialized Christmas sounds charming.”
“And cold if we’re without power,” Quinn said. “It’s a good thing my parents decided to wait until after Christmas to visit. I’m heading to the store now.”
The others took off. Meanwhile, Morgan and Brett lingered, waiting for their grandmother to return after seeing the guests to the door.
“I believe the show cast us in a positive light.”
“It was an interesting program and well done. I’m not sure how Mr. Wynn and Harlow feel about it,” Morgan said.
“All in all, I thought we were portrayed pretty accurately.” Brett tapped the top of his watch. “I thought about heading back to Toronto to wrap up a few loose ends, but I would hate to get caught on the mainland with the storm rolling in.”
“And no way to get home. I do plan to host our traditional Christmas Eve celebration here at the house regardless of the weather.” Elizabeth motioned to the spruce on the other side of the fireplace. “I was going to ask for help decorating the tree tonight, but perhaps tomorrow might work out better.”
“I’m good with tomorrow. I want to swing by the store and then let the Locke Pointe guests know about the storm so they can make plans to leave before it’s too late.”
“Especially if the power goes off.” Elizabeth trailed behind, following her grandchildren into the hall. “Have you had any more prank calls?”
