Hossein rubbed away enough condensation to see who it was. He refused to roll his window down. “Oh, boy,” Collette said in disgust. She cracked hers an inch. A large black man, hunched over against the gale, stuck his eyes up to the gap in the glass. “You need help?” he yelled. “We’re stuck,” she said. “I can see you ain’t going nowhere. You want to come inside?” Collette looked at Bradley, who looked back, noncommittal. Hoss would not acknowledge the invitation. “You mean inside your house?” Collette asked. “Yeah. Inside my house. The water is rising. Y’all are going to get mighty wet out here.” “Well, sure,” Collette said. “Okay. I can carry you. I can only fetch one at a time though.” “No, don’t go,” Bradley said urgently, gripping Collette’s elbow.
