I leaned back in the soapy water, not wanting to get out, but with all four boys banging on the door, I had no choice but to towel off and make way for them. “It’s about time,” Lucas said. I laughed. “Since when did bathing become your favorite pastime?” His face puckered in a frown. “Since half the world’s mud ended up on Galveston Island.” Later that night, I slid between crisp sheets, fresh off the line, and closed my eyes. If the scent of jasmine could’ve drifted through the windows right then instead of death and smoke, I might’ve imagined myself back in my own bed. I thought about Ella Rose lying with Kate in Will’s bed, just yards away under Aunt Julia’s bedroom windows, and I wondered if she ever lay awake, thinking of me. The convent bells rang Sunday morning, but out of the dozens of churches in the city, only a few could hold services. Wind and water had swept away steeples, shattered windows, and ripped off roofs. Mama insisted that I read a few verses from the Bible before breakfast.
